asked,
poking her head in again.
“ I have boobs.”
“ I knew it’d look awesome
on you, and how often do you find that color blue in a
bustier?”
She had no idea. The only thing she
knew was that Treat was going to swallow his tongue when he saw her
in it.
When —like it was a foregone conclusion. She ran her hands along
the lace insets. She supposed it was inevitable. “It might get in
trouble if I wear this on my date.”
“ That’s the point,” Olivia
said with a knowing smile. “Take your time getting dressed. I’ll be
out here.”
Eve stared at her reflection,
imagining Treat standing behind her, running his hands over the
silk covering her breasts.
What was she doing? Shaking her head,
she undid the hooks. Her father would flip out if he knew she was
trying on underwear instead of manning her shop.
Getting dressed quickly, she checked
the price tags as she walked back onto the floor. Yikes. She
winced. Maybe she’d be able to afford it if she ate tuna fish all
month.
Olivia must have noted her expression
because she took all the underwear out of her hands and said, “I
knew I should have taken the tags off before giving them to you.
They’re a gift.”
“ They? No . Even just the bustier is a small
fortune in lace, and I don’t need the other bra.”
“ I get them at wholesale.”
She set them on the counter and pulled out tissue paper. “You were
meant to have them. Both sets looked fantastic on you.”
“ I can’t—”
“ Yes, you can,” Olivia said
firmly. “You give me lattes and croissants all the time, simply
because it makes you happy.”
“ Yes, but a croissant
doesn’t cost a couple hundred dollars.” She watched
“ That’s not the point.
We’re friends, and you’ve been stressed, and I want to do this for
you.” Her friend narrowed her eyes. “So accept it.”
Eve sighed. “Thank you.”
“ You’re welcome,” Olivia
said primly, holding out a fancy bag with Romantic Notions scrolled
daintily on the side. “I do expect full details about your date,
though.”
The lingerie was so expensive, asking
for her firstborn child would have been reasonable. “Definitely,
but no pink champagne this time.”
Olivia laughed and hugged her. “You’re
on.”
On the way back to the café, Eve’s
cell phone rang. She plucked it out of her pocket. Seeing the New
York number she answered it immediately. “Eve speaking.”
“ Eve, this is Carmen
McKnight.”
She held her breath, trying not to get
her hopes up. “What can I do for you, Carmen?”
“ We’re going to be in San
Francisco in two weeks to look at the venues who’d like to host
Daniela. We’re going to be in your neighborhood on March 18th. I
trust that works for you.”
Not a question—she was being told it
was the 18th or never. “Of course. The eighteenth is
fantastic.”
“ We’re visiting the other
store at”—the rat-a-tat of fingers on a keyboard sounded over the
line—”two. We can stop by yours at one-thirty.”
Frowning, Eve pushed open the door to
Grounds for Thought. “Does that give you enough time? It takes a
surprising amount of time to drive from one place in the city to
another.”
“ It’ll be fine. It’s just
across the street.”
Eve stopped in her tracks.
“What?”
“ A place called
Crumpet.”
Whirling around, she glared out the
window at the teahouse down the street.
Not realizing anything was amiss,
Carmen blithely continued. “We’ll see you on the eighteenth.
Daniela is looking forward to it. I’ll be in touch to coordinate
before then.”
The call ended, but Eve was stuck
glaring at that woman’s store. Growling she put her phone away and
stomped to the counter.
Allison’s eyes widened. “Uh-oh. Bad
news?”
“ Daniela Rossi’s publicist
just called to arrange to see the store.”
“ That’s fantastic. But then
why do you look like you’re going to explode at any
moment?”
“ Because that woman across
the street is being considered
poking her head in again.
“ I have boobs.”
“ I knew it’d look awesome
on you, and how often do you find that color blue in a
bustier?”
She had no idea. The only thing she
knew was that Treat was going to swallow his tongue when he saw her
in it.
When —like it was a foregone conclusion. She ran her hands along
the lace insets. She supposed it was inevitable. “It might get in
trouble if I wear this on my date.”
“ That’s the point,” Olivia
said with a knowing smile. “Take your time getting dressed. I’ll be
out here.”
Eve stared at her reflection,
imagining Treat standing behind her, running his hands over the
silk covering her breasts.
What was she doing? Shaking her head,
she undid the hooks. Her father would flip out if he knew she was
trying on underwear instead of manning her shop.
Getting dressed quickly, she checked
the price tags as she walked back onto the floor. Yikes. She
winced. Maybe she’d be able to afford it if she ate tuna fish all
month.
Olivia must have noted her expression
because she took all the underwear out of her hands and said, “I
knew I should have taken the tags off before giving them to you.
They’re a gift.”
“ They? No . Even just the bustier is a small
fortune in lace, and I don’t need the other bra.”
“ I get them at wholesale.”
She set them on the counter and pulled out tissue paper. “You were
meant to have them. Both sets looked fantastic on you.”
“ I can’t—”
“ Yes, you can,” Olivia said
firmly. “You give me lattes and croissants all the time, simply
because it makes you happy.”
“ Yes, but a croissant
doesn’t cost a couple hundred dollars.” She watched
“ That’s not the point.
We’re friends, and you’ve been stressed, and I want to do this for
you.” Her friend narrowed her eyes. “So accept it.”
Eve sighed. “Thank you.”
“ You’re welcome,” Olivia
said primly, holding out a fancy bag with Romantic Notions scrolled
daintily on the side. “I do expect full details about your date,
though.”
The lingerie was so expensive, asking
for her firstborn child would have been reasonable. “Definitely,
but no pink champagne this time.”
Olivia laughed and hugged her. “You’re
on.”
On the way back to the café, Eve’s
cell phone rang. She plucked it out of her pocket. Seeing the New
York number she answered it immediately. “Eve speaking.”
“ Eve, this is Carmen
McKnight.”
She held her breath, trying not to get
her hopes up. “What can I do for you, Carmen?”
“ We’re going to be in San
Francisco in two weeks to look at the venues who’d like to host
Daniela. We’re going to be in your neighborhood on March 18th. I
trust that works for you.”
Not a question—she was being told it
was the 18th or never. “Of course. The eighteenth is
fantastic.”
“ We’re visiting the other
store at”—the rat-a-tat of fingers on a keyboard sounded over the
line—”two. We can stop by yours at one-thirty.”
Frowning, Eve pushed open the door to
Grounds for Thought. “Does that give you enough time? It takes a
surprising amount of time to drive from one place in the city to
another.”
“ It’ll be fine. It’s just
across the street.”
Eve stopped in her tracks.
“What?”
“ A place called
Crumpet.”
Whirling around, she glared out the
window at the teahouse down the street.
Not realizing anything was amiss,
Carmen blithely continued. “We’ll see you on the eighteenth.
Daniela is looking forward to it. I’ll be in touch to coordinate
before then.”
The call ended, but Eve was stuck
glaring at that woman’s store. Growling she put her phone away and
stomped to the counter.
Allison’s eyes widened. “Uh-oh. Bad
news?”
“ Daniela Rossi’s publicist
just called to arrange to see the store.”
“ That’s fantastic. But then
why do you look like you’re going to explode at any
moment?”
“ Because that woman across
the street is being considered
Similar Books
