Boycotts and Barflies (39 page)

“Hey, baby, I found the whipped cream. It was in my room. We must have left it  next to the bed from last ni —um, oops. Hey, guys.” Bianca quickly hid the  whipped cream behind her back, while holding her tiny, black silk robe shut  with her other hand. On her feet was a pair of shiny, red Manolo Blahnik shoes. “Bianca Quinn! Why is he naked, in the kitchen, wearing my apron? It’s eleven  o’clock in the morning, and we did call you from the road to let you know we  were on our way.” Grace turned her attention to Jack. “And would it

have killed you to put on a pair of boxers?”

Behind her, Meg started laughing. “Nice butt,  Jack. A little hairy for my taste,  but a good waxing would do wonders.”

Michael burst out laughing at Meg’s candid assessment, while Ryan clasped his  hand protectively over Meg’s eyes, shielding her from the glare off Jack’s ass.

A normal person would have been embarrassed by the whole situation; Jack,  however, grinned unrepentantly and shook his naked rear in their direction,  sending them all into hysterics. Michael’s head dropped to Grace’s shoulder as  his body quaked with laughter.

Bianca stormed into the kitchen. “Jack, the girls are only human, and you’re a  lot of man for them to admire. Now quit mooning them and go throw some  clothes on.” She pointed her finger toward her bedroom. Jack sadly dropped

his spatula and sulked off.

With a smirk on her face, Grace looked Bianca up and down. Her robe barely  reached her upper thigh, and at the bottom of her long, sexy legs rested a  fabulous pair of stilettos. “Nice shoes, Bianca.”

Meg ripped Ryan’s hand from her eyes and stared in awe. “Where did you get  those?” she cried as she dropped to her knees to inspect them more closely. Bianca laughed and pointed her toe out toward Meg. “A Christmas present  from Jack.”

Right on cue, Jack emerged from Bianca’s room wearing only a pair of faded  blue jeans that hung dangerously low on his hips and carrying a T-shirt in his  hand. He strode over to Bianca and wrapped his arms around her. “Anything  for you, baby.” He kissed her cheek then put his shirt on in the middle of the  kitchen like they weren’t even there.

“I’m going to put my bags in my room,” Grace groused as she started dragging  the heavy suitcase past the kitchen. Michael quickly rushed to her side 301

and took it from her. As they walked into her room, they heard Jack offering

pancakes to a starving Ryan.

Grace reached out into her dark bedroom and turned on the lamp next to the bed. When the light filled the room, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Michael dropped the suitcases on the floor with a loud thud and hurried to her side. “What’s the matter?”

Her horrified finger pointed at the tousled bed. Before she’d left for Spokane, the bed had been neatly made, with all the throw pillows lined up across the headboard. But now, pillows were cast off onto the floor, the comforter was pulled down and tangled with the sheets. It had obviously been slept in— or

worse.

She wouldn’t dare.

“Bianca, you and the naked guy better get your asses in here now!” Grace

stomped her foot furiously. Not only did Bianca and Jack rush into the room,  but Meg and Ryan came flying up behind them, curious about all the commotion. With her hands on her hips, Grace glared at them. “What did you two do  in my bed? Wait! Don’t answer  that! Just tell me—do I need to buy a new  mattress?”

Meg and Ryan’s mouths were slightly open, shocked that Bianca and Jack might have been so bold as to defile Grace’s bed in that way. Amused beyond words,  Michael was biting his lip to keep from laughing. Grace’s eyes darted from Jack to Bianca then back again.

“Grace, relax. We did not have sex in your room. I swear.” She held her hand up and crossed her heart. “He was snoring one night so I slept in here for a few hours. That’s it, I promise. Don’t worry, the virginal mattress can stay.” Grinning, she reached for Jack’s hand.

“Yep, Grace, that’s the truth. My penis has been nowhere near your bed.”

Bianca smacked him in the back of the head. “Um, and it never will be. That’s  Michael’s territory—ouch!” Bianca punched him in the shoulder for running his mouth. While Michael brought his hands to his face and shook his head,  Ryan let out a loud snort.

Blushing, Grace suddenly found herself screaming. “Get out! All of you!”

