…
Charity pocketed her change and headed toward her sister. Her sister who was standing in front of a lingerie shop—staring at a rather racy bit of lacy naughtiness. Way to go, Filly. “I approve. You’d look good in that.”
Her sister jumped. Busted. She held out her soft pretzel, willing to share—a little.
“No, thank you.” Filly eyed her pretzel. “I thought you were going to the bathroom.”
“I did.” She grinned. “But these things smell so good. Now stop changing the subject. I bet Graham would be more than happy to play doctor with you in that getup.”
Felicity shook her head. “Charity.”
“What? Look at you getting all flustered and red. Why else would you be thinking about buying something like that?” Because, eventually, when they both woke up and realized how crazy they were about each other, her sister was going to rock Graham Murphy’s world. Or he was going to rock Filly’s. Either way—rocking of worlds was in their future.
“I was looking,” Filly argued. “Not buying.”
“Why does it have so many straps?” Charity asked, tilting her head. “Talk about impractical.” With a built-in push-up bra and intricate straps and hooks, sleeping was not its intent. It was meant to be worn—and removed. And, hopefully, the remover wouldn’t get trapped in all the intricate straps and hooks. “I’m not sure getting out of that would be…sexy. It’s sort of like a pretty bear trap. You might have to gnaw off a limb to get out of it.”
Felicity laughed. “Bear trap?”
Charity shrugged. “When in doubt, nakedness works. I’m not sure guys are as into this sort of stuff as we women think they are. Besides, something tells me Graham is just as hard up as you are, so this won’t be necessary.” Seeing Filly all sexified in something like this might just be too much for the good doctor.
“Would you stop.” Felicity was beyond flustered now. “Graham and I… That’s not going to happen.”
Charity loved her sister. She didn’t always understand her, but she loved her. Why Filly would choose to pass up an incredibly sweet and sexy man was beyond her. He ticked all the boxes. Single. Employed. Devoted. Handsome. And, as Di had pointed out, wealthy to boot. Unless her sister had found the perfect man, there was no excuse for not jumping on Graham Murphy. Immediately. Like, drive back to Pecan Valley and tackle him now.
Then it happened. A horrible thought. She said it wasn’t going to happen with Graham… Was there someone else? “Wait. No, please don’t tell me you’re thinking about Rob, white-teeth-lawyer guy. You’re not, are you?” She winced. “Hold my pretzel; I feel nauseous.” She was only partly kidding.
Felicity rolled her eyes. “Oh, stop. He’s not unattractive.”
“Felicity, please tell me you’re joking.” Charity squished her pretzel and stared at her sister in horror.
“I’m not joking.” She paused, lowering her voice. “Rob Klein is attractive.”
Charity couldn’t care less what the moms with school-age kids who were already wishing summer was over thought or what the elderly power walkers overheard. As for the teens staring mindlessly at their phones—they wouldn’t care. But she did. Her sister could not wind up with Rob Klein. She couldn’t. He wasn’t any better than Matt had been. His ridiculous teeth made him highly suspect.
“But no, I’m not interested in him—not to date or anything else.” With a final look at the nightgown, Filly hooked arms with her and added, “I’m not planning on sleeping with anyone. So let’s change the subject.”
She could breathe again—and mourn the mangling of her pretzel. “Why? What is stopping you? I know this may come as a shock to you, but I know you’ve had sex. And, if I recall, you enjoyed sex. Because you told me you did. So why would you give it up?” Charity dodged a stroller. “I mean, there will be no judging if you decide to seduce the good doctor.”
Filly was chewing on the inside of her bottom lip.
“Spill,” Charity pushed. “Come on, Filly. No secrets. I mean it about no judgment—you know that. I get that it must be hard to be attracted to someone who’s not your husband—sort of. In theory anyway. But it’s totally normal. You shouldn’t feel weird about it.”
“But I do. It’s not like I haven’t dreamed about it.” Filly’s whisper was almost funny. Almost. “Not that I can control my dreams—they just happen.”
Charity nodded. “But those dreams have got you thinking?”
“But dreaming about something and doing it are very different things. And—” She broke off, looking around them. “I’ve never seduced someone. Ever. I mean, Matt’s the only man who’s ever seen me naked.”
Charity wasn’t sure what to say. Her poor sister’s sex life consisted of Matt “Dickwad” Buchanan. She’d never pegged the guy as incredibly imaginative, so how great could Filly’s experience be? “Then you should give it a try. Maybe it’s your calling. I can think of a man who would probably be more than willing to see you naked. And to let you seduce him.” The look on her sister’s face had her dialing it back. “And it would be wrong to try because…?”
Felicity shook her head. “We’re not talking about this anymore.”
Because her big sister was freaking out. Over sex and lingerie and Graham and all the things that should be fun—not stressful.
“What do you want to talk about?” Charity asked.
“Baby stuff.” Felicity sighed. “We’re here. There’s a maternity store.”