If the Stiletto Fits...

“Not in my house.”

Another hit to marriage. She’d seen her sister settle into her happy, domestic life, but sex never seemed at the top of her list. There was the house, the kids, the laundry and the carpool. And her husband seemed just as hurried, trying to advance at his job and earn enough to keep his family comfortable and happy.

None of it was easy. Yet they managed. They loved each other, and they managed. Lily admired them, even as she doubted her life would ever be that balanced.

“Can you believe that man! He actually proposed.”

The cabbie shook his head. “I’ll be damned, lady. You just can’t trust anybody these days.”

“Hear, hear. And he’s not the first! Last year this doctor I was dating proposed that I marry him, move to Connecticut and have six kids together.”

“Men are pigs.”

Lily stared out the window at the passing city lights, the people streaming past the shops, the crush of cabs and limos outside the hotels. Damn, she loved New York. Full of crazy men, but still the best.

“Here ya go,” the cabbie said as he pulled up to the curb in front of her building.

“Thanks.”

The doorman opened the cab’s door and greeted her with a dignified nod.

Lily paid the cabbie and tossed in an extra twenty. Hardworking cabbies were cool. Designers with an attitude and delusions of matrimony were not.

JAMES STARED at Teresa over his menu. “Did you say something?”

“Twice.” She smiled. “I asked what you were going to have.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe the fish. I’m not really hungry.” He set his menu aside and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t get the look of shock and—dare he say—hurt on Lily’s face out of his mind.

To say the least, her reaction was unexpected.

Though she was flamboyant, disorganized and temperamental, she was also smart, savvy and talented. With the money pouring in from her designs, she certainly needed a financial adviser, but a decent secretary could handle her appointments and the office work.

She didn’t need someone like him to hold her hand, get her out of bed in the morning or rescue her from her latest crisis. All things he’d done over and over for past clients.

Maybe, at times, she lacked complete confidence in herself. She had confidence in her work, but not in her ability to multitask, to handle her business, to make the best decisions. But he saw all those qualities in her. And more.

As a man, he couldn’t deny her physical presence—bright green eyes, long legs, black hair and toned figure. But her temper, all-night parties, spontaneity to the point of head-spinning craziness, flashy personality and—had he listed her fiery temper?—had him shaking his head. Too much like his mother and her wild actor friends, the people he’d known from childhood, but never understood or felt comfortable with. A business-casual distance from Lily was a necessity for him.

Client she was. And client she’d stay.

“James?”

James blinked at Teresa. He had the feeling she’d called his name more than once. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand—just as he’d done to Lily earlier.

Get her out of your mind, buddy. The workday is done. Thank God.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Teresa. She was the kind of woman he belonged with, the kind of woman who wanted a quiet, normal life. “I had a wild day at work, and I’m having a hard time setting the details aside.”

“I saw several pairs of Lily’s shoes at Bloomingdale’s the other day. They were really…colorful.”

“That’s Lily.”

Teresa smiled, and pushed a strand of her blond bob behind her ear. “A second-grade schoolteacher doesn’t have much use for four-inch stilettos, I’m afraid.”

“I wouldn’t think that’s a bad thing. They look really uncomfortable to me.”

The waitress appeared with their drinks, then took their orders. James ate in this casual restaurant down the street from his apartment often. He liked the worn tables, open-air kitchen, simple food. Others obviously agreed with him, he thought, noting the entryway crowded with people waiting for tables.

After a sip of wine, James admitted, “I told Lily about my retirement today.”

“Ah. I guess she didn’t take it well.”

“No.”

“She relies on you. She probably feels you’re abandoning her.”

“I thought she’d throw things at me.”

“And she cried instead?”

He angled his head. How did other women know this kind of stuff about each other? Teresa and Lily had never met; they were as unalike as two women could be. Were there Cliff Notes somewhere? Maybe a course? “She was upset.”

“Give her some time. She’ll accept it and move on—without missing a beat, I’ll bet.”

