Emily Anne couldn't hold her "calm and cool" poise any longer. "Y'all are going to make me have to run to the ladies'!" She laughed so hard her side hurt.

"That's serious," Carrie said.

"Yep," Kelsey nodded. "The only way to prevent that is to spill it." Carrie and Ginny snickered. Kelsey frowned. "Hmm, that didn't come out quite right, either."

All three of them burst out laughing and Emily Anne just shook her head. "Okay, I give up. I reckon you're all going to keep at me until I do, anyway."

"I knew you were an exceptionally clever woman," Kelsey said. "That's why I hired you."

Emily Anne took a moment to finish filling the dishwasher. She turned it on then turned around to face her friends.

"Last Monday, Mel and Connor were waiting for me outside the spa, and we did spend the rest of the day together. We've been on a couple of dates since then. So I guess you could say that I'm 'seeing' them."

"And?" Carrie wiggled her eyebrows and Emily Anne just shook her head.

"And...I like them?"

"Well, boy howdy, who didn't know that?" Ginny asked. "You've liked them for some time, now."

"We know you like them. What we want to know is if you've had s.e.x with them yet," Kelsey said. "Because, you know, old married women here, and all."

This kind of camaraderie was completely new to Emily Anne. Not that she hadn't had girlfriends back home. Of course, she had. It was just...Emily Anne experienced a moment of revelation. She'd had girlfriends, but they had treated her pretty much the same as everyone in her family had treated her-like an oddity, someone to be treated as less than.

They didn't treat me as one of them, but more like a side show freak, the fat, frumpy friend with gla.s.ses and crooked teeth who everyone knows will never get the man in the end.

Did they treat her that way because that was how she acted, or did she act that way because that was how she'd always been treated?

Emily Anne was a plus-sized gal. No one, least of all her, would or could dispute that. But she wasn't frumpy, not by anyone's definition.

She thought of Summer Webster and the air of confidence with which that woman carried herself. She thought of Grace Warner, and Chloe Rhodes-soon-to-be-Jessop.

Those women were all plus-sized gals too, but no one could call them plain or frumpy. And their men-all seven of them-sure looked happy, and treated their women like the Queens they were.

Emily Anne focused on the three women before her-friends, all-who were smiling and waiting. For the first time she understood that in their eyes, she, Emily Anne Bancroft, was a woman that two smoking hot and mouthwatering men would want.

"No, we haven't made love-yet. But I have no doubt whatsoever that we're going to-and soon."

Somehow voicing that certainty buoyed Emily Anne's mood. Mel Richardson and Connor Talbot wanted her-and for more than just s.e.x. And she realized that somehow, despite all the doubts that had been with her since the moment she'd laid eyes on those two private d.i.c.ks, she wanted them, too.

Chapter 6.

It had actually been a no-brainer. If he and Connor were serious about Emily Anne-and they sure as h.e.l.l were-then relocating to l.u.s.ty made perfect sense.

Mel stood beside his partner and surveyed the large master bedroom. They'd toured the house, a two-story brick home with a pretty front porch and a deck and patio on the back. Situated just down from the high school, the house looked to be in d.a.m.n good shape for a building that had been empty for over a year.

Jake had explained that there was no such thing as an "abandoned property" in l.u.s.ty. There were only houses not currently occupied. The Town Trust was responsible for overseeing the management of those places not in use, keeping them maintained and the lawns neat.

Jake stepped into the unfurnished room behind them. "I figured that for the rest of the place-dining room, kitchen, living room-you'd have your own furniture from your places in Waco that you would want to bring. But for here, for what you're going to want in the master bedroom, you'll need furniture not easily acquired elsewhere."

Mel didn't really mind that Jake understood why he and Connor had wanted to lease a house in town. The man had already more or less let them know that everyone thought the three of them-he, Connor, and Emily Anne-would make a nice trio.

Mel hadn't actually given a great deal of thought to the matter, but he guessed they'd need a bed bigger than a double. He wondered if a queen-sized bed would even be big enough.

Maybe we'll need a king. Connor and I are both large men, and we won't want to squish Emily Anne in the middle.

He turned to look at Jake at the same time Connor said, "I've heard that most of the homes here have 'l.u.s.ty-sized' beds."

"Also known as Kendall-sized and Benedict-sized, and Jessop-sized," Jake said, "depending on who's talking." He laughed. "The Town Trust has a warehouse with more furniture than you can possibly imagine. We can take a drive over there now, if you have the time."

