Page 13 of Accepting His Name (The Sartoris 1)

“Sì, signora.”

“Grazie. Goodbye.”

She hung up the phone and finished preparing to go. Why she couldn’t just go to the garage and get her own car, who knew. Ezio seemed to like being waited on hand and foot, and he expected her to do the same. She didn’t care as long as she could go and come whenever she pleased. Today she would have as much fun as possible so it could sustain her through the boring party later.

“What do you think of this picture, Sha?”

Shakarri glanced over her friend’s shoulder to the man in the corner of the store. When he caught her looking his way, he pretended to be interested in the vase at his side. Had she seen him at the last store? She couldn’t tell. He had a nondescript quality to him. Not that she was afraid. She was used to men looking, black and white. It went with the territory of being a woman.

“Sha, are you listening to me?”

Shakarri snapped out of her reverie. “Yeah, I’m listening. Don’t you think those fat babies are a bit much?”

Nay laughed. “They’re not fat. Stop being dramatic. And who doesn’t love baby angels?”

“Me. But hey if you like it, have fun. I don’t have to look at it hanging over my sofa.”

Her friend snorted. “You’re cold, Sha. Are you saying you won’t visit me if I buy this piece?”

“No, because then I’d be like my husband. You can do what you want to do.” Shakarri bit her tongue. She hadn’t meant to bring up Ezio. She rushed to take Nay’s arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I don’t like the vibe.”

“What vibe?” Nay let Shakarri drag her out of the store, but she kept looking back as if she regretted the loss of the picture.

“That thing won’t fit in my car anyway. I’m sure there are other stores around here with infant angels.”

“Rich people are supposed to have an appreciation of art,” Nay complained.

“Says who?” Shakarri teased her some more about her tastes, but half her attention was on looking behind them. She searched for the man who had been in the store, but he was nowhere in sight. They had parked the car in a lot nearby and walked along the strip of shops. Once they found merchandise to buy, they carried it to the car to lock up and returned for more.

Most of it was Nay’s purchases, but Shakarri made sure to buy a few items to keep up appearances. She was still in save money mode from before she married Ezio. She wasn’t worried about someone breaking into the car because the lot was guarded, and the area was for those with money to spend. Common thieves didn’t just wander into the area, which was why Shakarri noticed the man watching them.

“Oh, let’s go there.” Nay pointed to an eclectic shop with all kinds of tie-dye items hanging in the window, from t-shirts to shoes to stuffed animals. “Looks so sixties, doesn’t it?”

“I want that elephant.” Shakarri forgot about the man when she spotted the little stuffed animal. She had a small collection going, and none of it was tie-dye. They entered the store, and she was soon lost in exploring all the interesting finds.

Nay wandered off to gush over some ankle length dresses, while Shakarri squished plushies to her heart’s content. After a good twenty minutes, she decided on four and turned to find her friend to show her. Shakarri almost fell over when she bumped into someone, and a strong hand shot out to steady her.

“Are you okay, miss?” came the deep voice.

“Sorry about that. It was my fault.” She looked up and gasped when she discovered the man who she had seen in the last store. This wasn’t a coincidence. She jerked away from his touch. “I have to find my friend.”

“Wait, this might sound weird, but I think you might have dropped this outside.”

She glared at him and then looked down at the hand he held out. Sure enough, he held her watch. She wore one occasionally as accessory more than anything else. “When did I…?”

He kept holding it out, and Shakarri juggled the stuffed animals in her arms. Her watch shouldn’t have just come off her arm, and she wasn’t so naïve as to think this wasn’t a ploy. As far as she could recall this man hadn’t approached her. Neither had anyone else. No one bumped into her, so he couldn’t have loosened it. Could he? Maybe he could. There were skilled pickpockets out there, who could steal without the victim feeling a thing.

She managed to take the watch and thanked him. He spoke again when she turned away. “Would you like to have a drink with me?”

She relaxed a little. Okay, he was trying to pick her up. “I’m married, and my husband doesn’t like me to have drinks with other men.”

She was pretty sure Ezio didn’t care about the socializing, but this guy didn’t need to know that. He looked disappointed at her rejection. She noted he had nice eyes, hazel with flecks of green. He wasn’t handsome by any means, not with that slight hump in his nose. His build couldn’t touch Ezio’s in a million years, and while he was tall he didn’t have Ezio’s presence.

Hold up. When did every man have to measure up to him?

She rejected thoughts of her husband once again. “Thanks for your help. Have a nice day.”

Shakarri dismissed him, and Nay appeared at her elbow holding up multiple bags. “I got all these. This place is a gold mine.”

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