Burning Rescue: BBW Werebear Firefighter Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Scarlett Mountain Firefighter Werebear Shifters Book 1) (8 page)

"I hope you're hungry, ladies." Simon, their waiter, set down plates with the most amazing-smelling food. Amber had ordered the maple glazed salmon, which was the special of the day. Isabelle was always a little apprehensive to try new food, and had gone with fettuccine alfredo. Their lunch date continued on in perfect fashion. They ate, drank another cocktail, and Amber spilled endless details about the locals. She talked about Zak and Axton from the firehouse, but she never mentioned Donovan. She spoke about Axton so much that Isabelle was picking up on the fact that Amber had a massive crush on him. Who could blame her, really? All of the men in the firehouse were hot. They were a gang of rippled-muscle rescuers, and Amber confided in her that they were all massively wealthy.

Figures, he's got money too.

After lunch, they went to Mini's for coffee. Isabelle ordered a cappuccino and the barista remembered her from last time and created a bear in the foam. Isabelle stared into her cup and Amber stopped talking. It seemed like the first time they had sat in silence.

"What's wrong?" Amber set her cup down and watched Isabelle.

"Nothing. It's nothing. I got a cappuccino here the morning before my hike, and it just brought back the memory of the accident."

"Isabelle, honey, I'm so sorry. I just can't imagine how that all felt. I'm so glad that Donovan found you when he did. You're safe now." Amber grabbed Isabelle's hand. "You're safe now."

Isabelle smiled at her and looked back down at the bear in her cup. Its deep coffee-colored eyes reminded her of Donovan, but she had no intention of spilling all of the dirty details to Amber. At least not until she got to know her better.

"So, Laylah is alright as a boss. She's way too concerned about what corporate thinks, though. It's all about the bottom line. Sometimes I want to tell her that there is more to life than money. Have you seen her car, that black Audi? I've worked here three years and every year she has a different car. Brand new car every year. Must be nice, huh? Oh, well, she takes good care of us, though. She is generous, that's for sure. It was her idea to create the staff quarters. Corporate came in and remodeled about five years ago, before I started, and she had them make staff suites so that we'd all be on site. She has a house about fifteen minutes away, though. I heard her husband died and left her a shit-ton of money and she doesn't really need to work anyway, but she loves the hotel."

The gossip effortlessly oozed out of Amber. Isabelle was realizing that no matter how nice Amber was to her face, she needed to watch what she said to her.

"Oh, and once a month, the hotel hosts a huge party, kind of like a ball. Well, some months it's more like a prom. It's usually the last Saturday of the month, so, this coming Saturday. It's a lot of fun. Everyone dresses up, dancing, booze, mixing with the guests and locals. It is always our busiest weekend of the month. The busiest weekend of the summer is always Independence Day. Laylah will have us start working on preparations for that soon."

"It's March." Isabelle couldn't imagine that there was that much preparation needed for one day.

"Yeah, and it'll be the Fourth of July before you know it. It's crazy how fast time flies over the summer."

They both looked up when the door opened and the spring breeze poured inside. Donovan and two other men walked inside and Donovan looked right at her.

"Speaking of hot." Amber locked eyes with one of the other men. She had a look on her face like she was looking at a decadent treat.

The guys walked inside and went to the counter. Sitting at the corner table, Isabelle and Amber had a perfect view of their asses. "Yum," Amber whispered and winked at Isabelle. Isabelle couldn't help but smile. She wondered if Amber knew the guy she was ogling the same way that Isabelle knew Donovan. Watching him at the counter, seeing his arm muscles bulging in his shirt, her panties started getting damp. Damnit. Not over him. Isabelle struggled rationalizing the intense magnetic pull between them. I wonder if he feels it too.

The men got their coffee and headed toward the door. Please don't come over here, please don't come over here. The guy Amber was watching reached the door first and held it open. Donovan smiled at Isabelle and raised his cup at her before putting his sunglasses on. He paused for a moment before heading out the door.

"Alright, what was that?" Amber's wide eyes told Isabelle that she was on to her and wanted details.

"What was what? What are you talking about?"

"Do you think I'm dumb? I saw that look on your face, and your hands are shaking."

