Arianne stifled a sigh. So Jill was back on that dreary subject. She wished her friend could forget about her ex—one had to forget to survive—but she said nothing. If Jill got things off her chest perhaps she would finally leave the past alone.
"He used to be in the navy, which I neglected to mention. And it was the navy he stole from, not a company, like I said. He used to steal all kinds of things. Whatever he could lay his hands on. Anything from screwdrivers to jeeps. That was partly why he was so successful. Well, it went on for a long time, and he made a ton of money on the sly. He was smart, Arianne! For example, to account for all the extra cash he had, he fabricated a wealthy family. A small detail, but a very important one."
"Yes, I—I suppose so…"
"Well, eventually, he got caught, naturally."
"Naturally.'' Arianne gave the smooth buttery mound of stollen dough, pricked with candied cherries and slivered almonds, a final pat and drew a tea towel over it in the big bowl. She carried the bowl over to the stove and placed it on the shelf above. Jill had sunk back into her story.
"I mean, he got caught, but not really. It was a blanket, one lousy blanket that he was caught with. Hardly incriminating. He'd been so careful and so wily they hadn't an inkling of what he'd been getting away with. Well, he was up for a promotion. The navy decided to use him as an example, and because of that one blanket, he lost his promotion."
"Sounds severe on the face of it, but it's not, is it?"
"Hardly. Considering he'd been stealing everything from guns and ammunition to cases of food regularly, and for years! He had a nice little stockpile of the proceeds stashed somewhere. Of course I never saw any. He always had to have the best of everything, but me and Erin, pooh. Who were we to take up his time, let alone his money?"
"It's hard to believe!" Arianne shook her head sadly, providing just enough encouragement for Jill to continue. If the only way she could help was to listen, then she would listen.
"Oh, he certainly had expensive tastes. Would you believe he had cashmere and angora sweaters? I sure as hell didn't. That's the sort of guy he was! I don't know why I put up with it. And I was scared stiff, expecting a court martial any minute. I mean, there I would be, cleaning up Erin's drawers, and what would I find but a box of ammunition! I kicked him out again and again, and he kept coming back!''
"And you kept letting him in!"
"Yeah, but he always had such good excuses! Like about the box of ammo. He said—after I'd kicked him out—he said that they were special bullets that splashed red dye on impact, and were used in their war games. That he was showing special initiative in stealing them— the more bullets, the more men he could nab and his team would win their mock war. Well? They do do that sort of thing! Practice, I guess. I bought it. And he'd just talk his way right back in every time. And I'd feel like a big idiot for being so mean to him. Later I'd find out it was all a lie, and then I'd really feel like an idiot." Jill sighed lengthily.
"You're rid of him now, thank heaven."
"Hm? What? Oh, yes... I'm... rid of him now...."
Arianne didn't think she sounded at all convinced. "When was your divorce?"
"About the same time as yours. About two years ago."
"I think I'm over it. But are you, Jill?" Jill kept chopping dates and didn't answer, not right away. "I... don't think so. I guess not. No."
"And Don isn't helping?"
Jill shrugged in reply, adding nothing more.
"Maybe Don's the wrong fellow for the job."
"How do you mean?"
"We-ell, Larry's wonderful, but it's not like I'm particularly interested in him. And you two seem to get along so well. Why don't you... well, ask him out for a date? Or flutter a few eyelashes if you won't be so daring." She laughed.
"Not interested? How can you not be interested? What's the matter with you, Arianne?"
Arianne had expected a little relief, if anything. She had hardly expected Jill to get more upset than she already was. "All I meant was, if you like Larry and are holding back because of me, don't. You seem to like him a lot more than I do. You're always defending him to me. You see, you just did it again. So if you like him, go for it."
Jill was looking at her with a peculiar sort of dismay.
Arianne smiled back. "Okay, we've got the dates, the raisins, the currants, the blanched almonds. What's next?"
