Champagne Rules (25 page)

Rina nodded. “I had a date with a new guy, Sam, but when he kissed me it was just, like, okay. I’m really not—”

“That into him,” the other three chorused. How many times had one or more of them said that?

“I know,” Suzanne said. “That’s what it’s been like for me with every other guy than Jaxon.” She took a sip of ale and realized they were all staring at her. “What?”

“Oh my God, he’s The One,” Jenny breathed.

“Mr. Right. Your Mr. Cleaver,” Rina sighed dreamily. “You’ve found him.”

Suzanne snorted. “Get real. He’s The One Right Now, okay? That’s it.”

“I know,” Ann said softly. “You keep saying you don’t even know him.”

“I don’t.” She paused. “Though I have to say, he knows a secret few men do.”

“Yeah, the location of the G-spot.” Jenny snickered.

“No! Well, yes, he does, but that’s not what I meant. He knows that sometimes a girl just needs to cry about something, rather than have some guy go rushing in and try to fix the unfixable. His mom taught him.”

She caught their exchange of glances. “Gimme a break, so we actually had a conversation. It’s no big deal.”

“Very big,” Rina said.

“Really, really big,” Ann confirmed.

“Eight inches and growing,” Jenny said.

“Aaagghh!!”

How could she now ask Ann for the loan of her apartment next Saturday night, when Jaxon would be in town? Oh well, best to get it over with. The worst they could do was tease her to death. “Ann, can I ask a favor?”

“Sure. Anything.”

Suzanne had known that, underneath all the joking around, they really would do anything for each other. That’s why, when Jaxon had asked if she was inviting him for dinner, she’d said yes.

“Can I swap apartments with you on Saturday night? Jaxon’s coming to town and I, uh, somehow asked him for dinner.”

“Somehow?” Jenny said with a lifted eyebrow.

“A romantic candlelight dinner,” Rina sighed. Ann chuckled. “God, my apartment won’t know what’s hit it. No one’s had sex there in forever. Sure, of course we can trade. But what’ll you tell your parents? Why not just bite the bullet and have the guy over to your place?”

“No way! I can’t have sex with my parents just across the yard.”

Ann tilted her head. “You’ve never had sex at your place?”

“No. The few times I’ve done it, I’ve gone to the guy’s place.” Ann raised a good question though. “I don’t know what to tell my parents if we trade.”

“Hmm.” Ann leaned forward, her brow creased in thought.

“How about I don’t stay at your place, I’ll go to Rina’s.” She glanced at Rina, who nodded agreement. “You tell your parents you’re getting together with us, we’re having a pajama party, watching reruns of
Sex and the City
all night.”

“I think I’ll skip the
Sex and the City
part, but that’s a terrific idea. Rina, are you okay with this?”

“My little house loves having company.”

Rina had inherited money when her parents died in a car crash, and used part of it to buy a bungalow in North Vancouver. An Air Force brat all her childhood, she now loved being firmly rooted in a home of her own.

The stunning Indo-Canadian waitress arrived with platters of aromatic food and they dug in enthusiastically. Or, in Rina’s case, as enthusiastically as she ever let herself dig in. When they’d all taken the edge off their hunger, Jenny said,

“So, what do you gals think about firefighters?”

“Ooh,” Rina said, “now those are some hot guys. You going to date a firefighter, Jen?”

Jenny scrunched up her face. “Oh, puh-lease. Yeah, they’re eye candy, but let’s face it, when the sex is finished I’d kind of like a brain to interact with.”

“Ouch,” Suzanne said, laughing.

“It’s not a date, it’s a story,” Jenny said.

“About the low IQ of firefighters?” Ann asked dryly.

“Somehow I don’t see that one selling. The public’s very pro firefighters since 9-11.”

“And rightly so,” Rina said. “They really are heroes.”

“Whatever,” Jenny drawled. “But you know about the firefighter calendar, right?”

Rina fanned herself with her napkin. “Oh yeah. Definitely hot stuff.”

“And the proceeds go to charity,” Jenny said. “The Burn Fund and other good causes. But here’s the fun thing. For next year’s calendar, they’re doing something new. Rather than just sell the calendars, they’re going to have a competition, on stage, with the audience voting on the top twelve. Major, major fundraiser.”

“Major, major fun!” Ann said.

“And a damn good story,” Jenny said. “I’ve got an in with the
Straight
, and they’ll give me a cover feature.”

