It Takes Three to Fly (39 page)

Jaycee lowered herself into the booth, sliding her body over until she bumped into Katie-Anne. “Is it big?” she asked, sounding seriously suggestive.

Behind her, Shannon sat down, squishing the three of them together as snug as three bugs in a rug. She leaned around Jaycee and winked overtly at Katie-Anne. “Oh. Is it really big?” she inquired.

“Or is it really, really,
really
big?” Ella asked, continuing in the bawdy line of teasing. “I hope so because I am a firm believer in two things,”—she stopped talking long enough to wiggle her eyebrows suggestively—“the bigger, the better, and the more, the merrier.”

“Mother of the man in the pickle suit,” Sarah said sharply, her sweet voice sounding stilted and off in some indescribable way. Dropping her purse onto the bench seat, she sank down into the cushion and scooted toward Ella. However, she didn’t get too close before she stopped suddenly, leaving a wide gap between the two women. “You did not just say that.”

Ella turned a giant grin on Sarah and replied, “Sweet, innocent Sarah. I did just say that. And, if you would like, I can keep on going. And going and going…”

“No,” Sarah cut in hastily when Ella trailed off. “I think I’ll pass.”

“Aw, come on,” Ella cajoled. “You know you want me to keep going. We haven’t perverted you yet, and I think it is about time to get started. Maybe, easing you in is the best way to do it.”

Sarah’s eyes widened, her face paling drastically. An invisible wall seemed to drop down and form around her. Moving away from them—physically and emotionally—she murmured, “I am going to go put some money in the jukebox,” as she escaped the booth then vanished into thin air.

“Whoa,” Jaycee said. “What just happened here?”

“I don’t know,” Shannon replied, glancing over her shoulder at Sarah then turning back to them. “But, for some reason, I really don’t like it.”

“Me either,” Ella added, “especially since she just lied through her pretty teeth.” Picking up something next to her, she waved Sarah’s purse around before letting it fall back down with a soft
thump
. She peered over Katie-Anne’s shoulder, openly studying Sarah at the jukebox. “Her pants are not made to have pockets and neither is that blouse. So, unless our little Sarah keeps cash in her panties, bra, or socks, she has no money to put in the jukebox.”

Interesting
. Being the nosy bitches they were, Jaycee, Shannon, and Katie-Anne spied on Sarah from their various positions at the table.
It’s a damn good thing we’re not training to be spies. We’d be caught and tortured in no time flat.
On the end, Shannon had the empty napkin holder from earlier in her hand and was using the chrome surface to capture Sarah’s reflections over her shoulder. Meanwhile, next to her, Jaycee had awkwardly rotated her body around and gotten to her knees. Perching her elbows on the back of the booth, she braced her chin on her hands and shamelessly gawked at Sarah.

Attempting to be a little more discrete, but failing miserably, Katie-Anne used the mirror app on her iPhone to watch Sarah over her shoulder. Eyeballing the younger woman, she noticed something very off. With all the commotion when the girls had arrived, she hadn’t seen what Sarah was wearing. But, boy oh boy, she did now. “When did she start wearing
those
clothes?”

“I’m not sure,” Ella answered, seeming aghast and slightly appalled. “Since we didn’t ride together, I haven’t had a chance to talk to her. She told me yesterday that she had a date with Gavin tonight, and he liked when she dressed up for him.”

“In tight leather pants and a sweater made for a five-year-old?” Shannon asked incredulously. “God, I hope Deke and Adam don’t catch a glimpse of her looking like that or, for that matter, Landon and Shane. Hell, it would be best if none of the men saw her right now.”

“Deke and Adam haven’t claimed her yet, and she doesn’t have a collar around her neck,” Katie-Anne reminded them. “That means they have no right to say a damn thing to her. Seriously, she is just out having a little fun.”
I hope.

“Maybe you should talk to her,” Ella muttered to Katie-Anne. “She always listens to you.”