"It's nothing. They were cute. What? Can't a girl look?" Isabelle tried to backpedal, despite knowing that Amber was way too smart to believe any of it.

"Yeah, a girl can look. That wasn't a look. That was a moment."

"They were cute firemen. That's all."

"Uh-huh. I'll let you get away with that this time. But seriously. Which one?"

"Come on, Amber!"

"Fine. As long as it wasn't Axton."

"Which one was Axton?"

"The gorgeous one."

"That doesn't help me. They were all cute."

"Exactly. They're all cute, but Axton is gorgeous." Amber sighed and took a sip of her coffee. "Those guys were Axton, Jake, and of course Donovan." She watched Isabelle's face change at the mere mention of Donovan's name. "It's Donovan, isn't it?"

"It's Donovan what?"

"The one making your panties wet."

"Amber, come on, really?"

"Oh, please, Isabelle, I'm a woman too and I know that look. I need a change of panties and Axton's never rescued me after a night alone outside on a mountain."

"Alright, enough. Yes, Donovan's cute, he's really nice and he saved my life. That's all there is to it, okay?"

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, honey. I'll leave you alone about it. For now. And don't worry, I won't say a word to anybody. I promise." Her words didn't exactly reassure Isabelle. "Hurry up and finish that so we can head to town. I don't know about you, but I need a dress for Saturday. Axton and I have been doing 'the dance' for a while now, and I'm not sure how much more I can take." Amber finished her coffee and grabbed her purse.

Amber led the way to her little sports car, a beautiful blue two-seater BMW. "This is your car?" Isabelle asked.

"Yeah. Don't drool too much; it's like ten years old. I'm just trying to keep it alive until I marry a billionaire."

"Well, good luck with that!"

"Well, there are plenty to choose from up here. All those guys."

"Which guys?"

"The firefighters. Maybe not billionaires, but they have a ton of money, all of them. Just pick one, take a weekend workshop on giving blowjobs and give him the time of his life."

"Is that your plan with Axton?"

"Already took the workshop." Amber licked her lips and pulled her door shut.

Forty minutes later and they reached the Shops at Gramsby. The new shopping center was overflowing with posh boutiques. Isabelle was amazed it wasn't gated.

"Laylah gave me $500 for clothes. I can't spend it all on a dress and shoes for Saturday. People will begin to notice if that is the only dress I wear to work every day."

"I know just the place." Amber turned out of the parking lot and they headed further east. Buried back in an older strip mall was a tiny dress shop. There was only one other car in the parking lot, and a flashing 'Open' sign in the window.

"My aunt Catherine owns this place. She'll hook us up." The girls headed inside the tiny store and looked around at racks of irregular dresses. "She gets these dresses for almost nothing because they have little flaws. She's a seamstress and repairs them, making them better than new. This place is amazing. I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"Amber! Hi, honey! How are you?" Catherine came up from the back room and Isabelle could see that Amber's bubbly nature ran in the family.

"Hi, Aunt Kitty. We're here for dresses. Got a fancy party on Saturday and we're on the prowl."

"I love you, Amber, honey, but you're always on the prowl. How is this Saturday any different?"

"Well, this Saturday I have a cohort. Kitty, this is Isabelle. Isabelle, this is my aunt Catherine. I call her Kitty because when I was little, my mom always called her Cat. I guess it stuck."

"It's nice to meet you, Catherine. This looks like an amazing dress shop."

"Thank you. Please call me Cat, or Kitty. I'm doing some work in the back. Prom season is going to hit like a hurricane before I know it and I have a ton of dresses to get ready. You girls look around and let me know if you need anything, okay?"

A half dozen racks were packed full of dresses. With her curvy figure, Isabelle hated shopping for clothes, let alone a dress for a fancy party, something she hadn't confided in Amber.

"Isabelle, look at this!"

"What?" Isabelle turned around and walked over to the rack Amber was at. She grabbed and held up a gorgeous emerald green chiffon gown. The plunging neckline would leave little to the imagination thanks to Isabelle's full breasts. She wasn't sure she could pull off such a beautiful gown, but she wanted to try. Isabelle had never tried to make a man jealous, but she hoped Donovan would rip the zipper of his pants if he saw her in it.

"This would be amazing with your eyes. Oh my God! Look at this." Amber held it up and Isabelle was instantly in love with it.

