Make Me (12 page)

“You should try it on. I bet you’ll look amazing in it.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m dead serious. If the top fits, I’ll give you the set.”

“Oh, I couldn’t.”

“I have five more just like this, don’t worry about it.”

Rebecca chewed her lip and pawed at the soft velvet. “I’ll just try it on. You are really talented. I hope your mom can see your passion for design.”

“I’m not banking on it.” Sam grabbed her iced tea. “Gonna head back. Let me know if it works.”

“Um, thanks!” Rebecca started stripping the moment Sam closed the door. She admired the corset bra once again, noticing now that the hooks shone brilliant silver down the back. It fit like a glove. And once it was on, it made the girls look like a million bucks and she just couldn’t bear to take it off. She fingered her little clutch purse and pulled out fifty dollars; half of the cash she’d brought. She left the money under a ballerina figurine on Sam’s dresser. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was what she had. She scribbled a note of thanks and propped it so it would be noticed.

Beneath her beige, conservative wrap dress, that sexy piece of lingerie lay in wait, a secret source of adrenaline, feeding her confidence like an IV drip. Rebecca walked back onto the lawn with an extra sway to her hips and the matching thong stashed in her purse. Sam winked at her from the buffet and Rebecca gave her a thumbs-up with a mischievous smile.

Manny and Kyle strolled over to her together. and she couldn’t help staring at the way they moved. Same strong gait, same confident posture. Manny’s taller physique balanced with Kyle’s linebacker build.

“Where’d you sneak off to? I didn’t see you around for a while,” Manny said, easing up close to her.

It didn’t go unnoticed that he’d been keeping tabs on her the whole afternoon. “I took a little break.”

Kyle nodded. “Don’t worry, this little pony show is over in about an hour, and then we can all relax.” He looked at her as if he knew all about her little secret. “Hey, Manny, I hope you told Rebecca how completely amazing she looks in that dress.”

Rebecca knew the moment the blood tinged her cheeks. Kyle didn’t look the least bit sorry for it.

Manny’s tone went to that wry, playful place she already knew had special powers. “I’m pretty sure I did, but she didn’t blush like that for me. What gives, Mystery Girl?”

Rebecca’s blood rushed to her face so fast it made her dizzy. She searched for a comeback but only managed a shrug. The two of them together were a double dose of kryptonite.

Kyle pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side. “You’re right, Manny. She gets even more beautiful when she’s all flustered.”

Their hard gazes had her tingling and tongue-tied like she was soft in the head.

“OK, leave her alone. She’s threatening to burst like that blueberry girl in the Willy Wonka flick.” Manny flung his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her, leaning in and whispering in her ear. “And I know how juicy you are.”

She gasped, channeling Scarlet O’Hara in one embarrassing short and shallow suck of air. The sudden ache between her legs felt like a betrayal. How did Manny manage to get her so worked up so quickly? And now he had his hot friend ganging up on her with the same tactics. She wanted to be mad at both of them, but her body had other things it wanted. Rebecca shook her head, mostly to clear the lusty haze knotting her tongue.

“Are you finished?” she asked, proud of herself for managing even those three words.

“For now.” Manny tapped his finger on her nose, and Rebecca snapped at it when the tip grazed her lip. He was too quick, lucky for him.

Kyle grinned wickedly. “Nice.”

“Kyle…Kyle, come say hello to the lieutenant governor.” Olivia’s voice was enough to bring them all back to reality.

Kyle nodded dutifully and turned back to Manny and Rebecca. “One more hour.”

“Better you than me,” Manny said.

Kyle smiled at Rebecca, making her skin do that annoying tingly thing. “Dude, I’d definitely rather be you.”

Sam strolled over as Kyle left, heading in the opposite direction. She had two plates of roasted vegetables, goat cheese, and piece of crusty bread.

“I think I’m the only one here with any manners.” She handed a plate to Rebecca. “Manny, you’re practically family. You can get your own plate.”

“Thanks for nothing, squirt.” Manny took off toward the buffet, and Rebecca took a bite.

“Do you know that your brother is a flirt?”

“Do I know it? For Manny and Kyle, flirting is like a full-contact sport. The two of them together are a freaking force of nature.” Sam laughed. “No woman on Earth has ever stood a chance.”

“Something they do often?”