***
Arianne didn't want to admit she was all keyed up for bedtime. Would he come to her room? Should she go to his? She was unsure as to the proper etiquette—if any applied.
After inviting Jill over, and seeing how she was in need of a friend, Arianne felt shabby for wanting her to disappear quickly. So to make up for it, she kept her late. They got a lot of baking done that night, and a lot of talking, too. Then Arianne did a bit of stalling without Jill being any the wiser. She didn't want to seem too available—she didn't want it to look as if she'd been waiting up for Leo to come home—and she wanted Jill to be present when he did.
It worked out perfectly. Leo came in shortly before Jill left. He went straight upstairs. Making the rounds to close up for the night, Arianne didn't know what to expect next. Was he waiting for her upstairs? She felt the rising tide of shivery anticipation spread through her veins.
What an anticlimax, therefore, to get to the top of the stairs and look across the landing, only to see he was in his room and the door was shut. Arianne didn't know what to think. This was confusing! She wasn't even hurt. Baffled more than anything. In this mood she had her bath, brushed her hair one hundred times and, when there was no reason to linger further, went to her room and shut the door.
Leaning against it, she loosened the sash of her robe. What was happening? Was this the pattern for their relationship from here on in? When he had first come she could have sworn he was going to take her in his arms and kiss her. Now his door was shut. This smarted badly. It was obvious he hadn't come back to see her.
Arianne wandered dejectedly around her bedroom. She slid out of her robe, chose a nightgown from the bureau, and was about to put it on, when it occurred to her she could delay going to bed just yet by checking on Rae one more time. She put her pink robe back on again and wiggled her toes into her slippers. Picking up the sash, she held her robe shut and slipped out of her bedroom. Out on the landing only the dim night-light was on.
Rae was just fine, of course. She straightened his blanket and smoothed the black curls off his brow. She tucked his green crocodile more comfortably under his arm. There was nothing more to be done. Back she went to her room. Her door was almost shut, when Leo's door opened.
"Arianne? Wait!" he called, keeping his voice down.
Slowly Arianne opened her door. If he wasn't going to make love to her she wished he would wear something offering more cover than just thin cotton pajama bottoms! And he could tie them a little higher up, too. His male body was beautiful, sleek and supple and solid, his muscles not too obvious and no spare tires.
"Ye-es?" she whispered shakily, breathlessly, her hands curling into fists. Then she regathered the front of her robe, for she still hadn't tied the sash, which had slipped out of her hand. Her tresses were a tousled black cloud that she shook back over her shoulders.
"I want to talk to you, Arianne...." He came to a stop in front of her, putting a gentle hand on either arm, holding her still, but not against him. He paused, studying her upturned face in the semidarkness. "This is really hard for me to say." His soft voice washed over her.
Arianne was glad he was there, glad to be so close to him. "What is it, Leo?"
"I know what you want from a man. You told me down on the beach, remember? I can't give it to you. And I think too much of you to take advantage of the situation. I won't have you hurt. So I think it's better this way."
"Oh... " she said faintly. That this would happen had never crossed her mind. So this is what it felt like to be respected. Well, frankly, she'd prefer to be respected and swept up in his arms at one and the s
ame time!
He ran a tense hand through his silky honey-blond hair. Arianne remembered what it felt like to run her hands through the soft thickness of it, and her whole body began to ache. She knew what it was to plant kisses all along his jaw and she knew the taste of his skin beneath her lips. She knew his individual male scent that filled her head with dreams of torrid lovemaking. And he didn't want to hurt her? Dear God, she was in agony!
"I suppose you think me crazy for staying here when... the last time... But I just couldn't stay in a hotel. And I sure didn't want to stay at Jill's, even though it is right next door. But I promise I won't touch you—" he dropped his hand from her arm quickly "—I promise solemnly I won't touch you again."