She threw her arm toward the door, motioning them to all leave. Meg and Ryan dashed out, laughing. Bianca and her formerly naked cohort shrugged; they apparently felt she was overreacting. When Grace saw Michael turn to leave, she grabbed his arm and smiled. “You, stay.”

302

He leaned against the dresser with a laugh. Grace walked around her bed and began stripping off all the sheets, including the pillowcases. She wadded them up into a big ball and threw it at Michael.

“We’re going to burn those,” she said in  a serious voice, “along with the apron.  Now come here and help me flip this mattress over.” Grace had her hands buried under one corner of it and managed to lift it a few inches off the box spring.

Michael rolled his eyes at her, but was by Grace’s side in a second, hiking the mattress up and over onto the floor. Together, they scooped it up and laid the freshly flipped mattress back into place.

From the closet, Grace pulled out clean set of sheets, and in a matter of minutes, all traces of the possible debauchery that may have occurred had vanished. She lay down across the newly made bed and sighed.

Michael climbed up next to her, chuckling at her little tirade. “Feel better?”

He brushed the strands of long black hair back off her face, kissing her gently

on the forehead.

“Not really. I swear I will be having nightmares about them having some  depraved tryst in my room for the next few months.” Grace shuddered at the  thought when the idea hit her. She jerked herself up on the bed and started  clapping. “Tryst! That’s it!”

His brows furrowed together as she jumped off the bed and began jumping  around the room. “You actually want them to have a tryst in your bed?” he  asked, utterly confused. “Should I be jealous?”

Grace rushed over to him and pulled him off the b ed. “No, God no. Listen, you  said if I ever thought of a good name for your bar to tell you, so how about …  Tryst?” He stood there silently, mulling it over in his head.

All of a sudden, her feet left the ground and he was spinning her around, his  laughter filling the room. Without releasing his grasp, Michael carried Grace  out the door and into the family room. “Jack, Ryan! Come here quick,” he yelled  as he kissed her face repeatedly. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” “Yeah, I think I might have  a clue.” She laughed as her feet came back to the  ground.

Ryan emerged from Meg’s room with his cell phone pressed to his ear, holding  a finger to his mouth, signaling everyone to be quiet. Jack stayed stretched out  on the couch, reading the newspaper, his head comfortably resting in Bianca’s  lap.

303

Michael and Grace went over to the recliner and made themselves comfortable.  He sat down, pulling Grace onto his lap while they waited for Ryan to finish his call. “We have to go meet with the developer this afternoon to see if we can work a deal so we can lease the location we want for the bar. It is down on

North High near all those galleries and restaurants. Perfect location, but that means it will cost a fortune. We’re hoping that we can get him to negotiate his price and get lucky. I’m guessing that’s  what this call is about.” Michael’s brow furrowed in concern as he ran his fingers lazily across Grace’s back, watching  Ryan continue to pace back and forth in the kitchen.

Ryan said a quick goodbye and snapped the phone shut, walking to Meg’s side.  “Sorry, that was the Realtor.”

“What does she want?” Jack asked, lifting his head so he could see Ryan better. “Well, apparently the building was just sold yesterday.” The look on Ryan’s face was grim. Jack cursed under his breath, and Grace felt Michael tense up beneath her. “The good news is the new owner is going to be in town briefly signing the papers and said he’d meet with us. But we need to be there in an hour with the paperwork from the bank approving us for the loan.”

Michael glanced at his watch. “We’ll have to hurry, but we can make it.

Does he know the bank hasn’t approved us for enough to cover the cost of the space?” He shifted nervously in the chair, his fingers repeatedly tapping on the arm of the chair.

“I’m not sure,” Ryan said quietly. Then tension in the room was palpable as the  men exchanged glances.

Breaking the silence, Jack boomed, “Well, then, we just have to charm the hell  out of him. First things first: let’s get home and get changed.” Jack stood up,  kissed Bianca on the cheek, and said, “Ladies, we love you, but we gotta jet.” Grace gave Michael a big hug and a kiss. “Good luck.”