"What size is it?"

Amber looked in the back for a tag. "No tag. Can't tell. Just try it on. I've got a good feeling about this one!" Amber handed it over to her, smiling like she had a winning lottery ticket in her hand. Amber impatiently waited outside the dressing room while Isabelle tried it on. "Is everything okay in there?"

"No, not really."

"What's wrong?"

"It won't zip."

"Kitty!" Amber screamed for her aunt, startling both Kitty and Isabelle.

Catherine came out from the back room with a measuring tape draped over her shoulder. "What's going on?"

"We found this amazing dress, and it's a little snug. Work your magic, Kitty Cat!"

Before Isabelle knew what was happening, Catherine was inside the dressing room with her. The flowing dress came up perfectly over her hips and little waist, but the zipper wouldn't budge past that.

"Alright, honey, let me see. I can probably make this work. Is this the one you definitely want?"

"Yes, it's gorgeous."

"It's stunning with your eyes, that's for sure. Let's make this happen, love." Catherine took some measurements of Isabelle's waist and bust. "Okay, so, we need to get you into this thing and you need to be able to breathe, right?"

"Yes, breathing would be great."

"Perfect. Go ahead and slip this off and let me see what I can do." Catherine left Isabelle alone to change. Isabelle came out of the dressing room and Catherine floated away into the back room.

Amber was scouring the racks for a dress for herself and let out a shriek.

"Red! It's RED! I love it! Holy shit!" Amber was screaming at the front of the store, holding up a gorgeous red beaded gown. The silver sequins and beads on it swirled around the bust and flowed to the waist. It had a sweetheart neckline and lucky for Amber, she had the breasts to hold it up. The bright red gown was designed to turn heads and on Amber's voluptuous body, Isabelle had no doubt that it would.

Amber practically ran to the dressing room with the gown. She screamed two more times while trying it on. If Kitty couldn't make that dress work, Amber would probably need to be committed to a mental institution.

Isabelle looked through the racks trying to find something else in case Catherine couldn't make the green dress fit her. "Alright, honey, let's try it now." Catherine was holding the dress with a sly smile on her face.

"Hot damn!" Amber burst out of the dressing room wearing the stunning red gown. Everything about it was perfect: the color, the neckline, the way it delicately hugged her curves. She looked amazing.

"Oh, honey. You look beautiful!" Catherine came up behind Amber with the tape measure. She measured her shoulders and waist. "I can probably take this in if you want it to hug your waist, but other than that, it looks just about perfect. Great length and the bust is good. Go ahead and take it off and I'll alter the waist for you."

Isabelle went into the other dressing room to try the gown on again. This time the zipper glided effortlessly and she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Ugh, dressing room mirrors. I hate trying on clothes. The sleeves camouflage my flabby arms, at least. It is a really pretty dress. Isabelle sighed.

"Get your ass out here!" Amber and Catherine were impatiently waiting outside the dressing room. Isabelle took a deep breath and opened the door. "That dress was made for you. Simple as that." Amber was beaming. "You look beautiful. Hopefully Donovan's pants have a reinforced zipper."

"Amber!"

"Who's Donovan?" Catherine asked.

"He's nobody," Isabelle replied, glaring at Amber.

"He's just the guy who makes her panties wet."

"Amber! What the hell? He does not!" Isabelle's face turned bright red and she turned around and slammed the dressing room door behind her.

"Does he make her hands shake?" Aunt Cat smirked at Amber.

Catherine headed to the back room to alter Amber's gown while Isabelle changed.

Isabelle and Amber paid Catherine for their finds and stopped at a shoe store on their way back to the mountain. They easily did some more financial damage and bought shoes that were much more beautiful than they were comfortable.

Isabelle's staff room was ready when they returned to the hotel. There was a plate of rich chocolate truffles on the nightstand and all of her things had been put away. She didn't have much for them to put away, but it was a nice gesture. She knew in the back of her mind she would eventually have to return to Tim's or at least call him and let him know where she was. She also needed to figure out her phone situation. It was all too overwhelming, so she grabbed a beautiful truffle and ate it while she looked out the window toward the firehouse. She noticed that Donovan's truck was parked out front and tried to see in through the garage door but it was too far away.