Part 17 (2/2)
”And that was fine when you were married. Now that you're single, I think you should work on presenting your best package.”
He snorted with laughter. Realizing what she'd said, she blushed. ”I don't mean that package... Oh, you know.”
He stared in the window. ”If I put those jeans on, they'll definitely be all about my package. Those things are tight.”
”At least try them on.”
She coaxed him into the store and soon she had him in a fitting room with a selection of jeans, sweaters and s.h.i.+rts.
He emerged wearing jeans that actually fit. She couldn't believe the difference. He had a seriously nice body. And, she couldn't help but notice there did seem to be a pretty nice package in there.
She pushed him in front of the full-length mirror. ”See how much better these look?”
”They'd better. They cost almost as much as that sectional sofa you talked me into.”
Still, he had a half smile on his face.
In half an hour she'd talked him into a pair of jeans, black pants for going out, a casual s.h.i.+rt, a sweater and leather shoes that could be casual or dressed up. As a wardrobe went it was pretty basic. However, like her decorating project, you started with the emergency list. There were plenty more items she could add to bolster his wardrobe. At least he had a start.
”And there's a really good stylist near my office called Savoir Faire. Felix is the owner's name. He does terrific men's cuts. I could-”
He held up a hand. ”Enough. I can only take so much improvement in one day.”
”SO HE HELD UP HIS HAND and said-” and here Julia lowered her voice in a truly bad imitation of a man ”'-Enough. I can only take so much improvement in one day.'”
Hailey laughed dutifully. Well, it was funny, but she was having trouble concentrating. She really needed to pull herself together. She and Julia were shopping. Hailey for something to wear on her date with Dennis, who'd checked out the hottest new eateries before inviting her. She liked that he'd taken the initiative, and not used the fact that she was the local and he an out-of-towner as an excuse to make her choose the restaurant.
She'd heard nothing but rave reviews about Gastronome, raves on everything but the prices, which were steep.
Julia was shopping mostly because she loved shopping.
”John sounds like a nice guy,” Hailey said to Julia, who was currently flipping through a rack of red and black tops as though she didn't already own enough black and red.
”Oh, he is.” Julia glanced up. ”And I think there's a surprisingly nice-looking man hiding under all that c.r.a.p.”
”Not for you?”
Her friend shrugged. ”I'm regifting him to some deserving woman.” Then she found a short black c.o.c.ktail dress. ”Ooh, I bet Dennis would love you in this.”
Hailey would not feel guilty. She would not feel bad that she had accepted a date with her latest client. Why shouldn't she date?
It wasn't as if Rob had anything to offer her. Except the greatest s.e.x of her life and an intimacy between them that was about so much more than s.e.x.
If only he were a stay-at-home man.
Or she were a different kind of woman.
If there was one thing Rob had done for her, it was get her thinking about schedules and life plans and how perhaps hers was too rigid. It wasn't as though she could plan that in five years, when her business was more successful and she felt settled and ready, her ideal man would suddenly appear. Instead, she was beginning to realize that a little flexibility was a good thing, whether in life, in business or in love.
She was bending her own strict rules and dating a client. So what?
She found herself staring at a dress she didn't even like. ”I don't know. I feel like I want to stay away from black.”
”Right.” Julia went to put it back on the rack, then said, ”Maybe I'll try it on. I wonder if they have my size.”
As Hailey flipped through dress after dress, she tried to imagine dating Dennis.
He was intelligent; he was charming; he loved Bellamy House almost as much as she did. What was it to Rob who bought the place? He clearly didn't want to keep his grandmother's house.
She tried not to contemplate what it would be like to date a guy who owned Bellamy House. One who wasn't Rob. She couldn't picture being with anyone else in that wonderful home. Somehow, in her mind, it would always be his.
Well, as Gloria had reminded her, she needed to stop wasting the present by worrying about the future. Everything would work out, she was certain of it.
Dennis had been suddenly called out of town for a few days but had made her promise she'd call him if any other serious buyers for Bellamy House appeared. She'd agreed. And had also agreed to postpone their date. Since she and Julia had already decided to go shopping, however, they'd kept that date.
She felt so torn. So messed up. And suddenly she realized that that was why women have each other. To talk to.
”Hey, how about we ditch the shopping and grab lunch early? I need to talk.”
”Of course,” her friend said, instantly putting the dress back.
Maybe a few days was exactly what she needed to get some perspective. Sleeping with Rob a second time had been the mistake she'd known it would be.
Well, she kind of thought her big mistake was sleeping with him in the first place. Her plan hadn't worked, not at all. Think about him less once she got him into bed?
She snorted at her own foolishness.
Over lunch at a little bistro around the corner she told Julia all of it.
Her friend opened her eyes wide. ”You had s.e.x on that single bed?”
”Yes.”
”And that was the best s.e.x of your life? On a single bed?”
She nodded.
”With a man with a bullet hole in his leg?”
”Uh-huh.”
Julia stared at her as she sipped her tea. ”Can you imagine what he'd be like in a real bed? With all his limbs working properly?”
<script>