“Wait, Ryan, Jack, real quick. Grace had a great idea of what to name the bar.  Tell them what you came up with.” Michael blocked their exit, forcing Jack and  Ryan to turn their attention to Grace.

“Um, well, it’s just a suggestion, you know, but how about … Tryst?” She  nervously looked around the room at Ryan’s and Jack’s faces, trying to read  them, but couldn’t.

After what felt like an hour of silence, Grace looked at Michael who simply  winked at her, then nodded his head in Jack’s direction. She glanced over and  saw a big smile on his face and when she looked back to Ryan, he was  absolutely beaming.

304

Thank you for evaluating PDF to ePub Converter.

To get full version, you need to purchase the software from:
http://www.pdf-epub-converter.com/convert-to-epub-purchase.html

“It makes me think of naughty, sexy, and illicit things —like us! Tryst it is!” Jack  arrogantly grinned as Ryan shrugged in agreement. Meg and Bianca clapped  their approval, too.

“Don’t you guys have a meeting to get to? Go charm this guy so you can open  yourselves a bar.” Grace made her way over to Michael and teased, “It might  not hurt to show a little skin.” Nimbly she undid the top two buttons on his  shirt, revealing more of his chest. “Yep, I’d give you a really good deal on some  property if you showed up like this.”

As she stood back, appraising his heavenly form, he began snickering.

“Would you do anything I asked, Grace, if I looked like this? Anything?” he  whispered in her ear as his hand wrapped around her waist before coming to  rest very low on her hip.

“Wow, yeah, um … totally.” Grace muttered incoherently as she ran her finger  down the newly exposed skin on his chest.

“I’ll have to remember that,” he whispered seductively in her ear.

“Sorry to break up the groping session, you two, but, Mike, we have forty-five  minutes to haul ass home, get pretty, and then get downtown. Even with your  driving, we’re cutting it close. Kiss the girl, and let’s motor,” Ryan said as he  wrapped his arms around Meg and kissed her head.

“I have to go.” Michael sighed. “I’ll call you and let you  know how it goes.

I love you.”

“I love you, too. Go impress him. Take my car. Yours is buried under five inches  of snow. That way you have an excuse to come back over here when you’re  done.” He gave her one last kiss before all three of them raced out the  front  door.

As the door clicked shut, Grace said, “They’re easily  ”—

“The three sexiest men on the planet?” Bianca sighed as she fell back onto the  couch.

“Without a doubt.” Meg said, pulling Grace back onto the couch with her. “Of  course, now that we’re alone, it’s time for some girl talk.” Meg began bouncing  up and down on the couch. Her eyes darted down to Bianca’s feet again. “So,  Jack got you the shoes? Before or after you slept with him?”

Bianca’s cheeks turned pink. “Before …”

“And what did you give him for Christmas?” Meg asked suspiciously.

Grace rolled her eyes and said, “Do you really need to ask?” She turned to  Bianca, who was biting her lip, trying not to smile. “I’m guessing you, no  clothes, and a big red bow were involved.”

305

“Well, for your information, Miss Smarty- pants, you’re wrong.” Bianca tried to  act offended, but her dancing eyes gave her away. “I also wore the shoes …” Girly screams and squeals echoed through the apartment.

Bianca asked what she and Michael had exchanged for Christmas. Grace told  her the story of the running shoes and what Michael said about his endurance. More giggles and squeals ensued .

Grace ran into her room and brought out the dress that Michael had bought her  for their date, holding it up for her inspection. Bianca complimented it  repeatedly, impressed with Michael’s taste and was already planning what  shoes and accessories she should wear with it.

“Meg got the most beautiful bound journals from Ryan for Christmas.

He must have written something super sweet inside too, because she burst into  tears after reading it.”

Bianca’s eyebrows perked up in curiosity. “Care to share with the class what he  wrote? I bet it was a sappy poem; he looks like the poem type.”

“It wasn’t a poem,” Meg said quietly. “He just made an entry in the journal.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh, here, let me get it and read it to you. It’s too  beautiful for me to mess up.” She scurried into her room and came out  clutching the leather bound journal in her arms. She opened it to the first page  and cleared her throat.

