Page 23 of California Waves

He seemed quite open to all her suggestions, so they walked to a luxury bedding store she really liked. Even better, the owner turned part of her showroom over to creating entire bedrooms for inspiration, which Mila thought might make it easier for Hersch to envision what his room would look like.

But as they walked through the store together, most of the bedroom setups looked either too feminine to Mila’s eye or too traditional. She could see that Hersch wasn’t very interested in any of them. He headed over to a rack of interior-design magazines and began to flip through. She watched his expression from across the room, noting what a handsome figure he cut against gold-flecked wallpaper. He paused, sensing her eyes on him, and then came over to her with the open magazine.

“I like this one,” he said.

The photograph featured a modern-looking bed with a bedspread so dark a blue it was almost black, with white sheets and pillows with the same dark navy stripe combined with pillows in solid navy. The wall behind it was a smudgy gray. It was understated and sophisticated. She said, “What do you like about it?”

He thought for a second. “I like the depth of the color. It’s almost as if you could fall into it and float. Plus, it looks like a black-and-white photograph. I’ve got some gorgeous photographs taken from space. They’d look really good against those walls.”

She nodded, pleased. She loved how he’d chosen something that would be so simple to make work. In less than half an hour, they were walking out with all the bedding he would need, plus ideas for complementary draperies or blinds. They’d have to measure first, and anyway Herschel wasn’t sure he even wanted curtains, as there was so much privacy.

They headed back to the paint store and picked an entirely different palette of soft gray possibilities, which would make his framed photographs really pop.

She said, “I think you might need to get a couple of new pieces of furniture for that bedroom too. The current owners’ stuff is just too traditional.”

He heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you said that. I am happy to take it all, just so long as I don’t have to keep it all. I was thinking of donating some of the better pieces to a charity.”

She leaned in close and whispered, “I’ll never tell them if you don’t.” Since she didn’t think they would ever come back to the Carmel area, as they had decided to settle in New York near their children and grandchildren, she figured she and Hersch were on pretty safe ground.

When they walked out of the shop, he said, as though admitting a great secret, “I have to tell you, I don’t mind keeping that bed. It looks perfectly serviceable, but I would like to have a new mattress.”

For a moment, Mila let her mind go to the dirty places it wanted to. She pictured Hersch, naked, waiting for her on that bed, and the image drove her wild. She redirected her enthusiasm and agreed. “If I were buying somebody else’s bed, I’d want a new mattress too.”

She could see he was looking at her with a kind of questioning gaze. She let herself hope that he was also imagining them together on that bed… But then she realized what he was really asking.

She laughed softly at herself and shook her head. “Yes, okay, I’ll go mattress shopping with you.”

She checked her watch, mindful that her to-do list was never done. However, Hersch was a great client. She was happy that she’d worked so hard earlier in the day, and of course her cell phone was always on. She could allow herself a bit of freedom. She was with a client, after all…

The moment they walked into the mattress store, she could tell he was somewhat overwhelmed by the rows and rows of options. Before a salesperson could even approach them, she said, “You have to lie on the mattresses and pretend you’re sleeping, or you won’t be able to make a good choice. A mattress is a very personal thing.”

He looked embarrassed. “Just lie down in the middle of the store? Do I take my shoes off?”

“I don’t think so. I think these are specially made for people to try out.”

He looked a little skeptical, but she could see he was willing to follow her advice. A salesperson spotted them and came over. The young man, dressed in a smart blue suit, introduced himself as Ted and asked what they were looking for. She realized he was assuming they were a couple.

Hersch cleared his throat and said, “A bed. For a primary bedroom.”

In a deep, reassuring voice, Ted said, “If you’re going to be purchasing your main bed, then may I suggest one of these three?”

Since she was a salesperson herself, Mila immediately respected his approach. A good salesperson knew instinctively to narrow down the choices to something that Hersch could handle. She could see Hersch’s shoulders droop with relief that he had to think about only three beds. Of course, they were high-end beds, but she suspected that was the kind of thing Hersch was looking for anyway.

Her personal opinion about beds was that since you spent a lot of time on them, you should buy the best you could afford. She didn’t have to voice that, because she strongly suspected Ted would have the same opinion and would give Hersch the guidance he needed.

Another couple called Ted away, and he recommended that they try the three mattresses and see what they thought. He promised to come back over and check in with them. Mila was happy they would be able to do this bit of shopping without Ted watching them. It wasn’t exactly relaxing to lie down in front of a complete stranger, and to test a bed properly, you needed to try to imagine it was in your own room already.

She said as much to Hersch, who obediently got on the first bed and then looked up at her. “Aren’t you going to join me? I feel like an idiot lying here by myself.”

She didn’t have to be asked twice. She’d been thinking about this since she’d first seen him. Although it wasn’t as private a space as in her fantasies, she settled beside him. He smelled wonderful—like fresh air and healthy male. She fixed her gaze on the ceiling in case he saw the desire in her eyes. In the most neutral tone she could muster, she said, “You should move around a bit. See how it feels against your body.”

He rolled so he was on his side, staring at her, and then she did the same. As soon as she looked into his eyes, she knew that he mirrored her desire and couldn’t hide it any more than she could. They didn’t speak. The sensual sparks were doing all the talking for them. What’s more, those sparks were so hot she thought the mattress might catch fire.

Finally, he said, “This one feels good.”

She nodded. “You need to compare it with the others to be sure.”

But clearly neither of them wanted to move. A few more seconds of staring into Hersch’s soulful eyes passed before Mila made herself roll over and swing her feet to the floor. “Let’s try the next one.”

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