“I could tell.”
As she walked out the door, Dev picked up the square package and took a closer look at the wrapping paper. It had wedding bells on it. “Edna! What’s with the wrapping paper?”
She turned. “They had a special going. Anything that was a wedding gift they wrapped for free.”
“But—”
“Don’t you think it looks pretty?”
“Yes, I do, but this isn’t—”
“Do you want me to take it back and get different wrapping paper?” She frowned at him exactly the way his mother used to when he’d been an ungrateful little kid. “Surely you wouldn’t want to waste that beautiful job, not to mention my time?”
“No. This is fine.” Dev decided it didn’t matter all that much. At first glance he hadn’t even noticed the wedding bells. Jamie might not, either, and he’d wad the paper up as soon as she unwrapped the box.
“Okay, then.” Edna left the office.
So he had the cup. Now all he had to do was deliver it. Then he had another brainstorm. After work he’d use one of The Red Doors kiosks to order up something else for Jamie. He’d start with Heaven Scent, her favorite boutique.
If things went well tonight, he might consider a purchase from Sheer Delights next. Then maybe he’d go for something from The Diamond Mine.
Whoa. The Diamond Mine? He sat looking at the paper with the wedding bells on it. He thought about the picture over the love seat in Jamie’s apartment. His stomach felt funny. Either he had a major case of indigestion from the chili dog he’d wolfed down at lunch, or he was getting in much deeper than he’d planned.
Probably the chili dog.
CHAPTER SIX
DURING THE DAY Jamie accessed her home computer’s e-mail and discovered three more of Dev’s friends had sent in answers to her questionnaire. She interviewed her brothers at home, and Faith forwarded answers from two men she used to work with. Jason offered to fill out a questionnaire, too, and he had some great ideas for tweaking the program. Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, there was enough data to move forward.
By five, when she peeked into Jason’s cubby on the way home, he was deep in his work and showed no signs of leaving.
“You don’t have to burn the midnight oil on this, Jason.” She said it to clear her conscience, but she knew he would anyway. Jason was so intense, but maybe that was partly because he was twenty-four, involved with his first live-in girlfriend, and determined to make good at his first real job.
He glanced up at her, his round face serious. “You know I’m a midnight-oil kind of guy,” he said. “I do my best work between twelve and three.”
“What about Wendy? That can’t be very popular with her, you being at the office in the wee small hours.”
“She’s cool with it,” Jason said with a touch of pride. “She understands my work is important to me. And I—” he flushed slightly “—I make it up to her on the weekends.”
Jamie smiled at him. “That’s good to know.” She had a tough time imagining Jason as a great lover, but she’d seen his questionnaire answers and the guy had more imagination in that department than she’d given him credit for. “Wendy’s a lucky lady,” she added. “Well, guess I’ll be taking off, then.”
“Have a good night.”
“Thanks.” As she walked down the hallway she wondered how long it had been since she’d had what could be called a good night. Almost two years, come to think of it. Her last good night had been the Valentine’s dinner with Faith and Dev.
She wouldn’t call last night good. Overstimulation was more like it. By contrast, tonight would be understimulation, with nothing to look forward to except a phone call from one of Dev’s friends with his questionnaire answers.
Jamie stepped out of the hallway into the well-lit mezzanine. The boutiques and coffee bar would remain open for another hour to catch the after-work shoppers. She glanced inside The Diamond Mine where Faith was helping a customer. Because Faith wasn’t available to talk, Jamie went into Heaven Scent to pick up a small vial of patchouli oil to create the blend she had in mind.
Although she’d suggested using the new scent in the shop diffusers during the Valentine season, she wanted to spend a few hours with it at home before making the final decision. Just as she was leaving the boutique, the phone rang, indicating an order was being placed from one of the kiosks. Every time that happened, she felt a personal glow of triumph. It was a damned good idea.