December 24

Today, I am giving Meg, the love of my life, this journal. I’ve known from the moment that I laid eyes on her that she was the one I was meant to be with.

My heart sang and my knees went weak at the sight of her. I still get butterflies in my stomach when she is near. I love her smile, her exuberance, her mind, her heart, her kindness, her loyalty, her friendship and her spirit. Without her, a piece of me is missing. Together, we are a perfect fit.

I give her this journal in the hopes that from this day forward, all her entries will be filled with the stories of our lives together. I hope that our

names appear together a thousand times over on these pages, filled with  memories to pass on to our children. The story of our love affair will be spelled  out as an example to them of what true love looks like, feels like, and acts like. Finally, I hope she smiles when she opens her gift because nothing can

compare to the beauty of her smile. My Meg, my love, my life. I will love you

forever.

Ryan

306

When she closed the journal, she couldn’t help but smile. Grace and Bianca also had tears streaming down their faces, touched by his words to their friend. They sprung up off the couch and hugged her.

“We’re very lucky,” Grace said softly as the three friends broke their embrace and wiped the tears from their  eyes.

Trying to lighten things up, Meg asked the question she’d been dying to ask for hours now. “So, Grace, would you like to explain why the guy at the front desk called you Mrs. Andris this morning when we were checking out?”

Meg snickered. “Is there something you’d like to announce to us?” Bianca shot up; Meg’s little comment catching her attention.

“Do tell, Mrs. Andris, do tell. I’d like to hear about everything that happened at the hotel last night.” Bianca grinned evilly at Grace as she leaned back into the couch, making herself comfortable and ready to watch her friend blush.

“Oh, wait! Instead, why don’t you start at the part where Michael was naked? Bianca didn’t hear about that,” Meg squealed. Bianca’s eyes bugged out of her head and Grace nearly died of embarrassment on the spot.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, really.” Grace tried to downplay the whole naked thing, unsuccessfully. “He was in the Jacuzzi and  with the bubbling water; I couldn’t see much.” They both let out a scream as Grace buried her face in her

hands.

“She didn’t see much until he jumped out of the tub. And didn’t you say

something like he had you pinned against the door?” Meg asked innocently,

while Grace felt her cheeks heat up. Bianca’s mouth hung open in surprise.

“Wait, wait, wait! He was naked and kissing you, and you … resisted that?”

Bianca asked in wonder.

“Well, no. I kind of, um, moaned his name and was ready to do whatever he

wanted, but then Ryan showed up and screwed the whole thing up by busting  into the room.”

“Fine, he interrupted that moment, but you can’t tell me nothing else happened  between you two all night,” Meg said, leaning in to not miss Grace’s soon-to-be  embarrassing answer.

“Well, there might have been a little something before and after dinner,”

Grace mumbled softly.

“What?” they screeched in unison.

“Get to the Mrs. Andris thing!” Bianca begged.

307

“Well, the manager called to apologize after the whole Mark incident.”

They quickly told Bianca about the creeper who bought them drinks and how  he came up to the room. “I answered the phone because Michael was talking to  Ryan, and the guy from the desk called me Mrs. Andris. So rather than explain  that I was Michael’s girlfriend, I went along with it. And then Michael got on the  phone and the manager said he’d spoke with his ‘wife.’ So then Michael started  referring to me as his wife, and it was the biggest turn-on, I can’t even begin to  tell you.” Grace shook her head back and forth to try and calm herself

down. God, he was sexy though. She remembered the butterflies that exploded  in her stomach each time he called her his wife.

When Grace continued on and told them about the mousse incident, they both  were stunned. Bianca kept saying, “I can’t believe you didn’t crack. All for a pair  of shoes …” She shook her head from side to side, impressed by Grace’s resolve. “Don’t forget eternal bragging rights,” she said smugly. “And then, he said

something before I fell asleep. He said … well, he promised he would marry me  someday.” If Grace thought their prior screams had been loud, the silence that  hung in the air between them was deafening.

Bianca’s eyes were huge while Meg was on her feet, her hands clasped over her  mouth as she said “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh” over and over.