Mel looked over at Connor. "I'd like to get this to the point of being a done deal," he said. Then he shrugged. "I want us moved in today, if possible. Call me crazy, but I want it done before Emily Anne hears about it. I guess I don't want to jinx things."

Jake sighed. "Adam and I did something similar with our Ginny, if you will recall, Mel. Of course, we had help. Mom and Kate knew Ginny wanted us but was holding back. Plus, there were safety considerations at the time."

"I do remember that particular moving day," Mel said. He turned to Connor. "They more or less swept Ginny and her son into that very dedicated Queen Anne Victorian they live in now in less than a couple of hours. They didn't even give her time to think about it."

Connor grinned. "So I guess you understand, a little, where we're coming from? Not that we're going to move Emily Anne in here-at least, not right away. But if we're living here in town, she'll understand that we're serious, and not just messing around with her."

Jake nodded. "Most men in l.u.s.ty can identify with where you're coming from, if not with the actual circ.u.mstance."

"We might as well head over to your warehouse now, then," Mel said. "If you've got the time for us. As for our own stuff, we don't have much."

"What my partner means is, he has some stuff, but all I have is a hotel room in Waco, and a closed-up apartment back in D. C."

"I'll let you in on a little secret. Kate Benedict was in my office when you called asking about a house to lease. So yes, I have the time, and instructions to see to it that you get everything you need. So let's make it a real done deal, shall we?"

Less than a half hour later Mel was standing inside what could have pa.s.sed for a big-box furniture store. Only the warehouse didn't just hold furniture-it had enough basic accessories that a person wouldn't even need to shop for so much as a placemat or a soup bowl before calling their house their fully furnished home.

"Did you ever?" he asked Connor.

Connor had given a low whistle the moment they stepped into the warehouse. He met his gaze. "Can't say that I have. You know, they don't live rich, so you tend to forget they are rich."

Mel nodded. He did know, roughly, just how wealthy the good folks of l.u.s.ty were. That wealth wasn't concentrated in just a few hands, either. Every member of the combined families could boast impressive trust funds, investment portfolios, and bank accounts. Some added to those accounts in a most remarkable way. Thanks to very astute financial stewardship, the Town Trust's net worth just kept growing.

Like they say, all you need to make a lot of money, is a lot of money.

Jake chuckled when he saw their expressions. "It's crazy, isn't it? The town fills up with family and other folks wanting to live here, and the warehouse nearly empties, then folks relocate and it fills up again. People are, of course, free to buy their own things, and a lot of folks do, and you're free to as well. But the beds we use are custom built, so we tend not to toss them or give them away to charity when we change furniture styles or redo our homes. And we always maintain a good supply of new mattress sets."

They followed Jake through the middle of the place and Mel couldn't help but think of himself as being a rat in a giant maze. He looked over at Connor and could tell, by the comical face he made, that his thoughts were about the same.

They pa.s.sed living room suites, kitchen and dining room suites, and then turned the corner into the area where the bedroom furniture had been stored.

They walked past Jake to the where a few mattresses and box springs had been arranged into several neat stacks.

"I think I finally get it," Connor said.

Mel let his eyes take in the sheer size of the things. "h.e.l.l, yes. Now that is what I call a bed."

Jake stood beside them. "All the mattresses are custom made, and brand new. Strangely, they're comfortable for sleeping on, too."

"You've sold us." Mel turned to him. "Now, what do we have to do to furnish the house we've just leased?"

"That's the easy part," Jake said. "Just start pointing."

"The two of you have got me curious. What's this surprise you've been hinting about?" Emily Anne had never seen the two of them look so excited. Both men tended to be on the sober side. Blessed with a good work ethic, they took their cases seriously. She had no doubt anyone hiring them definitely got their money's worth.

As well, she knew both had backgrounds that had seen them go through tense, difficult situations. Neither man spoke overly much about his past, but she knew Mel had been a San Antonio police detective, and Connor had been a U.S. Army Ranger. He'd worked for the government after getting out of the army and had retired from that not so long ago.

Sometimes when she looked at Connor it seemed as if there were shadows in his eyes, as if he carried a burden of some sort. Maybe someday he'd tell her about it.

Neither man had lived a carefree existence, which was a nice change, really, after the lack of ambition on the part of Billy J-well, except for his dream of going to Nashville and becoming a star and being surrounded by pretty little empty-headed groupies.

Billy J never gave a thought to anything beyond the next good time. That kind of shiftlessness had worn on her when they'd been together. It was an att.i.tude that had never set well with her.

Lord, how could I have ever really believed Billy J was the best I could hope for?

