Read Online Commissioned In White (Art of Love Series) by Donna McDonald - Free Book Online

older,” Reesa said, sighing. “When do you get to stop worrying when you have sex?”
    Ellen came out of the stall and slipped an arm around her other daughter-in-law’s tiny waist as Carrie moved away. “Oh, it’s not really about age, Reesa. It’s more like sometime after the kids are gone, you start to realize there’s no one left to worry about what you do. It takes a bit to reinvent yourself, but honey, it’s so worth it.”
    “I guess I need to stop and get a pregnancy test on the way home,” Carrie said, resigned to checking, even though she didn’t really need to since all the signs were there. She just had been too busy to pay attention. “You can bet your ass tomorrow I am going to have a long talk with my baby doctor. I also hope I have some of those anti-nausea pills left. Michael is going to be so happy. I hope I can carry to full term this time. And here I go again, angry to weepy in three seconds flat.”
    Carrie put her hands over her face, sniffled again, and then let the flood loose in the towels Ellen had given her.
    Jessica walked over and hugged Carrie, brushing back her hair. “Everything with Michael is better now though, right?”
    Carrie nodded. “Yes—better than I ever imagined.”
    “So I’ll just buy plenty of new clothes and plan on being at the gallery every day until you get past the sick part. No problem,” Jessica said easily. “It will keep me from having a panic attack about retiring.
    Carrie hugged back. “I think my parents have been praying for this too. Between them and Michael, I knew I wasn’t going to get to wait a whole year before getting pregnant. But I was still hoping. I need to go home now.”
    “Good—because I have to tell you girls, I am partied out. This is all the fun I can take for one night,” Jessica said. “Let’s all go home.”
    They trailed out of the bathroom and back to the table to collect their coats.
    “So are you really going to rent the condo, Brooke?” Reesa asked as they were leaving.
    “Yes I am,” Brooke replied. “I appreciate Shane leaving the furniture. If you guys ever need any of it though, just say the word.”
    “We don’t need the furniture. There’s no room in the house. But I’d sure like to have the contents of his nightstand right now,” Reesa joked.
    Brooke laughed. “I think I know what you mean, and it’s too late. I watched Shane empty the whole box into the trash, thanking the creator he didn’t need them anymore. I could have probably used them, but there’s no real etiquette for passing along unused birth control to your stepsister, is there? Even the Larson men have some sense of decorum.”
    Reesa snorted and ran a trembling hand through her hair. “I can’t believe Shane just threw them all away after investing in the biggest box he could buy. How am I supposed to ask Shane’s mother to stop and let me buy condoms on the way home?”
    Brooke looked down at Reesa’s raised chin and felt almost sorry for her unsuspecting future stepbrother who wouldn’t be getting to enjoy his beloved wife completely tonight.
    “I couldn’t ask Ellen either, and I’m pretty brazen,” Brooke said.
    “Shane better not be in an amorous mood,” Reesa declared. “Unless he wants to spend the night on the living room floor again.”
    Brooke snickered. “Poor Dr. Larson, banished to the living room floor for something his brother did accidentally. That’s too funny.”
    Reesa stopped walking to sigh heavily. “I guess it isn’t fair to do that to him, is it?” she said, biting her lip. Then she sighed. “Oh, whatever. I’m doing the best I can to prevent pregnancy. If it happens, I’ll just have to find a way to deal with it, like everything else in my life. I’m not going to be able to keep my hands to myself either.”
    Brooke patted her shoulder. “Good for you. I have to say though—I have never been so happy to be going home alone as I am tonight.”
    ***
     
    “Michael is going to be