Scrutinizing Sarah further, Katie-Anne decided that was a damn good idea. Part of her thought Sarah was sowing some wild oats, but the other part didn’t agree in the slightest. This Gavin guy and his relationship with Sarah made Katie-Anne uneasy. It seemed odd that neither she nor anyone else had managed to meet the man, even though they’d tried many, many times. The fact that Sarah transformed with each passing day didn’t sit well with Katie-Anne either. The dramatic changes were ones Katie-Anne did not like, trust, or appreciate.
Maybe it’s time I run a background check on this bastard.

Katie-Anne didn’t realize that she’d spoken her thought rather than thinking it until Ella said, “That’s a brilliant idea. We need to know more about him. I’m beginning to think either he is imaginary or a complete douche. I just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Me either,” Katie-Anne murmured. With a drawn-out, melancholy sigh, she gave up on her surveillance of Sarah with her cell phone. Pushing the home button then the sleep/wake one, she locked her iPhone and set it down on the white Formica countertop. “But we need to figure it out or tell our men. Since I don’t want them going ape-shit, I think we need to do a bit of recon ourselves. Then we can involve them if need be.”

“Um, aren’t we being a bit dramatic here?” Shannon asked as she dropped the napkin holder, the metal making a loud
clang
as it collided with the tabletop. “We sound suspicious, judgmental, and downright creepy.”

“Bullshit,”
Jaycee cursed then rounded on Shannon. Maneuvering herself clumsily, she turned around and flopped back into her seat. “You’re just pissed you didn’t think of it first.”

Unsurprisingly, Shannon chuckled. “You got me. This jackass gives me the heebie-jeebies, and I want to damn well know why.”

“Want to know what?” Sarah asked, her voice appearing before her body did. Within the blink of an eye, she was standing by the table, frowning at them. “What are you four talking about?”

“Oh,” Jaycee squeaked. “Nothing.” Waving her head around loftily, she tacked on, “Just a bit of this and a bit of that.”

“Y—yeah,” Shannon agreed. “It wasn’t anything important.”

Sarah stared at them in total disbelief. Frowning, she asked, “Then why do you have the heebie-jeebies, Shannon?”

That’s an easy answer.
Katie-Anne snorted. “Because she always has the heebie-jeebies. Our girl is a total pussy.”

“I am not,” Shannon said, obviously insulted. Whipping her head around, she stuck her tongue out at Katie-Anne. “I have a pussy, but I am not one.”

“Girls, girls, girls,” Ella broke in just as Katie-Anne opened her mouth to sass Shannon. “Why don’t we tell her the truth?”

Um, what the fuck?
Katie-Anne turned her attention to Ella. And so did everyone else. Predictably, Ella didn’t even bat an eyelash. Instead, she lowered her eyes to the menu lying on the table. Scanning the laminated paper, she ran her finger down the list of foods that the café served. “Hmm,” she said. “I’m hungry. What about you guys?” When she reached the end of the menu, she shrugged. “I think I’m in the mood for a ginormous, sloppy burger that I will end up wearing more than eating. Yum.”

“I think
I’m
in the mood for the truth,” Sarah said in a shockingly firm voice. “Now talk.”

Whoa. Who are you? And where’s our sweet Sarah?
Opening her mouth to speak, Katie-Anne promptly closed it. She didn’t know exactly what she was going to say. She didn’t want to lie, but she couldn’t tell the truth.

Thankfully, their waitress showed up and distracted them with her friendly chattering. After gossiping for far too long and taking their orders, Nikki left them in peace.
Or not.

Glowering, Sarah remained unmoved. She obviously still planned to interrogate them. “I’m waiting,” she said petulantly as she sat back down, her body stiff and her demeanor aloof
. Damn.

Ever the big-mouthed one, Ella said, “Let’s tell her the truth. I think she deserves to hear it.”

“We were talking about…” Shannon started but, when she apparently couldn’t come up with anything, she just stopped talking.

“Rafe,” Jaycee filled in the blank for Shannon. “We were talking about Rafe. He freaks us out, but we don’t know why. And we want to know. So that was what Shannon was talking about. She didn’t want to say anything to you because she knew you would think we were being narrow-minded.”

