A Bid for Love

by Rachel Ann Nunes

  “I want to have my own gallery,” Cassi said. “One where I can sell beautiful and artistic things to ordinary people. I don’t want to cater just to the rich. I know it won’t bring as much money, but it would be real, a place that people could learn in and feel comfortable visiting.”

  Jared had entertained such a notion himself for the past few years, though he hadn’t gone beyond the dreaming stage. “I know what you mean,” he replied. “I’d like to have art classes for children. Teach them about real art.”

  “Exactly,” Cassi said.

  How different she was from Laranda, who’d simply laughed at his idea when he had suggested it. His boss had neither time nor patience for children, who certainly wouldn’t increase her bank account. Thinking of Laranda brought a sour taste to Jared’s mouth, and he put her firmly from his thoughts.

  They took a taxi from the airport to Jared’s New York apartment. Cassi sat close to him, her wrinkled face staring out the window at the passing lights. He touched her knee. “I’m glad your little play-acting back in L.A. worked. I don’t think I could have forgiven myself if anything happened to you.”

  “You’re not responsible for me,” she said with a wicked grin. “Can’t you see these wrinkles? I’m old enough to take care of myself. Eh?” She slapped the driver’s seat near his shoulder, and he agreed enthusiastically.

  Jared laughed, thinking again how fun she was to be around. On the plane, he could almost imagine they actually were an old couple, grown comfortable with each other over long association and deeper in love each day. He couldn’t imagine anything more satisfying. Even in disguise, she radiated an inner light.

  Could he open his heart to her?

  Cassi’s voice broke in on his reverie. “Is this your apartment?”

  Jared looked out the taxi window and nodded, scanning the dark streets for danger. “Yep.” He paid the driver as Cassi climbed from the car, searching as he had for something that was out of place. But no one came from the shadows with guns, or shouted for them to drop the Buddha. If someone was watching, it seemed their disguises were perfect.

  “It’s beautiful,” Cassi said when he joined her, looking up at the gray-brick building which rose six stories above them. “I mean, as far as apartments go.” Each window had a built-in planter box, many of which were filled with blooming flowers, though they were difficult to see in the dark, despite the streetlights. The front of the building had a small yard, filled with greenery and more flowers.

  “Wait until you see my apartment.”

  “Which floor is it on?”

  “The fourth. On the left side.” He pointed.

  “Do you grow flowers?” Cassi strained to see the planters above her.

  Jared shook his head and grinned. “Tomatoes, a little parsley, and even a pumpkin.”

  Cassi laughed. “Nice.”

  Her laughter made him feel warm. “Come on.” They went up the stairs together, and Jared used his key to open the outer door. As they had planned on the plane, they went not to Jared’s apartment but to his next-door neighbor’s, Meela Sanders. After many rings, they finally heard footsteps approaching.

  “Who is it?” a sleepy voice called through the door. Meela was a single mother to five-year-old Mikey, and was careful about opening the door to anyone, particularly in this late at night.

  “It’s me, Jared.”

  The door opened a crack, the chain still latched, and then started to shut again as Meela saw them. Her brown face twisted in consternation. “You aren’t Jared.”

  Jared quickly put his foot in the door as she started to close it. “It’s me. I’m just in disguise, see?” Jared reached up to his face and pulled off a piece of makeup.

  “You sound like Jared,” Meela said hesitantly. She reached a slender dark hand through the chained door and touched a slight bulge on Jared’s nose. She pulled it suddenly, and it snapped off in her hand. She chuckled. “Why, so it is you. Come on in.” She shut the door, removed the chain, and opened it again, waving them inside. “Who’s this?” she asked as she locked the door behind them.

  “Cassi Mason. We met in L.A. She’s helping me with something.”

  Meela nodded, studying Cassi as if trying to determine whether she was actually old or made up like Jared. “Are you in trouble, Jared?” Meela asked, still studying Cassi. “Some men came by yesterday with Mrs. Fackly. They were looking for you and gave me a number to call if I saw you.”

