Page 64 of Guilty as Sin
“I know you’re not. And I’m doing it anyway.”
“All right,” she said, and he wished he could see her face. “I’ll say thank you. Thank you very much. And I’ll ask you if you’re going to the gym tonight, and if you’d like my company.”
Suddenly, he felt much better. “You asking me out, darling? That’s a first.”
“No, it isn’t. I think your mystery girlfriend qualifies.”
He had to laugh. “Crikey, you’re casual. Collect you at the shop when?”
“Meeting you at the gym would be better. Six-thirty? That way, I can put the goats and chickens away and not have to rush. And, Jace—go to the cops. Please. I’m not being casual about this. Let them know. And watch out.”
This time, he’d take care to have more than one condom with him. He might be taking this one step at a time, but when they took that next step? He was going to be ready.
Tonight.She had a time, and she had a plan. She’d tell him after the gym, in the parking lot. Her car would be right there, and he could get as angry as she knew she deserved, could drive off and leave her and know she was safe. That would matter to him, no matter how angry he was. Which was what made it so hard for her to do.
If she didn’t tell him then, though, she’d want to have dinner with him. And then she’d want him to go home with her. And then she’d want him to do everything else, and he’d oblige.
Look what he’d done in a hurry at two in the morning. What would he do if she gave him all night, some light to work by, and supplies?
No.Last night had been one thing. Last night had been pure impulse. Too much emotion, too much excitement, and way too much attraction. She should have told him the truth this morning, though, and she knew it.
She’d wanted his sweetness. She’d wanted his smile.
But if he were angry at her, he’d distance himself from her, and his stalker might ratchet it down. Paige had come to help Lily with her problem. Now Lily’s problem was so much worse, and Jace’s was, too. You wouldn’t have to be a cop to know he was in danger, but for a cop? It set off every alarm bell.
Maybe Jace would still alarm Lily’s house for her, though? Since it wasn’t for Paige?
No. Unfair to even hope. She’d just have to be careful.
Tonight,she thought, and called Lily’s insurance agent, then the glass company. And at ten, an excited Hailey came through the door and wanted to hear all about it.
“I cannot believe it,” Hailey said for the fifteenth time an hour later. “Wanting you to sell is one thing. Yousaidyou’re going to the meeting tomorrow night. That’s just not right. Thank goodness Jace Blackstone was there. Who ever thought he’d be a famous writer?Anda soldier. Not just a soldier. The internet says special forces. I can’t believe it. He looked like a hobo. He looks better now. I wonder what he’d look like with shorter hair?”
Paige had tuned her out by now. Lily was definitely more tolerant than she was, because Hailey was grating on her today. “Hey,” she said, interrupting the flow and finishing up her creative project, “I thought of the perfect sign. Here. Can you take this thing, uh…” Shoot. She didn’t know where. She’d have to trust Hailey to fill in the blanks. “Take it and get it printed big, like… two or three feet across, or whatever the biggest is? We’ll staple it right to the boards.”
Hailey read it aloud.
Our new stock is so sexy,
We had to hide it.
Come in and take a look.
And beamed. “Oh, that’s great. Maggie Churchill is going todie,though. She’s going to talk about a petition. This sounds so naughty. You were bad enough before, but now, you’re probably showing pornos in here. We’ve got sex toys for sale in the back room, maybe.”
Paige laughed, liking Hailey a whole lot better. “Well, go get it done. Maggie’s outrage is our marketing opportunity. Why shouldn’t married ladies wear sexy underwear? Why shouldn’t married ladies’ husbandsseesexy underwear? Why shouldn’t they watch pornos together, for that matter? Might liven up some marriages. And what’s it to Maggie?”
“That’s why I work here,” Hailey said. “For the discount, I mean, not the pornos. You know why I really came to work here, though? Why I had the guts to ask, I mean?”
“No. Why?”
“Because you sold my size. Because you were always so sweet when I’d come in, even though I couldn’t afford to buy too much. You reallybelievedthat I got to wear sexy underwear too. It seemed like you believed that I couldbesexy.” Hailey shook her head, laughing at herself. “Oh, I’m emotional today. It’s just the thought of somebody messing up our beautiful store, after you’ve worked so hard. It makes me somad.Right. We’re fixing that. Here I go. Except…” She turned back at the door. “I’m going to play with the graphics program they’ve got down at Office Max and put some hearts around the sign. Is two-color printing OK? We need pink hearts. Pink and black. Ooh. ‘We Have a Sinful Secret?’ Like a headline? And can I make the signreallybig, or just tape white paper all the way over the boards first, like we’re having a grand opening? Like it’s true?”
“Yes,” Paige said, a little stunned by the force of Hailey’s enthusiasm. “Absolutely.”
“And I could hang up something pretty but nottoosexy beside the door, don’t you think? Something anybody would want to wear. Well, anybody but Maggie. She probably gets undressed in the dark. I’ll think what. Not too expensive, just in case somebody decides to walk off with it. People are sodishonest.”
She was about to go off again, Paige could tell. “Go get it printed,” she urged. “And those are all great ideas.”
