Luck of the Draw (A Betting on Romance Novel Book 1) (36 page)

His eyes scanned her cleavage once more as if he hadn’t gotten enough information the first time, and his considerable barrel-chest puffed indignantly. “It’s clear this
—
event—
isn’t the kind of fundraiser we care to support.”  He turned to go then paused. “But if you could pack up a few of those little dessert puffs while we put our instruments away, that’d be great.”

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Larson, but I wouldn’t dream of keeping you any longer than necessary.”

He harrumphed and mumbled something about the influence of
Fifty Shades
on impressionable women and waddled back to his trumpet case.

Kate poured herself another mocktail from the drink fountain
—noticeably underutilized now that everyone had discovered dressing room #2—and sank onto a chair.

Rachel plopped down beside her. “Are we having fun yet?”

Kate gave a snort. She scooted her chair forward as a group of women burst into laughter behind them and took a sip of her drink. “So, has Doug heard about the job?”

“Yes! He got it!” Rachel flashed an ultra-wide smile. “Isn’t that great? It’s a real step up for him. For
us
, I mean.”

“Congratulations. That’s wonderful.”

“Oh, it is. It is!
Wonderful…
” She nodded vigorously. “First the baby, now his job... Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it’s true!” Rachel stabbed an olive with a toothpick, shoved it in her mouth and chewed rapidly.

“Sounds like everything is falling into place.”

“Just like I’ve always dreamed.”

Kate leaned forward and frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Okay? Of course! I’m fine. Just
fine
,” she insisted, her smile stiff and slightly manic. “Everything’s perfect!”

“It doesn’t look perfect.”

Rachel stabbed another olive with the toothpick, but when she looked at Kate again, her smile was gone, her eyes awash with tears. “Oh God, I can’t do this anymore.”

“The fashion show?”

Rachel shook her head, the tears starting to overspill. She looked around miserably then blinked at the ceiling. Swallowed. “I can’t do
this
. I can’t—” She began to fan herself with a limp hand, her chin starting to wobble.

Kate grabbed Rachel’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come on. You need some air.” She led Rachel toward the back of the shop, avoiding the crowded dressing rooms in favor of a rear door she hoped was a back entrance. It was a service hallway. It felt close and hot and smelled of moldy carpet but at least it was private.

Rachel didn’t seem to notice. She leaned against the wall, tears sliding down her face.

Kate rummaged in the pockets of the prairie skirt and produced a crumpled tissue. It looked clean, so she handed it over.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel mumbled through the tissue. “I’m doing it again. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately.”

“Hormones?”

Rachel smiled weakly and worried the tissue in her fingers. “I wish it were that simple.”

“Do you, ah, want me to get Grace?”

“
No!
” Rachel grabbed Kate’s arm and pulled her away from the door. “No. Please, don’t. You know how she is.” She waved her hand. “I don’t want to upset her. Especially tonight.”

“Of course. Do you want me to leave you... alone?”

Rachel shook her head.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head again.

“Okaaaay. We can just... wait here. Until you’re ready. No hurry.” She chewed her bottom lip and focused on a stain on the hallway carpet, trying not to notice the tissue dissolving into shreds in Rachel’s fingers.

“I don’t even know what’s wrong with me,” Rachel muttered. “It just feels like life has, I don’t know,
taken over
. Like everything I always wanted is coming true, but all at once. Doug has his new job, we have to find a place to live, I have to pack and move... Then there’s the baby...”

“I’m sure everything will work out.”

“How? How can you be sure? I think I’ve been wanting this for so long, or
thought
I wanted it, now that it’s happening...” She let her voice trail off.

Kate forced a reassuring smile. “It just sounds like jitters to me. Happens to everyone. It’s a lot to take in.”

Rachel stared down the hall vacantly. “It’s just... I know now a part of my life is over, you know? Unlike most of those women in there, I’ll never be that carefree swinging single again. I’ll be a.... a...
mother
!” she cried suddenly, weeping anew into her tissue.

“Hey. It’s okay. Being a mother isn’t so... bad.”

Okay, maybe not the world’s most ringing endorsement for motherhood, but she wasn’t prepared. And, hey, it wasn’t as if people became mothers for the glamour of it all! Sometimes it just... happened.

“I know. I know.” Rachel said, raising her head again. “I
want
to be a mother. I do! But, I feel like I’m finally getting everything I’ve always wanted, and… I don’t deserve it.” She ended on a whisper.

“That’s crazy. Of course you do. This is just the hormones talking.”

Rachel took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders a little. “Right. Hormones. Why else would I be bawling like this? I mean, we’ve tried to get pregnant for months. Doug is
so
excited.”

“It’s overwhelming sometimes even to get good news.”

Rachel nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. You’re right.” Then her face dropped to her hands. “Who am I kidding? It has nothing to do with hormones!”

Kate had a sinking, hot sensation in her gut. She tried not to glance at her watch. “What has nothing to do with hormones?”

Rachel stared at the floor. “
I saw him.”

Kate didn’t ask who. “When?”

“This afternoon.”

“Oh, Rachel...”

“I know! Why? Why would I do it? Why would I risk everything I’ve always wanted—a good husband, home,
family
... It was just coffee. Like he said.
Nothing
happened. We just talked.”

“
Just
talked?”

Rachel nodded. “I told him about how I was... expecting. He offered his congratulations, wished Doug luck in his new job. But I feel so guilty, Kate. We didn’t even talk about old times or anything about us. Or...” She hiccupped and looked away again. “God. What’s wrong with me? Why would I do this to Doug? He doesn’t deserve this!”

