“And Cole, I meant what I said before. Call me anytime. In fact, feel free to stop by Lacie’s and say hello; I’d love to show you the new inventory. But if you’re too busy, definitely call. Anytime and for anything. Anything.”
Anything.
Jillian’s melodic voice floated through Cole’s head the entire evening and into the next morning as he thought about calling her for anything.
Had she meant it to sound as inviting as it had? Was that a read-between-the-lines sort of thing, where she was meaning that he could call her for things other than business and she’d respond? He’d love to do just that.
When had he lost the art of knowing what a woman was hinting at? Damn, it’d been too long. Where’d his game go since then? Naked and freshly showered, Cole stood inside his bedroom and gazed out the tinted windows at the sprawling golf course below. It’d be a great day to play. Maybe that was what he’d do, find a threesome and join them. Play a round of golf and contemplate where his dating game had gone.
One thing was certain.
Levi was going to have game.
And if he had anything to say about it, Jillian was going to have a hard time deciding which man’s game she was willing to play.
Chapter Seven
Cole Carrington had called her. After hours. Not only had he truly sounded pleased to have her on board but he had flirted with her. Her! She felt like standing outside on the patio and screaming to the world that—okay, yes he’d played a role in closing her store—but he had called her and almost…not quite, but almost…made his intentions toward her clear.
She was special enough to get an after-hours call from Cole. She wiggled her bottom and twirled around with her hands in the air. And stopped three-quarters way on the second turn when she found Levi leaning against the doorjamb in the back. The smile in his eyes contained a sensuous flame. She took a second to enjoy the sight. He was wearing another hat that matched the design of the one he’d had on yesterday, but it was a steel gray color that matched the vest he was wearing. His denim-clad leg was crossed over the other and his arms were folded across his chest.
Wow. Assistant or not, Levi was hot.
She swallowed down the embarrassment at having been caught.
“What’s got you so excited?” he asked lazily as he continued watching her with that gleam in his eyes.
“Nothing. Well, no. Not nothing. Something. I spoke to Cole Carrington and not only am I keeping this job, but he offered to buy my leftover inventory from The Peekeasy.” She squealed.
Levi smiled and his greenish-brown eyes continued to twinkle, leaving her even more flushed. “Congrats. That has to make you feel good that it isn’t all going to sit in boxes somewhere.”
“It does. Honestly, we started off on the wrong foot, but I truly believe he feels bad about me losing my store. He sounded sincere last night. He’s either great at schmoozing and lying or he was being honest.” She held her head high as she walked toward Levi. “I’m choosing to believe the latter.”
“Good choice. What do we have going on for today?” he asked.
“I’d like you to go through the inventory in the basement while I stay up here for clients. I want to double-check the inventory versus what’s on the system. I figured I could work here and you down there. You’ll be done sooner than I will be and we can see where I’m at when you’re done.”
“Anything specific I’m looking for that you don’t want returned?” Levi asked.
“Nothing specific. Return anything that lacks material covering the crotch and the butt.” She said and even though she was an adult—damn it—she could feel the heat rise along her chest and up into her cheeks.
“What about the breasts?” Levi’s eyes stared straight into hers, not flickering in the slightest. Great. He could be an adult but she was having difficulties adulting.
“I think items like that are okay. If it’s only the holes for the breasts. If the garment has the other holes, plus the breasts, then put it in the return pile.” There. See. Adulting. He shifted away from the door, and his hands reached out to one of the shelves, grabbing a box of men’s briefs.
“What about something like this? Are you going to keep them? Or return them?”
Was he trying to out-adult her? Trying to purposefully make her blush? His fingers walked over the edging of the box of edible men’s undies and she made the mistake of looking up into his eyes.
Oh, yeah, definite sparkle going on there.
He was totally teasing her. Two could play this game.
“You know, let’s play these by ear. If anything, I can use them at home.” With that, Jillian turned away and added a little more bounce to her step as she went to the front and unlocked the door.
She couldn’t help the wide grin on her face. She ignored her body’s desire to turn around and see his reaction. Instead, she focused on the task at hand.
The best thing to do was start from the front of the store and move toward the back. She’d since changed the window display into something more demure than the leather bustier that was up there. The items displayed inside didn’t seem to have a rhyme or reason where they were placed, which meant she’d have to check items as she went along and possibly double-back. She’d go through all the items, see what she was dealing with and as she did that, take away the items that weren’t a good fit for the store.
At ten in the morning, the store was void of customers. She didn’t have a good feeling about that. She knew she was going to have to work hard at reversing the image Rebekah had been portraying since the store opened.
Music never hurt while doing inventory and since the speakers were wired throughout the building and the basement, she figured Levi wouldn’t mind if she flipped the record. She ran upstairs, set the needle on the vinyl and ran back down.
Elvis Presley’s “You’re the Devil in Disguise” filtered through the built-in speakers. She was a sucker for Elvis. His sultry voice, his sexy hip moves and the way he was so skilled at capturing an audience – she’d yet to find an equal to him in this generation. Justin Timberlake, hmmm, no thanks. She’d take Elvis any day. Jillian swayed her hips to the music as she printed off a copy of the inventory. She started on the racks at the front and began marking the items on hand versus the items the system tallied.
