Tiny Dancer(Divine Creek Ranch 13)(108)

Bracing for her to change her attitude, since this was evidently the first she was hearing of it, Camilla nodded.

“Tell me, what was that like?”

Not the question she was expecting. She told Bridget a little about her years as an exotic dancer and smiled when Bridget understood, though obviously romanticized it to a certain extent.

“Well, that explains why you’re so graceful, and so…comfortable with yourself,” Bridget finally said as she dug into her pecan pie. “I could never dance my way out of a paper bag. So…have they proposed? You might as well tell me. No sense in keeping that a secret, really.”

“Yes, they have, and I said yes.”

“Which man?”

“Quinten.”

Bridget nodded knowingly. “His sister could never understand how he could beat her at Rock, Paper, Scissors if she just gave him a few rounds.”

Camilla’s jaw dropped. “How did you know?”

“Same way I knew with you. Quinten is a people watcher. He must’ve seen Ben’s tells.”

“I still can’t believe I decided which man I’ll marry based on three rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors.”

“Oh, goodness. Ben must be easy to read.”

Camilla laughed. “Not for me!” He must’ve been playing me that night we played strip poker, the horndog. He just wanted out of his clothes! She took another bite of her lemon meringue pie and said, “I’m going people-watching with you sometime.”

“Come visit me in Dallas, or go with me on a gambling cruise, and I’ll teach you everything I know.”

Camilla had a vision of Bridget eyeing her cards with her best poker face and giggled until her stomach muscles hurt. “I’d love it. Tell me something.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Growing up, did he have a lot of girlfriends?” She wanted to know if there was anyone else in his past like the woman who had hurt him so irrevocably in Dallas.

“Tons,” Bridget said without hesitation. “That boy hit about…age four and discovered women. All ages, didn’t matter. The little Don Juan adored every one of his female teachers, even the mean ones. He loved to dance, loved to talk, loved to date.” She rolled her eyes and giggled. “Our phone rang off the wall when he was in high school. He didn’t usually date the same girl very often, but he did get his heart broken a couple of times—over the usual stuff. One thing I will say for him, as much as he’s loved women all his life, he’s never embarrassed us or brought shame on our family. I’m everlastingly grateful for that. He’s also never been as serious about a woman as he seems to be about you. If he adores women, he worships you, my dear.”

“I love him very, very much. Ben, too.” Hot tears prickled in her eyes which she valiantly blinked away.

“Have you set a date?”

“I won’t have time to plan anything until after The Twisted Bull and Chantilly’s Steakhouse opens later this month. I’d love to just elope and go somewhere there is snow. I love wintertime, but our cold weather is pretty mild here.”

“Well, he’s a big boy. Make each other happy. Just so I get to babysit my grandchild occasionally.”

Camilla smiled, thinking she could do a lot worse for a mother-in-law than Bridget.





Chapter Twenty-Three




“I’ll miss them,” Camilla said Sunday night. They stood in the yard waving as Quinten’s parents left for the return journey home. Ben knew Quinten felt like he’d been run through the wringer, but he enjoyed being around them, seeing the way they interacted with each other so honestly. And, all kidding aside, they were a loving family, too. Ben liked that Quinten brought that life experience to their threesome.

Despite the “suitcase torture treatment,” Quinten looked a little sad to see them go, too.

“I know what we need to do,” Ben said, pausing until they both looked at him.

“What?”

“Experiment with the contents of the naughty cabinet and try out Camilla’s swing.” She squealed happily, and he tilted Camilla’s chin so he could look into her eyes. “Within limits, sugar. Your nausea still concerns me.”

They’d hung the hardware for the swing in the bedroom, and Ben had also installed another set out on the back deck.

Camilla grasped his hands, eager excitement in her eyes. “This time of the day, right after supper, it seems to ease up a bit. If it gets bad, I promise to let you know.”

Quinten said, “Not just that, baby. If you don’t have the energy, we don’t have to do anything but watch a little television before bed.”