Real Women Don't Wear Size 2 (21 page)

“You had a good time?” Clarise asked, glad Jesilyn was no longer “protecting” her. She probably didn’t weigh one-twenty, but Clarise would guess the majority was pure muscle.

“I’ve never seen anything so romantic in my life.”

“And what about Andre?”

“Andre,” Jesilyn repeated, her voice dreamy and her dimples dipping inward. “Man, he’s got romance down to an art. I mean, wow! He lives here, you know, in Tampa.”

Clarise listened intently. Seemed that Gasparilla had sparked all kinds of sexual energy in their small group. “Are you seeing him again?”

“We’re going to one of the parades this afternoon. The innkeeper invited all of the wedding guests to watch from the front porch,” Jesilyn answered, as they quickly met up with the remainder of the Eubanks group.

Clarise couldn’t help staring at Ethan as he and Robin Kennedy spoke with a tall gentleman in a Tampa Convention Center shirt. Ethan’s sandy hair was more wavy than usual, probably because he hadn’t taken time to dry it after their shower.
Their shower.
She sure liked the sound of that, not to mention the memory of his mouth on her . . .

“So, how about this afternoon?” Jake said, the warmth of his words feathering against her ear.

Clarise gasped. She’d been so intent on watching Ethan that she hadn’t even noticed Jake approaching. “What?”

He chuckled, low and deep. “It’s me, Clarise, no need to be so edgy.” Pushing her hair behind her ear, he repeated, “I asked if you’d like to hit one of the parades with me. And for the record, I’m still smarting from your rejection yesterday. You won’t let me down again, will you?”

A week ago, she’d have been thrilled to be on the receiving end of Jake’s invitation, and the suggestive tone behind it, but that was last week. More importantly, that was before last night. And this morning. She forced a friendly laugh. “Don’t even pretend that you didn’t go out and find some other female to walk the beach with you, Jake.”

He grinned, showing straight white teeth and a smile that would have melted her into a puddle. Last week. “No one as intriguing as you. So how about it? Want to head to a parade later?”

“I would,” she said, fighting the urge to glance at Ethan as she answered. She sure didn’t want to let Jake, and the remainder of the group, in on their personal activities. “But I’ve made plans.”

Jake’s look of surprise caught her off guard. She’d been so certain he was doing his typical tease Clarise thing, where he wasn’t really asking her out. Sure, he might have taken her to the parade, but had he really wanted more than friendly companionship? She’d suspected yesterday’s invitation to walk the beach meant something, but she wasn’t sure until now. Because, like he said earlier, he looked like a guy who’d been rejected . . . by Clarise. He blinked a couple of times, hazel eyes in a forest of brown lashes, then ran his hand through his dark waves and quickly regrouped. “Change your plans. We’ll have a good time.” He raised his brows a notch, not much, but enough that Clarise knew she hadn’t imagined the confident, cocky command, or the suggestive nature in his tone.

Jesilyn, standing slightly behind him, mouthed, “Go for it.” If she only knew, Clarise
was
going for it. With Ethan.

“I really can’t change them now,” Clarise said, and this time, she did sneak a glance at Ethan, still standing by Robin and talking to the tall man who she assumed to be the caterer.

Jake’s mouth twitched. “You hooked up with someone else? Is that it, Clarise?” He smiled at the end of the question, as though he were joking, but Jesilyn’s wide eyes said Clarise wasn’t the only one who heard the disappointment in Jake’s tone. He cleared his throat, lowered his voice a notch, and added, “Look, everyone has a little fun down here.” He indicated Ethan, who had turned toward them and smiled.

Clarise’s chest tightened. That smile might have been toward all of them, but it sure seemed geared specifically for her. Have mercy, she couldn’t wait for the luncheon to end. She remembered so clearly the way those turquoise eyes turned stormy navy when he was aroused, and she wanted to see them that way again, dark, stormy and dangerous.

Pointing to an item on the menu, Robin tapped Ethan’s shoulder to regain his attention. His chest lifted with what appeared to be a heavy sigh, then he looked at the menu and nodded.

“Looks like I was right,” Jake said to Miles, standing nearby with his arm still draped possessively around Rachel.

