Oh my God. “This is a mistake.”
The woman led her into the store.
“I need to find Becky. She'll explain it. She walked away. I was just looking for her. I forgot I had the jewelry on. I didn't steal anything, please…”
But the woman wasn't listening. She dragged her past the cosmetic counter onto the escalator. All eyes were upon her. Her fellow shoppers thought she was a shoplifter. How could this be happening? The mall was her comfort zone, her big hot water bottle. Then she saw her. Becky was paying for something at the Estee Lauder counter. “Becky!” she shouted.
Please, hear me, see me.
“Ma'am, please keep your voice down.”
“But there she is. She'll tell you. Becky! Help me!”
Suddenly Becky's head jerked up. Renee blanched when she saw the look of horror on her friend's face.
Becky took off running toward the escalator. She jumped over the threshold, sprinting up the moving steps as Renee and the security officer got off at the top.
“What's…going…on?” Becky caught up to them, panting from the exertion.
“You may follow us to the security office if you wish,” the guard said. “Your friend left the store with unpaid merchandise.” She walked so fast, Renee practically had to run to keep up.
Becky lumbered behind. “There's been a mistake, I can vouch for her.”
“No mistake.” She marched on, as if on a top priority mission. “She exited the store with costume jewelry she didn't pay for.”
Renee tried to jerk her arm away, but the woman's grasp tightened. “I was looking for you, Becky. You disappeared.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks. There went her terrific makeover.
The security officer showed both women into a small room with a desk and two chairs. Everything in the tiny space was gray, from the walls to the floor to the cheap furniture. She sat down, then told Renee to sit as well. Becky stood in the corner. The woman started typing on a keyboard as she watched the computer screen in front of her. “Let me see your identification, please.”
Renee rifled in her purse for her wallet, then pulled out her license and with shaking hands, passed it to the woman. The officer typed more as she studied the screen.
“Purse,” the security guard said, holding out her hand.
Gingerly, Renee set it on the desk and watched in horror as the woman dumped out its contents, then sifted through everything.
“There's no stolen merchandise in my purse.” She sniffled. She didn't like this woman. “I told you, it was a mistake.”
The guard stared at the computer screen. “Okay. No previous history. A deputy will be by shortly to arrest you. Let's fill out these forms in the meanwhile.”
“What? Arrest me? Oh my God.” The room started spinning, a cyclone whirling around Renee's head. “Becky, help me. Call my father. No, don't call my father. Call Gary. No, don't call Gary. Then my parents will find out. Oh God, Becky, do something.”
Stars swam before her eyes, then everything went black.
Chapter Three
A cool hand brushed Renee's cheek. She opened her eyes to see Becky staring down at her.
“Can you hear me? Renee, are you all right?”
“I…I'm okay. What happened?”
Becky heaved out a breath. “You passed out. Do you know where you are?”
“I'm… Oh God, I'm in the security office at Jordan's.” Her stomach lurched and for a moment she thought her lunch might come up.
“Calm down. There's a deputy on his way up. We'll explain to him what happened. It'll all be okay.” Becky smoothed back a lock of hair matted with tears from her friend's face and helped her sit up.
When someone knocked on the door, the security guard said, “Come in.” She had her arms folded and a big, sour frown on her face. She stood when a uniformed officer entered. “Here's your paperwork, Joe. Says she went looking for her friend here and accidentally left the store with the merchandise.” She handed him a few sheets of paper, then shrugged and left the room.
“Officer, you've got to believe me,” Renee pleaded as she looked up at him and familiarity hit her. It was the cop from the bank. “Hey, I know you.” She allowed herself a tiny measure of relief.
He had a smirk on his face. “And I know you. Cat named Apple, right?”
“Law and Order,” she said, suddenly aware of the tension in her back. She took a deep breath, trying to relax.
“Am I missing something?” Becky asked.
“This is Officer Morton, the nice policeman who interviewed me after the bank robbery.”
“Joe.” He offered his hand to Becky.
They shook and he sat down opposite Renee. “So…here we are again, Miss Wright.”
“Call me Renee. I can explain this. Becky was standing behind me while I was trying on some jewelry. I turned around to show her but she was gone.”
“A pretty perfume bottle caught my eye so I had to go see if it smelled as good as it looked,” Becky said. “Sorry. Go on Renee.”
“Anyway, I thought I saw her, but it was someone else with her hair. I called after her, but she walked out of the store, so I followed her. Next thing I know, Attila the Hun is pulling me back into the store, dragging me up here like a common criminal. I had to go right past all the shoppers and the salespeople and all.” She covered her face with her hands, then dropped them to her lap. “They know me here, this is my favorite store. It was awful.”
He had the slightest trace of a smile on his face. “And how did you find her?” he asked Becky.
“I was at the Estee Lauder counter when I heard my name, like really loud. So I looked up and I saw her. I ran after her and caught up with them. That woman must do some serious exercise.”
“I see.” He rubbed his chin.
“So you see it was all a mistake, right?” Renee pushed out her lower lip and wondered if she could still make herself cry on demand like she had when she was a kid.
“I'll have to speak to Benita, that nice lady who brought you up here.”