  Jared sighed. Mrs. Fackly was the building supervisor, and also the woman who cleaned his apartment. “Can we sit down?”

  Meela nodded and led the way to the living room. Jared and Cassi explained everything to her, interrupting each other to add specific details.

  “So you need to give your boss this Buddha, and then you’re done with it?” Meela asked.

  “That’s right. I called Laranda before we left the airport, but no one answered. With all that’s been going on, I didn’t dare leave a message in case someone else gets it first. So I guess I’ll take the statue to her first thing in the morning. It’ll be better in the daylight anyway. Safer. Laranda will probably call the FBI or whoever. The statue is obviously a fake.”

  “May I see it?” Meela asked.

  Jared nodded and pulled the Buddha out of its protective case, setting it carefully on the coffee table in front of them.

  “Boy, is that thing ugly.”

  Cassi nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

  Meela looked at her. “You’re not old, are you.” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “No. I’m twenty-nine.”

  Jared had thought her younger than that, but found himself relieved that she was closer to his own age.

  “So what do you want me to do?” Meela asked.

  “Just give us a place to stay tonight. And a place to wash up. I don’t dare use my apartment in case someone comes looking for me.”

  “That’s fine. Just don’t wake Mikey.” She looked at Cassi. “Are you hungry, or would you rather wash up first?”

  Cassi scratched at her cheek. “Wash, please.” As Meela led Cassi into the bathroom, Jared walked out onto the balcony off the kitchen, stopping only to take a flashlight and a knife from a kitchen drawer. He stepped easily over the rail that separated his balcony from Meela’s. It took him several minutes and the help of the knife to open the sliding glass door to his apartment. Carefully, he searched the apartment in the dark, but everything was exactly how he’d left it. Daring to use Meela’s flashlight, he went to his closet and took out his spare gun and a change of clothing. With a satisfied sigh, he slipped back over the rail to Meela’s, leaving his glass door open a sliver. Later, he wanted to show something to Cassi.

  As he returned to the kitchen, Meela and Cassi came in from the hall. He must have taken longer than he’d thought because Cassi had finished her shower. And if he knew Meela, she’d likely been busy making up her spare beds for them. Neither woman had noted his absence.

  “Just be grateful your hair isn’t wiry as well as curly,” Meela was saying. “We African-Americans spend a combined fortune trying to straighten our hair.”

  Cassi laughed. “I see what you mean. I guess I should be grateful for what I’ve got, even though it’s always messy.”

  “I like it that way,” Jared said. Already little ringlets were sticking out at different angles. Without thinking, he reached to touch a lock.

  “Get away, you lecherous old man!” Meela slapped at his hand. “At least until you’ve grown a little younger.” She shoved Jared in the direction of the bathroom.

  A short time later, Jared emerged dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Meela and Cassi were at the table, cradling mugs of hot chocolate. For the first time, Jared noticed that Cassi also wore jeans and a fresh blue T-shirt. “Meela lent them to me,” she said, noticing his stare.

  “You can keep them,” Meela said. “I haven’t fit into them for years, ever since I had Mikey.” She patted her hips for emphasis, though she was by
no means heavy. Everyone laughed.

  “I guess it’s time to go to bed.” Jared faked a yawn.

  “Wait! You said you were going to show me something,” Cassi said. “Don’t you remember?”

  He grinned. “I haven’t forgotten. I was just testing your curiosity. Come on. I’ve already checked out my apartment. No one’s there.”

  “Are you going to show her Life?” Meela asked.

  Jared nodded. “Yes.”

  “What is it?” asked Cassi.

  “Oh, no, I’m not telling.” Meela stood and gathered their mugs. “It’s something you’ve got to see for yourself. I’m going back to bed. The couch folds down into a bed when you’re ready, Cassi. It’s got fresh sheets and a blanket. Jared, you can use the spare bed in Mikey’s room. Just be quiet so he doesn’t wake up.”

