Read Online Turn of the Pipes (A Redpoint One Romance) by J.A. Marlow - Free Book Online Page A

Eddie's layered ensembles, or
Daisy's bright and gay whimsical creations. All very nice, so long
as they wore the clothes and didn't insist Rachel joined
in.
    Oh, her dear misguided friends.
    A flash of deep gold appeared at the top of
the dress bag. Velda reached inside and pulled out a simple deep
gold dress with a wide waist and flaring skirt, tastefully edged
with gold and red rhinestones along the upper bodice. The color was
perfect. The entire dress was perfect.
    "Elegant with a touch of formal, but subdued
enough for any occasion," Daisy said, smoothing out the
skirt.
    "Wow," Tish said from her corner of the
bedroom. "You found this at a rummage sale?"
    "Bevel silk," Daisy said. "I think your
Ignacio will appreciate the nice touch. What do you
think?"
    "Wow," Rachel echoed, not knowing what else to
say.
    The dress looked fabulous on the hanger, and
just as fabulous on her. How did Daisy manage to find such a great
dress and in her size, all in the same week of her date? Sometimes
the abilities of the other Naughty Knitters amazed her.
    The one bathroom in her small apartment
somehow fit four at a time as the ladies moved on to the hair. Tish
stayed out of the way, instead becoming the beverage girl and
offering opinions. Where before Rachel had been worried about being
late, she instead ended up ready right on time.
    "No dallying. Get going, he'll be waiting,"
Eddie said, putting a lacy knitted shawl over her
shoulders.
    "Of course we expect all the details later,"
Velda said with an evil grin.
    "There will be no juicy details," Rachel said
as the women pushed her towards the door.
    "There should be. Live a little," Velda said,
putting her hands on her hips. "I mean it."
    "Go get him," Tish said, her eyes dancing.
"Don't get into too much trouble with the newts."
    Newts. Colorful, ruffled, frilled, long and
short newts. Including one that liked getting into her
pipes.
    Which hadn't happened in all the time she'd
been waiting for this date. So nice to meet a man who kept his
promises.
    Still, she found herself nervous as she came
to stand outside his door. Only five minutes early, but she
considered waiting the extra few minutes to be right on time. Yet,
as the seconds ticked by her apprehension began to
mount.
    Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door
chime. Time for this date to start, for better or for
worse.
    The seconds ticked by while she waited for the
door to open. When it did, it didn't reveal a man in a long apron
with hair sticking out in all directions like last time.
    Ignacio wore a simple casual dark blue suit
with a white shirt and simple tie with polished shoes and shiny
black hair neatly combed back away from a high forehead. Not a
speck of dirt marred the sharp planes of his face. He smelled
fantastic.
    She'd met a comfortable curmudgeon in an apron
before. Tonight she was with a devastatingly handsome man she might
have to beat women away from with a big stick.
    She cleared her voice, managing to say, "Good
evening."
    "Good evening." His eyes roved along her body,
growing bright as they took in the dress. "You look
lovely."
    "Thank you. You aren't so bad yourself." He
was more than fine, in fact. Rachel adjusted the shawl. "So, what
did you have in mind for tonight?"
    Rachel expected a nice restaurant, perhaps a
hole-in-the-wall he liked to frequent. Perhaps one of the bigger
reservation-only restaurants in the entertainment sector as a way
to impress her.
    Finding herself on a blanket in the middle of
an exotic-animal reserve for a night picnic would have never
occurred to her.
    "Interesting location," Rachel remarked as
Ignacio started laying out the contents of a picnic basket along
the edge of the blanket. An artificial moon reflected off the lake
on the other side of a wide walking path. From the trees around
them came the muffled and subdued sounds of the creatures who
inhabited the night.
    "I work with the managers," he said with a
grin. "Would you prefer dinner by candlelight in a place where