“Don’t fuss yourself, man, I’m coming.” Scrambling to her feet, she hurried down to the kitchen door to find a burly man with a docket in his hand.
“I’ve got a delivery with instructions not to let you help me do the moving.” He held it out so she could see the writing on the delivery slip.
R.P. Cooper, bless the man, had sent her a bed.
Chapter 9
“He wouldn’t take no for an answer either, stubborn man.” Sassie shook her head and sipped her wine while the girls offered sympathetic sounds in all the right places. “But it’s the most beautiful old bed I’ve ever seen. It suits the house perfectly, too. You have to see it.”
“Hang on a minute.” Audrey, Riley’s sister, held out her hand, halting the conversation. “Riley sent you a bed so you could have sex—friendly, uncomplicated sex, mind you—and you’re good with that?” She frowned and took a quick sip of wine. “No, don’t answer. I’m not sure I really want to know, him being my brother and all, but in a perverse way, I can’t help myself.”
“Get over it, Audrey. This is fun.” Emily laughed at the face Audrey made. “Seriously, this is good stuff. How often have we all thought that it would be good for someone to get Riley good and proper?”
“True. It’s just weird talking about my brother and sex in the same conversation.” She pulled another face and everyone laughed. “Mind you, he probably needs someone to treat him like a sex toy for a change. It’s what he’s been doing to the girls in town for years, refusing to get caught. Like the guy couldn’t cope with a decent relationship.”
“What do you mean, get Riley good and proper? I’m not too sure I like where this conversation is going.” Sassie looked from one woman to another. It was great that they all took her into their group with no qualms at all, but was she doing the right thing sharing as much information as she had?
“Well, Riley’s the playboy of the family, always has been.” Lara smiled and gave her a wink. “The simple fact that he bought you a bed means he may be thinking of this arrangement of yours as something more than casual, if you get my drift.”
Over my dead body! “It’s just sex and that’s all it is. We both agreed on that.” She looked at Lara, Audrey, and Emily in turn, desperate to make them understand.
“Sex, who, and where is it?” A woman pulled out a chair at their table. She dropped her handbag on the back of the chair and brushed her wavy hair out of her face. Her blue eyes shone with interest behind black-rimmed glasses.
“Sassie, this is Bridgette. Bridgette, meet Sassie, who is having a fling with Riley.” Emily waved her hand in the air as she introduced them.
“Pleasure to meet you, Sassie.” Bridgette gave her a welcoming smile.
“The pleasure is mine.” She looked toward the door. “Are there many more of you coming tonight, or is this it? I was thinking I might have to keep the story to myself until everyone is present so you don’t get sick of hearing me talk.”
“Oh, have no fear of that. We could listen to that lovely lilting voice of yours for hours, especially when the words sex and Riley are involved.” Bridgette held her hand up to the barman and called out for a glass of white wine. “Tell me what I’ve missed out on, please. And yes, this is it for tonight’s group because Alice is on shift at the hospital.”
“Alice, she’s a nurse then?”
“She’s a midwife, actually, and a damned good one. You’ll love her, too. Such a ball of energy; don’t know how she does it with those two terrors of hers and no husband.” Audrey looked around the pub, casting her gaze over a couple of guys who walked in the door, dismissing them just as quick. “I love the kids to death, of course, but it would be nice if she could have someone at her back. She deserves it.”
“That she does, but back to you and the sex thing, Sassie. Tell Bridgette what’s going on.” Emily gave her a saucy smile.
“Are you sure this is what you want to talk about? I mean, I would’ve thought there were more interesting things happening in this town than me having sex under the stars with R.P. Cooper.”
“You don’t call him that, do you?” Audrey laughed and slapped her hand on the table, rattling the wineglasses.
“Yes, I do. Why wouldn’t I? It’s what’s on his business card, after all.” Sassie winked and took a sip of her wine. “I think it suits him just fine.”
“It actually does, come to think of it, but stop avoiding the obvious. Tell us what’s going on, and don’t leave anything out. We want to hear all the juicy details.”
“Well now, the first day he came to the house and told me I’d brought a heap of rubbish…” Sassie regaled the girls with the story of how she’d bought the house and her first encounter with the man of the moment.
“They can be rather underhanded sometimes, those Realtor places, you have to admit.” Audrey ran her finger over the edge of her glass, wiping away the condensation. “You did get a beautiful old house though.”
“Aye, that’s what I thought after I got over the shock of seeing her sitting there in all her glory. But R.P thinks she’s only worth ripping down, and he told me so in no uncertain terms too.”
Audrey snorted. “Arrogant bugger. He does like modern houses. You should see the apartments he’s building at present. All glass and open plan living. Probably too flashy for Cooper’s Crossing. I don’t think they fit in with the town’s country look at all.”
“Anyway, sparks flew and before you know what happened, he said he’d like to get to know me more. That’s when I said I only
