Heavenly Angel (28 page)

“Although I totally volunteered to go with the guys if they wanted to still do it,” Rachel said with a chuckle. “Angel and Joaquin told me they weren’t
in the mood
.” Rachel rolled her eyes before continuing, “What a load of crap, not in the mood to see almost completely naked women shake their asses and stick their boobs in their faces. They said, and I quote, ‘The girls at the club couldn’t give them a lap dance that satisfied them.’ Or something to that affect.”

Teresa burst into a fit of giggles.

Charity caught on first and laughed with her. “Oh! They have a
private dancer
now, huh? I think I’d be shocked, but I’m too happy for you, Teresa. Those two brothers have been
good
for you.”

Teresa looked around the room at the best friends a girl ever had. “You know what?
You all
have been good for me, too.”

The only one missing was Juliana, who was at Teresa’s apartment, helping pack Teresa’s bedroom and kitchen. Grace had invited her to come today, but she’d said she’d already committed to help the men and really didn’t mind. Teresa wondered if the fact that Ash Peterson was also helping with moving day didn’t have some impact on her choice to help.

Grace patted Teresa’s shoulder and said, “You’re being a good sport about the waxing. If it’s any consolation at all, when Angel and Joaquin came over for a bit on Sunday, I heard Jack talking to them both about having their first prostate exam done. They both agreed. You know what that means, don’t you?”

Teresa knit her eyebrows together, afraid to reveal the fact she had no idea what a prostate exam entailed. The girls removed all doubt when they squealed almost as one,
“The gloved and lubricated finger!”

Teresa laughed with her friends. They’d included her from the beginning, even when she hadn’t known how to relate to them. It also made her happy that her men were safeguarding their health for the sake of their family.

Grace disappeared upstairs and came back down with a large box wrapped in white paper and a big frothy bow. “I called Madeleine. She said we should come an hour early, so we still have until three o’clock.” The girls all gathered around.

She placed the wrapped box in front of Teresa on the coffee table. Teresa looked at her in dismay. She’d wanted to keep things simple and had told Grace so. They were all doing so much for her as it was. The wedding had been pulled together in less than a week and was going to take place that Saturday.

Teresa said, “I thought we were getting together for a planning session before going to the spa?”

Grace chuckled. “No, honey, everything is planned and under control. This was our time to get together with you and watch you open a special gift from
your men.
They adore you so much,” Grace said with a tear in her eye. “They said they needed my help, which as you can imagine, they got in spades. This came in yesterday morning. Open it.”

Tearing into the paper eagerly, Teresa looked at the shipping label and squealed with glee. “Hips and Curves!”

Teresa opened the numerous bundles inside. There were lingerie in every cut and fabric imaginable and even some items she had no idea how to wear. Among the panties and thongs was a beautiful, finely made pearl G-string with a double strand of white pearls and white lace waistband.

Teresa started to ask, “Where do the pearls—never mind. I’ll figure it out.” She was sure Angel and Joaquin would be delighted to help her figure that out.

There were bras in different designs, in lace, satin, and silk. She also found several gowns and babydoll nighties.

Grace giggled and said, “Angel and Joaquin were cute, comparing the styles and talking about the colors. They said complimentary things about your assets and your coloring. I think they made good choices.”

There was a white silk corset, complete with detachable garters and halter straps.

“That one is for under your wedding dress. It has a matching G-string and lace top stockings. Bear in mind,
they
picked these things for you. I steered them in the right directions, style wise. Keep going.”

Near the bottom, she found a long, white, halter-style gown. The empire waist and skirt were in a heavy white satin. The halter style bodice was a fine, sheer white lace. It had a series of thin, white satin straps that crisscrossed the back. It was the most gorgeous gown she’d ever owned. All the girls made appropriate ooh and ahh sounds.

Grace said dreamily, “They chose this for your wedding night. Look at the robe they chose to go over it.”

She opened the package, revealing a sheer, white, floor-length robe made of a fine silky mesh. It was joined at the fitted, gathered bust by a simple tie in front.

“Damn, I’d wear that by itself,” Charity murmured, reaching out to touch the filmy fabric.

Teresa was awed by the selections they made for her, especially this gown and robe, which were stunning.

Grace stopped her as she reached into the box and said, “Now, what’s left in the box is just for kicks and giggles, and they wanted you to know that
before
you opened it. I encouraged them because they weren’t sure, so you can blame these choices on me if you want.”

Unsure what she was about to find, Teresa made big eyes at Grace and went fishing. The next item out of the box was a sexy, leopard-print cat suit with a discreet overlapping, crotchless opening, complete with detachable tail and a headband with kitty ears attached to it.

All the girls giggled, including Teresa who was sure her cheeks were hot pink. There was a white envelope at the bottom of the box.

“Open the card,” Grace said encouragingly as Teresa looked at the mountain of lingerie piled around her. Teresa opened it and read it silently as tears welled up in her eyes. Then she read it out loud.

Dear Teresa,

By now you’ve made it to the bottom of the big box. We picked things we thought you might like that we’d love to see you in. But don’t think for a second that we’re trying to dress you up a certain way or change your style. We love you the way you are and hope you never think otherwise.

Loving you and Michael, and becoming a part of your lives has made us better men. The gift card is for just in case there was something you’ve been wanting from that company that you didn’t get today. We want you to have whatever makes you happy.

All our love—

Angel and Joaquin

P.S. We really do love that cat suit, a lot!

Enclosed in the note was a gift card from Hips and Curves in the amount of two hundred dollars. She felt like she’d entered another dimension. Being spoiled like this was going to take some getting used to. Two hundred
more
dollars for lingerie?
More
lingerie besides what was in the box?