"Part of our surprise is that tonight, instead of going out to a restaurant, we're going to cook dinner for you." Mel grinned and she couldn't help but grin back. They'd called her the night before and made this date for tonight, and told her it would be casual. She didn't mind not getting a lot of advance notice. She understood that with some of the work they did, they weren't exactly putting in an eight-hour day. It was Thursday, and today she'd worked the early shift, being on hand in the morning for the breakfast crowd, and riding out the lunch hours.

They'd been waiting for her when she stepped out of l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes at three thirty, and had driven her to her apartment so she could change out of her work clothes. They'd said casual, so she'd chosen her favorite pair of jeans and a comfortable, but not unflattering, T-shirt.

Now they were back in Mel's SUV but he hadn't started the vehicle yet.

"I didn't know you could cook." That would certainly be a new experience for her. She was a good cook herself, but what woman didn't appreciate it when she didn't have to be the one to do it all the time?

"We both can," Connor said.

"Eating out all the time gets old," Mel said. "And my mother has always been a believer that a young man should be able to look after himself."

Emily Anne grinned. "That's a philosophy I can get behind."

"In this day and age, and in most families, both adults have to work. It never made sense to me that everything at home should fall on the woman's shoulders, alone." Connor shrugged.

"Me, neither." She looked from one to the other of them. She wasn't sure what it was that Mel saw on her face but he laughed, and started the SUV.

Instead of heading north out of town, toward the state highway and Waco, he turned south and drove back through l.u.s.ty. He turned down the street that led, she thought, toward the school. A couple of minutes later he pulled the car into a driveway beside a two-story brick house.

"Whose house is this?"

"Ours."

They'd said that at the same time, and Emily Anne looked from one to the other. "You've moved here? To l.u.s.ty?"

"We have. Got everything moved in and settled late last night," Connor said.

"But...why? I thought living in Waco was more central to your business."

"Well it is," Mel said. "But it isn't important to us to live near where we work."

"We wanted to live close to you," Connor said. "Here, we're closer to your work, and your apartment, and it'll be easier all around, because your schedule is varied. We work for ourselves, so we can adapt."

"You moved here to be closer to me?" She couldn't wrap her head around it. Oh sure, they'd told her they were interested in her for more than just s.e.x and she believed that. On one level, at least. But here was proof that they were willing to change their lives, their routines, to accommodate her.

They were business owners whose billed hours in one day could likely cover her wages for a week, and yet with this action, they'd shown her that she and her livelihood were as important as them and theirs.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

"We were worried you might not be happy with us living so close," Connor said. "We didn't want you to think we'd only done this-move here-because we want you in our bed."

"We do want you in our bed," Mel said. "But that wasn't the only reason we moved here."

Connor brushed his finger across her cheek. "Anywhere else, even Waco, if folks got the idea we were a menage, they might criticize. We didn't want you subjected to that. l.u.s.ty-well, it's safe, here, for us. Safe for us to be seen spending time together, the three of us."

They had changed their lives, for her. Their prime consideration was for her comfort and reputation. Did it get any better than that for a woman? Emily Anne didn't think it did.

"So, what are you serving for dinner?"

She held back her smile as the men shared a look. Probably trying to figure out what's going on in my head, though they'll know that soon enough.

"Roast beef tenderloin. It's all ready to go into the oven," Mel said.

"Good. I'm really glad you haven't started cooking it, yet."

Both men turned to face her. "Is there something wrong? Why are you glad we haven't started cooking yet, angel eyes?"

She met each man's gaze in turn, and found what she'd hoped to see-an arousing mix of tenderness and hope.

"Y'all told me that what happens, or doesn't, between us was up to me. That I could take as much time as I needed to take before we moved this relationship of ours to the next level."

"Yes, we said that, precious," Mel said.

"We meant it, too, baby." Connor brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek again.

It's as if he can't stop touching me. Emily Anne smiled. "I know you meant it. But you see, I don't need to wait any longer. I don't want to wait any longer. I want to make love with you. I want to make love with both of you right now."

Bare minutes later Emily Anne found herself standing beside the biggest bed she'd ever seen, with one man pressed against her back and the other so very close in front of her. Mel cupped her face and used his thumbs to stroke her cheeks. He likely felt her shaking, because he said, "Don't be afraid, precious. We won't hurt you."

"I'm not afraid. I am nervous, of course. I've never had two lovers at the same time. But mostly, I'm excited. I want this. I want you."

"We've never shared a woman before, either, angel eyes. So our dance tonight might be just a bit awkward."