“Let me know if you need a research assistant,” Rina said. On Wednesday night, the phone was ringing as Suzanne walked through her door after working late at the clinic. Jaxon?

No, her sister. “Got any plans for Friday night?” Bethany asked.

Just fantasizing about Saturday night with Jaxon. “Why?”

“You know how Mom and Dad always have the kids for a sleepover on Fridays? Well, they’ve been invited out to an anniversary dinner, so I said, of course we’ll skip the sleepover. Then Mom said maybe you could—”

“No problem,” Suzanne broke in, kicking off her shoes and wriggling her aching toes. “I’ll come baby-sit if you and Joel want to go out.”

“Could you baby-sit them at Mom and Dad’s until they get home?”

Suzanne flopped down on the couch beside Melody and Zorro and began stroking, first one, then the other. “You have overnight plans? Where are you going?”

“We sure do have plans, but we’re not going anywhere. Don’t you know about Friday nights?”

What about Friday nights? “I know Mom and Dad like having the grandkids for an end-of-the-week sleepover, but I don’t see why it’s so bad to miss one week.”

“Mom says it would be setting a bad precedent.”

“Uh, why?” Obviously she was missing something.

“Friday nights are for Joel and me. To be a couple.”

“A couple?” Of course they were a couple; they’d been married for five years.

“
You
know,” Bethany said in an exasperated tone. “Just the two of us. Romantic, sexy, playful, like when we were dating.”

“Oh!” She’d never heard that part of the story before.

“Hmm. That sounds like a good idea.” She’d have to file it away for when she did find Mr. Cleaver.

“It’s essential. When you’re married, it’s so easy to take each other for granted and just . . . you know, become dull and boring. Then, when you have kids, it’s even harder to hang on to the pizzazz. That fun stuff that brought you together in the first place, that made you fall in love.”

The cats’ fur was warm and silky under Suzanne’s hand as she kept stroking, thinking about what Beth had said. “Isn’t it inevitable that stuff would fade? I mean, relationships have stages. The pizzazz is for the dating stage, right? Isn’t marriage more about commitment, responsibility, maybe finding a deeper level of love?”

“Sure, it’s all of that. But it’s easier to do the serious stuff if you still spark each other’s firecracker.”

Suzanne thought of how Bethany and Joel behaved together. Most of the time they were absorbed in dealing with the children, but sometimes there’d be a little touch or glance that spoke of a special intimacy. She’d never imagined it came from having a sizzling sex life. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying you and Joel have hot sex on Friday nights, and that somehow keeps your marriage on track?”

Her sister giggled. “Sure helps.”

“Do Mom and Dad have any idea what you’re doing, while they’re baby-sitting your kids?”

The giggle turned to a rich, gurgling laugh. “Who d’you think suggested it in the first place?”

“Not Mom?” The idea was so foreign, Suzanne just had to get up and start pacing on her work-weary feet.

“About a year after we got married, I was kind of depressed. I don’t know if you remember. Joel and I were both working hard, we’d had Krys, we were renovating the house. I felt like we’d turned into middle-aged drudges. Then I got pregnant again, and I was an elephant-sized, middle-aged drudge. Anyhow, Mom took me out for lunch and boy, was it an eye-opener.”

“Mom gave you marriage counseling? Well, she and Dad do have one of the best marriages I’ve ever seen, so I guess she’s an expert. But I can’t believe she actually recommended . . . sex. I mean, she and Dad . . .”

“Yes, my naïve little sis, they do still do it. In fact, they do it quite a bit, since you moved out of the house.”

“Jesus, Bethany, that’s way too much information.” She glanced out the window at her parents’ house. Were they . . . ?

“No, it’s not. Sex is a normal, healthy part of a relationship, right?”

Suzanne pulled the curtains, vowing to never walk into that house again without knocking first. “Yeah. But not our parents’

relationship.” She was only half-joking.

“Mom says they went through the same kind of thing Joel and I did, when you were a baby and I was in elementary school. They were tired all the time, had so many responsibilities, they were focused on being parents rather than spouses or lovers. They went to a marriage counselor.”

“They did?” How could she not know these things about her family?

“They knew they loved each other; they’d just lost touch. The counselor helped them rebuild the bond of intimacy, and an important part of that was sex.”

“You’re saying that our parents . . .”

“Have hot sex. Yup. And so do Joel and I,” she added smugly. “You oughta try it, sis.”