There was a collective gasp when she showed them the gift card.

“Wow. I—wow.” Teresa was at a loss for words.

“Yes, this is what spoiled rotten feels like,” Grace affirmed for her, patting her shoulder.

Chapter Twenty-three

Teresa had a chance to think on the way over to the spa and knew she’d made the right choice about waxing. If they were willing to spend that kind of money on lingerie so she could doll herself up, the least she could do was get the full triangle French wax.

She rethought her earlier resolution once she was naked from the waist down and feeling a wee bit vulnerable in the private waxing room.

The wax was spread, the fabric strips applied. Ready to start yanking, the friendly wax tech, Rebecca, put her hand on Teresa’s arm before she got started.

“Trust me when I tell you I’ve
heard
it all in this room. Curse your fiancé, curse your friends for talking you into this, curse at me all you want. Whatever gets said in my waxing room stays in my waxing room, okay?” she said with a cheerful grin. Teresa secretly wondered if many wax techs were secretly sadists.

As Rebecca said these things, she checked the strips and found one particular one and pressed down on the flesh beneath it, holding it nice and taut before continuing with what she was saying. A cold chill rolled up Teresa’s spine as she suddenly wasn’t so sure about this adventure.

“I’m the best at what I do. Just ask Grace and Charity. They’ll tell you. When you see how smooth and lovely you are after I’m done, you’ll be singing my praises. Okay?”

In a tremulous voice, Teresa said, “Okay…?”

Rip
.

Okay, that
stung
, more than a little. New strip, hold the skin taut and…

Rip
.

Did not enjoy that one, not
even
a little…

Rip
.

The other spots were starting to
throb,
and that last
motherfucker
really hurt! She was panting when…

Rip
.

Then chirpy, cheerful Rebecca said, “Hey, you’re doing really well. You must have a high tolerance for pain.
Excellent
.”

Oh no, am I seeing black spots?

Rip
.

“Shit!” Teresa yelped, both at the pain and at hearing herself curse out loud. At least she was breathing again.

“It’s okay, honey. Let ‘er rip. These rooms are soundproofed. You should hear Grace and Charity. They shriek like banshees.”

Rip
.

“Son of a bitch!” Why had she agreed to the full wax? Wax and your ass
should not
be used in the same sentence,
ever
!

Speaking of which,
rip
.

“Ow! Motherfucker! Grace, I’m gonna kill you!” Teresa screamed, and like that, the dam burst open, and Teresa discovered the joy of cursing.

Rip.

Rip.

“Now, don’t hate me for this last one because it’s –”

Rip!
“Oh, fuck!”

“—a doozy. There, all done. Breathe, honey.” Teresa was seeing black spots again as Rebecca patted her shoulder. “Hold still while I apply some oatmeal powder. This will help a lot. I’ll send some home with you, too. You may have some inflammation for a day or so, but you’ll be fine by Friday. Take some ibuprofen, sleep bare skinned tonight, and try not to get sweaty. A cool shower would be good, too, if you can stand it, but don’t chafe with the towel. That skin is a little delicate right now. Your triangle turned out pretty.” She powdered the offended area and patted the neatly trimmed triangle that now adorned Teresa’s mons, proud of her work.

“Thank you,” Teresa whimpered.
For torturing me.

The wax tech smiled at her and said, “I know you probably hate my guts right now, but give it a day or so, and I’ll be your new best friend. See you in a month or so. You can get dressed now.”

“Thanks, Rebecca.”
Whimper.

“Congratulations on your wedding Saturday. Have fun,” she replied, grinning.

“Yeah,” Teresa groaned.
If I can freaking walk.

* * * *

“I said
bad
words,” Teresa said with a chuckle fifteen minutes later after Grace wheedled an ice pack out of Rebecca for Teresa and Corina, who was also new to waxing. They all sat in luxurious padded chairs receiving pedicures.

“I know. I heard you,” Charity said with a snicker.

“Nuh-uh,” Corina moaned. “That was me. I was in the room next to yours, Charity. I was afraid she was going to kill me. That first strip was murder. The
other
one was even worse.”

“
Other one?”
Charity scoffed. “What did you get, just a basic bikini line wax, two little strips?”

“Uh-huh!” Corina said pathetically.

Teresa looked over at Corina in stunned surprise as Charity snickered. “Teresa’s gonna
kill
you if you keep talking, Corina. How’s that ice pack, honey? Need a shot of whiskey to go with it?” she asked Teresa sympathetically.

Teresa looked at her and started laughing, and soon they all joined in.

Finally, with tears streaming from her eyes, Teresa said, “What would my poor, sainted mother say if I told her I had my
ass
waxed today? How would that conversation go? ‘No Mom, not my BUTT, my ass, right up the middle!’” She giggled and made a ripping motion with her forearm and laughed hysterically along with the others. All the spa techs were giggling, as well.

“Stop, I’m gonna pee in my pants!” Rosemary wheezed, doubled over while they all sat in their chairs getting pedicures.

Teresa wiped tears from her eyes, chuckling. “I said a lot of
really bad words
. I’m appalled at myself.”

“Yeah, it was you I heard,” Charity said with a chuckle.

Grace’s phone rang, and she answered, “Hi, honey, I have you on speakerphone. How’s it going at the apartment?”

They could hear distinctive Adam’s voice. “Well, we’ve about got everything packed up, but we’ve run into a little snag.”

“What’s that?” Grace glanced at Teresa in concern. Something about Adam’s voice led Teresa to believe that the little snag was anything but minor.

Adam hesitated for a moment. “Well…Ash accidentally knocked Juliana off the seven-foot ladder in the living room—”