Total pages in book: 227
Estimated words: 220940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1105(@200wpm)___ 884(@250wpm)___ 736(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 220940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1105(@200wpm)___ 884(@250wpm)___ 736(@300wpm)
“Whatever crush Pearl had is dead in the water,” I say. “Especially since she found out about his adventure at the Four Seasons with too many hookers and too much cocaine.”
She hums, apparently not convinced.
“Beau?” James voices comes through the wood, and I instinctively hold a palm over my bits.
“I’m naked!” I yell. “And it isn’t pretty.” Good grief, I think I’m hairier than Otto, Mason, and The Vikings right now. Combined.
“I’m in here.” Beau chuckles, getting up and going to the door, nodding back at the razor in my hand. “If that doesn’t work, call me and I’ll have the gardener bring up the hedge trimmer.”
I gasp, disgusted, and throw my soggy face cloth over the screen. It slaps the door, just as Beau’s amused face disappears behind it. “Cheeky bitch.” I look down again. She has a point though. I take a deep breath and get to work.
* * *
Airy. It’s an odd sensation as I step out onto the terrace, my skirt swishing with the breeze. Lowering to the lounger, I slip my sandals on, smiling as I look around. My eyes land on an ashtray. What can I do to make him quit?
“Hey, Rose!”
I frown and get up, going to the edge of the terrace, looking down onto the garden. Beau’s there, her face a picture of delight. “I’m coming to the spa.”
“I thought you were going to the apartment?”
She shakes her head. It’s a win. He’s letting her out of his sight? It’s the small, simple things, I think, as I tie my hair into a ponytail. “I’m coming.” I knot the tails of my silk blouse, slip on some bangles, and snatch up my purse, excited to be spending some time with my other girl. As I pass Anya and Pearl’s room, I knock. “Anya, we’re heading to the spa, do you want to come?”
The door opens, and she smiles, her almond eyes sparkling. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes, will you wait?”
“Of course.” I dig through my purse and get my cell. “I’ll call Pearl to see if she wants to meet us there. See you downstairs.” I dial and make my way down to Beau, hearing the sound of my baby crying coming from the kitchen. I wince, my heart squeezing, telling myself they’ll be fine as I take the handle of the front door and pull it open. “God damn it.” I cut my call to Pearl and breathe in, going to the kitchen. Danny’s on a stool, bottle in one hand, baby in the other. Esther spots me but Danny is too focused on Maggie, his smile both fond and worried as he teases her lips with the teat.
“Go,” Esther mouths, flapping a shooing hand at me.
I back away and quickly turn, hurrying out before I give in to the urge to take over, dialing Pearl again.
“Hello?” she says.
“Are you working?”
“Just wrapping up before I go on a break.”
“What time do you have to be back?”
“In a few hours.”
“We’re going to the spa.”
“Fab, on my way.” She hangs up, and I break out into the sunshine, slipping on my shades. Tank and Fury are propped up against one of the Range Rovers. “Where’s James?” I ask Beau.
“He’s gone to the club.”
“Why? It’s early-afternoon.” Nothing happens at the club in the day. Not even shootouts anymore.
Beau shrugs. “I don’t know, but I’m here and isn’t that what matters?”
I grin and go to her, letting her wrap an arm around my shoulder.
“How’s it feeling down below?” she asks.
“Breezy.”
Beau bursts into fits of laughter, as do I, and it feels so good. Loud, unapologetic laughter. And, thankfully, no pee escapes. Pelvic floor exercises are a woman’s friend, Doc said. Don’t I know it.
“It’s the interviews today,” Fury says from the car.
We both shut up, looking at him in question.
“At the club,” he goes on. “New dancers. Interviews today.”
“Interviews?” I question. “You mean auditions?”
He shrugs, and Tank chuckles, the sound deep and earth shaking. “Great,” Beau breathes. “We get freedom, and our husbands get a pass to watch women strip.”
I laugh and go to the car. If there is one thing in this world that I am sure of, it’s my husband’s fidelity, and I know Beau feels the same. But . . . I’m hardly meeting Danny’s needs right now. I miss him. I miss us. Does he? On cue, my boobs twinge, reminding me of their purpose right now, and it’s not my husband’s pleasure. “Anya’s coming and Pearl’s meeting us there.” I slip into the back and Beau gets in beside me, shuffling up so she’s in the middle, leaving the door open for Anya as she comes dancing down the steps, wrapping a light scarf around her neck.
My mind goes back to the club. Strippers. Many willing women whose bodies are young and tight.