“Right about what?” Rachel asked, tilting her head to peer up at Miles. She was no more than five-two, so his six feet practically towered above her. Clarise looked back at Ethan. How tall was he, anyway? His mouth came to her forehead when they stood side by side, and since she was five-six, that’d put him at—what?—six-one maybe? Six-one and five-six; was that a good combination for snuggling? For more than snuggling? She breathed deeply at the image and almost didn’t hear Jake’s response.

“I bet Miles a hundred that the boss would appear before the trip ended,” Jake said. “Especially when his dutiful store manager offered to oversee the show. You can pay me now,” he said. Grumbling as he shook his head, Miles fished a few bills out of his pocket and slapped them into Jake’s hand. Jake counted the twenties, nodded, then smiled like a thief when he pocketed the money.

Jesilyn turned to look at Ethan and Robin, both smiling as they spoke with the caterer. “What are you saying, Jake?”

“Just that Ethan comes down here for more than ‘corporate’ bonding,” Jake informed, his voice lowered even more in spite of the loud music. “And as Miles and I learned last year, his favorite Gasparilla color is red.” He smirked, eyeing Robin, currently holding her long strawberry hair back with one hand while she leaned over the table to snatch a roll. Her thin pink tank dress dipped with the action and flashed the top curves of her perky breasts. She looked at Jake, smiled and straightened. Then she took a bite of the roll and nodded approvingly toward Ethan and the caterer while she chewed.

“He’s not seeing Robin,” Clarise intervened. That had been the rumor around Christmas, but Ethan had confirmed to Clarise that the gossip was false. He’d never dated Robin. As a matter of fact, he was dating some other female at the time. Clarise couldn’t recall the name, because it didn’t matter. Particularly now, because now he wanted Clarise. Case closed. She frowned. Was this really just a temporary romp or could it be more? Then she took a deep breath, blew it out, and told herself to stop being a ninny. She was going to have sex with Ethan today and nothing—nothing—was going to mess with her excitement over that. Not even wondering whether the first time would also be the last.

“Robin is dating that reporter at the
Birmingham News,
guys,” Rachel informed. “She and Ethan are not seeing each other; besides, Clarise would know if they were. He tells her everything.”

“The boss’s pet,” Jake said jokingly, and Clarise chose not to comment. Then he clarified, “I didn’t say he was ‘seeing’ her. I said that both of them are down here to have fun, and I bet they have it together.” He shrugged, looked at Clarise. “I’m thinking everyone should have a little fun at the Pirate Festival. Don’t you?”

“What he does is his business,” Clarise said.
And what he does with me is ours.

“That’s my point,” Jake said. “He’s having fun, and I’m sure he plans on all of us having fun too.” He stepped forward and took Clarise’s hand. “We should have some,” he said, then paused and tipped one corner of his mouth upward in a sexy, suggestive look that Clarise bet he practiced in the mirror, “fun, that is,” he finished.

“It’s time to get started.” Ethan’s voice dominated the room, in spite of the blaring music. Clarise turned to find him standing merely feet away and focused on the way Jake’s hand covered her own. She wiggled hers free and stared at those blue eyes again, dark and stormy, but with a different turbulence than this morning. This time they were fiery, intent, and determined. Her feminine core quivered. He was boldly and powerfully male, and he was staking his claim. Heaven help her, he was hers . . . for now. As if he knew her very thoughts, he turned those turbulent eyes from her hand to her face. She thought she should say something clever, or at the bare minimum, blink; but she couldn’t do either, so in preparation for conversation, she licked her lips. Those blue eyes watched her action and seemed to instantly turn from fiery to steamy. “It’s time to get started,” he repeated.

She managed to nod. “Yes, it is,” she agreed, knowing Ethan’s statement had nothing to do with the luncheon and everything to do with her fantasies.

Chapter 14

E
than thought the luncheon would never end. In fact, he wasn’t sure it had, since he handed the reins over to Robin the minute the group decided to move outside to get a close-up view of the
Jose Gasparilla
and the elaborately dressed pirates. Blessedly, Robin Kennedy was more than capable of running the show. Clarise had stated that she didn’t want to draw attention to their newfound interest in one another beyond friendship, but damned if he didn’t draw a hell of a lot of attention when he reacted to Riley making the moves. It was all he could do not to pummel one of his best employees—and one of Clarise’s friends. Ethan wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t caught on to the way Jake looked at her in her new, sexy ensemble of a short skirt, fitted blouse and boots, but Ethan sure caught on. The guy wanted Clarise, and Jake wasn’t known for his bedside manner. He was a love them, leave them and carve another notch in his bedpost kind of guy. In other words, he wasn’t nearly the right man to help Clarise accomplish the items on her list. She deserved someone who would give her the sexual fulfillment she dreamed of, but who also cared about her and wouldn’t hurt her in the process. A friend and a lover. Besides, she’d admitted she wanted her dream lover to look like Ethan, act like Ethan. Damned if that didn’t make his chest swell, along with another part of his anatomy.