“Before Afghanistan they melted more panties than I can remember. God knows what they did at Annapolis.” She chuckled and then stopped short, shooting Rebecca an impish look. “Wow, I can really be insensitive.”

Rebecca shook her head. “No, don’t worry. Whatever Manny did, or does for that matter, is really none of my business. We only just met.”

“It’s none of my business either, but I hope you know what you’re getting into.”

Manny must have heard that last line because he approached them with his finger slicing across his neck. “Quit it, you troublemaker, or else.”

She backed away, holding up her hand in defeat with a devilish grin. “If I don’t make trouble then who will?”

Manny shook his head as she left, preparing to take a bite of his hamburger. “Sam is the original pesky little sister.”

Rebecca shrugged. “I like her. She’s fun.” She winked at him. “And, I think she has the dirt on you.”

Manny took a deep breath, his gaze following the trail she took to meet up with Kyle and the lieutenant governor. “I truly doubt it.”

Chapter Eight

The sun setting over Lake George was a sight to behold, and it seemed to Rebecca that the Adirondack chairs on the Hunter lawn might be the best seats for miles. Kyle and Manny sat next to her, sipping beers and chatting about college football. With all the good-byes said for the day and the lawn bearing evidence of another successful Hunter shindig, Olivia approached the big willow tree with her feet in sandals and her long, flowing skirt streaming behind her in the evening breeze. Gavin walked beside her, his fingers whisking past her cheek. He said something that made her smile.

She looked so relaxed, Rebecca almost didn’t recognize her. In her hand she carried a linen-covered box, the kind for keepsakes.

“Manny, I found some pictures of you and Kyle when you were teenagers. I’m having some memory books made, but since you’re here, pick out what you’d like to take back with you.”

Rebecca huddled over his shoulder, eager to spy a look at a gangly, awkward Manny Tescadero. Only he wasn’t gangly and definitely not awkward. She gazed at the images of him hanging out by the pool with Kyle and bouncing a soccer ball on his knee while Kyle watched. Then there was the one on the lake with Kyle’s dad, the three of them fishing from the side of a yacht.

“Thanks, Olivia. These are great.” Manny studied each of them, without saying anything more.

Under the pictures, Rebecca noticed a hand-tied clutch of very old-looking letters.

“Congresswoman Hunter, may I ask what these are?”

“Oh, call me Olivia, dear.”

“Sorry, I just…”

Gavin chuckled. “Don’t worry, Rebecca, sometimes I do the same thing.”

Olivia flashed a raised eyebrow at him. “Gavin, please. Don’t start.” She turned back to Rebecca. “These are love letters from the turn of the twentieth century between my great-grandmother and great-grandfather before they were married. The two of them were quite the scandal, since he was Jewish and my great-grandmother was Catholic.”

Rebecca felt that familiar rush of excitement wash over her at a new discovery. “Oh, what a treasure it is to have those.” She chose her next words very carefully. “I’m in the library sciences. My expertise is in special collections. Something like this would make a priceless exhibit.” Then she pressed her lips together and waited.

“I found them in my mother’s things when we moved her down to Florida last year. I was just going to put them in a book for safe keeping.” Olivia was quiet with her thoughts for a moment. “Where are you affiliated, Rebecca?”

Rebecca took a breath. “The New York Public Library.”

“Hmm.”

Gavin sighed. “I can practically hear you plotting, Olivia.”

Olivia ignored him. “Why don’t you take a look at them and tell me if they’d make a good exhibit. It would be great for the campaign to be associated with such a serious subject as tolerance.”

“And love. Don’t forget love,” Gavin added.

“Yes. Tolerance and love.” Olivia was grinning by now. “That sounds like a great title for an exhibit.”

Rebecca grinned too, wider than she had in a week. “I think it’s perfect!”

“Oh, we should have Hunter Railways sponsor it! OK, it’s too late to get into the details now, but why don’t you stay on a few days and get everything all sorted. I want to see what you have in mind for an exhibit. Of course I have my own ideas too…and I’d want Thomas involved.”

But Rebecca had plans to leave with Manny tomorrow to head back to the city to the apartment that wasn’t hers and the job that wasn’t in Special Collections. This was delicate. Coming right out and asking Olivia to unpull the strings she’d pulled to cut her department’s funding would probably get her escorted to the door. It was likely that a woman in Olivia’s position didn’t even know the details of the carnage her edict on fiscal conservatism had wreaked. Rebecca needed to put a viable proposal together, to have tangible evidence that her department was too valuable to be shut down even in a budget crisis. Currently the whole idea wasn’t any more than a whim. She needed more time.

