Chapter Eleven
Libbie examined the trays of treats laid out on the work tables after they closed the shop on Halloween afternoon. With Charles and Ken helping, they had the cookies decorated, bagged, and each one tagged with an It’s a Sweet Life business card tied to each little bag with an orange ribbon in plenty of time. She took a deep breath and realized she could relax, unlike the previous year, where she’d nearly been in frantic tears and still decorating cookies on Halloween morning.
They’ve been a huge help.
She went upstairs to take a hot shower and change clothes. The men had remained mum about their costumes, as had she. It amazed her how, in just a little over two weeks, the men had become such a large part of her life. They ate together almost every night, either in her apartment or theirs.
Not to mention Galileo had taken to Ken as well as he had to Charles.
Definitely another point in their favor.
Mandaline had eased up a little on her teasing over the past few days, but she still left Libbie’s shop every morning after reminding her to wish big and dream hard.
Libbie closed her eyes as the hot water sluiced over her body.
Fortunately, the weather had warmed up, which did help somewhat with her pain levels. Unfortunately, the change in barometric pressure negated some of those gains.
Come on, April. The weather would be consistently warm then, making her life much more comfortable.
106 Tymber
Dalton
Still, as he pictured the men in her mind, she saw no harm in wishing. I wish those two men were big and hard in my bed. Hell, even if it was only in her vibratory fantasies, she’d take it.
Allan stared in the mirror as he fussed with his outfit and made sure the lines were straight. “Are you almost ready?” he called out to Ben.
“Almost.”
He turned when Ben stepped into the bedroom doorway. “How do I look?” Ben asked.
Ben had refused help and settled on a generic black vampire cape from a discount store, along with fake plastic vampire fangs. Allan successfully held back the snort. He didn’t want to hurt Ben’s feelings, but Ben was the dorkiest non-sparkly vampire he’d ever seen.
More importantly, he didn’t want Ben to back out of helping Libbie. “You look great.”
“I feel stupid,” Ben rumbled. “I had enough of disguises working undercover.”
Allan gentled his tone. “You look fine. Let’s get downstairs and help before Libbie tries to set up on her own.”
“What are you, anyway?” Ben asked as he followed Allan to the front door. “That’s the weirdest-looking zebra getup I’ve ever seen.”
Allan had spent a day online searching for the zentai suit with vertical black and white stripes. He’d used one of their prepaid credit cards to order it, and had it shipped overnight to Many Blessings, where he picked it up. “I’m not a zebra. I’m the Doppler effect.”
Ben blinked. Allan watched as he tried to process that. “The what?”
“You don’t watch The Big Bang Theory, do you?” Allan asked.
Now he got the arched eyebrow. “The what?”
It’s a Sweet Life
107
“It’s a TV show. Never mind.” He opened the door and headed down the hall toward the stairs leading to the bakery.
All I care about is that Libbie will like it. If he was lucky, maybe it would make her smile and take the pain away from her sweet face for a few moments.
If he was really lucky, maybe she would laugh for him.
Libbie examined herself one more time in the downstairs bathroom mirror. This is stupid. I look ridiculous. Why did I let Mandaline talk me into wearing this?
The gauzy, short, low-cut peasant-style blouse emphasized the deep valley created with the help of the black sequined push-up bra underneath, giving her natural B-cups an artificial boost. The beautiful embroidered silk scarf in tones of turquoise and gold wrapped around her hair looked gorgeous.
Too gorgeous for me.
The layered, handkerchief skirt swirled around her ankles with every movement. At least it was warm out tonight, or she wouldn’t have been able to wear the skimpy outfit.
The large hoop earrings, jingling bells on her ankle bracelet, and flat, strappy sandals completed her gypsy fortune-teller costume.
She turned at a noise behind her to find Ken and Charles standing there. She wondered about the look of surprise that flitted across Ken’s face before he schooled it back to his usual stonewall expression.
Charles, on the other hand, looked delighted.
He gently grabbed her hands in his and held her arms out so he could get a better look at her. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
She felt the warm flush fill her face despite her best efforts to hold it back. “Thanks,” she mumbled before focusing on his costume.
“Nice! The Doppler effect. Where on earth did you manage to find 108 Tymber Dalton
that?”
“You like it?” Charles asked.
She nodded, grinning. “I love it. That’s great!”
He turned to Ken with a triumphant grin. “Ha! See? Told you she’d love it.”
If I didn’t know he was gay, I’d think Charles was trying to impress me. She ignored the painful little thump her heart made at the thought and pushed it away.
“What do you need us to do?” Ken asked.
“Well, the folding tables are in the back. If you want to set them up inside the doorway, then we can get the boxes of cookies moved out there.”
Ken nodded and headed off to do it.
Charles cocked his head at her. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m a little tired. That’s all.”
“How’s your pain?”
Her breath caught in her throat at his tone. Stupid, he’s just a concerned friend. “Maybe a six.”
He frowned. “Did you take a pill?”
“No. A six is okay. Not a bad day, actually.” She forced a smile.
The skintight outfit he wore showed off every etched muscle in his body. Too bad he’s wearing the running shorts over it. The loose black shorts concealed the muscle she’d most like to see outside of her hot, wet nighttime speculations.
“Just take it easy tonight,” he cautioned. “You’ve got us to help you. All you need to do is sit there and look cute.” He caught one of her hands again and brought it up to his lips, where he brushed them across her knuckles. “And you look damn cute. Let us be your brawn tonight.”
She nodded, her voice failing her. I wish!
It’s a Sweet Life
109
They were fifteen minutes past the official start time when Mandaline, dressed as a sexy, yet PG-13-rated zombie princess, bounded into the store with a Many Blessings bag in her hand. Ken and Charles were busy handing out cookies. Mandaline grabbed Libbie’s hand and pulled her around the counter.
She leaned in close. “This is for you for tonight.”
Libbie took the bag, which was heavier than it looked, and peeked inside. A large bottle of homemade cider took up most of it. “What is this?”
“Sachi made a batch of her favorite Samhain beverage,”
Mandaline admitted with a giggle. “It’s strong, so don’t go driving after you’ve had some. And there’s a little something in there for you and hopefully those two hunks.”
Libbie felt deeper inside the bag, her face heating to supernova proportions when her fingers found the plastic strips of condom packages.