Summer's Indiscretion (7 page)

* * * *

Kemp didn’t move a muscle as he sat there staring at Summer like a sap. Even with the lotion painted all over her face she was undeniably gorgeous. A few minutes before, she’d snuggled closer to him in her sleep and made a happy little sound. Ace had grinned at him and gone back to watching the movie.

She looks like a little angel sleeping. I hate to wake her.

Summer was a “put-together” kind of woman. She dressed nicely and seemed to enjoy taking care of herself and looking her best. It must have been especially hard for her to let them see her like this
.
He appreciated the stretch that it must have been for her as he enjoyed the feel of her warm, sexy body curled up in his arms.

Rather than disturb her, he would have sat there holding her all night. Ace had angled toward her on the couch, and her calves were now draped over his lap. They’d both been very careful not to aggravate the areas where the rash was visible on her legs. He remembered the feel of her silky skin under his fingertips as his hand had traced around her ankle and up her calf. The visual reminder was there as well.

The movie ended, and Ace reached for the remote when the credits began to roll. The music stopped, and Summer stirred in his arms.

“Wow. I fell asleep.” She looked up at him and smiled as she gave a little stretch, and his heart thudded in his chest at the faint tremble he felt run through her. “Did you like the movie?”

“Sure,” he said as she sat up a bit.
But not nearly as much as I enjoyed sitting with you curled up in my lap like a kitten.
“I was just wondering if I should carry you to your bed and tuck you in.”

She must have liked that notion because it brought a big smile to her sweet lips. Her sleepy eyes made him wish that he could put her to bed and then climb in after her.

Ace said, “We should probably put you to bed, kitten. You need your rest.”

Kemp helped her to rise and suppressed the need inside him as he watched her stretch her arms over her head. Clearly she had no idea how she turned him on. Otherwise she wouldn’t torture him like that. Her back arched, and her breasts were tilted up like a sexy offering to his lips. His enlarging cock made it difficult to stand, but he managed somehow.

Ace went to her first and gave her a gentle good-night kiss on her lips, and she smiled up at him and hugged him carefully. She was worried about getting the dried lotion all over them, but Kemp thought he’d let her rub all over him if that’s what she wanted to do.

Turning to Kemp, she said, “I was kind of worried about you both seeing me like this. It’s embarrassing. But I am glad you came over tonight. I enjoyed it.”

Kemp replied, “I wish you wouldn’t worry about that. I think you’re beautiful no matter whether you’re dressed to the nines or casual like this. I’m glad I got to see you.”

“Same here, kitten,” Ace said as he turned off the television and the other components.

She walked them to the door and bid them good-night. They’d come in separate vehicles, so Kemp’s thoughts occupied him on the drive home.

The sense of comfort and familiarity they’d enjoyed that evening came to his mind. If she wasn’t completely comfortable with them there was no way she would have fallen asleep in his arms like that. When she’d paused while explaining where the rash hurt the most and he’d filled in the blanks for her, her expressive hazel eyes had spoken volumes to him of how she felt. Desire had been plain in her gaze and the way her breathing had quickened.

Honestly, he was still shocked that she wasn’t furious with him for exposing her to poison oak the way he had. She certainly had the right but hadn’t taken advantage of it. Instead she’d curled up with him and Ace and had given them her company for the evening. He’d planned to send her roses and chocolates all week but felt that she was the one truly giving the gift.

* * * *

Thursday morning, Summer sighed with pleasure as she closed her front door after receiving the latest delivery from Merritt’s Florist.

Today, she was feeling remarkably better as she placed the cheerful arrangement of yellow roses next to the other three. So far, Kemp had sent red roses, white roses, and fiery, multihued orange roses, then today’s yellow roses, along with enough chocolate each day to put a small country in a sugar coma. Today’s chocolates were her favorites, mint truffles.

She opened the card and read his handwritten message.

You were in my dreams last night and I woke up this morning missing you like crazy, darling. Feel better for me.