“You won't arrest me though, will you?” She swallowed hard.
“On one condition.”
“What?” She squeezed the arms of her chair.
“You let me call you.”
Heat spread through her body. She wanted to scream, ‘Hell yes.’ “Officer, isn't that a crime?”
“Now we both can be arrested,” he teased.
Becky marched to the door. “I think I'll wait outside so you can do your…police stuff.”
When the door closed, Renee leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Shall I give you my phone number?”
“I still have it from last week. I guess I lucked out, meeting you again so I could ask if it was okay to call. I don't like to phone a lady if she doesn't know I'll be calling.”
“Well, now I know. So you'd better call.” She fluffed her hair, suddenly aware of that fluttery feeling in her gut. “What if I have another emergency and I need a cop?”
“We're never around when you need us.” He winked and flashed those adorable dimples. “Let me go speak to the store detective to smooth this out. She's not as mean as you think. She has a daughter your age. I'll play that card with her. Wait here.”
“Don't you want to handcuff me or something?” Renee held her hands together in front of her and grinned at him. The heat intensified.
“I don't think that'll be necessary, ma'am. Not just yet, at least.” He stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
She silently prayed all would be forgiven and she would be allowed to walk out of the store a free woman. And with the prospect of a date with the hottie cop.
Five minutes later, he came back. “Come on,” he said, waiting for her to pass.
“I can go? Thank you, Joe. I owe you big time.” She squeezed her eyes shut, silently counting her blessings. She’d have loved to throw her arms around his neck and show him just how grateful she was, but that might raise a flag with the security people.
<
br /> “May I walk you to your car?”
Damn, he filled out that uniform nicely.
“Sure. Let me grab my friend. She rode with me.”
Becky was waiting outside the security office. The three of them strode silently out of the store. When they arrived at her Jeep, Renee opened the passenger door to let Becky inside. “I can't thank you enough, Joe.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I'll be waiting for your call.”
He looked left, then right. “Can't do that stuff in uniform, ma'am.”
“Would you do me a favor?”
“Anything.” Those sable eyes shone with amusement.
“Stop calling me ma'am. It makes me feel old.”
“Okay, girlie. I'll call you soon.” He set his hand on the small of her back and all sorts of delicious sensations raced through her.
“How soon?”
“Very soon. Now get in there before I’m forced to handcuff you right here.”
Oh Lord. Her panties were going to be damp before long if she didn’t get away from him. She went around to the driver's side.
“No speeding now. I'd hate to run in to you professionally again.” He smiled as he shut her door then strode away. She watched him for a moment. He had the cutest rear view.
“You have to be the luckiest person I've ever known,” Becky said after Renee started the motor.
“I am today. He's actually kind of cute, don't you think?”
“Kind of cute? He's freaking adorable. And unbelievably sweet. He sure got your ass out of a sling. Could you imagine if we had to call your dad to tell him you were in the county jail?”
“I don't even want to imagine that.” She shuddered. “You really think he's cute, huh? Well, he probably won't call me. Most of 'em don't.” Her cell started buzzing. She pulled it from her purse and checked the display but it said, ‘Private Number.’ “Hello?”
“I told you I'd call soon.” Joe’s voice was quiet and silky and coated in all sorts of yumminess.
“Wow, a man of his word.” She glanced at Becky and winked.
“Will you go out with me Friday night?”
She couldn't wipe the smile off her face. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“Will your handcuffs be coming along?”
“Let me check their schedule. Um, yeah, They’re free.”
She laughed. “Okay then. Where are we going?”
“Do you like Italian?”
“Sure.” She’d eat gruel if he was with her.
“I know a great little place where they have the best pasta this side of Rome.”
“Sounds great.” Better than great.
“You're not driving while talking on a phone, are you? Because that's dangerous. I'd have to cite you for that, you know.”
“You and your handcuffs?”
He chuckled. “Yup.”
“I haven't even pulled out of my parking spot yet.”
“Are you waiting until I leave so you can go back inside to steal some more jewelry?”
“Ouch. Be nice.”
“Sorry. I'll call you Friday morning to confirm, okay?”
“I'll be waiting. Bye, Joe.”
She pressed the disconnect button then slid the phone into her purse. Her whole body hummed with excitement. Waiting until Friday was going to be excruciating. “He's so sweet.”
“Isn't that what I just told you?”
* * * * *
Melissa raced into the salon Tuesday morning and slid into Renee’s station like a baseball player stealing a base.
“It’s okay.” Renee poured them each of them a cup of coffee. “I don’t have anyone right after you.”
“I hate to be late.” Melissa set her hands on the towel. “How are you?”
“Great. I have a date Friday night with a cop.” Thoughts of Joe made her heart flutter. “And he's really sweet.”
“Good for you. Where'd you meet him?”
“Remember I told you about being a bank robber's hostage? He was the first officer on the scene. Then I ran into him…at the mall this weekend.” She decided to skip explaining the where and how.
“Cool. I guess sometimes bad stuff happens for a good reason.”
“Yeah. I'm starting to believe that. And, I started a diet yesterday. I've been really good for a whole day.”
“But Thursday is Thanksgiving. Won't that be hard for you?”