Rafe? They think Rafe is going to be a good fall guy. Not likely. He might be handsome, rich, and successful. But he doesn’t have a creepy bone in his body. Freaky, yes. Kinky, yes. But not creepy.

“I creep you out?” a sexy-as-all-get-out, make-your-panties-wet, Italian-accented voice said. “I must be losing my touch with the ladies.”

“Rafe,” Katie-Anne exclaimed with a smile. “You’re early!”

Rafe smiled back at her, his usually somber face lighting up. “Yes,
mia tesoro
. I am. I just couldn’t wait to see your lovely face.”

Laughing, Katie-Anne said, “Yeah, right. You were just lonely and wanted someone to talk to.”

“I’m always lonely,
tesoro
,” he replied with an endearingly honest answer. “You know this.”

Katie-Anne rolled his eyes. “The playboy of the art world is lonely? That will be the day.”

Her four friends’ eyes kept hopping back and forth between her and Rafe. They hadn’t been around the two of them together so they probably had no clue that they were always like this when they saw each other.

It was fun to spend time with the man that no one really knew. The dark, elusive Rafe was her business associate and one of her closest friends. They’d entertained the thought about becoming lovers for a short time, but both of them had rejected the idea. Neither of them wanted to lose a strong friendship and a profitable partnership, so they’d kept their time together innocent but enjoyable.

“You wound me,” he replied, a sparkle in his nearly black eyes, “just as your friends here wounded me. I’m heartbroken, and I will have to retire to my cave to grieve.”

“I would love to go to your cave with you,” Ella offered cheekily. “But there will be no grieving just fucking and sucking.”

Rafe threw his head back and barked a laugh. “You are a funny one.”

With a wicked wink, Ella asked, “Funny? Who said I was kidding?”

Shannon coughed. “Micah.”

“Don’t bring up my best friend,” Ella snapped, obviously vexed that Shannon had brought up the sore subject of her love for the man she lived with. “He’s not likely to jump my bones
ever
. I’m his fucking hag.” Her ire slipped for just a second and a momentary wave of sadness surged then swiftly swept across her face before fading away and being replaced by a phony smile. “It is
not
in my job description to keep my legs closed for men who actually
want
to bang me. A girl has to get laid sometimes, you know.”

“Hag or not, gay or not,” Rafe said. “He would have to be out of his mind to not be interested in a beautiful woman like yourself.”

Ella winked at him. “Why thank you, good looking. You’re pretty damn hot yourself.” Wiggling her eyebrows, she licked her lips sensuously and announced, “I would totally do you.”

“Oh my God,” Katie-Anne said. “I can’t believe this. I bring you guys here to tell you that I’m pregnant, and what do we do? We end up making a mess, arguing, and one of us hits on a complete stranger. We are seriously fucked up and in dire need of treatment for our conversational ADD.”

“You are pregnant?” Rafe asked with a brilliant smile. “Congratulations,
mia tesoro
.”

Sarah and Ella gasped in surprise. Or what was supposed to sound like surprise. But they weren’t very convincing. Of course, Jaycee and Shannon did not react—at all. In fact, the only indication they made that they’d heard her were the big, smug smiles on their faces.

“You four bitches,” Katie-Anne snapped. “Can’t you let me have something? First you know about my TL Jacobsen secret. Now you know about this. I have been dying to tell you, and you already know. This sucks.”

“Come on,” Shannon said. “You surprised us with your marriage.”

“Fine,” Katie-Anne replied grumpily. “I’ll give you that, I guess.”

“Besides, you aren’t mad that we know,” Jaycee declared. “You’re just mad that you didn’t get to tell us.”

So true.
Katie-Anne didn’t give a shit that her friends knew her secrets. She just wanted to be the one to share it with them. Now the jig was up, and the surprise was ruined
. I guess I might as well make the best of it.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’ve totally got me there,” Katie-Anne muttered with a sheepish smile. “It is selfish really, but I wanted to shock the shit out of you.” She laughed. “So, how long have you known?”

“Let’s see,” Jaycee said, lifting her hands and pretending to count her fingers. “Shannon and I figured it out at my birthday party. We just didn’t know all the gory details—who, what, when, where, and why.”