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The jig was very, very up indeed.
* * *
MERRY WAS THANKFUL for one thing, at least. Shane had all of his clothes. Hell, he was even wearing his boots when he stepped out of the bathroom. Aside from his wet hair, there was no hint that they’d showered together. If Grace hadn’t opened the door, Merry could’ve claimed he was just helping with some plumbing emergency she’d encountered midshower. Awkward, but these things happened.
He’d offered his shirt to Merry, but she hadn’t wanted him walking out bare-chested, so she wrapped a towel around her chest and followed him out.
Grace stood at the kitchen counter, beer in hand and eyebrow raised in cold judgment.
“Grace,” Shane said evenly. “Good evening.” She just took a swig from her beer and said nothing as he grabbed his hat from the couch. “Merry, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Merry half expected the beer bottle to crash against the door as Shane closed it, but Grace remained calm.
Too calm.
“So,” Merry said.
“So.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Grace took another drink of beer then shrugged. “I’m just glad the curtain is opaque.”
Merry casually strolled over to the couch and grabbed her shirt. “Excuse me,” she said as she turned her back and pulled it over her head.
“Rayleen got a little too into the card game and sucked down three more beers, so I had to drive her home.” She pushed Grace’s keys across the counter. “Sorry if I surprised you.”
“Well, obviously, I wouldn’t have…” Merry felt a sudden crash of thankfulness that she and Shane hadn’t been on the pull-out couch.
“Look, Merry, I don’t like him. And I don’t want you to get hurt. But you have every right to have sex with anyone you want, and I just hope it’s good for you. Okay?”
Merry watched her closely, waiting for a c
rack in her calm facade, but it didn’t come. “Okay,” she said, a grin escaping her control and spreading across her face.
“Well, you’re smiling. That’s something.” Grace reached into the fridge and handed Merry a beer.
“Oh, I’m smiling.” She sighed.
“So Shane Harcourt is all right in bed, huh? I guess I can live with that.”
“He’s great in bed. And truly spectacular in the shower.”
“Fine.” Grace laughed. “But you’re in charge of scrubbing the tub tomorrow, okay?”
“Ah, right. It probably needs it. Sorry.”
“Oh, my God!” Grace pretended to cover her ears. “I’m not sure I can hear this.”
“It’s okay.” Merry meant to sit on the sofa, but her thighs were still shaky and she half collapsed. “I don’t kiss and tell. Actually maybe I do and I just never had anything to tell before. He’s just… He treats me like I’m sexy, Grace.”
“You are sexy.”
“I’m not. I’m just me. You don’t know what that’s like, because men look at you and they see danger and sex.”
“Thanks,” Grace said dryly.
“Oh, please. That’s exactly what you want them to see. What they don’t see is how sweet you are. How much you feel. No one saw that until Cole, and that’s why you love him.”