“Yeah, I forgot about that. Plus, my policeman is taking me to an Italian restaurant Friday night. I'll have to practice portion control.”
Melissa waggled her eyebrows. “So he’s your policeman now, huh?”
Heat spread over her face. “No, no. You know what I mean.”
“You know, I was an overweight kid. My mother used to say to me 'just push away from the table, Missy. It's that easy.' Now her hormones are slowing her metabolism down so she's packing on a few extra pounds. I love saying to her 'just push away from the table, Mom.' She doesn't like it any better than I did when I was a kid.”
“My mama always has some sage advice for me. I think it's another way she can tell me what a failure I am. Because she's perfect, you see. She never had to worry about her weight.” Her stomach growled. “I love diet advice from people who have no inkling of what it feels like to be overweight or how awful it is to eat three stalks of celery a day and not lose any weight.”
“Why would she think you're a failure? You have your own business and you're a bright, attractive woman. That's success, not failure.”
She shrugged. “In her book, I should have been a lawyer. I was planning to be one until I realized I had no interest in law and that I was only doing it for her. What I wanted was to own my own business and have a low stress career where I meet lots of interesting people.”
“So you're a big success.” Melissa took a sip of her coffee.
“What did you do this week?”
Her face clouded. “My husband and I went to see our fertility doctor. We've been trying to get pregnant for three years now with no luck. It seems I'm the problem.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“We're looking into in vitro plus some other options too.”
Renee silently worked on her client's nails. She had thought Melissa had it all. Apparently no one had everything.
She did two acrylic fills then joined Becky in the kitchen for a lunch break to eat the salad she'd brought from home. She stared longingly at Becky's tuna sandwich and potato chips.
“Have you thought about what I said about hiring more hairdressers? We've got two empty stations. If we could fill them both, that would be an extra hundred fifty for each of us a week.” Becky slid a chip into her mouth.
“Yeah. Let's do it. I'll place an ad in the paper, but don't count on much response this close to the holidays.” Bad enough she was nearly broke. She couldn't deal with it if the salon went under.
“You never know.”
* * * * *
When Renee pulled her Jeep into her parents' drive Thanksgiving day, she noticed a silver BMW convertible that piqued her curiosity. Circling to the front of the beamer with her green bean casserole in hand, she read the vanity plate: ‘FLA Law.’
Cute. Must be one of Gary and her Dad's coworkers.
When she stepped through the door, voices floated to her ears from the living room and the smells of turkey, cinnamon and pumpkin filled the air.
Her mother floated into the dining room wearing a yellow floral dress that was way too cheerful for her. “Ah, you made it. Happy Thanksgiving. Put that on the buffet and come into the living room.” Elizabeth motioned for her to come. Actually, her mother’s demeanor was also too cheerful. “There's someone I'd like you to meet.”
Uh oh. ‘Someone I'd like you to meet’ sounded like a set-up. She cautiously followed her, stopping in the dining room to set her casserole on a heating tray on the buffet.
In the living room, Gary and Char stood next to the fire. Her mother must have cranked up the air condi
tioner to make that bearable in the seventy-degree weather. Her father sat on his overstuffed recliner. Gary Junior and Alyssa were sprawled on the wood floor playing pickup sticks. Next to the window, a fortyish man with short hair and a light moustache sipped a drink and stared at her.
“Renee's here, everyone,” Elizabeth chirped. “Cleave Nichols, I'd like you to meet my other daughter, Renee.”
Ah ha. He must be the someone her mother wanted her to meet, Mr. FLA Law.
“Nice to meet you, Cleave.” She crossed the room to him and offered her hand.
Not bad, not bad at all. The last man her mother had introduced her to was a short, balding optometrist who resembled a turtle. He had bad breath and drove like Mario Andretti. After their one and only date, Renee told her never to set her up again. Apparently, someone hadn't been paying attention during that conversation.
But this one seemed okay; about six feet tall, intense brown eyes and he smelled wonderful, like an exotic spice she couldn’t place.
His gaze swept over her. “The pleasure's all mine.”
“Cleave's parents and sister went on a cruise so he had no one to spend the holiday with. He's a lawyer at the firm.” Elizabeth beamed. “Would you like a drink, Renee?”
“Thanks, I'll fix it.” She stepped behind the bar, stopping along the way to kiss her father. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.” Her stomach growled, but she had no idea if the cause was hunger or anxiety.
“Same to you.” Char leaned a spindly leg on a barstool. “Cleave just moved here from Atlanta last year, Renee.”
“It was so nice of your mother to invite me to join you,” he said. “I'd have been at the office working today if she hadn't.”
Renee mixed herself a gin and tonic, feeling all the adult eyes upon her. Lord, she hated fix-ups. And could they be any more obvious? They must all be in on it.
“Look what you've done, Elizabeth,” Luther said with a smirk. “We could have gotten an extra day's work out of him if you hadn't asked him over.”
“Luther. You should be ashamed.” Her mother shook her finger at her husband.
“It's okay, Elizabeth. I'm used to these guys poking fun at me every day.” Cleave strolled to the bar then set his glass down as he stared at Renee. “Mind making one for me?”
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