A Wife for a Westmoreland by Brenda Jackson Page B

time Chloe had made that suggestion.A part of her knew her friend was right, but what she was suggesting was easier said than done. At least for her it was.
    “Think about it. Saturday is only two days away and if I were you, when Derringer arrived at my place to pick me up I’d make sure he would take one look at me and know he would enjoy every minute of his time in my presence. Now’s your chance, Lucia. Don’t let it go by without taking advantage of it.”
    A few moments later, after hanging up the phone with Chloe, indecisiveness weighed heavy in her chest. More than anything she would love to pique Derringer’s interest, but what if she failed in her efforts to do so? What if she couldn’t get the one man she loved to want to love her back? Was there a possibility that she was wrong about the type of women Derringer actually preferred?
    One thing Chloe had said was true. No one would have figured that Ramsey Westmoreland would have fallen for any woman. The man had been set in his ways for years and the last woman he’d attempted to marry had announced she was pregnant from another man in the middle of the wedding. Yet, he had fallen in love with Chloe, whether he had wanted to or not. So maybe there was hope for all those other single Westmorelands; but especially for Derringer.
     
    “I’ve heard you’re interested in women’s undergarments these days, Derringer. Is there a reason why?”
    Derringer slowly turned away from the pool table with a cue stick in his hand to gaze at each man in thedimly lit room inside his basement. Now that he knew who his late-night visitor had been, he wouldn’t tell anyone, not even Zane, her identity.
    “No reason,” he answered his cousin Canyon who was four years younger.
    Canyon smiled. “Well, you never got around to asking me anything, but just so you know, the women I date don’t wear underwear.”
    Derringer shook his head and chuckled. He didn’t find that hard to believe. He studied the other men who had gone back to sipping their beers while waiting their turn at shooting pool—his brother Zane and his cousins Jason, Riley, Canyon and Stern. They were as close as brothers. Zane knew more than the others about the situation with him and the underwear, but Derringer was confident his brother wouldn’t say anything.
    “So, what’s this I hear about you going on a date with Lucia? I thought old man Conyers pretty much scared you off her years ago,” Jason said, chuckling.
    Derringer couldn’t help but smile. “He did, but like you said, it was years ago. Lucia isn’t a kid anymore. She’s an adult and old enough to make her own decisions about who she wants to date.”
    “True, but she’s not your type and you know it,” Riley piped in.
    Derringer lifted a brow. That was the same thing Bailey had alluded to earlier that day. “And what, supposedly, is my type?”
    “Women who wear black panties,” Canyon said, chuckling.
    “Or no panties at all,” Riley added, laughing.
    “Hmm, for all you all know, my taste in womenmight have changed,” he said, turning back to the pool table.
    Zane snorted. “Since when? Since you got thrown off Sugar Foot’s back and hit your head?”
    Derringer frowned as he turned back around. “I didn’t hit my head.”
    “Makes us wonder,” Riley said. “First you’re going around asking about women’s underwear and now you’re taking Lucia Conyers out on a date. You better treat her right or Chloe will come gunning for you.”
    “Hell, we’ll all come gunning for you,” Zane said, taking a sip of his beer. “We like her.”
    Derringer turned back to the pool table and proceeded to chalk his stick. At the moment, he didn’t give a royal flip how his family felt about Lucia. He still planned to deal with her in his own way and if they didn’t like the outcome that was too bad.

Five
    B y the time seven o’clock came around on Saturday night, Lucia was almost a nervous wreck. She had pulled her father