Sexy and Funny, Hilarious Erotic Romance Bundle by Mimi Strong Page B

shops, cafes, and all that twee stuff tourists love, and on top of everything, I looked good . All that healthy eating and working out before the wedding had paid off.
    I didn't usually wear such bright colors, but I'd borrowed some samples from work, on the premise of research. That day I donned a form-fitting orange-sherbert-hued stretchy dress, my favorite sandals, and headed out to look for adventure. Or at the very least, ice cream.
    My destination was the old-fashioned-looking ice cream shop next door to the antique store that specialized in wooden rocking chairs. The ice cream was made fresh, locally, and the staff were equally wholesome—two young men with tousled brown hair, possibly brothers. I'd been in while the younger was getting the older one to buy him beer, and had gathered that one was not yet twenty-one. At twenty-seven, I was a little old for either of them, but their sweet-natured flirtations had been as good as the ice cream. I'd been there nearly every day of my brief stay in town, because those boys made me feel like I might be able to love again.
    I walked past the striped awning of the ice cream shop, sneaking a peek, but I lost my nerve to go in and kept walking, on to the antique shop. Inside, surrounded by antiques, the ladies who worked there chatted with me about rocking chairs, and I seriously considering paying to ship one back home. I said I'd think about it, and waved goodbye as I made my way back out the door, the bells on the handle jingling merrily.
    I summoned my courage and stopped in next door for my last ice cream.
    Elvis was playing on the vintage jukebox.
    The ice cream shop was quiet, with no customers but me. The younger brother was the one at work that day, and he stood behind the counter, fastidiously wiping down surfaces, his lean, muscular arms taking my breath away.
    “Just a moment,” he said without looking up.
    “I'm in no hurry.”
    He dropped the cloth in a sink and looked up, a big smile spreading across his face when he saw it was me.
    “You're getting to be a regular,” he said. “You might have to move here, ya know?”
    I smiled coyly back at him. “I'll talk to the-powers-that-be about opening a branch here.”
    He hooked his thumb into the tie of his apron and gazed at me. “Some sort of designer clothing place, right? That's where you work?”
    “You remembered.”
    His gaze swept over my body, down my bright orange dress, lingering on my hips, then back up again. “Is that, uh, dress from your company?”
    “Sure is.”
    “It's memorable. And I liked that other one, with the ...” He wiggled his fingers in front of his chest.
    I blushed, my cheeks hot from the attention, even though it was exactly what I wanted. “The green dress? With the ruffles down the front? I think I wore that yesterday.”
    “Yeah.” Now it was his turn to blush, and he looked down at his feet. “I know most guys don't notice that sort of thing, but—”
    He was cut off by someone coming in the door in a flurry. She stepped right up to the counter, in front of me, as though I wasn't even there.
    He said hello to her and leaned across the counter to kiss her. On the mouth.
    Figures, he'd have a girlfriend.
    As they talked, I wandered over to the wooden counter along the front window and had a look through the local newspaper. The front page news item was about a busted water main.
    A dog barked. I whirled around and saw the source of the barking, a dog inside the girl's purse. The dog had a pink collar on, with rhinestones, so I assumed it was a female. She yipped at me excitedly.
    The girlfriend groaned and dropped the purse on the floor, so the dog could climb out. She ran over to me, wagging her gray, fluffy tail.
    “Hello ...” I knelt down and checked her collar, “Princess?”
    Princess put her little front paws on my knee and licked my face. I laughed and petted her around the ears, making gooey baby talk at her. I'd had a similar dog, my beloved Sascha, bless