LLucy’s Revenge(Divine Creek Ranch 15)(88)

Lucy turned from side to side, looking at her reflection, doing her best to see the assets and not just the defects. She liked what she saw. Liked her body the way it was. A couple of months of striptease classes had toned her abs and legs and she was grateful all over again to Camilla. She’d also done as Camilla suggested and tried to spend at least one night a week at home alone, sans clothes, enjoying her own company. That had helped, too.

Her gaze flicked up to her face and she saw the part that she valued the most. Her smile. It was the genuine, confident smile of a woman who knew her worth. Her men had met her halfway, teaching her to value herself. She had to give them credit, too.

Movement in the mirror’s reflection drew her gaze, and Lucy saw the petite, curvaceous brunette who was standing across the store with Summer, gaping at Lucy. She braced herself, hoping this wasn’t one of Tabitha Lester’s buddies. Maybe she’d heard Teresa’s comment regarding Beck and Patrick and she was shocked. The woman was definitely staring but she didn’t seem to have hostile intent.

Look at me, searching for trouble where none exists. She gave the woman as slight smile in the mirror’s reflection and the woman said, “If those men of yours don’t start to pant with their tongues hanging out when they see you in that, you need to kick them six ways from Sunday.”

“Amen,” Summer replied, winking at her. “Lucy, do Beck and Patrick know that you plan to wear that to the ROT Rally?”

“What’s a ROT Rally?” the woman asked.

“Republic of Texas Bike Rally in Austin, in June,” Summer explained and then turned back to Lucy. “I know how territorial those guys have been with you lately and I want to be there when you tell them you’re wearing that to a gigantic bike rally filled with hot guys on Harleys.”

Great, she must’ve heard about Beck and Patrick getting all territorial when they’d been introduced to Ransome Cross and Val Teller. Like I’d ever want anyone else.

Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes, thinking they’d get over it. “If they don’t like it, they can kiss every lily-white inch of my ass.”

The woman stepped a little closer, and Lucy could see that her curiosity was innocent. She didn’t look familiar at all. The woman said, “I think you’re very brave.”

That wasn’t a quality she would’ve attributed to herself until lately. She wondered what it was the stranger saw that made her so sure of that.

“Lucy, this is Emily Anne Bancroft. Emily Anne, Lucy Carter, and my assistant, Teresa Martinez.”

Emily Anne greeted Teresa and then turned to Lucy with a questioning gaze. “Carter? Are you related to Seth Carter?”

If this is another woman coming out of the woodwork, Seth is so dead.

“I’m his sister. Do you know Seth?” Please don’t say you’re the mother of his lovechild.

Emily Anne shook her head, causing her cute, bobbed haircut to swing against her jaw with her movement. “Only by reputation. I’ve heard he’s an excellent tattoo artist. A friend of mine was a client of his. Rebecca Jessop.”

“Oh, yes, I know Rebecca. In fact, I brought her in here a couple of months back.”

Lucy and Rebecca had gotten to know each other while Seth had done her tattoo. The subject of great shops in the area had come up and Lucy had mentioned Discretion. Rebecca had been so intrigued, Lucy had offered to take her out there and introduce her to Summer and the girls. It’d been a fun afternoon.

The woman seemed a little uncertain of herself, which Lucy could relate to, so she looked away, reached in the top of the corset and adjusted the girls a bit. “And how do you know her? Rebecca Jessop? Are you from the same town?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’re both from Lusty. Actually I’m from Comanche but Rebecca was born in Lusty. At least I think she was. We’ve only recently met since I moved to Lusty.” The woman stopped talking and Lucy had the distinct impression she made her nervous.

Wait. She only recently moved to Lusty? She turned to Emily Anne, intent on asking her if she knew Chloe Rhodes but stopped herself because she wasn’t imagining the intimidated look in Emily Anne’s eyes. I wonder what I’m doing that makes her so nervous? Grilling her for dirt on someone she may well be friends with probably isn’t a good idea.

Coming back to her reason for being in Discretion, Lucy smoothed her hand down the front of the leather halter corset and skirt. Like the skirt, it had two rows of crisscrossing drawstrings that ran down the front, below her bust line, that showed a lot of skin. Patrick and Beck were going to flip, which was both positive and negative. It would still be worth it to see the looks on their faces though. “So you think this is drool worthy?”