Thankfully, it had gotten a little easier every day.
She pulled the bustier higher on her boobs and then lower to cover her stomach, but it was like playing tug-of-war with skintight leather. A cacophony of giggles erupted in the living room, and she peeked out.
Madigan was sitting on the couch with Junie on her lap, pulling the paper off one of the temporary tattoos she had brought for the girls and Leah to use. Junie couldn’t wait to show Gia her leopard-print bell-bottoms, black sweatshirt with a leopard-print heart on it, and the special black boots with a silver buckle that Tank had surprised her with last week. She’d worn the boots from morning until bedtime every day. Rosie stood behind the couch in her green and yellow Tinker Bell outfit with a yellow turtleneck underneath, tapping Madigan’s shoulders with the sparkling light-up fairy wand Tank had gone to great lengths to find for her. Leah had made Rosie a jacket/cape with holes for her wings to wear over her costume tonight so as not to wuin her wings.
“Leah, your gossip girls are telling me how much they love sleeping in their big bed at Papa Tank’s house.”
They’d had so much fun at his house during the living-room camping trip, they’d stayed at his place a few more times, and the girls slept in one of the double beds in his extra bedrooms.
“We eat s’meaahs!” Rosie shouted.
“S’mowahs,” Junie corrected her.
Rosie grinned, nodding. “S’meaahs!”
“I bet Mama and Papa Tank saved some of that gooey chocolate for a midnight snack.” Madigan waggled her brows at Leah.
“Mawshmallows, too,” Junie exclaimed.
Madigan gave Leah a knowing look and laughed.
Leah felt her cheeks burn. She and the girls had been spending more time with Tank’s extended family, which included their closest friends. Leah had gotten close with Madigan and the rest of the Girl Squad. She loved having girlfriends again. Not just for herself, but for the girls, too. Junie and Rosie ate up the attention everyone gave them, and they especially enjoyed their visits with Grandpa Mike. They were all so happy, sometimes Leah fell into a well of guilt, because River had missed out on this wonderful circle of friends, but Tank was always there to catch her and to remind her that River was still with them, even on days when he felt really far away.
“Thank you for the ink, Tattoo Girl.” Madigan patted Junie’s bottom. “Now, hop off so I can help your mama get ready before Papa Tank gets here.”
The girls ran for their toys, and Madigan strutted into the bedroom looking hotter than Scarlett Johansson in her Black Widow outfit. She ran her eyes up and down Leah. “Holy shitake mushrooms, woman. My cousin is going to lose his freaking mind over you.”
Leah wrinkled her nose and picked up another top. “I’m not wearing this one.”
“Why not? You’re smokin’ in that bustier.”
“I feel like a banana, and you know he’ll just want to peel me.”
They both laughed.
“Isn’t that the point?” Madigan plopped onto the bed, leaning back on her palms, and crossed her legs, watching Leah.
“The point is to show him that I like everything about him and his world, not to show his world all my naughty bits.”
“Oh, please, girl. Guys like showing off their women. They’re like cavemen.” She lowered her voice and spoke in a deep voice. “Me man. Fuck woman. You no touch.”
Leah laughed. “Let’s hope Tank doesn’t say that.”
“He’s crazy about you, and after what he did at the Salty Hog the other day, he doesn’t need to say a word. Gossip spreads faster than mono at a teenage party around here. Everyone knows you guys are together.”
“There weren’t that many people there.” Tank had plowed into the restaurant Wednesday afternoon like a man on a mission. He’d carried an enormous vase of red roses in one arm and hauled Leah against him with his other, kissing her breathless. He’d flashed one of his wolfish grins, handed her the gorgeous flowers, and said, I hope today is better than yesterday for you, darlin’. Then he’d taken a seat at the bar, like he hadn’t left her weak-kneed and light-headed. Ginger had looked over and said, Guess that takes care of that. Leah had never been given flowers before, and she sure as heck had never been claimed by a man like that. She didn’t care if what he’d done was a little Neanderthalish, because it was so very Tank, and Madigan was right. She was head-over-heels crazy about him.
Madigan sat up and said, “Aunt Ginger had lunch with my mom and their friends, and they burned up the gossip lines like wildfire. And of course my mom called her sister-in-law, Red Whiskey, Dixie’s mom, in Maryland, and Red told Dixie, who called Maverick to see if it was true. By now I’m sure even our relatives in Colorado have heard the news.”
Leah could do little more than gape at her. “Okay. Wow. That’s a lot.”
“Is it time to go see Connie and Gingy yet?” Junie yelled from the other room.
“Not yet. Soon.” Leah glanced into the living room. Junie was lying on the floor coloring, and Rosie was tapping Junie’s butt with her wand.
“Connie,” Madigan said with a laugh. “I love that so much.”
“I tried to get them to call him Conroy, and they’d do it for like a minute; then it’s all Connie this and Connie that. The girls even tried to get me to put Connie and Gingy on the memory blanket I’m making for Tank’s parents.”
“You know they’re so in love with your girls, they could call them Tweedledee and Tweedledum and they’d be fine with it.” Madigan fished through the clothes and held up a button-down lace blouse with three-quarter sleeves and a plunging scalloped neckline. “This is you. It’s classy and super sexy. It even has built-in flesh-colored cups so your nips don’t show. Try it on.”
Leah slipped off the bustier and put on the shirt, tucking it into the low-waisted leather leggings. It clung to her, but it felt soft, not itchy and not tight like the leather tops did.
“Oh yeah, baby. That’s it. That’s the one.” Madigan jumped to her feet and pulled Leah over to the mirror. “Look at how gorgeous you are.”
Leah felt feminine and pretty in it. The low neckline somehow made her bushy hair look not quite so overpowering, and the way the shirt and leggings hugged her body, she actually looked like she had curves. “I’ve never worn anything with such a low neckline. Will yours or Tank’s parents think it’s inappropriate?”
Madigan rolled her eyes. “They’re bikers. They believe women should be confident and sexy, and you look classy, not slutty. Tank is going to lose his mind. But we’d better hurry and get the finishing touches done.”
“Finishing touches?” She looked at her curiously.
Madigan reached into her bag and waved something in the air. “I had special temporary tattoos made just for you. Let’s put them on in the bathroom.”
“Would you mind if I let Junie put one on me?” Leah asked. “She’s so excited about being a tattooist.”
“She can put the rose tattoo on your arm.” Madigan took Leah’s hand and dragged her out of the bedroom. “But the others are going where nobody but Tanky will see them.”
Junie loved putting the tattoo on Leah’s arm, and both girls helped Madigan put T-A-N-K’S on the fingers of Leah’s right hand and G-I-R-L on the left. Madigan put a heart with TANK + LEAH inside it on the swell of Leah’s right breast. As Madigan finished applying the last tattoo, Leah heard Tank come through the front door and the girls running to him. Leah’s pulse sprinted.