Part 1: No Regrets(Divine Creek Ranch 2)(51)

She decided to go all out and surprise Eli now that she had more clothing options. It was time to climb out of the denim jeans rut and live a



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little. Kelly had talked her into a little black dress she had spotted earlier at Stigall’s, along with a rather expensive pair of strappy four-inch black high heels. Grace would definitely approve when she saw the outfit.

The dress reached to just above her knees and had a deep V neckline with a gathered bodice. Underneath, she wore the black satin plunging neckline bra and a black satin G-string, both courtesy of Grace Warner and her excellent taste in men and lingerie. Rachel slipped the strappy heels on, inspected herself in the mirror, and liked what she saw.

She rolled her hair and applied foundation and light eye makeup. Her coloring was dramatic enough, and all she needed was a little extra sparkle.

She was styling her wavy brown hair when the doorbell rang. She applied perfume and listened, smiling, as Kelly introduced herself. Rachel smiled at the fuss Grace made over meeting Kelly and admiring Matthew. Rachel emerged from the bedroom and made her way down the hall and watched them, hoping to gauge the effect she’d have on Eli in this outfit.

Grace’s eyes popped wide open at the sight of her, and Jack’s jaw dropped for a split second before he recovered himself. That was all she needed to know, and she smiled happily at them, hugging both. They chatted for a few minutes with Kelly while Rachel transferred the items she’d need that night to her evening bag, which had been one of the inexplicable things she’d grabbed in her mad last-minute dash through her apartment.

“Ready to go?” Grace’s eyes twinkled as she took in Rachel’s fresh new look.

“More than ready.” Rachel hugged Kelly and patted Matthew. Kelly had her pillow and a good book and was going to settle down for the night after she bathed the baby.

“You look stunning, Rachel!” Grace said as Jack walked them out to the SUV. “Doesn’t she, Jack?”

“Absolutely gorgeous,” he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. “I want to see Eli’s jaw hit the floor when he gets a look at you tonight.”

“You think he’ll react that strongly?”

“Oh, I don’t think, I know he will,” Jack said with feeling and reached for Grace’s hand. “You both are real stunners tonight. I love that pink on you, darlin’,” Jack murmured as he stroked Grace’s hand.

“I love that slinky, sexy dress, Grace. Pink is your best color.”



Her Gentle Giant, Part 1: No Regrets

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“Thank you, it’s very comfortable,” Grace said. As she turned to look at Rachel, she added, “The print is very camouflaging so no one can tell what I have on underneath it, or not.” She giggled and gave Jack a sideways glance as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. Rachel heard a small groan from the driver’s seat.

“Where is Adam tonight?”

Grace replied, “It’s his grandmother’s birthday today, and he wanted to take her out to eat.”

“Aw, that’s so nice of him. I’ll bet she loves all that attention.”

“She does.” Grace said, then giggled. “I think she was going to try and talk him into taking her to a movie afterward. She’s wants to go see the new Nicholas Cage movie.”

“But isn’t her eyesight failing?”

“Uh-huh, but she’s a big Nicholas Cage fan.”

“I see. You never know, huh?”

Rachel climbed from the cool SUV and stepped onto the still-hot asphalt of the parking lot. Jack walked them both up the sidewalk, one on each arm, and made a show of escorting them through the door of the club.

Ethan stood right in the entryway, blocking their progress. He had a big grin on his face as he looked his lovely bride over. Grace did a sassy turn for him then hugged him and gave him a long kiss. Once again, Rachel heard that barely audible groan from one of Grace’s men and knew there was more than met the eye in tonight’s outfit. She’d find out at a bathroom-buddy break. Grace was the owner of lots of delightfully wicked lingerie, and there was no telling what was under that dress.

With a hand resting on Grace’s hip, Ethan gave Rachel a friendly hug and said, “You look lovely tonight. Eli is going to have heart failure when he sees you in that pretty dress. I wanted to warn you. Dinah Cooper is here tonight and about as weirdly tenacious as she’s ever been. He’s doing his best, and I was about to step in myself when you walked in. Want me to peel her off of him, or would you like to do the honors?”

“Let me try first, but thank you for the thought. I trust Eli to not allow her to take liberties.”