—Kemp

PS, Ace sends his love.

Over the last few days, they’d called at night to chat when they had time, and she felt like she knew them better every day. She also felt a little better with each passing day.

Margot had gotten home from Dallas that Thursday morning and had been both dismayed by Summer’s predicament as well as slightly amused by it. She’d shown up at Summer’s door, had taken one look at her splotchy, calamine-painted face, and hugged her. “Aww! You poor baby!”

Margot had looked as pretty as ever, dressed and ready for her work day, her lustrous brown hair around her shoulders and down her back. The only resemblance between them was in their figures and their voices. People had often commented that they sounded alike.

As Summer had dished some of the ice cream Ace had brought for both of them, she’d said, “This is just par for the course. I may not have attracted assholes or freaks this time, but I definitely don’t consider myself lucky in love right now.”

Margot had widened her green eyes at Summer’s use of the L-word. “Lucky in
love
? Wait, did I miss something? I was only gone for a few days, damn it.”

Summer had smiled and slid the spoon between her lips. After the bite was gone she’d replied, “A lot can happen in a weekend.”

“Tell me first how you were exposed to poison oak.”

Summer had pointed to the wildflower bouquet on the kitchen counter.

“But you know better than to go picking wildflowers next door.”

“Sure I do, but Kemp didn’t. He was trying to do something sweet for me.” She’d told her the whole tale, and Margot’s eyes had gotten bigger and bigger. Margot was by no means a prude, and polyamorous relationships were common knowledge among the women of Discretion.

Margot said, “Well, this leaves me at a disadvantage. Besides Rachel, who, bless her heart, has enough man for two men, I’m the only one without multiple men seeing to her every whim. Do they have brothers or cousins, maybe? Mom and Dad are going to have a conniption when word gets back to them about this.”

“They’ve approved of very little you and I have done in the last few years. This won’t be any different. They’ll come by the shop, pitch a fit, and then go back to their busy social lives.”

“So what are your Romeos’ names?”

“Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier, our security and investigation specialists. Grace sort of introduced us this weekend.” Summer had gotten up and moved slowly with her empty bowl to the sink and then returned, sitting carefully. Margot hadn’t failed to notice, judging by the way she’d watched her.

Summer felt her cheeks get hotter as her eagle-eyed sister had asked, “Exactly how did you get the poison oak on you? And where all do you have it?”

“If you must know, I got it from Kemp, and it’s
everywhere
.”

Margot’s eyes had become as round as saucers. “
Everywhere?
Poor baby!”

Summer filled Margot in with the rest of the sordid details because there was very little that they didn’t share with one another. Later on that evening, Margot had stopped by again with a box of oatmeal bath for her.

Soaking in the oatmeal bath that morning had helped her symptoms below the waist. Once she felt like moving around, Summer used the forced time off to declutter her home in preparation for the eventual move. She also worked on future promotions and projects for the store. Rachel was doing a great job with the website, and it was becoming more popular, judging by the sales and number of visits.

Sitting gingerly at her dining room table, Summer turned on her laptop and opened her e-mail. She bit her lip when a Google Alert popped up. Rachel had suggested setting them up for her name and the name of the store. The ones Rachel had set up for their names and pseudonyms had turned up the defamatory, anonymous blog, Divine Morality, which made mention of the girls by name in very unflattering terms.

Summer groaned when she saw the web address and clicked on the link. She scrunched up her eyes, dreading what she was going to see when Divine Morality’s blog site came up on the screen.

At the top of the article was a photograph of Summer squeezed tight between Kemp and Ace on the front steps of Discretion. Her lips were parted and her head was tilted back against Ace’s shoulder, one hand on Kemp’s chest and the other with her fingers threaded through Ace’s short black hair. It was a lovely, intimate moment between the three of them, made sordid by the article beneath it.

