Lily nodded, still a little hurt, but she understood. Beth had wanted to avoid hurting her. Besides, Lily was aware she hadn’t taken it well when she had found out.
“You should have put a shower in like Shade has in his bedroom,” Lily said, staring at her sister’s small shower.
“I haven’t seen it,” Beth said curiously.
“It’s the bomb. Of course, it’s too late now with all your tile-work laid, but his should be in a magazine.”
“Really?”
“Yes!” Lily enthused.
They walked back to the clubhouse where the women members were still in the kitchen; the men were drinking beer and relaxing in front of the television after working on the basement all day.
“I’ll be right back,” Beth said, going down to the basement.
Razer gave Lily a curious look. She shrugged back, giving him an innocent expression. She knew what was going to happen. That shower was freaking awesome.
Winter’s cell phone went off with a text message. A look of surprise crossed her face before she put it back in her pocket and went downstairs. This time, it was Viper giving her a questioning glance. Lily shrugged again, taking a few nuts out of the bowl sitting on the counter. It didn’t take long. Both Razer and Viper’s cell phones went off next with text messages. Reading the messages, both men went down to the basement with grim looks on their faces.
“What’s going on?” Evie asked.
“I told Beth about Shade’s shower,” Lily confessed.
“Uh-oh,” Evie moaned. “Do you know how long it took for her to pick out that tile?”
Lily shook her head. “I told her it was too late.”
“What’s going on?” Shade asked, coming up behind her.
“She told Beth about your shower and then Beth told Winter. Winter’s wanted to redo the bathroom in Viper’s room. Want to bet he’s going to be shelling out some cold hard cash?” Evie answered.
Shade looked down at her and Lily couldn’t resist giving him a mischievous smile.
“You’re not causing trouble, are you?” His arm went around her shoulder.
“Can I help it if that shower is a work of art?” Lily said jokingly.
Winter and Beth came back upstairs with determined expressions on their faces. The men, on the other hand, sent accusing looks toward Lily who tried to hide her laughter. She didn’t want to speculate how much it would cost to put in a shower like that.
“I can’t blame them. That shower has given me many pleasurable moments,” Jewell joked.
“Me, too. That rainfall showerhead is gold-plated,” Evie agreed “Shade designed it himself when he moved to the basement after Beth moved into the club.”
“I love the music that plays to the beat of the water,” Dawn shuddered.
Lily stiffened at the second comment, and by Dawn’s comment, Lily pulled away; all her amusement had died.
“It’s getting late. If I’m going to work tomorrow, I need to get some sleep,” Lily excused herself. “Night everyone.” She left the room to mumbled goodnights and went upstairs.
Opening the bedroom door, she saw the new clothes she had purchased. Going through the bags, she picked out one of the least-expensive skirts and blouses, a pair of jeans and another top. Both outfits would do her until she could return the others and had the money credited to Shade’s account. She would get enough money out of her checking account to pay him back for the two outfits she was keeping and the pretty plum dress she had worn today.
Lily was hanging the outfits she was planning on keeping in the closet when Shade walked into the bedroom. “What are you doing?”
“Hanging up my new clothes,” Lily replied, stepping back from the closet and closing the door.
“Why didn’t you hang up the rest?” Shade asked, eyeing the numerous bags still on the floor.
“Because I’m not keeping them.” Lily turned away from him, going to the dresser to brush her hair.
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t afford them.”
“I paid for them.”
“Exactly. You paid for them, I didn’t.”
Shade’s mouth tightened. “If you’re angry, that’s fine, but you’re keeping the clothes.”
“No. I. Am. Not! I’m taking them back.” Lily went to the chair, picking up the nightgown and robe before going to the shower, barely managing not to slam the door behind her.
She was angry that she even cared how many women had been in his darned shower.
She washed her hair, picking out a different shampoo than she had the last time. The fragrance was vaguely familiar to her; then it dawned on her that she had smelled the scent on Ember’s hair when she had sat next to her at dinner. She rinsed her hair off and realized there were so many shampoos because all the women had used the bathroom.