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At some point Kate had even been able to admit the truth to herself. Not only did she no longer distrust Jack, she was falling in love with him.
Not intentionally, probably not wisely, but there it was. She loved the son of the man who’d broken her mother’s heart.
“Maybe it’s fate,” she told herself. “Maybe we can have the happy ending in this generation.”
She told herself not to hope too much. After all, she’d gone through most of her adult life not believing she could ever trust someone enough to experience real love. Somehow, though, he’d worked past her defenses and captured her heart. She was simply unable to help it.
Cassie called Monday morning, and, to Kate’s complete surprise, didn’t even scold her for not picking her up from the airport. She did act very strange, though. Something had obviously happened between her and the sheriff after he’d picked her up, but Kate wasn’t about to pry. After all, Cassie didn’t question her about being caught having sex up at the lake with Jack. Kate had to figure it was because Tag hadn’t told her. Cassie would never have let something that juicy go without comment if she knew. She’d instead been much more interested in hearing all about the Bunko party and the mayor’s reception, seeming surprised to hear about the friendliness of so many of the women Kate had met.
When her cousin called again at noon, Kate instantly knew Cassie was in one of her wild moods. She sounded ready for something to happen. From experience, she figured that meant Cassie wanted something dangerous to happen.
Still, she had to admit, Cassie’s idea was a good one. “You’re saying we should have a pre-opening, private party for women only in the store tomorrow night?”
“Think of it as a very naughty Tupperware party.”
It sounded ridiculous, outrageous and impossible.
And Kate loved the idea.
Their store would open in exactly one week. How better to test the waters than to invite some of the women Kate had met recently for a test run? They’d seemed modern and open about sex and relationships, and also starved for the type of products the store would carry. Deep down, she suspected they’d welcome Bare Essentials. The party would be the perfect time to find out.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t a nervous wreck. She liked these women, she really did, and she hated to imagine how she’d feel if they couldn’t look past the titillation factor and see the potential for the store.
She wanted them to like Bare Essentials.
More importantly, she didn’t want them to dislike her.
Kate did not pause to wonder when her goals had changed—she only knew they had. She no longer wanted only to cause controversy. Damn it, she wanted to succeed. She wanted the women of Pleasantville to be glad the Tremaine cousins had come back.
Thirty-six hours later, standing in the middle of a crowd of laughing women, she realized she needn’t have worried.
“Oh, my God, Kate, no wonder you know so much about seduction!” Viv said as she greedily dug through the racks of erotic movies in the store.
“I never thought I’d say this, but these might be even better than Dr. Martens.” This from Josie as she stood in front of a mirror, holding a jade-green silk teddy up against her body.
Diane went for the sex toys. “Anyone know which end is up?”
Crossing her arms and nodding in satisfaction, Kate met Cassie’s eye from across the room. They exchanged a long, knowing look, each realizing that in spite of the way they’d started out, they were witnessing the birth of a bona fide success.
Who’d have ever believed it?
Soon the store was overflowing with chattering women. All the Bunko players came, and they brought friends. Cassie had also invited one woman, Stacie, who was a relative newcomer to town herself and seemed thrilled to meet all the others. Cassie and Kate could barely keep up with the sales, chatter and laughter. They passed around wine and hors d’oeuvres, and as the evening wore on, the sales added up.
“Well, all I know is, I want to buy whatever it was Kate had on under her dress at the party Saturday night,” Diane said, fisting her hands and putting them on her hips. “Come on, show me. No cheesecake in the world is that good.”