“…as you can plainly see, Summer Heston, owner of Discretion in Morehead, is every bit as guilty of immoral behavior. We shouldn’t be surprised to see this kind of activity on the front steps of her sinful establishment. Clearly, her joining forces with Grace Warner and Teresa Martinez only strengthens the stronghold they have in that part of our community. Along with their close friend, Rosemary Garner, they continue in leading the eligible bachelors and other women of this community astray. If that so-called ‘boutique’ was erased off the face of the earth, not many would shed a tear. The infestation continues to grow and something has to be done about it…”

It was par for the course with the rest of the ugly, insulting blog posts, and Summer gritted her teeth, thinking of how much it would hurt Teresa to see her name used in such an inflammatory article. Summer had expected some negative public opinion when they started their business. Grace and Rachel were a lot tougher because of dealing with book reviews and critics. Teresa avoided the computer and going to town alone altogether. Summer sincerely hoped that Ace and Kemp would have luck this weekend finding a connection.

She called Ace’s cell phone, and he picked up on the second ring.

“Hello, kitten.” His husky voice resonated through her, and her heart galloped at the sexy promise in his tone.

Her voice caught in her throat as she greeted him. “H–Hi.”

“What’s up?”

She explained what she was looking at and gave him time to pull up the website on his phone. After a few moments he growled. “That explains what that pair of binoculars was doing on the other side of the fence. They must’ve been busy shooting photos and accidentally left the binoculars behind. In all honesty, it’s a beautiful image, but not one I wanted shared on the Internet.”

“I feel the same way.”

“Wait. Did you see the comments beneath the article?”

Summer returned to her laptop and hit the refresh icon. Multiple comments popped up, most of them anonymous.

“…I used to enjoy your blog but I know one of these ladies and she’s nothing like you paint her here. You should stop this mudslinging…”

“…I wish you sanctimonious hypocrites would get a life…”

“…As long as they aren’t hurting anybody and it’s all consensual, it’s none of your business or mine. Frankly, I love shopping at Discretion. Maybe if you shopped there and spiced up your love life a little you wouldn’t be up in the air harping all the time…”

A comment from ASheridan1334 said,
“Just my humble opinion but I think we’ve gotten off base here. See you in Bible study.”

“Bingo,” Ace said. “Kitten, thanks for calling me and letting me know about this. We’ve been watching the comments hoping for a clue or connection.”

“I’ll let you go work your PI magic.”

“Things have been quiet at the shop, at least security-wise. Business appears to be booming. I think that blog may have had an unintended benefit for your business. Kitten?”

“Hmm?”

“That bed upstairs sure is lonesome. I miss you.”

Summer smiled, remembering what Rachel had told her midweek about Ace having a king-size bed delivered to the shop the morning after their movie night.

“I miss you, too. I feel better. I may come in for a bit on Friday or Saturday. The swelling has gone down.” She was grateful, too. Today was the first day she could walk without pain. The rash was going to take longer, but she could deal with it.

“Think you’ll be able to come to The Dancing Pony Saturday night?”

“Maybe. I haven’t decided.” She hoped it didn’t make her sound vain to be so hung up on her appearance, but she wanted to be at her best for them. “I hate to ask, but given that I’m the subject of this week’s blog, wouldn’t it be better for me to sit with Grace Saturday night?”

“Kemp mentioned that this morning. As much as I don’t like it, you’ve made a good point. If you sit with her it should seem like any normal night out. It would be better if we were able to observe without being observed ourselves. Do you mind?”

Summer sighed.
Yes! I mind very much!
“No. I understand.” She didn’t want the person video-recording to catch on to the fact that they were being observed. That didn’t mean she was happy about sitting apart from Ace and Kemp after spending a week away from them. Feeling her sense of humor returning, she added, “You don’t suppose they’d e-mail me a copy of this hot picture, do you?”

Ace laughed and said, “When I sit down to have a talk with the person behind all of this, I’ll make sure and ask.”

Summer almost felt sorry for that individual.