The new bells she’d fixed to the door rang as two women came in. Jillian glanced at the time. A little past noon and these were their first customers? That was when she also noticed the music had stopped—long ago—and Levi hadn’t come up yet either.
The no-client thing this late in the day wasn’t a good sign.
“Hi, ladies, how’s it going?” Jillian asked.
“Good, thanks,” answered the taller woman. They shared the same perky nose and full lips and Jillian guessed that they were sisters.
“Is there anything specific you’re looking for?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m getting married and I want something spectacular for my wedding night.” The shorter one blushed.
“Congratulations! When’s the big day?”
“Saturday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.”
Excitement flowed through Jillian’s veins. This was the best part about this job. She was going to give this woman exactly what she was looking for, and send this woman off feeling confident and happy that she no longer had to look for something special. Her frantic search would end here. Her heart expanded with joy.
“Where you thinking the traditional white or another color?” Jillian asked.
“She doesn’t have a preference. She wants something sexy,” the older one said drawing out the word sexy.
The short one nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“We’re going to find you something. What’s your name?” Jillian asked the bride.
“Audrey. And this is Amy.”
Jillian took the bride’s hand. “I’m Jillian. I’m so glad you guys came in today. Have you shopped here before?”
“Audrey hasn�
�t. But I’ve been into The Peekeasy before. I suggested to Audrey that we look here, even though it wasn’t the same store. She hasn’t found anything that suits her fancy,” Amy said.
“Okay, well I’m positive there is something here for you. I know this will feel really personal but my job is to make you feel exquisite on your wedding night. Do you have a vision of what you’re wearing when you imagine your first night as a married woman?”
Audrey gazed wistfully around the room and Jillian’s heart thumped as she imagined what that night would be like for any woman. The wedding night. Those simple words held such a promise and an indication of joy and love. Anticipation. Sweet seduction. Passion. Love-making that was off the charts. Her heart got a little jealous at the thought.
“Nothing too showy. Just one of those dress-type sets, maybe.” Audrey lowered her eyes to the floor.
“That’s great. Here, I have a few things over here. Were you thinking long or short?” Jillian asked.
“I don’t know. Probably long–”
Amy cut in, “Long, Audrey? No. Go out of your comfort zone. At least a little. For this one night. Short.” Amy nudged Audrey and looked at Jillian. “Find her something short.”
“I’ll find whatever Audrey feels comfortable in. How about we find both and once you try them on, you can decide?” Jillian suggested.
“Okay,” Audrey said.
“There’s a variety on these two racks here and then there are a few items toward the dressing rooms that I haven’t had the opportunity to move around yet. I’ll leave you to find what you like and when you’re ready, we’ll set up a dressing room.”
“Thanks.”
Jillian smiled and stepped away giving the ladies a chance to look around. It was never a good idea to become too pushy, even though she wanted the sale that bad. It took Jillian about ten seconds to size up her customer’s reactions at her offer to help find them what they’re looking for. Some were super-needy and others didn’t need any help. Audrey was in the middle – a little push but not too much. Jillian was just excited they’d chosen to come into her store, that it was hard not to push and difficult to step back. Either way, it had been a while to engage with new clients that the rush felt good. Welcomed.
She went back to her inventory log as the women chattered amongst themselves. This was it. Audrey would have no problem finding what she needed and it would make Jillian’s day. She could feel it in her gut that this was the beginning of the new Lacie’s Lingerie – without Rebekah’s misguided orders.
“Um, thanks. Have a nice day,” Audrey said.
Wait. What? Jillian looked up from her papers, so lost in oblivion that she hadn’t realized Audrey was speaking to her.
Her heart stopped.
“You’re leaving? Didn’t we have what you’re looking for? You didn’t even try anything on.” Jillian hated that she sounded frantic and a bit bossy, but what the hell? They were her turning point.
“Um, no. I didn’t find anything,” Audrey said to the floor.
“What she means to say is that she didn’t find any gowns that fit her personality. The gowns are either long with bright colors or too short and flimsy. They show too much,” Amy said a matter-of-factly.
Show too much? Too bright? “We have online ordering. I can order anything you don’t see here. If you have an idea, we can look online and find something.”
“No, it’s okay. Thanks though.”
The two women walked out the door and Jillian threw her head back in despair. Tears formed at her eyes, almost spilling out. How was she going to do this? A lot of the items that she’d seen—not yet inventoried—looked fine on first glance. Some of the colors, yes, they were bright, but not every woman had the same sense of style.
What was the problem? Tears trickled down her cheeks and she turned to inspect some of the negligees and babydolls and ran right into Levi’s solid chest.
“Oh God,” Jillian said, forgetting that he was there.
“Whoa, what’s a matter?” He caught her arm before she could run off. “Why are you crying?”
“I just had a customer. The first one today,” she sniffled. “And they didn’t like anything. How could you not like anything in here? She said the colors were too bright and the materials too flimsy. Flimsy! It is lingerie. How am I going to turn this store around? Oh, my gosh, what if I’ve lost my mojo?” Jillian was full-on crying at this point and she didn’t care. What if she had lost her ability to read her customers? And even worse, lost the ability to order the right inventory?