Arianne gazed vacantly up into his face and couldn't believe this was happening to her. What a time for him to turn chivalrous! She wanted to tell him he was being an idiot, that she wanted him so much—she skirted carefully around the word "love"—that she was running over with raw desire. That she adored him and he made her happier than she'd ever been before in her whole life.
Instead she expelled a long quivery breath. She had to think this over. She couldn't blurt out something that might embarrass them both terribly. And she liked him too much to force the issue. If he didn't want to make love to her, then she didn't want him to. "Maybe you should have breakfast in the dining room from now on." She took a little step backward, putting more distance between them.
"Oh, that's going too far!" he hastened.
"Do you want lunch and dinner as before?"
"Uh-huh."
He was staring at her. She wished he would stop. She wondered how on earth he expected this bizarre arrangement to work, and moistened her lips. "Good night, Leo."
Closing her bedroom door on him she walked to her bed, fell down on it and started to cry. At this point it was all she had left to do. The release she had hoped for in his arms had to be found in this lonely way. It was only too plain he hadn't come back to see her.
***
Rae's noisy exuberance and messy eating habits helped get them through a breakfast that might otherwise have been awkward. Rae was glad to see his old friend, Arianne realized somewhat sourly. At least the menfolk enjoyed the meal.
When Leo politely handed her the customary envelope before he went out that morning she took it without a murmur. Inside there was one full week's pay, room and board. Further disheartened, she longed desperately to be able to throw it in his face and tell him to get the hell out. But she was too eager for his company to lose him, pride be damned.
The ordinary routine of going to work, the comfortable aura of the shop and Orly's kind face helped put her back on a more even keel. It wasn't the end of the world, after all, although it came awfully close to it.
"Didn't you tell me Leo's back?" Orly asked her when it was nearing five o'clock. "We're in for a treat, Arianne, here come Doom and Gloom."
"Good afternoon, ladies." Arianne smiled as the two elderly women entered the shop. "What can I get for you today?"
"I want half a pound of that almond paste that's on special. And half a pound of this white-chocolate almond bark." Doom tapped the glass showcase. "A quarter pound of banana chips and a pound of mixed peel. Oh, and some of—"
"Just a minute, please." Arianne was rushed to keep up. Doom knew very well she was being annoying. The old woman smiled in a tight-lipped, satisfied way.
Turning back to her friend with the mustache, she went on, "And she said without a word of a lie that there were fourteen huge bags of groceries. Fourteen! Being delivered this very afternoon! Not to mention three cases of liquor and a box from the meat market!"
Arianne wondered who they were talking about this time. Obviously they didn't know Leo was back, because they weren't talking about her. She strained her ears a little more.
Gloom was stroking her upper lip. "Sounds like a whole tribe moved in. It's been a long time since that old fort was used."
"No, no, no, no! All that is going to one house! Yes, indeedy! The admiral's house, the one at the end on the beach. 'Admiral Lyndon Thrush' was the name of the delivery slip."
"You don't say! The town will be overrun by them young bucks in uniform. They'll be screeching up and down the street in their old jalopies all night! Young folks these days have no thought for their elders. A disgrace, I always say. It's a terrible shame that—"
Arianne busily weighed out a quarter pound of banana chips and the pound of mixed peel. The navy was moving back into the old fort. Well, well, well! This was news to her. She was doubly glad now she hadn't fallen into Leo's arms last night. He hadn't come to see her— no, he'd come back on some purpose of his own, and his purpose had something to do with that old fort. It must have. She wondered if she really had seen him there almost two weeks ago now, slipping around the side of the lovely old residence down on the beach....
Her curiosity to know what was going on was certainly growing. She decided to put a few delicate questions to her guest at dinner that night. Now what would a travel agent want with an old fort, she pondered.
Hadn't he said he was looking for a spot to put a convention center? Of course; the old fort would make a marvellous convention center. Lots of land, private beach; most of the buildings there could be renovated. Maybe Admiral Thrush had come to handle the sale of the property. On second thought, that did sound a little ridiculous. Arianne didn't think admirals handled that sort of thing. She would try to worm more information out of Leo.