Well, he wouldn’t mind if she missed him a little. Even if he had begun his career with reluctance, he’d gotten pretty damn good at it.

But not for much longer. Soon he’d only have himself to worry about. Himself and maybe a family of his own.

He could envision Teresa embracing retirement with him. His culinary classes. His marketing studies on the latte business. She’d also fit in well with his horses, or maybe dog breeding. She’d enjoy helping him run a café. And his life would finally be regular like everybody else’s.

“You’re right. She’ll be fine without me.”

“People like Lily always come out on top.”

She made the comment without any jealousy or anger. Graciousness. Wasn’t that an ideal quality in a mate? “They do indeed. Mostly because she’s determined that’s where she belongs.” Considering, James sipped his wine. “It’s kind of an odd mix of willpower and ego.”

“From the descriptions you’ve given me, she seems really…flashy.”

“Oh, she is. She certainly fits in much better with my parents’ theater friends than I do.”

Smiling, Teresa nodded. “Your parents are very flamboyant, too.”

“Especially Mother.”

“But entertaining. The night I met them at that party, and your mother and her friend reenacted the entire final scene of a play they did ten years ago? Amazing. She was obviously born to her craft.”

He liked talking with Teresa. They were friends, and their relationship was comfortable. With his parents’ volatile marriage as his first impression of lifetime commitment, he’d figured out really early that was not what he wanted for himself. He didn’t need impulsiveness and all-consuming passion. Flames like that burned out—or burned each other up. He’d seen it happen over and over again among his parents’ friends.

Before he could respond to Teresa, someone called his name.

He turned to see his good friend and lawyer, Dalton Roberts, approaching their table with a slinky blonde clinging to his arm.

Dalton had moved to Manhattan from South Carolina several years ago after his law practice had fallen apart. His partner and his wife had had an affair that devastated him, so now he was a confirmed bachelor and play-the-field guy.

Actually, he and Lily were very alike. If James didn’t have a strict aversion to playing matchmaker with friends and business associates—between anybody, really—he’d encourage them to go out.

He rose and introduced his buddy to Teresa, then was introduced to Dalton’s date, Cindy. James appreciated Teresa’s ability to send the new woman a welcoming smile and stare into her eyes rather than at her chest. Dalton tended to go for flash over substance in choosing women, but Cindy and her well-endowed figure was a new, uh…high.

The waitress appeared to offer the new guests drinks, and James encouraged them to hang out until their own table was ready. With his longish blond hair and quick smile, Dalton was “dreamy” and easy to talk to, according to the female population. Teresa might as well meet his friends.

“So, how’s business?” Dalton asked James.

“Good. Spring is a big season for us.” Actually, he’d told Dalton he’d get him near-the-front seats for the Spectacular—he was sure his friend would enjoy checking out the models—but he didn’t want to say so in front of Cindy. He expected his buddy would want to come solo.

Dalton took a sip of the whiskey the waitress brought, then grinned. “Any woman who showed up at my door wearing those high-assed shoes I saw in that ad on Fifth…Whoa, baby.”

The ad was provocative—showing a woman from behind, wearing no top as she smiled teasingly over her shoulder and dressed in a short, black skirt, fish-nets and a pair of Lily’s red stilettos.

Cindy leaned forward, and James feared they all might get to know her a little too familiarly if she made that motion then drew a deep breath. “You’re the one who works for Lily Reaves?”

She said Lily’s name with the same breathy quality he’d witnessed in countless women the last several months. Women apparently worshiped shoes with the same fervor as men worshiped sports. Or women.

“She makes the most amazing shoes,” Cindy continued. “I’ve got on a pair now, in fact.” She lifted her leg above the table, obviously intending to show everyone, but Dalton tamped her down.

James exchanged a look with Teresa, who grinned at him and shrugged. Their quiet dinner was turning into a sideshow, with Lily being the topic of conversation. Gracious didn’t even begin to cover the woman’s positive qualities.

Yep, she’d fit into his plans perfectly.

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