The vial in a small red shopping bag with The Red Doors logo printed on it in gold, she strolled past The Diamond Mine again. Faith was huddled over the display case with the same customer, and Jamie hoped she was making a big sale. In Sheer Delights, Dixie was packaging up something for two thirty-something women.
Jamie counted the number of customers, including the two who had been in Heaven Scent and the group of four guys in the café downstairs. She wouldn’t have minded seeing Dev at one of the tables, but he wasn’t there. Once in a while he stopped by The Red Bean after work, but not often. He was probably already heading home.
From the top of the stairs she couldn’t tell if any of the computer kiosks were still in use, although she could be certain of at least one sale from them a moment ago. Still, she had to admit the place wasn’t exactly bustling. Thank goodness they had a plan to increase business or she’d feel really depressed.
She felt better knowing that Jason was hard at work making that plan happen. And her current contribution was to go home and experiment with the patchouli. Maybe it would put her in the mood to try on the tiny red leather outfit she’d tucked into her oversize purse. Faith had dropped it on her desk earlier in the day, and she’d shoved it in her purse, more to get it out of sight than anything.
Well, okay, she was curious. She’d never worn intimate leather apparel. She didn’t think of herself as an intimate-leather-apparel sort of woman. No doubt she’d put on the outfit, laugh herself silly, and take it off again. Or maybe she’d forget the whole thing. Descending the stairs, she walked into the frigid evening air and headed for the bus stop.
DEV STOOD in the small entryway of Jamie’s apartment building, the gift-wrapped cup in one hand and a gift bag from The Red Doors containing a scented candle in the other. After ordering the candle from one of the kiosks late that afternoon, he’d stepped out in time to see Jamie leaving through the front entrance. He was glad they hadn’t run into each other. Surprise was his secret weapon.
But secret weapon or not, he was still nervous. The whole idea of the wedding bell wrapping paper had been working on him. His stomach continued to feel funny, and he couldn’t blame it on the chili dog anymore. Slowly but surely he was starting to connect Jamie with the M-word.
That was ridiculous, of course. He’d only kissed her once, and he couldn’t possibly be so far gone after a single touch of the lips. But all the months of thinking about her without taking action must have done something to his brain, because the ever-popular word affair tasted bitter in his mouth this time, while the long-avoided M-word rested on his tongue like a piece of Godiva chocolate, rich and full of promise.
He’d never felt that way about a woman he wanted. About a good-looking stock, definitely, and he’d learned to trust his instincts when it came to the market. He wasn’t nearly as sure of his instincts when it came to women. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight was huge in his life. His heart beat embarrassingly fast as he used the hand that held the gift bag to nudge her intercom button. What if she wouldn’t see him?
After several seconds her voice floated from the intercom. “Who is it?” She sounded puzzled.
“Dev.”
“Dev? Is something wrong? Is Faith—”
“Nothing’s wrong. Faith’s just fine. I happened to run across a replacement for your cup today, so I thought I’d bring it over.”
“Oh! Um, okay, um, come on up.” The door lock buzzed and he was let in.
Taking a deep breath, he crossed the small lobby and started up the stairs. Tonight he’d dressed down a little, putting on jeans that had been softened by a couple of hundred washings, and a sweater he’d had since college. He wanted Jamie to know that, like her, he wasn’t overly clothes-conscious.
She opened her door wearing a furry white bathrobe that covered her from neck to ankles, but her feet were bare. Even more interesting, she had on more makeup than usual—dark red lipstick, mascara, even some blush.
She looked as if she was getting ready for a date, and yet she’d told him she’d be available for the phone call from his friend, the one he’d made up. Maybe this was a spur-of-the-moment date. Spur-of-the-moment or not, he didn’t like it.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Are you getting ready to go out?”
“No.” But she looked nervous, as if he’d caught her at something.
He had another, more unpleasant thought. She was entertaining someone in her bedroom, someone who would wait quietly in there until Dev dropped off the cup and left. If so, he’d better stick with handicapping the stock market, because his instincts regarding women sucked.