By the dinner hour, Arianne had also had time to do some thinking. She'd come to the monumental conclusion that she wanted Leo Donev and now that he was here again she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip away without doing something about it.
He had been honest; he had warned her that he was short-term only. She'd come to the conclusion she was going to take what she could get. After all, life was short. She had better accept what happiness came her way, whether it was forever or not. At least he was man enough to admit he was going to love and leave her!
She formulated her plan. It was as simple as simple could be—seduce Leo Donev and do so without him catching on. She would slowly, subtly drive him crazy, until he couldn't resist her, until he broke down her bedroom door if he had to. She would use every trick, every feminine wile, whatever it took. The situation was explosive. But with a slight push here and a little shove there, she could see things tumbling her way. The one rule was, not to let him catch on to the fact that he was being stalked with single-minded feline intent. She had to be careful, because he was quick and alert and sensitive, too.
That night she spent more time on her appearance than she did on dinner. She even painted her toenails, something she hadn't done in ages. The tiniest bit of perfume scented the inside of each wrist. She chose her clothes with the greatest deliberation, donning a very plain black shirtdress that showed off her curviness. She put her hair up with a pair of finely scrolled silver combs that Mikey had brought back for her from a trip to Mexico. Sheer black stockings and her pink slippers, of course, were the final touch.
Leo shouldn't have an inkling of anything different. Yet at the same time he should notice her... every square inch of her....
CHAPTER TEN
"The navy's moved back into the old fort down the hill," Arianne said conversationally, passing Leo the asparagus spears.
His eyes flickered into hers and away. "Oh?"
"They came today."
"Did they?"
"Yes. An admiral and his cortege. The big house at the end is occupied now. Isn't it interesting? I wonder what they're doing here?"
"Judging by the way you've gleaned such a wealth of information, and so quickly, I suggest you'll find the answer to that soon enough. You wouldn't happen to know who—"
"Of course," she answered, laughing. "Lyndon Thrush is his name. Doesn't it even sound military?"
He was gazing at her mouth, and his pale winter-green eyes didn't meet hers this time. "Arianne, how did you come to kno
w that? Have you been gazing in your crystal ball?"
She flashed him a grin quick as lightning. "No, Doom and Gloom were in the shop and they had the scoop. It hardly takes a detective to read the name of a grocery delivery slip.'' She smiled again. "Do you want the whole exciting story? Fourteen bags of groceries, a box of meat, three cases from the liquor store and a bouquet of dark-red carnations, the ones that smell so cinnamony. That's why he likes them so much."
Arianne stopped short. The carnations. Oh, no, she hadn't been told about those. In her mind she'd seen them in the back of the delivery truck, lying on top of a case of wine.
"Who likes them so much?" Leo put down his fork, staring raptly at her.
Alarmed, Arianne bit her lip. Dammit. She had put her foot in her mouth! She never did things like this around other people, so why did she forget herself with him?
"Who, Arianne?" Leo persisted.
"Oh, well, um, it's the admiral's order, so I guess they must be his," she said, trying to bluff her way out of it.
"Oh, no, you weren't guessing before. You knew! What I'd like to know is, how the devil did Doom and Gloom get ahold of that kind of information?"
Arianne was grasping at straws. "Oh, well, I—they might have heard it from the florist…" She shrugged and decided to change the subject in all haste. "How was your day, now that I've told you about mine?"
"We haven't finished with yours yet." He wasn't eating; his complete attention was fixed on her. "Arianne, I want a straight answer. Have you been crystal gazing?"
"I don't need a little crystal ball to—'' Arianne put her fork down, too. "What I meant was...don't be silly. Crystal gazing! It's a—bauble, a—a knickknack!"
"Then you didn't use it?"
"No!"
"What did you use?"
"Eat your dinner, Leo. It's getting cold!" He picked up his fork. "Well, Arianne? How do you know about the carnations?"
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