He drove the rental car down Bayshore in search of a parking space close enough to the next parade to be accessible by walking, but also near enough to his final destination point to provide the element of surprise. After the parade, he’d fulfill another of Clarise Robinson’s fantasies. Granted, he hadn’t planned on their first physical union to take place under the bleachers at a football stadium, but what a way to make a memory. And the fact was, he’d never had “bleacher sex,” as Clarise had called it on her list. He looked at the woman in the passenger seat. Before this week, he’d have sworn he knew her better than most people, even her eccentric grandmother and rowdy sister, but she’d certainly shown him another layer of her many facets last night, then yet another this morning. He’d never wanted to please a woman more than he wanted to please Clarise, never wanted to make a woman feel more desired, because she
was
desirable, whether she realized it or not. He’d started showing her that in the shower this morning. Evidently, his attempt worked. She’d looked
different
when she arrived at the luncheon. Confident, and extremely sexy. It was a very nice look on Clarise, and Ethan felt another swell of pride knowing he’d given it to her.

She rolled her window down and pointed her face into the air, while the breeze whipped her brown ponytail around to whack against her cheek. She squinted at the silky whip’s attack but giggled just the same. Damn, she was cute. Particularly now, wearing a plain white blouse, khaki skirt and tennis shoes. It wasn’t her first choice of clothing when they’d gone back to the room to get ready for the parade. Oh no, her first choice was a lime green skintight sweater dress and strappy sandals, not very convenient for parades, unless you’re a single woman attempting to pick up a man, which, Ethan realized, had been her goal when she’d packed. Thank goodness she brought a couple of outfits befitting the parades outside the main invasion, like the one they’d attend this afternoon, a parade geared for families. Ethan had been thrilled to see that there were a few casual ensembles in her wardrobe. Maybe she hadn’t been certain that the new look would mesh well with her usually reserved yet classy style, but it did—very well, in fact. However, Ethan didn’t want her under any assumptions that the sexy clothing was the only thing she had going. Regardless of his store’s claim that “clothing makes the woman,” Ethan knew better, particularly when it came to sensuality. It isn’t the clothes that are appealing; it’s the woman inside. And sensuality radiated from Clarise.

Ethan grinned. After he’d seen every intimate part of her, had tasted it in fact, she’d still been timid about dressing in front of him. Shuffled in the bathroom and donned the lime green getup, then shuffled right back when he’d reminded her they were attending the “family” parade. He admitted the green had been sexy as hell and played off those big doe eyes and silky brown hair, plus the way the sweater fabric clung to every delicious curve brought him to full attention. But the thought of bleacher sex with her in the sweet outfit, with her ponytail and tennis shoes, well, that worked too.

They stopped at the end of the parade traffic line. Looking out his window, he inhaled humid Tampa air, filled with scents of spicy seasonings and strong alcohol. Numerous homes on the outskirts of the parade route had open garage doors and sported large gatherings of friends huddled around big tables and chowing down on plates piled high with food. Ethan concentrated on the scene and tried to take his focus off the woman merely inches away. He needed to get his aroused state under control if he planned to stand beside her during the parade and watch her go for beads. Shirts stayed on at these parades, but he still suspected Clarise Robinson could flaunt her stuff, covered or not. She embodied sexuality. Ethan wasn’t sure how he’d missed it during the past three years. He’d caught a glimpse at the Christmas party, but right now, the flame was undeniable, even when she was enthralled with the carnival atmosphere surrounding their car.

Clowns with big balloons shaped like pirate ships stood on each street corner. Black-and-gold-striped booths advertising souvenirs and ice cream dotted the sidewalks. Clarise squealed like a child as she took it all in. “Ooh, they’ve got cotton candy,” she said. “Let’s make sure to get some at the parade.”