Page 21 of Three Rules I'd Never Break

He scanned the room, then walked over to a rack of chemises. “Something like this would work. These hug the body, don’t they?”

I’d never seen this guy around town. He was well-dressed, and his shoes were expensive. He wasn’t a local.

Had he driven to my store so that no one he knew would see him shopping?

“They do. Very flattering.”

He picked up a sheer chemise. “I’m not sure what size. Could you—”

Tandy swooped in, and I bit my lip. I’d heard stories about how she could be, but I’d never been witness to it.

“You need someone to try that on? I can do it. I’m about the same size as Ms. Carter. Just a bit more wrinkly. But that won’t matter as far as size.”

The man’s eyes widened as he looked from the chemise to Tandy. “I think a medium will work.”

“Fabulous. Glad I could help!” She wiggled her fingers as she strolled to the back of the store.

“Would you like me to wrap that up for you?” I walked to the register.

“Yeah. That’d be great.” He laid a credit card on the counter, a card that matched his platinum wedding band. “And I’m going to get one more thing. Could you wrap it separately?”

“Of course.” I watched as he scanned tags on the robes and picked up an elegant pink one.

“This is good.”

It was a bit odd that he purchased a sheer piece in medium and a floor-length robe in extra-large. He was not one of the good guys.

That settled my dilemma. I could endure a few more coffee spills if it meant Eli would ask me out. Good guys weren’t all that common, and I shouldn’t give up too easily.

I handed over two wrapped packages and a receipt. “Thank you for shopping with us.”

He nodded and glanced toward the back of the store. “Does she work here?”

“Oh no. She’s an author who comes in fairly often.”

“Oh.” The man hurried toward the door then whipped around. “Which one is which?”

“The ribbon matches what’s inside.”

“Whew. It would be horrible if I mixed them up.”

“Then I hope I got them into the right boxes.” I flashed my sweetest smile.

He needed to worry a bit.

* * *

After my secondtrip out to the house in one day, I called Tessa. “Hi! Quick question. Eli isn’t working tonight, is he?”

“You realize that I’m his cousin and not his secretary, right?” She chuckled.

“If you know, please tell me. I’ve lost track. Was he in uniform this morning?”

“Yes, he was in uniform this morning.”

“Thanks. That means he’s off tonight and tomorrow.” I didn’t want to spend the evening hoping he’d stop by if he wasn’t even working.

“Does this mean you have big plans for tonight?”

---