  They watched Meela leave. “She’s really great,” Cassi said. “Have you known her long?”

  Jared nodded. “Five years. Just after she had Mikey. Her husband died from cancer after they moved here, so I help out around the house when I can. She had a rough time, but she’s come a long way.” Jared stopped talking and stared at Cassi.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  He grinned. “You looked exactly as you did the first day I saw you in front of the auction pamphlets.”

  She groaned. “I’d hoped you didn’t remember.”

  “I couldn’t believe someone could be so nonchalant about what all the stuffy buyers thought.”

  “I just got caught, that’s all. That seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?”

  “It does. A lifetime in five days.”

  “So, are we going to your apartment or not?”

  Jared smiled at her impatience. Still he hesitated. What he had to show her was so much a part of him that he worried she wouldn’t understand its true value.

  “I spent a lot of time working to get Life just right,” he said, walking toward the balcony. “It’s . . . it’s . . . special,” he finished lamely. Words were not adequate to describe Life, and for some reason, Cassi’s opinion meant more than he expected. He almost changed his mind about showing it to her, but Trudy’s words came back to him: Open your heart and let someone in.

  “Come on.” He led the way over Meela’s railing and onto his balcony. “Wait here,” he whispered at the glass door.

  Jared swiftly rechecked the apartment for intruders, but once again found nothing. He motioned Cassi inside the living room and shut the door behind her, double-checking to make sure the heavy curtains were securely covering the sliding glass door. Only then did he dare to switch on the flashlight.

  He led the way reverently to the second bedroom, where he had placed a sofa and a few chairs in a large semi-circle as people often do around a television. Except there was no television here—only his collection, which he had nicknamed Life. After making sure the blinds and curtains were tightly drawn over the windows, Jared switched on the table lamp next to the sofa, using the lowest of three settings.

  Cassi gasped and shook her head.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Life was the perfect title for what Jared was showing her. The collection consisted of over fifty pieces of art, similar to her Mother and Baby statue. The sizes ranged from a few inches to nearly a foot tall. All had realistic coloring and intricate detail, and most portrayed the family in activities common to real life. Jared had organized them in twelve groups. In the front, a father read to his children while a mother nearby nursed her young infant. To one side, family knelt together in prayer. Another grouping showed the children’s daily bath, and still another depicted various couples entwined in passionate embraces. Cassi’s experienced eyes picked out the statues’ flawless lines and calculated the value of the collection, while her heart felt the impact on quite a different level.

  “It’s perfect,” she said.

  Jared chuckled in the dim light. “I hoped you’d like it.”

  “Like it? I love it! I want it! It must have taken years to find all these pieces.”

  “Six, to be exact,” Jared said.

  Cassi was silent. Her own small collection paled by comparison. Only in the last few years had she started to buy a few expensive pieces for herself, like the Mother and Baby.

  Her heart nearly stopped beating. The Mother and Baby. So this was why he’d wanted it. But it was hers, and she wasn’t selling.

  Cassi visually examined each piece of the collection, caressing them lovingly with her eyes. That Jared had recognized their subtle value, when the world didn’t give them much notice, said a great deal in his favor. Cassi felt that by looking at his collection, she was catching a glimpse of his heart.

  She shook off the feeling. “Thank you for showing me this. I will never forget it.”

  Jared smiled at her in the lamplight, and she knew he was pleased with her reaction. “Let’s go,” he said. “We can see it again tomorrow in better light.”

  He switched off the lamp, and they retraced their steps to the living room past a long couch to where the sliding glass door opened onto the balcony. Before they could open it, they heard something at the front door.

  Jared grabbed her hand. “Quick!” he whispered. “Hide!” He ducked behind his couch, dragging Cassi with him. He pushed her to the floor and threw himself on top of her, his hand on his gun.

  Cassi knew he’d defend her, but what if the intruder was also armed? They waited tensely as the sounds at the door increased and a key turned in the lock.