“Do you plan to see Je— this guy again?”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t even know what I was looking for, you know? I know what we had was nothing that would have lasted, but I can’t help
thinking
about it...” She raised red-rimmed eyes to Kate. “What if one of us slips? What if we make a mistake somewhere down the line? You have no idea the people who would be hurt by this if they knew...”

“Maybe if you tell Doug and get it out in the open
—”

“I couldn’t!”

“Okay. Then if this guy and you agree what happened is ancient history, maybe that’s it. It seems to me that can be the end of it.”

Rachel nodded. “Sure. Yeah.” She blotted her nose and gave a watery smile. “I’m sorry. To blubber all over you like that. Again.”

“Hey, cleaning up messes is my specialty.”

Rachel dabbed her eyes and pocketed the tissue. She took a cleansing breath. “I can’t believe how much I’m crying lately. I don’t remember it being like this when… Anyway, do I look okay?”

“You look fine. I wouldn’t know you’d been crying unless I’d been standing here with you.”

Rachel rested a grateful hand on Kate’s sleeve. “Thanks.”

“Last call for refreshments before we start the show!” Kate pushed open the door in time to hear Grace’s announcement. Grace stood at the microphone and caught Kate’s eye with a questioning, worried look, but Kate gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Just needed a little fresh air,” she said as she and Rachel made their way back to their seats.

Rachel picked up her plate. “I think I’ll get more of that antipasto before it’s gone. Food will do me good. And Kate?” Kate glanced up. “Thanks for being such a good friend.”

Kate smiled, nodded, as Rachel turned toward the refreshments table and everyone readied themselves for the fashion show.

A buzz of anticipation filled the air. Despite the illegal bar in the back room, the juice-soaked costume and a mediocre and morally-sensitive band, the evening seemed to be a success. It felt good to be out and amongst other women—real women she might actually have something in common with. She missed having girlfriends. Not that she
didn’t
have friends. She was friendly with lots of people. It just felt good to relax and not worry about whether she was making friends with the
right
people, was the thing.

Wait a minute. Had she just thought that? Where had that even come from?

Kate chewed her lip and grimaced. Stupid question. She knew exactly where that came from. The truth was, she’d never felt free to make friends simply because she
liked
someone. At first, it had been her mother who subtly implied certain acquaintances would be more beneficial—or not. Then it was Randy who monopolized her, left no room for anything but him and his needs.

How easily she’d given up her freedom to choose! How easily she’d given up herself. Was she really the world’s biggest doormat?

She didn’t have time to dwell on that depressing thought as a thumping bass beat filled the room. Someone turned on a disco ball, and the first ‘model’ strode down the runway to cheers, laughter and the flash of cell phone cameras.

Kate moved to the door to help Rachel check out those who wanted to pay for their purchases before the Naughty Nightie event, and Nana and Claire set out desserts.

Kate thanked a woman for her generous donation, and the next half hour flew by in a whirlwind as they commented on the various outfits and tallied and bagged purchases.

Suddenly the music changed again and a slinky striptease number filled the air. Grace stepped to the microphone wearing a red teddy, boa and bunny ears, looking impossibly chic for such a ridiculous ensemble. “Put away those cell phones, ladies, and get ready for our Naughty Nightie party! Whether you’re looking to kick back in uber-comfy organic all-cotton pj’s or wanting to add a little silk and spice to the bedroom, Belinda here has something for you! So grab a piece of paper and pencil from the basket that’s making the rounds, because we’re going to start with a little game. Let the fun begin!”

Nana leaned over to Kate. “I think that’s our cue to leave.”

“Leave? You can’t leave! What about the food, the car keys…the
keg?
”

“Oh, we ran out of that a while ago. It was only a little one. Anyway, don’t worry, I’ve got the boys lined up to taxi people home, Rachel will pack up the food, and as long as you lock up the cash in the safe before you leave, we’re done.” She yawned. “It’s past my bed time.”

Kate narrowed her eyes. “It’s not even nine o’clock.”

Just then someone cranked the music. The base beat thumped with Kate’s heart, as Belinda invited the women to write on their piece of paper the most unusual place they’d ever had sex.

Good God.
Kate’s face flamed above her bustier. “Can I come with you?”

K
ATE RESCUED A FEW MORE discarded nighties from the mess on the makeshift runway and hung them on the garment rack, feeling more than a little exhausted. Their Naughty-Nightie consultant for the evening, Belinda Seamans, was as cheerfully plastered as many of the other guests and had insisted Kate continue to try on assorted samples as she and Grace sipped sangria and giggled uproariously at their creations long after the majority of guests had gathered themselves to leave.

Not surprisingly, Jim chose that moment
—as Kate stood wearing a ridiculous ensemble consisting of the prairie skirt, a red Naughty Nightie merry widow bustier and Grace’s feather boa—to enter the shop.

His eyebrows shot toward his hairline.

Kate could feel her skin turning the color of the satin bustier Grace and Belinda had decided was the perfect replacement for the 1950’s torpedo top. “They sold my clothes,” she explained. “And I can’t find my shoes.”

“These things happen,” he said, his lips twitching. “Hey, Belinda. good party?”

Belinda smiled broadly, her short brown hair bobbing happily as she rolled her half-filled garment cart toward the door. “Fabulous! Absolutely... fabulous!” She frowned, raising on tiptoes to peer outside. “Is my Teddy here?”

“He’s in the parking lot.” Jim grabbed Belinda’s elbow as she stumbled briefly on her stout legs, then recovered. “Need help getting this outside?”

She waved him away with a cheerful hand and pushed her cart out the door. “All set!”