Free Pleasure With Purpose by Lisa Renée Jones Page B

I already told you I’d go to the Barry Manilow concert no matter how old it makes me feel.”
     
    “ I’m serious, damn it,” Brenda chided. “What do you see?”
     
    If she were honest with herself, she’d refused to put on makeup today, knowing she might see Brad, as a refusal to make him important. Which was really pathetic, because the very fact that he’d been considered at all, defied her denial. She grimaced at Brenda. “You’re infuriatingly insistent when you want something, so fine, I see a ‘Trailer Park Heather.’ My hair is in a ponytail, my makeup non-existent, and--”
     
    Brenda turned Heather to face her. “You are not ‘Boney Knees’ anymore. Looking good is your well-deserved revenge for all those years of being teased, so, damn it, enjoy it.”
     
    Heather’s heart warmed. Brenda was always there for her–outrageously, wonderfully, her best friend. “And I didn’t even pay you to say all that.”
     
    Brenda slid a loose lock of Heather’s hair behind her ear. “You know what you need? Besides an obvious dose of confidence and a hot man in your bed, that is. What you need is to ‘fake it 'til you make it.' ”
     
    Heather grimaced at the familiar "Mary Kay Cosmetics" saying they’d jokingly used since college, when they’d both tried to be sales reps and failed miserably. “You had to go there, didn’t you?”
     
    She grinned. “You bet I did. And you have all the resources to ‘Fake it 'til you make it’ right there in your boutique. Dress up in some of that sexy lingerie you sell in your store, drink some wine, and strut around your store in front of all those fancy mirrors inside, until you’re comfortable in your own skin. Then, when you’re ready, we’ll go find you a hot man you can seduce–a stranger. Someone you know you will never see again, and therefore, you won’t have to worry about the morning after. Then you’ll have your confidence, and you’ll have your orgasms.”
     
    “ I’m not going to play dress-up, Brenda. I’m not. And I’m not going to go pick up some stranger. That’s not me and you know it.”
     
    “ Ah!” Brenda said, holding up a finger. “I know the perfect mood movie.” She darted down the hall toward the living room, as if she’d never heard Heather’s objection.
     
    “ Brenda,” she said, bringing her friend into view just as she held up a DVD from the shelf by the large-screen television. “Watch and learn. Basic Instincts and Sharon Stone--the Femme Fatale at her best.”
     
    “ Now you’re just being silly.”
     
    “ Sexy mood makers are never silly. I’m serious here, Heather. Dress up in some lingerie and watch this movie, or whatever movie you like. Heck, read a steamy romance novel. I have a shelf full I can share. Oh and you know what? We have Rebecca’s wedding in two weeks. What a perfect place to find a hot man.”
     
    Heather opened her mouth to reject the idea, but just thinking of their friend Rebecca’s hot architect husband-to-be gave her pause. Not only were the two of them wildly in love, Rebecca had shared far too much information about the creative places they found to make love. The memory was more fuel for Heather’s fast-growing orgasm envy.
     
    And damn it, she was tired of envy. “Yes,” she said firmly. “Let’s do it.”
     
    “ Do what?”
     
    The deep masculine rumble of Brad’s voice shot through Heather like a match under a chocolate fondue, melting her in all those female places she’d otherwise swear weren’t…well--meltable.
     
    Brenda grinned and turned toward the Master bedroom off the living area. “Heather and I are talking man-hunting.”
     
    “ Brenda!” Heather exclaimed, whirling around and then almost swallowing her tongue. Brad leaned against the doorway of his bedroom looking deliciously edible in a tight white T-shirt, and soft, faded jeans with one knee torn. All he needed was the leather jacket somewhere in his closet to be perfect. The one he