What if she had lost her mojo somewhere between the closing of The Peekeasy and her new job here?
“Hey.” Levi placed his hands on her shoulders in a soothing manner. “I promise you that you haven’t lost your mojo. Jillian, stop crying.”
But she couldn’t. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as her chest heaved. She was a failure. She’d been so sure that she would have what those women needed. How could she not? Through her blurry eyes, she looked around the store to see if she could decipher what it was missing. To see if maybe, there was something critical she wasn’t seeing. They said that a person got so used to things it was hard to separate and see the whole picture. Maybe she was having a hard time separating.
“Please, stop crying,” Levi begged.
Jillian turned her blurry eyes to him and briefly registered what a mess she was making of her face, before he crushed her into his chest and his large arms went around her. She sobbed against him and her sniffles started doing double-time because…well, he smelled so damn good.
He felt good, too. Beneath her head, his chest was solid and with part of her forehead she could feel the muscles and planes of his chest dip and pulse. She had a sudden urge to run her hands along his abdomen and confirm that there too, he had muscles that she’d like to strum like a guitar.
“There.” Levi coaxed. “I hate to see a beautiful woman cry.”
Her toes curled at his deep voice. Her hands threatened to grasp onto his worn jeans as she reveled in the comfort of his arms. Okay, how’d I get here? What was I crying about?
Just as her tears subsided and her fingers relaxed into an open position, her phone rang. She pulled away from him and looked up at him. His eyes blazed down into hers.
Nervously, she moistened her dry lips. “I needed that.”
The beginnings of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “Anytime.”
Jillian skipped to the counter and at the sight of her sister’s name, her nerves strung tight. She hit the talk button. “Arabella? Is everything okay?” Jillian asked.
“No,” Arabella admitted. “I need you.”
“Where are you?” Her gaze met Levi’s and a calculating coldness replaced the blaze she’d seen only moments ago. Could he hear her sister through the phone?
“I’m at home. Derrek is gone,” Arabella whispered.
“Did he hit you?” she demanded.
“I…he…it was a small argument and I told him that I wanted to leave…”
“Answer me, Arabella! Did he hit you? Look, I’m on my way over right now.” Jillian ended the call and rushed to find her purse. She looked at Levi as she pulled her strap over her shoulder. “I have to go help my sister. You’re okay here? I’ll call you when I know what’s going on.”
Levi nodded, and she couldn’t help but notice the faraway look in his eyes but didn’t have the time to dwell too much on it. She had to go get her sister before Derrek came back. Arabella hadn’t sounded hurt, but what if she was? What if Derrek came back to hurt her, if he hadn’t already?
Jillian hated the helpless feeling in her gut as she jumped on the Light Rail to their house. Twenty minutes later she was knocking frantically on their door.
“Come on, Arabella. Open the door.” She took her phone out and dialed Arabella’s number as she pounded on the door, heart threatening to explode in her chest.
“Hello?” Arabella answered.
“Thank God. I’m here. Let
me in.”
In the background Jillian could hear Derrek’s voice asking who was on the phone. “It’s Jillian,” Arabella answered him. Arabella giggled – definitely not sounding the way she had twenty minutes ago. Jillian pulled the phone from her ear and double-checked who she’d called. She put it back up and listened to her sister’s overly-girlish giggles.
“Arabella! What the hell?” she asked.
“Jillian, Derrek is home and we’re occupied, if you know what I mean. I’m going to have to call you back.” Arabella giggled again as Jillian heard Derrek’s deep but muffled voice.
“Are you serious right now? You scared me,” Jillian said too late. She looked at her phone to see that her sister had already hung up. She kicked their front door and stomped away.
Had she been hallucinating? How could things have switched so quickly from Arabella being scared to forgiving Derrek? Jillian had gone through this on one other occasion. It’d been about six months ago, Arabella had called upset and scared and the second Jillian came running, Derrek had shown up ahead of her. There’d been a beautiful store-bought vase of a dozen scarlet roses and tickets to a movie Arabella had been trying to convince Jillian to take her to. Arabella had acted like nothing between the two of them had ever happened and Jillian couldn’t convince her otherwise.
She’d been so angry at Arabella that she hadn’t spoken to her for a month. Then her sister had shown up at The Peekeasy with a bruise on her cheekbone and claimed something had fallen out of the cabinet on her. Jillian knew she’d been lying. Just like Jillian knew Arabella had been lying when she’d called Jillian months ago telling Jillian that she couldn’t go out with Jillian and a few other girlfriends to celebrate Jillian’s birthday.
As Jillian walked up to Lacie’s she realized a little belatedly that she was going to have to answer to Levi. She relaxed her shoulders and steeled herself for whatever questions he was going to have. She hated this. Hated the fact that her sister wouldn’t let Jillian help her and Jillian hated the fact that she couldn’t get her sister to see what kind of relationship she was in. She hated the fact that she kept her job doing the toy testing on the side, because she saved that money for Arabella and she was afraid that Arabella would need it.
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