"Any ideas about Krystal's mysterious surprise?" Janine straightened the clasp on her silver necklace as they sat in the porch rockers.
"No, but I hope it's fattening." Annabelle didn't really care what the surprise was, as long as it kept her away from Heath after dinner.
He pulled up in the car, and Annabelle insisted Janine sit with him in the front. On their way into town, he asked about her books. He'd never read a word she'd written, but by the time they reached the inn, he'd convinced her she had everything it took to be the next J. K. Rowling. The weird thing was, he seemed to believe it. No question that the Python was a powerful motivator.
The Wind Lake Inn's rustic north woods decor complemented a varied menu of beef, fish, and game. Conversation was lively, and Annabelle limited her alcohol consumption to a single glass of wine. As they dug into their entrees, Phoebe asked the men how their book discussion had gone. Darnell opened his mouth to respond, his gold tooth flashing, only to have Dan cut in. "So much came up, I don't even know where to start. Ron?"
"It was intense, all right," the Stars' general manager said.
Kevin looked thoughtful. "A lot of sharing."
"Intense?" Darnell scowled. "It was-"
"Heath could probably summarize better than any of us," Webster interjected.
The others nodded solemnly and turned their heads toward Heath, who set down his fork. "I doubt I could do it justice. Who figured we could have so many different opinions about postmodern nihilism?"
Molly looked at Phoebe. "They didn't talk about the book at all."
"I told you they wouldn't," her sister replied.
Charmaine reached over to rub her husband's back. "I'm sorry, honey. You know I tried to talk the women into letting you join our group, but they said you'd upset our dynamics."
"Besides trying to bully us into reading One Hundred Years of Solitude," Janine added.
"That is a great book!" Darnell exclaimed. "Y'all don't want to challenge your minds."
Kevin had heard Darnell's lecture on people's reading tastes before and quickly moved to deflect it. "We know you're right. And we're all ashamed of ourselves, aren't we, guys?"
"I am."
"Me, too."
"Can't hardly stand to look in the mirror."
Kevin seized on Annabelle as the next distraction to keep Darnell from getting worked up. "So what's this I hear about you dating Dean Robillard?"
Everyone at the table stopped eating. Heath set down his knife. The women's heads swiveled. Molly gazed into her husband's not-so-innocent green eyes. "Annabelle's not dating Dean. She would have told us."
"I'm really not," Annabelle said.
Kevin Tucker, the wiliest quarterback in the NFL, scratched the back of his head like a gorgeous doofus. "I'm confused. I talked to Dean on Friday, and he mentioned that the two of you went out last week and that he'd had a real good time."
"Well, we went to the beach…"
"You went to the beach with Dean Robillard, and you didn't think to mention it?" Krystal shrieked.
"It was… a last-minute thing."
The women started buzzing. Kevin had more mischief on his mind and didn't wait for them to calm down. "So Dean's planning to ask you out again?"
"No, of course not. No. I mean… is he? Why? Did he say something?"
"I kind of got that idea. Maybe I misunderstood."
"I'm sure you did."
Heath sat stony-faced, a fact that caught Phoebe's interest. "Your little matchmaker certainly is getting around."
"I'm glad," Sharon said. "It's time she came out of her shell."
Heath regarded Annabelle dubiously. "You were in a shell?"
"Kind of."
Charmaine gazed at her across the table. "Are we allowed to talk about your unfortunate engagement?"
Annabelle sighed. "Why not? We seem to be examining every other part of my life."
"Shocked the hell out of me," Kevin said. "Rob and I played golf together a couple of times. He had an ugly duck hook, but still…"
Molly covered his hand with her own. "It's been two years, and Kevin's still not reconciled."
Kevin shook his head. "I feel like I should invite him… her… to play again, just to show I'm broad-minded, which I am under ordinary circumstances, but I like Annabelle, and Rob knew from the beginning he had a problem. He should never have asked her to marry him."
"I remember Rob's duck hook," Webster said.
"Yeah, I remember it, too." Dan shook his head in disgust.
A short silence fell. Kevin gazed at his brother-in-law. "Are you thinking the same thing I am?"
"Yep."
"Me, too," Webster said.
Ron nodded. So did the others. Heath smiled, and they all returned their attention to their dinner plates.
"What?" Molly shrieked.
Kevin shook his head. "No sex-change operation in the world is going to fix a duck hook like that."
The women left the men at the inn and returned to the B &B, where Krystal locked them into the cozy back parlor, drew the shades, and turned down the lights. "Tonight," she announced, "we're going to celebrate our sexuality."
"I read that book," Molly said. "And if anybody starts taking off her clothes and grabbing a mirror, I'm out of here."
"We're not celebrating that way," Krystal said. "All of us have some issues we need to face. For example… Charmaine's too uptight."
"Me?"
"You undressed in the closet for the first two years of your marriage."
"That was a long time ago, and I don't undress there anymore."
"Only because Darnell threatened to take the door off. But you're not the only one with sexual hang-ups. Annabelle doesn't say much about it, but we all know she hasn't slept with anybody since Rob traumatized her. Unless last night…?"
They all turned to gaze at her.
"I'm his matchmaker! We're not having sex!"
"Which is a good thing," Molly said. "But Dean Robil-lard's a whole different matter. Talk about the ultimate boy toy."
"We're straying," Krystal said. "Three of us have been married for a long time, and no matter how much we love our husbands, things can get a little stale."
"Or not," Phoebe drawled with her cat's smile.
They all snickered, but Krystal wouldn't be distracted. "Molly and Kevin have young kids, and we know what a crimp that can put in your sex life."
"Or not." Molly offered up her own cat's smile.
"The point is… It's time we get more in touch with our sexuality."
"I'm way too much in touch with mine," Janine said. "I just wish somebody else would touch it, too."
More snickers.
"Go ahead and make jokes," Krystal said. "We're still going to watch this film. We'll be better women for it."
Charmaine went on full alert. "What kind of film?"
"An erotic movie made especially for women."
"You're kidding. Really, Krystal."
"The one I selected-a personal favorite-involves actors of various races, ages, and degrees of hotness, so nobody'll feel excluded."
"This is your big mystery?" Phoebe said. "That we're going to watch porn together?"
"Erotica. Made just for women. And until you've seen some of these movies, you shouldn't judge."
Annabelle suspected more than a few of them already had, but no one wanted to put too much of a damper on Krystal's enthusiasm.
"Here's what I really like about this particular film," Krystal said. "The men are all gorgeous, but the women are fairly ordinary. No silicone."
"That sets it apart from porn for men, all right," Sharon said. "At least from what I've heard."
Krystal began fussing with the DVD player. "There's also a story, and real foreplay. A lot of it. Kissing, slow undressing, lots of caressing…"
Janine buried her face in her hands. "This is pathetic. I'm already getting turned on."