“I have! I am!” Oh damn, Beth could always poke her buttons. She hadn’t meant to say anything about her relationship with Jaxon.

“You’re kidding!” Bethany screeched. “Who is he? Tell all, Suze.”

Now that the tables had turned, Suzanne decided to torture her sister. “Gosh, Bethany, I hadn’t realized it was so late. I’ve got to go. But yes, I’ll sit the kids on Friday, so you and Joel can have hot sex. By the way, if you run out of ideas, you might try skinny-dipping at Spanish Banks.”

She hung up the phone with her sister’s squeal ringing in her ears.

Then she laughed herself silly for at least five minutes. Afterwards, she went to check her e-mail. She and Jaxon had exchanged only brief messages this week, mainly just to confirm he could come to Vancouver on Saturday. Tonight, she had mail from caveman. She clicked it open. Just realized, I’ll never look at my bathtub in the same light, lover. Every time now, I’m imagining your sweet body in there with me.

She smiled and closed her eyes briefly. Oh yeah, she knew
exactly
what he meant. Her tired body stirred at the thought. Hope you’re feeling better about Bondi. You can’t save them all, Suzanne. All you can do is your best. And I know you did, and always will.

She stared at the screen. He’d remembered her sorrow, and said something absolutely perfect. It almost seemed as if he cared.

Was it possible? Might this Champagne-Ruled relationship evolve into something real, deep, lasting? Could Jaxon Navarre actually be The One?

No, of course not. Not only were they building separate lives in different cities, but they were opposite in many ways. A high-powered corporate lawyer and a vet? A divorced man and a woman who believed marital and parental commitments were the most important thing on earth? No, couldn’t happen. But maybe they were becoming friends. Was it possible to have hot sex with a friend? She guessed they’d find out, on Saturday.

Thanks for the thoughtful words, Jaxon. Yes, I am feeling better, and you’re right. I know I can’t save them all. I just want to try. Okay, enough serious stuff.

It’s been a long day and I’m ready for a nice relaxing bath. Relaxing. Hmmmmm? Is that possible, or will I close my eyes and feel your body under me, inside me?

BTW, I picked up a little something for you at lunchtime. Actually, they’re for me. But you’ll wear them, won’t you? I distinctly recall that you didn’t say no.

Oh, did I mention? They’re red. . . .

Laughing, she clicked SEND. She couldn’t wait to see that sexy body clothed in red silk boxers. Feeling rejuvenated, she poured herself a glass of wine and headed for the bath. Thursday morning, she read his reply. Suzanne, you make me blush.

She chuckled and wrote back, That’ll be the day. But I’ll do my very best . . .

Smiling, she headed off to work.

Suzanne was in bed reading a veterinary magazine she’d borrowed from the clinic, sipping ginger peach tea and surrounded by cats, when the phone rang.

“So you wanna make me blush,” a male voice said.

“Jaxon!” In an instant, her mood went from relaxed to excited.

“Is it okay I phoned, when we hadn’t scheduled it?”

Did it break the Rules? Probably, but what a nice surprise.

“For sure.”

“I started to type a message, but decided I’d rather talk. Do you have time?”

“For you? Absolutely.” She gave him her sexiest purr. “So, Jaxon, I’ve been imagining you in red silk boxers.”

“You’re not the only one. Had a hell of a time concentrating on work today.”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said in a deliberately insincere voice.

He chuckled. “You really think it’s sexy for a guy to wear stuff like that?”

Ah, he was thinking he’d feel silly.

“Gee, I don’t know,” she said. “How do you think it’ll feel, to have the caress of silk against your cock and balls, soft and tantalizing as a woman’s hand? And just think how it will feel for me to run my hand over the front of that slinky fabric, feel you growing hard underneath? Hmm. Does any of that sound sexy to you?”

“Oh man.”

She laughed. Then she said, “You’ve never worn silk?” What had his ex-wife and old girlfriends been thinking? Then she smiled to herself. Obviously, they weren’t as sexy as she was.

“No. Guess maybe I’d be willing to give it a try.”

“Hey, you, don’t sound so noble and self-sacrificing. You know damn well you find the idea seductive.”

“Okay, you got me. I confess.” Then he said, “So, where are you? What are you doing?”

“And what am I wearing?” Should she make up a sexy lie?

She decided on the truth. “I’m in bed, but no sexy negligee, I’m afraid. Just a long tank top over panties. I was reading about diabetes in cats. Not very exciting, I’m afraid. How about you?”