“And if all that wasn’t enough, I decided to have a little fun with him in the  shower this morning.” Grace grinned from ear to ear as she told them of how  she’d teased Michael with her wet and naked limbs.

“Grace, I can’t believe you were brave enough to do that. I’m thoroughly  impressed. I love how he panicked and threw the conditioner at you. Poor guy  … Of course, it was pretty risky of you. What if he’d climbed into that shower  with you? Then what would you have done?” Bianca gave Grace’s shoulder a  playful shove.

She thought about it for a second and then confessed, “Honestly, I would’ve  said ‘screw the shoes’ and had the best sex of my life without a single regret. I  think part of me was kind of hoping he would. Of course, Meg, if you hadn’t  banged on the door and told us it was time to go … We were about to … you  know …”

Meg gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me? Ryan and I would have gone shopping for an hour. Well, maybe a few hours—you guys have been waiting a long time. 308

However long you needed, we could have occupied ourselves.” Meg felt terrible about interrupting their romantic interlude.

“It’s all for the best. Besides, I’m in it to win.  We only have one hundred and five hours to go. Piece of cake.” Grace tried to sound confident, but she knew this was going to be a dog fight till the end with her stubborn friend, Meg. Changing the subject, Meg turned to Bianca. “So, do we need to make an official house rule about ‘no naked men in the kitchen’ or do you think can you keep your man under control?” Meg snickered.

“Oh, I can definitely keep him under control,” Bianca said with a wicked grin.  “By the way, we need more whipped cream.”

y

Over the next few hours, they unpacked their suitcases, cleaned the apartment,

showered, answered emails, and paid the bills.

Meg sat on the couch, glancing out the window any time she heard a  car door

close. Bianca paced past the phone, picking it up to make sure there was still a

dial tone. Grace busied herself by reorganizing their DVD collection in the

family room, but she checked her cell phone to make sure she hadn’t missed a

call more tim es than she wanted to admit.

At 3:00 p.m., Bianca finally burst. “What could possibly be taking so long?

The waiting is driving me crazy!”

Just then, the door flew open and a booming voice said, “Did someone say crazy?” Jack’s firm body filled the doorway, his sunglasses still covering his

eyes.

“Move, you big oaf!” Ryan growled as he pushed Jack aside, trying to make his  way to Meg. She was off the couch and flying into Ryan’s arms before he made  it a step further. He picked her up and carried her over to  the kitchen counter. “So, tell us, tell us!” Meg squealed.

Grace peered around Ryan, trying to find her man. “Where’s Michael? You  didn’t have to sell him into slavery, did you? He isn’t sleeping with some rich  lady to make a quick mil ion dol ars, is he?  Wait, did he wreck my car? I’ll kill  him.” She was craning her neck past Jack when a flash of brown came through  the doorway and two arms nearly crushed her as they wrapped around her  and squeezed.

“We did it!” he whispered in her ear as he began kissing Grace enthusiastical y. “That’s wonderful!”

309

From behind her, Grace heard Meg and Bianca start screaming too as they found out the good news. When the joyful screams subsided, everyone gathered in the family room to hear the story.

“So, did you have to charm him? Was he a jerk or a nice guy?” Grace asked, unable to contain her excitement any longer. They started chuckling at the question and had the most peculiar looks on their faces.

“What?” Bianca snapped. “Oh my gosh, was it a woman? Did she hit on you?”  Bianca wheeled around and glared at a now hysterical Jack. “Did you flirt with her?” She was fuming as she grabbed him by the ear and led him off to the corner where he defensively threw up his hands in front of his chest.

“No, no, no, Bianca. It was a guy, not a girl. Calm down, baby. Is it wrong that I get turned on when you act all jealous like that?” He picked up a lock of her hair and began twirling it around his fingers.

“So, explain. He met your price? Out of the kindness of his heart, this guy agreed to give you a discount?” Meg said skeptically.

“Actually, yes. That’s exactly what happened.” Ryan smiled at Michael. “We pitched our idea and explained the financial situation we were in, and he agreed to it. By the way, Grace, he loved the name.”

“And he wanted nothing in return?” Grace asked Michael, who still had a goofy grin on his face.