Page 9 of Doubly Bound

Chapter 2

“Should I go with blue or pink?” Sage lifted each top to show her sisters, but Ginger had her nose in one of her ebooks, and Ani was still fussing with her hair.

“You guys?” She stomped her heel clad feet.

“What?’ Ginger asked, cheeks blazing.

But that was to be expected, Sage supposed. Her middle sister was always reading some steamy romance novel. In fact, she’d gotten them all hooked on the most fantastic tropes involving Shifters. Sage loved a steamy paranormal romance, but this was actual life. And she had a serious issue.

“Well, which top says ‘hey hottie, I don’t want to marry you, I just want you to boink me 'till I am too weak to stand’?”

“OMG! Sage!” Ginger covered her face with her hands.

“TMI, sis. That is too, too much information!” Ani yelled from the bathroom.

“What? We are three grown ass women. Sisters on vacation. Books are great, sweetie, but this is life. I want to experience something real. And it all begins with the right outfit.”

She turned around holding each top and shook the hangers. Bigger women had seriously limited choices in the fashion world. Something Sage and her sisters were all too familiar with.

It was why she’d learned how to sew back in middle school. They just didn’t make flattering choices for women with large breasts, soft bellies, big thighs, and chubby arms. Sure, things had gotten better as she’d grown older, but Sage still tweaked her wardrobe now and then.

“Oh, by the way, here.” She tossed both sisters sealed baggies with the new face masks she’d sewn. “I wasn’t sure if we would need these here, and even though we don’t, I already made them.”

“Oh, Sage, these are great!” Ani grinned.

These masks were special. She’d used some amazing organic, breathable fabric she’d picked up in the garment district once they’d reopened most of the shops in Midtown Manhattan. Sage was a regular there.

The tops she was holding up were hers too. As in, she’d made them. One was a silky navy blue fabric that molded to her curves, the other was a similar lightweight silk in a deep pink hue that went well with her coloring. She customized both to be flattering to her chest while minimizing the appearance of her belly. ‘If you got ‘em, flaunt ‘em’ was sort of a Freeman family motto.

“Blue or pink?”

“Oh! Sage, you outdid yourself,” Ginger said, eyeing both tops enviously. “I mean, why are you working for that place when you should be designing clothes!”

“We both know this is just a hobby.” She shrugged a little uncomfortably. “Besides, I wouldn’t like it if other people had to judge my designs. So, which one is it?”

“Pink,” her sister said confidently.

“Really?”

“Are you kidding? With your dark hair, which I am still jealous of by the way, you need to go with pink.” Ginger nodded.

“Oh shush. Women spend a fortune dying their hair red, and yours is natural,” Sage admonished.

“Oh, yasssss! That pink top is so hot.” Ani came in with her hair freshly flat-ironed.

With a redhead, a brunette, and a blonde among them, the three Freeman sisters were each unique with looks as different as night and day. Ginger’s skin was pale as peaches and cream. Ani’s was fair, but with bluish tones, like fine porcelain. Sage’s skin held a darker, olive-toned hue reminiscent of their Italian mother’s genes. Thank goodness, regardless of palette, they’d all inherited their mother’s blemish-free skin. That was a blessing, but it still took work to maintain.

Thirty-one years old and living in the city meant she had to take care of herself. It was no picnic to maintain good skin. Eating healthy food with quality ingredients accounted for a lot of it. Of course, she’d learned that from her father who was an excellent chef. Exercising, yes, she did exercise despite the obvious, and drinking plenty of water also had a lot to do with her glossy locks and smooth skin.

While she did her best to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Sage was also fond of treating herself. She couldn’t exactly maintain an ass like that without a healthy dose of chocolate in her diet. The fact she liked the super expensive, extra dark chocolate, especially when it was laced with spicy chili powder, was just part of her charm.

Sage was known for her strange tastes. Like eating peanut butter with potato chips, plain yogurt with cucumber slices, chopped strawberries with fresh dill on top of her scrambled eggs, and a propensity toward putting chili flakes instead of butter on popcorn. Despite her sisters’ moans about her eating choices, Sage knew her own mind, and she didn’t care what others said. Being the oldest meant being the toughest too.

The only one of the three Freeman girls who remembered their mother clearly. Of course, they all missed her, but she filled in best she could. Part of Sage’s job as oldest was to pass on those memories to her siblings. That just meant she had to be strong for her father and her sisters both. Always a hard worker, she did her best in school, and graduated with honors. Found an excellent job in the city and even finished grad school.

Well, she’d thought her job was great. Turns out both sexism and nepotism were alive and well in the twenty-first century. Especially the business world. Despite her proficiency with numbers, her boss allowed his own prejudices to get in the way of her advancement. She still couldn’t believe he thought that idiot nephew of his could’ve finished those reports.

The punch to the face she delivered the lousy prick, and she knew from experience, was well deserved. She shrugged on the silky pink top. Dang it, guilt assailed her. She still hadn’t shared that news with Ginger or Anise.

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