that say do me or otherwise.â
Ty did his best to stop staring as she turned her back on him to chew out Taylor, but as he caught a good sight of the rear view, he nearly swallowed his tongue. Now he could see why the stockings would have to be thigh high, the dress dipped so low he caught a peek-a-boo glimpse of her peach, silky-looking panties.
Nicole, rough-and-tumble ready, tomboy, warrior of her worldâ¦and she wore peach silky panties. If that didnât completely destroy him, he didnât know what did.
âI have got to get to work,â she grumbled, bending for her discarded clothes and showing more peach silk.
Not that he was looking. Nope. Not lookingâ
She caught him looking. With a furious glance that singed the hair right off his arms, she stalked by, giving him a quick scent of shampoo and clean, very angry woman.
âHey, I thought you decided to cut back your hours,â Taylor called out to her. âSo you donât kill yourself before you hit the big three-oh.â
âNo, you decided I should cut back my hours. I decided to stop trying to convince you Iâm just fine.â
âYouâre not fine.â Taylor stood beside a nodding Suzanne for unity. âYou live and breathe that job, without time for anything or anyone else. Itâs not right, Nicole. Youâre hiding out from life. Tell her, Ty.â
Nicole dared him to say a word with stormy eyes.
He lifted his hands. âI donâtââ
âOh, please.â Taylor pointed to Nicoleâs face. âSee those dark circles under her eyes? Lack of sleep.â
Ty hadnât slept well either, mostly from the memories of Nicoleâs mouth on his, from the feel of her body beneath his hands, from the little needy sounds that had escaped her throat before theyâd broken apart for air.
Under the circumstances, with his own dark circles beneath his eyes, he didnât really feel he had the right to say anything.
âIf I want a mother, Iâll call mine,â Nicole said.
âWhich reminds me, yours came by.â Taylor lifted a brow. âChecked me out. I must have passed muster, as she told me to make sure you get your sleep, eat your veggies and donât take extra shifts at the hospital.â
Ty lifted his own brow at Nicoleâs impressive and colorful opinion of that. Then watched her very fine ass sashay to the door.
âDonât ruin that dress yanking it off,â Taylor told her. âAnd use a hanger!â
The door slammed, and Taylor snickered.
Suzanne sighed. âYou shouldnât have baited her that way.â
âAre you kidding? If I didnât, sheâd never have put the dress on, much less agreed to wear it. And she really does need to eat more veggies, you said so yourself.â
âShe didnât agree to wear the dress,â Suzanne said.
âOh, sheâll wear it.â Taylor tossed them both a positive smile. âSheâll wear it with bells on.â
Ty was just thankful he wouldnât have to see it. In fact, he was still thanking his lucky stars when Suzanne turned to him and said, âYouâll be invited to the engagement party, of course.â
âMe?â Panic was a taste he hadnât eaten in a good long time.
âYeah. I think youâre going to be around a while.â Suzanne gave him a little smile.
Oh, boy. There were matchmaking plans in those eyes. Unintentionally, he backed up, making both women laugh.
âDonât tell me a man who wears clothes as well as you do has an aversion to dressing up like Nicoleâs?â Taylor said.
âNo, but I do have an aversion to being set up.â
âSet up?â Taylor cocked her head to the side. âMost men would be drooling to go out with a woman who looked the way Nicole just did.â
âNot me. I get my own women, thank you. Didnât you want to show me your contractor bids? You wanted my