Rebecca thought about the personal days she still had at work. She had to try, even if she risked losing her position in fundraising. “I can make arrangements to stay a few days.”

“How will you get home?” Manny asked.

“I can take the train,” Rebecca said, even as the thought of the unexpected cost made her stomach curl in on itself.

“I’ll drive you home,” Kyle said. “I wasn’t planning on heading back to the city for a few days anyway.” Manny shot Kyle a questioning look, and Kyle shrugged. “Don’t you trust me to get her home safe and sound?”

“You’d better.”

“Wonderful. It’s all settled then.” Olivia sighed. “Ah, what a beautiful evening.”

Rebecca noticed that Olivia’s hand had found Gavin’s as they both stared off across the shimmering lake. But Olivia’s phone rang and she swept out of his grasp to fish the phone from her pocket.

“Yes, Thomas.”

Gavin frowned. “For God’s sake, Olivia. They’ve had you all day.”

She waved her hand at him, continuing to speak into the phone. “No, sorry, someone was talking. What did you say?” Gavin threw up a hand in disgust as Olivia took the box and headed back to the house. Her voice sounded more like the Congresswoman Hunter who Rebecca remembered. “I see. What kind of statement is appropriate for this situation do you think?”

Gavin sighed and got up. “Good thing I thought to record the rest of the tournament.” He turned toward Kyle. “Your sister went out, so keep the exterior lights on for her when you come in.”

“Sure thing, Dad.”

Rebecca’s head spun with ideas about the exhibit. She needed to get some of it written down. She stood up and noticed Manny’s surprised expression. “As much as I’d love to hang out here with both of you, my laptop is calling me.”

Manny gave her a weak smile. “A woman on a mission, I know better than to get in the way of that.”

“Smart man.” She blew a playful kiss at him, feeling downright giddy over the prospect of pulling her job out of the dumpster.

“I’ll stop by to say good night if you’re still up,” said Manny.

She turned back with a wave over her shoulder. “I’d like that.”

* * *

Kyle watched Rebecca make her way across his backyard. Even in the waning light, she wouldn’t quit pulling his attention. Oh, yes, Kyle liked women. He had never doubted it for a moment. But he liked
Manny’s
women most.

“Hey, Kyle. You wanna stick your tongue back in your mouth, bro?”

Kyle turned to him and grinned. “She is really hot. That ass of hers is so tight and round, like two cantaloupes under that dress.”

“You’re a Neanderthal, do you realize that?”

Kyle leaned into his ear. “We’re alone now. Want me to get prehistoric with you?” He bit his earlobe and swiped his tongue slowly up the side. Kyle’s cock twitched to life with only a tiny taste of Manny. What he wouldn’t do for a mouthful of him.

Manny sucked in a breath, remaining perfectly still. Kyle was certain he would pull away; it had only been a joke after all and Manny had made it clear he wasn’t ready. But Manny leaned into him, brushing his cheek against Kyle’s as he spoke. “You really hurt me, you know.”

Kyle knew instantly he wasn’t talking about the nip on his earlobe. “I do know. I’m sorry.”

Manny’s eyes narrowed, the emotion in them naked and raw. “I remember that day from the photo when we went out on your dad’s boat. My mom had just been diagnosed that past week. Everyone thought going out on the lake was a good idea to take my mind off of it.” He swallowed and gazed out at the glassy surface of the lake. “If you ever shut me out of your life again…Fuck, man, you’re all I have now.”

Kyle’s heart splintered in his chest. “I know.” He kissed him softly behind the earlobe and again on his neck.

“I didn’t cry when my mother died. Too busy showing everyone I was OK and trying to prove I wasn’t a kid anymore. Not when I buried Nana either. Too many people around I barely knew.”

Kyle stroked the back of his head and kept kissing him with soft presses of his lips to his neck. He didn’t say anything, because what Manny needed was to be comforted, not forgiven for the tears Kyle knew had finally gathered on the rims of his hazel eyes. Manny didn’t need him gawking if they broke free of his lashes and streaked down his caramel skin. Though none of this made their future any clearer, Kyle just laid one soothing kiss after the next on the only person he knew he’d never risk hurting again.