“Uh, not to seem skeptical about your business, sis, but wouldn’t that be because of their owner’s voice?” Tess turned to lean her back against the counter and crossed one long leg over the other. “And what about breathing through your nose? Wouldn’t those pheromones be blasting out then?”
Kaylie shook her head. “You can speak soft enough or in a certain tone that the animal might not hear and breathing through your nose doesn’t have the same impact as through your mouth. For one, it’s a bigger orifice.” She looked pointedly at Jackie who just shoved a huge chunk of cake past her lips. Undaunted, the doctor made yummy sounds around a full mouth. “And two, it’s a direct and moist link to the inside of your body.”
Willow set her empty plate on the counter, wondering how they’d gone from Kaylie’s husband to dogs. “But men aren’t dogs.”
Kaylie’s gaze flickered from Jackie and Tess to Willow. “Uh, no. But some men are really sensitive to scent.”
“And act like dogs when it comes to another warm, pheromone-acute area of the body.” Jackie snickered.
At Willow’s blank stare Tess laughed out loud. “Your groin, honey. What do dogs do in greeting? They stick their noses in your groin. If men could get away with it, you better believe they’d do the same to just about every female they came across.”
Willow’s face turned pink in shocked embarrassment and then, when the imagine of Ben nosing her between her thighs popped up into her mind, the flush darkened with carnal interest.
Kaylie and Jackie’s laughter abruptly cut off when Ruth reentered the kitchen. “What are you girls giggling about?”
The eyes of the self-confident outspoken bride-to-be widened with fake innocence, a blush staining her cheeks, and she mumbled something behind the hand she slapped over her own mouth.
Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Ruth turned to her youngest. Kaylie, also red in the face, blurted out, “Dogs.”
When that answer didn’t satisfy Ruth, she raised a brow at Jackie, cocking her head just enough to throw out a regal vibe. Jackie resisted the look for about two seconds, before she too reluctantly mumbled, “Pheromones.”
Before Ruth could hit Willow with the mom-look, she shoved her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and studied the few crumbs left on her plate, shoulders hunched against the nearly overwhelming desire to say something. She could feel Ruth’s eyes on her back, pulling the truth from her body.
“I see,” Ruth said slowly. Willow dared a glance her way, noticing the older woman was struggling to keep a straight face. “Well, it’s time to open your gifts, Tess. After though, if you wish to resume your conversation about oral sex”—Kaylie let out a choked gasp and Willow squeezed her eyes shut—“I’ll be more than happy to give you some pointers.”
Tess remained frozen until Ruth exited, then laughed so hard she doubled over. Kaylie glared at Jackie, who threw her hands up in defeat. “I couldn’t help myself. Your mom has that truth tractor beam look down pat. When you’re caught in it, you can’t lie.”
“God, I love that woman,” Tess wiped her eyes with her fingertips, her mirth easing to occasional chuckles.
“She didn’t mean it,” Willow asked Kaylie in a hushed tone, “about giving us pointers, did she?”
Kaylie smirked. “Oh, yeah. Mom’s totally open when it comes to sex talk. Tess and I knew more about puberty, sex, pregnancy, and childbirth than our sex education teachers in school. Girls in town would come to Mom with questions when they couldn’t talk to their own parents.” She sighed. “I just hope I’m as good as a mom as she is.”
Tess flung an arm around her sister. “You have the best instructor around. How could you not? Now, let’s go open my presents.”
Willow watched the women leave, telling Jackie she was getting a drink first when the doctor gave her a questioning look. As she refilled her iced tea, Willow wondered what it had been like, growing up with a mother like Ruth. Even as she felt a spurt of guilt at the touch of envy, she knew intellectually it wasn’t all a bed of roses. From earlier conversations, Willow learned Ruth and her husband had divorced when the girls were young, their father moving across country with his new wife. And while not necessarily neglectful, he had been absent, and that was something Willow never had to contend with. Her own father had been a very hands-on parent, protective and loving. She remembered her mother, on the subject of sex, only told her to keep her legs closed when it came to boys else they’d destroy her career while her father, endearingly red-faced and fidgety, had sat her down and done his best to mumble through an obviously rehearsed monologue.