Take It To The Grave Bundle 1: Take It to the Grave parts 1-3

The kindness in her voice almost fools me—almost. Gretchen is no Andrea, and my old crew surrounds her. The women eye me as if I’m a cornered tiger, destined to bite.

“I’m fine.” Sounding as cheerful as I can, I move behind the table. “What can I do for you ladies?”

Tessie peers at me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I smile harder, hoping it doesn’t seem like I’m baring my teeth. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Well, your makeup is smudged, for one thing. I don’t think I’ve ever see you look less than perfect.” Tessie’s nose wrinkles as if she smells something bad. My waterproof mascara has clearly committed a criminal offense.

“Ladies, ladies, be kind. She’s just had a baby. She’ll be back to her old self soon, won’t you, Sarah?”

I didn’t think it was possible to feel any worse, but I’m tempted to hide under the table when I see Jessica is the one who’s come to my rescue. While the other women are demure flowers in their pale frocks, Jessica is an exotic bird in her emerald green dress. It plunges in the front, displaying her assets.

“Well, I don’t know about that.” I’m relieved my voice is steady. “They say motherhood changes you forever.”

“That’s true, I suppose,” Tessie says, but I can hear the doubt in her voice.

“Of course it’s true.” Jessica’s eyes glitter, betraying her amusement. “Everyone gains weight during pregnancy. It can’t be helped. She’ll lose it, won’t you, Sarah? She just needs my personal trainer.”

“Hey, you’re sold out of my shortbread already,” Gretchen says. “That’s great.”

Tessie rushes over to inspect the table. “My sweet buns are sold out, too. That’s even faster than usual.”

“Really? Who bought them?” Jessica asks.

Icy fingers creep up my spine. “What do you mean, who bought them?” I roll my eyes and gesture to the crowd. “There must be hundreds of people here.”

She pins me to the spot with her unwavering scrutiny, and I panic, terrified she can read my mind. She focuses on my hips, where my dress pulls the tightest. “Yes, but we both know the majority of them won’t touch a sweet, and the rest aren’t allowed to.”

Smelling blood, the other women lean in for my reply. I think I might faint, after all.

“Okay, ladies, sheath your claws. I can hear your hissing from over here.”

My face breaks into the first genuine smile of the day as Warwick pushes past them to snag one of my Imperial cookies. “How much for this one, darling? No matter what you charge, it can’t be enough.” Before I can answer, he takes a huge bite.

Kissing a crumb from the side of his mouth, I briefly press my forehead to his. “Three dollars.”

“A veritable bargain!” He selects a five-dollar bill from an embossed clip and tucks it between my breasts before I can stop him. “Keep the change.”

Tessie gasps. “Warwick, you’re a scoundrel.”

My husband winks at her. “Guilty as charged. Tess, Gretchen, you’re lovely as usual. Jess, you need to quit blending into the background. You’re turning into a regular wallflower.”

The three women titter in response. “You haven’t changed,” Jessica says, slapping him on the arm. “You’re a bad boy.”

He grins, deepening his dimples. “Why should I change? You can’t improve on perfection.”

“Well...” Jessica draws the word out, letting it roll on her tongue. Her hand snakes up to caress my husband’s shoulder, and as I watch, unbelieving, his other arm encircles her waist. “That is true.”

“Takes one to know one, doesn’t it?” Warwick winks again, and I can hear the gruffness in his voice. He’s getting turned on.

As Jessica and my husband ogle each other, oblivious to the rest of the world, my chest tightens. How can he do this to me? He knows how I feel about Jessica, knows she’s always trying to take my place with the other women.

I clear my throat, and when neither acknowledges me, I lose it. “Warwick! Earth to Warwick?”

My husband turns from Jessica long enough to shoot me a warning look. His blue eyes have deepened to a dangerous hue. “What is it, dear heart?” His words are friendly enough, but they’re forced from between clenched teeth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a satisfied expression creep across my rival’s face.

“Your mother took off with our son quite a while ago. I’m getting worried. Will you go find him, please?”

“If Mother has him, I’m sure he’s fine. You could use a break, darling. Why don’t you relax and enjoy your few minutes of freedom?”

Disentangling himself from Jessica, he slips behind the table to stand next to me. His fingers tighten on my hips as he pulls me into him, and I startle at the suddenness of it. His lips graze my ear.

“Your panties,” he murmurs. “Take them off. Now.”

I don’t believe what I’m hearing. We’re surrounded by people—surely he isn’t serious. “I can’t,” I whisper, praying the other women didn’t hear what he said. They still watch us with interest, but Jessica’s smirk has faded away.

“You can. Give them to me.”

He leaves me then, sauntering around to Jessica and crew like the prize rooster in a henhouse. “So, Tessie, where are those sweet buns of yours? I’ve had a craving.”

Tessie giggles.

“Haven’t you heard? Your wife is running the most successful bake stall in the history of the East Hamptons fair,” Jessica tells him. “Almost everything is sold out.”

Bitch.

“Really?” Warwick cocks an eyebrow at me as he runs a finger over Jessica’s bare arm. The hateful woman practically quivers with ecstasy. “That’s a shame—for me. I’m hungry. What did you bring, Jessica dear?”

While he has her distracted, I duck under the table, using the gingham cloth that covers it to hide what I’m doing. “I might have some more of the buns under here,” I say, yanking at my sweat-soaked panties. I’m wearing a magenta lace thong—ridiculous underwear for a nursing mother, but Warwick detests what he calls “Grandma panties.” He refuses to let any in the house. At least the thong is tiny enough to hide in my hand, but getting it over my feet without the other women noticing is another story. Finally I tear the flimsy lace off my ankles. There’s no way I’ll want to put it back on, anyway.

When I pop up from under the table, exhausted from my efforts, Tessie looks at me expectantly. “Well?”

My husband has apparently said something humorous, since Jessica is laughing and leaning against him as if she can no longer support her own body weight. It takes every inch of self-control not to roll my eyes, and for a minute I’m so distracted I forget Tessie is waiting for an answer.

“Sarah? Did you find any?”

Right, the sweet buns.

“All gone, sorry.” I tuck my hands behind me to hide the incriminating lace. “It was a long shot, anyway. You know they always sell out first.”

Imagine her reaction if she ever found out most of her masterpieces were flushed down the toilet. I have to bite my lip to keep from grinning.

“No luck, darling?” Warwick leaves Jessica long enough to lean over me. He uses his broad back to hide his hand, which plucks the underwear out of mine so deftly I barely feel it.

“No, they’re sold out.” My voice catches in my throat, sounding garbled, but only Tessie appears to notice. She wrinkles her nose at me again, but before she can say anything, my husband seizes me by my wrist, pulling me out from behind the table.