Page 16 of Sweet Love at Bayside
“Doesn’t he look hot, Vi?”
“Scorching.” Vi grabbed another wine bottle from a shelf and took a swig.
As her hands roamed over his chest, he felt guilty for enjoying every second of her feel-fest, and took her hands in his. “Sweetheart—”
“I really like when you call me that.” She leaned forward, and feathers brushed over his clothes. Her eyes dropped to the space between them, and she gasped, stumbling backward and sending Cosmos into a barking frenzy as he jumped and tried to bite the feathers.
“Ohmygosh. It’s not what it looks like!”
Cosmos ran circles around her, yapping.
“Yes, it is.” Violet nodded. “It’sexactlywhat it looks like.”
Desiree tried to peel off the lingerie, but it got stuck on her shoulders. “I swear it’s not. We were going to work, and then we talked, and then—” She tore the bottle from Violet’s hands and thrust it at Rick, looking guilty and crazy cute. “Thishappened, and…” Her eyes dropped to the lingerie. “Oh no! Thenthathappened. Just shoot me. Shoot.Pow. Bam.”
He reached for the bottle and set it on the table. “There will be no shooting. But, sweetheart, you look really cute.” He glanced at Violet, who was having way too much fun at her sister’s expense.
Desiree’s cheeks flamed. “Ohmygosh. I should never drink. We weren’t…It’s not…” She started yanking at the straps. “It’s stuck. I can’t”—tug, tug—“get it”—tug, tug—“off.”
Violet doubled over laughing. “I like you when you drink!”
“You’re a horrible influence.” Desiree glared at her, still struggling to get the leather laces untied and swaying unsteadily.
“True,” Violet said with an emphatic nod.
Rick framed Desiree’s face as he’d done earlier, gazing into her pleading eyes until she stopped struggling and focused on him. Like the dawn of a new day, the tension drained from her face. All the jokes and innuendos that were on the tip of his tongue slipped away, and his insides turned to mush. What was she doing to him?
“I’ve got it,” he assured her, and carefully untied the contraption, peeled it carefully from her clothing, and set it on the table, aware of Violet watching his every move. Without giving Desiree time to give in to the embarrassment playing over her features, he gathered her against him and said, “You’re incredibly sexy when you’re tipsy.”
That earned a sweet smile, but she quickly buried her face in his chest. “I’m so embarrassed.”
He was captivated by how quickly she went from being completely unguarded to genuinely vulnerable. “Why? Because you and your sister had a little fun in yourtoyshop?”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Violet chimed in, and bent down to pick up the pup. “Come on, Trouble. Let’s give these guys some privacy.” She blew Desiree a kiss and motioned with two fingers pointing from her eyes to Rick’s, mouthing,I’m watching you.
He chuckled, but he liked Violet’s protective nature.
“It’s notourshop. It’s our mother’s.” Desiree winced. “That soundssobad.” She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and laughed. “Welcome to my crazy summer life.”
“I think I’m going to like your crazy summer life.”
Chapter Five
DESIREE SURVEYED THE messy shop and the wine stains on her tank top. Reality sobered her up, but she was still light-headed. Unfortunately, she wasn’t so drunk that she didn’t realize how badly she’d made a fool of herself. She could hardly believe Rick was still looking at her like she was the most beautiful, interesting person he’d ever seen. Either she was totally misreading him, he was nuts, or this was by far the luckiest night of her life.
She was caught between wanting more of this free, light feeling, and being terrified by how quickly it felt like that freedom—not the alcohol—could become an addiction. She began straightening up to distract herself, and fell back on her safety net, defining who she had always been.
“I’m really not like this,” she assured Rick. She knelt to pick up the items on the floor, and realized Vi was right. Whether it was from the wine, the fact that she’d already stepped into Mortification Land and there was no further damage to be done, or because she and Vi had used the colorful pleasure rods as swords in a Battle of Shlongs, she no longer felt funny touching them. She realized Violet hadn’t told her what her Achilles’ heel was. She’d have to remember to ask her the next time…we drink together?
Rick crouched beside her and gathered a number of toys in his arms. He could hold alotof them, and not once did his focus stray from Desiree. “This?As in someone who likes to cut loose every now and again?”
She shifted her eyes away and pushed to her feet, setting the toys on the table. “No, as in someone who wears slutty lingerie and drinks before a date. I haven’t showered, my shirt is stained…I’m sorry, Rick.”
He unloaded his armful on the table and took her hand, drawing her against him again. He felt safe and solid, and when his eyes turned serious, she didn’t know what to expect.
“You just accelerated the first half of our date. Now I can forget the wine and we can get straight to the taking advantage of you part.”
He paused long enough for alarm bells to go off in her head. And then a slow smile crept across his face, turning those bells into dirty little chimes.
