witnessed me not having it together on more than one occasion.
Rosemarie just stayed silent.
“I’ve never been pregnant before,” I said. “I don’t know anything.”
“You should get one of those books,” Rosemarie said. “I hear they’re real helpful. Giving birth can’t be that hard. If cavewomen used to do it while running from dinosaurs I figure yours should be a walk in the park.”
“I guess when you put it that way.” I turned the water off and grabbed the towel I’d laid over the warming rod, and I moaned as I wrapped it around my sore body. “So what’s the surprise?” I asked, barely bothering to dry off as I stumbled back toward the bed.
“We’re outside!” she said. “Come open the door. The rain is gone. It’s a beautiful day, and you’re going to love this. I promise.”
“How can it be a beautiful day?” I asked. “It’s barely seven o’clock in the morning.” I looked out the picture window in the bedroom and saw the sun shining through the trees.
“We haven’t had sun in weeks,” Rosemarie said. “I’d almost forgotten what it looked like. It’s still colder than Nina Dempsey’s heart out here, but we’re well on the way to spring. But maybe you could come open the front door and let us in because I didn’t wear a coat on account of I didn’t want it to interfere with my outfit.”
“Us?” I asked, grabbing my robe from the foot of the bed.
“That’s part of the surprise,” Rosemarie said.
I could hear the excitement in her voice, and I knew whatever was going on was bound to be a disaster. I blew out a breath. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Scarlet was still snoring, so I took that as a good sign. I could only handle crazy in small doses.
The sunlight was blinding as I walked to the front of the house, the wood floors streaked with dappled light. My steps slowed as I got a glimpse of Rosemarie standing with a group of men through the window, and I almost didn’t open the door, but she saw me.
“Hey,” I said, looking her over. She wore denim overalls and a long-sleeved flannel shirt, and her Farrah Fawcett hair was tied into pigtails. She had a tool belt and a clipboard.
There were several men surrounding her, of various shapes and sizes, but I noticed immediately that they were all in very good shape. Like, very good shape. These were some of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen. I was not going to be happy if my surprise was a bunch of strippers.
“Wha—what’s going on here?” I asked, taking a step back.
“This is your surprise,” Rosemarie said, practically bouncing out of her Doc Martens.
“I’m definitely surprised,” I said. “I just don’t know what I’m surprised about.”
Rosemarie came inside the house and the men followed behind her. It was then I noticed they all had tool belts and sledgehammers, and I started to get a sinking feeling in my gut.
“She looks like she might pass out,” a familiar voice said. “You’d better sit her down. I’ll get some water.”
“Suzanne?” I asked, as Rosemarie took me by the arm and led me to the orgy couch. That’s the only way I could think of it now since Scarlet’s declaration that it reminded her of one.
“I’m Barry today,” he said. “This kind of work needs an Adam’s apple.”
He brought me a bottle of water and then looked around the house, nodding casually and muttering under his breath. He was a stunning woman, but he was also a very attractive man. His head was bald as a billiard, and he was muscular with broad shoulders and narrow hips. He wasn’t wearing the silicone boobs today or the corset, so it was like meeting him for the first time.
“You look like Idris Elba,” I said. “But without hair.”
“I get that a lot,” he said. “And it’s easier to put on the wigs without the hair. That’s a little tip of the trade.”
“Don’t tell Scarlet,” I said.
“This house has good bones,” Barry said. “All you need is a meshing of styles. It’s real easy to see what Nick’s style is since this was his place. He likes simple, clean lines and modern furniture. But your style is about as opposite from that as you can get if your Pinterest board is anything to go by. I stayed up late last night going through the photos, and I’ve been working up a design scheme. Richard here is an architect, so