Nick held his hands up, still refusing to make eye contact and said, “Ladies, I don’t have many rules, but I have to draw the line at talking about hemorrhoids, tampons or PMS. If you want to talk about sex, then I’m your guy, well unless it’s with my brother, but no talk of the female cycle or anything hanging out of your body, ok?”

They all laughed, and Suzy called the waiter over to order a beer for him. For such a ladies’ man, the guy really needed to loosen up. She had to appreciate the fact that although he didn’t know them all that well, he was still willing to spend his day taking her to a doctor’s appointment and then spend lunch with three women. From what she could tell, like his brother, Nick was a good man.

All too soon lunch was over and they dropped Claire back at the front doors of Danvers. Suzy tried to convince Nick to let her go into the office to pick up her mail, but he adamantly refused. He did offer to pick it up on Saturday and bring it to her. By the time they made it home, Suzy was exhausted and her body seemed to be aching all over. She didn’t want to admit it, but she’d overdone it a bit today. She was grateful when Beth suggested she rest on the couch for a while.

Nick offered to stay for a few hours so that Beth could go to the supermarket and pick up some of Suzy’s clothing. She’d refused to wear sweat pants for another day so Beth had caved to pressure and promised that she’d have her own clothing by tomorrow.

~~~

Gray sat on the bed in his hotel looking down at his cell phone. He’d wanted to hear Suzy’s voice, but according to Nick’s text, she was sound asleep on the couch. Disappointment stabbed through him even though he’d just talked to her a few hours earlier. Running his hand across his face, he admitted that Nick was right about him, he was a love-sick sap. Being away from her was tearing him apart. He knew that once she was his, he’d be able to breathe easier when they were apart. Right now with so much hanging in the balance, he was afraid of losing ground while he was away. He just couldn’t start over again with her. It had been hard before, but now that he’d finally established intimacy between them, even though they hadn’t had sex, the bond was there. He’d go to pieces if she walked away now. Giving someone this type of power scared the hell out of him. If he was smart, he’d probably run and never look back. He knew that he’d past the point of no return, his life was with Suzy and a life without her was nothing at all.

The one thing still stopping him from relaxing was Reva. He wasn’t naive enough to believe that the silence since changing phone numbers would last. She’d be back and it was high time he dealt with it. He couldn’t start a life with Suzy with something like that hanging over them. It was also time that he came clean with Suzy and told her what was going on. When she’d asked about him changing his cell phone number that morning, he’d been stumbling around like an idiot trying to find an explanation. Gray had always believed in being honest and he wasn’t going to continue keeping something like this from her. He didn’t want to tell her over the phone, but as soon as he got home, it was time to level with her and hope that it didn’t change anything.

He was surprised at how well things had progressed between them. The feel of her hand on his butt yesterday had both shocked him and almost brought him to his knees. He’d always desired her, even with the front she presented to him and the world. You couldn’t be a male and not immediately take notice when she walked into a room. Suzy was a drop-dead gorgeous woman and she didn’t dress to minimize it. It wasn’t that she dressed specifically to draw attention to it; she was just unique and her style represented that. He wouldn’t change anything about her. Just smelling the light fragrance of her perfume when she walked by him was enough to make him hard as a rock.

He’d been amused by her when they’d first met. She seemed to do and say a lot of things just for the shock value. He had a feeling being raised by such uptight parents had something to do with it. He’d bet that she’d spent her adolescence finding ways to get a reaction out of them. They probably about had a coronary the first time she walked out wearing an eye-popping animal print. Gray saw through the smoke and mirrors to the person underneath that camouflage. Suzy might seem tough, but she was breakable. She acted like she didn’t want or need affection when in reality, she craved it. She wanted someone to love her enough to peel back her layers and see the person inside.

As Gray started dressing to attend a party at the home of their potential new customer, he was still uneasy and the feeling bothered him. He decided to text Nick again to make sure everything was ok. He hated to have these gut feelings because they invariably drove him crazy until whatever was causing them finally presented itself.

Chapter Twelve

Gray had been gone for almost two weeks. Suzy had no idea it was possible to miss someone as much as she’d missed him. The simple trip that Gray had assumed would last no more than a week had run much longer than he’d imagined. He had been in Nevada for a little over a week and then in California dealing with a supply problem, which luckily he’d finally settled. The new guy at Danvers, Declan Stone, was flying down to California in the morning and Gray was handing the reins over to him. He thought someone should be there for a few extra days to ensure there were no other issues and he didn’t want it to be him. He’d wanted to fly home for an evening just to see her but she’d put her foot down, or her boot at least. As much as she wanted him home, she didn’t want just a few hours. She had big plans for Gray tomorrow night when he finally made it home and she didn’t want to be rushed.

Suzy was feeling much better than she had when he left. She’d learned to manage pretty well on her crutches and was much more mobile now. Things that she’d always taken for granted like showering or going to the bathroom still required more time, but she was getting the hang of it. Beth had finally brought over her clothing and it felt better to look more like herself. Skinny jeans were out since she couldn’t fit them over her cast, but skirts were comfortable even if she had to settle for ugly flat heeled shoes to go with them.

Gray had insisted on Nick staying with her and Beth at night. She was glad to have him in the house, but Beth seemed to hate every moment of it and never failed to let Nick know. If Suzy didn’t know better, she’d swear it was some form of foreplay between them. Beth had been working at Danvers for the past week. She went in to pick up messages and mail and returned the calls and handled correspondence for Suzy. She planned to go back to work on Monday. She knew it would be a fight with Gray, but she couldn’t stay home forever and with several projects in the works, she had to be there in person some of the time.

Suzy smiled as she thought of how many times each day Gray called her. Their last conversation of the day was usually at night when Gray was back at his hotel and Suzy was settled in bed. She’d never been one for phone sex, but their nightly talks had gotten pretty interesting. She was sure that Gray went to sleep each evening just as tightly wired as she did.

Even though she wore a heavy, awkward cast, she planned to finally give both Gray and herself what they had both been longing for when he got home tomorrow. She’d already told Beth and Nick that they should make plans to return to their own homes. Beth had blushed and Nick had given her a thumbs-up along with a wicked grin.

Today Suzy planned to go shopping for a special purchase even if it took her all day to hobble into the store. Beth would be appalled to be pulled into Victoria’s Secret, but she’d not be deterred. She was a woman on a mission and that was to get something special for tomorrow night. Maybe it was time she also helped Beth pick out a few things for herself. If there was one thing she knew, wearing sexy undergarments just made you feel sexy. It was like a powerful secret that you carried, or in this case, wore with you all day.

Nick had invited Claire and Jason over for a barbeque that evening and Beth said she was going to invite a girl from the office that she’d gotten to know. Suzy thought it sounded like a great evening, and it would have been perfect had Gray been there.

Beth came into the bedroom to help her shower and get dressed. They had gotten the hang of using the cast cover and the shower seat and after a few mishaps; they had it down to a science. Suzy used the chair that Gray had put in front of the vanity for her while she dried and styled her hair and put on her makeup. Beth stood beside of her doing her makeup as well. Soon they heard Nick yelling for them from the other room.

Suzy had come to adore Nick. He might tease, torment and heckle her unmercifully, but he was such a good guy. He and Beth had taken turns fixing dinner each evening and, just as Gray had indicated, he and Nick did truly know how to cook. Nick helped out around the house, ran errands and even kept the minivan so they could all travel in comfort. Suzy had to admit, he was a complete stud, as well. She could see why he had the reputation as a ladies’ man because women admired him everywhere they went. To his credit, other than a lazy grin here or there, he hadn’t gone out on a date nor had anyone over since he’d been staying with them. Someone like Nick was bound to have an active social life, but he seemed content to stay in with them each evening and watch a movie after dinner or just sit around and chat. She thought not for the first time that there was a lot more to Nick than she’d first imagined. She truly couldn’t understand why Beth seemed to loathe him so much.

As great as Nick was though, he didn’t make her heart beat fast when he entered a room or make her palms sweat or her thighs tremble when she heard his voice on the phone. He might be as gorgeous in looks as his brother, but for all of the attraction he held for her, he might as well be her brother, too. Gray turned her on more from thousands of miles away than his brother would have walking through the bedroom naked. It just wasn’t there for her.