  A key! Who had a key to Jared’s apartment? Cassi was curious, but now was not the time to ask. Besides, Jared seemed as perplexed as she was. His body, pressed against her back, was tense, and she could feel his heart pounding through their shirts and his warm breath on the back of her neck. In another situation, she might have enjoyed his closeness.

  The door to the apartment opened, and they heard footsteps. A tiny ray of light flicked around the room. “He ain’t here,” a gruff voice said after a few moments.

  “He ain’t in the bedrooms either,” a second voice said a bit louder.

  “Shut up, would ya?”

  “I tell you, he ain’t here. He must have missed his flight. You know, I’m thinkin’ of getting into a new line of work. These late nights are gettin’ to me. And this job’s been full of dead ends. First we have to rob a hotel safe to find an item that ain’t there, and nearly get caught by the Feds. Then we spend most of tonight checking out an airport for a guy that ain’t coming. Why is this stupid Buddha so important?”

  “Don’t know, don’t care,” rasped the first man in an odd voice that Cassi wouldn’t readily forget. It reminded her of Carl’s gruff voice, only deeper and without the warmth that characterized Jared’s friend. “It ain’t our place to ask,” the raspy voice added. “We just do as we’re told and get paid for it. This new boss of ours seems okay, if a little uninformed.”

  “Easier on the eyes than our old one, at any rate.” Both men chuckled, and shivers ran down Cassi’s spine.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” said the man with the strange voice. “We’re wastin’ time.”

  The door slammed shut, and Cassi breathed a sigh of relief. But neither she nor Jared moved until they were positive the men were gone.

  Finally, they were confident enough to go back through the adjoining balconies where Jared took her hand and led her through Meela’s dark kitchen to the living room. He let her go and sank onto the couch. “They had a key. Where would they get a key? The only person I’ve ever given a key to is Meela. And Mrs. Fackly so she can clean once a week.”

  Cassi plopped down beside him. “It doesn’t make sense. Those guys are the ones who broke into the hotel. Could they be working for Linden?”

  Jared moved closer to Cassi. “I don’t know. Might be a woman unless their old boss is really hideous or something. I’ll sure be glad when this is all over.”

  “Me too.” Cassi leaned back on the couch. Jared had flung his arms across the top, and her head
lay on his arm. Her heartbeat became as ragged as when the thugs were searching Jared’s apartment, only now it was for quite another reason. She lifted her head so he could take away his arm, but he didn’t move.

  “Cassi.” His voice had a strained, nervous sound.

  She turned toward him. “Yes?”

  He was so close that she could see him, even in the dark. On his bruised face was the expression she’d seen many times, yet so obviously misinterpreted, because each time she saw the look, he would either change the subject or move away instead of taking her in his arms and kissing her. Cassi didn’t want him to retreat now. She wanted to know how he felt about her, even if it meant risking her own feelings.

  “I . . . thank you for coming to New York with me,” Jared said.

  She took a deep breath. “I like being with you.” She had been going to say “I just wanted to be with you,” but at the last second had changed her mind. There was a difference between admitting you liked someone and throwing yourself at him.

  “I like being with you, too.” He moved his face closer and their lips touched, gently at first and then with increasing intensity.

  Cassi’s heart thundered and her emotions soared. He was kissing her—not to fool any chasing thugs, but because he liked her. Her, Cassi Mason. His feelings were plainly visible in the way his lips moved against hers.

  His arms went around her, and their kiss deepened. It wasn’t like the clumsy smooching Tom had attempted in high school before dumping her after the prom, or like the dainty pecks her men-friends gave her when they had business lunches. This was a wholehearted kiss that sparked fire in her soul. She felt dizzy and clear-headed all at once. She wished it would never end.

  Twisting on the couch to slide closer to him, her foot kicked the coffee table with enough force that a sharp pain traveled up her leg. She broke away from Jared with a swift intake of air, just as a loud crash came from in front of them.