~~~

Soon the three amigos, as Suzy had taken to calling them, arrived at Broadway at the Beach. This was a shopping area of Myrtle Beach that she really loved. Dozens of shops and restaurants were built around a lake, and large bridges at each end allowed you to cross to the shops on the other side of the lake. The development also contained a movie theater, putt-putt course and an aquarium. She and Beth often came here on the weekend to spend a day relaxing.

Nick had dropped them off at the curb so that she wouldn’t have to walk so far on her crutches. They stood at the railing that surrounded the lake laughing at all of the fish that bobbed their heads from the water hoping to be fed. Beth took mercy on them and walked over to one of the feed dispensers that were located around the lake. The fish were soon in a frenzy, fighting for the food Beth was tossing in. Nick walked up beside them laughing at a small fish that was determined to beat his bigger brothers and sisters to the rest of the snack.

As the last of the fish swam away, they all took off at a slow pace careful to give her plenty of time to maneuver her crutches on the walkway. When they reached Victoria’s Secret, Suzy turned to Nick with an amused look on her face. “So comrade, does the all for one and one for all thing still apply when we are underwear shopping or do you need to sit out front with those retired gentlemen over there?”

Nick threw back his head and laughed. “Honey, Victoria doesn’t have a secret left that I haven’t seen. I’ll not only accompany you ladies in, I’ll help you pick out some stuff if you like.”

Suzy saw Beth clench her teeth, clearly not impressed with Nick’s offer to help. Suzy, however, was amused and intended to see if there was anything the store had to offer that would embarrass him. She had to draw the line, however, at letting him help her pick anything out. Somehow it seemed really wrong to let Nick see what she was buying to wear for his brother.

Nick started off admiring the displays in the store and then led them over to a see their new selection of micro-thongs. He held up a small black pair to Beth, saying, “Hey princess, what’d you think? Maybe a nice push-up bra to match? You can look for your size in the bra and I can look in the thongs,” Nick offered helpfully. As Beth’s mouth opened and closed like a guppy fish, Suzy took her chance and left them to their argument in the underwear aisle while she moved on her crutches towards the other side of the store where the nighties were displayed.

She looked wistfully at the displays showing the bustier with garters and stockings. There was no way she could pull that off with a cast. After browsing for a few moments, she found what she was looking for. It was simple, yet oh so sexy. She held up a black lace baby-doll top that would tie in the center of her breasts while the sides fluttered open to reveal her stomach and matching G-string panties.

She was grateful to see that Nick and Beth had moved on from the underwear aisle so she could go back there and pick up a few new sets for herself. She cringed when she looked towards the back of the store and saw Nick holding up a red corset and Beth looking at him like he’d just grown horns. Those two were something else. She wondered how Gray had talked Jason into letting Nick be her babysitter while he was away. She knew that Nick worked at home a lot in the evenings and he was at the office as long as Beth was with her. Apparently Gray had been firm on Nick not traveling until he returned home.