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“Someday you will meet a man who adores your curves.”
“I should have been born in the era of Mae West and all those tiny, chubby pin-up girls.” She put her hands on her ample hips. “Instead, I come of age when the ideal is a ten-foot-tall anorexic. It’s not fair.”
“I would think a lot of men would prefer a curvy woman to an elongated skeleton.”
Karen thought of her and Dex on her desk and felt heat suffuse her face.
Chelsea was quick to pick up on it. “Oh, no. Look at you blushing and staring at the floor. Have you met such a man?”
“No. Not exactly.” And she realized that her feelings about Dex were far too confusing to share with anyone. Instead she said, “That CPA e-mailed me. He said he enjoyed our coffee date.”
“That’s great, right?”
“Yes, I suppose. I didn’t think it was a very exciting date though.”
“Give the guy a chance. You said yourself he was nice.”
“He was. You’re right.” And maybe a nice man was exactly what she needed to keep her thoughts off a certain architect. “I should suggest dinner or a movie or something.”
“That’s the spirit. And he’s not the only single man in Philly, you know. Who else is out there?”
She glanced up and put a hand over her mouth. “I keep forgetting to check the Web site.”
Unfortunately for her, when she got back to her office for her rescheduled meeting with Sophie, Dexter had come along. For some reason she’d assumed he’d have enough tact not to show. Seemed she’d been wrong. She refused to blush when she met Dex’s knowing gaze.
“Sophie, it’s nice to see you again. What did you think of the bridal salons I suggested?”
“Fantastic. I found my dress. Look, I brought you a picture,” the woman gushed pulling out her digital camera. She’d chosen a perfect dress for her figure. Sleek and simple.
“Very classy,” Karen said approvingly. “And for the bridesmaids?”
“I went with blue. It’s Andrew’s favorite color and he’s not here to help choose anything, so at least I’m keeping him in mind.”
“That’s nice. And it’s a good blue for a winter wedding.” She consulted her notes. “Let’s see, you’re getting married at your aunt’s house in mid February.”
“Closest Saturday to Valentine’s Day we could find.”
“That’s sweet,” she said in her professional tone, controlling her gag reflex with an effort. “In my experience the men don’t get too involved in the wedding details.”
“Except for Dexter here. I don’t know what I’d have done without him.”
She sent him a thin smile and he responded with a wink. Suddenly he rose. “I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I like this desk, Karen,” he said, walking toward it, standing in the very spot he’d stood when she’d so wantonly let herself be carried away by lust.
Heat suffused every inch of her body from her toes to the roots of her hair. She watched, unable to think of a thing to say as he ran his hands along the edge of the curved wood, caressing the grain the way he’d caressed her skin. “It’s a lovely piece. Classy.” He leaned against it. “Seems sturdy, too.”
He must know it was since it had held up under the strain of them having sex on it.
“I didn’t know you were interested in antiques, Dex,” Sophie said, thankfully looking at the desk and not at Karen who was forcing her blush down. The curse of being a redhead.
“I like classics,” he said.
“Well, we all do,” Karen interjected. “And I think your dress is absolutely classic. Now, I was talking to the florist this morning about you. I know you were keen on a garden theme even though we’ll need to be indoors. He’s a genius. He’s suggesting pots of forced blooms and he wonders if you want to think about a four-seasons garden. His idea is that love is eternal, like an ever-blooming garden.”
“Oh, what a fantastic idea. I love that,” Sophie exclaimed. “And do you think he could include a few Italian plants since Andrew’s family is Italian and he’s been spending so much time in Italy?”
“I’ll make a note of it,” Karen said. “If you like the idea, he’ll draw something up for you to look at.”
Dexter didn’t say much more during the meeting, but he didn’t seem able to keep his hands off her desk.
She could barely concentrate. And the fact that Dexter knew exactly what he was doing to her, only made her more furious.
9 (#ucb064ee0-dac0-5837-aba9-6a9e4082d1b3)
CHELSEA CAME INTO Karen’s office with the spinach salad she hadn’t had time to pick up and a formidable looking woman in a power suit and a riot of black curls framing a face dominated by big blue eyes and a square, “don’t make me hit you” jaw.
“Do you have a minute if I bribe you with food?” Chelsea asked.
“Of course. Not that I consider salad food.”
“You should have let me pack you a dessert.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Chelsea shot her a frustrated glance that suggested she’d soon be hearing some story about how fat was the new thin. But for now they weren’t alone so she figured she was safe.
“This is David’s sister, Sarah. She’s getting married.”
“Congratulations.” Karen smiled politely but it was hard to hold herself back from outright laughing. Most brides came in looking excited, or nervous or blissed out on love.
Sarah seemed irritated about her impending bridalhood.
“Thanks. I’ll be honest. I don’t have a lot of time to plan a wedding, I’ve got a busy law practice, but I don’t want a lot of hearts and flowers. And I won’t be wearing white.”
Fortunately, Chelsea had warned her about Sarah. The woman was a classic type A, an aggressive up-and-coming divorce lawyer who’d fallen for a school guidance counselor and part-time yoga teacher. Karen loved opposites-attract couples, but she had a feeling this was going to be one of the weirder pairings that made her job so much fun.
“You can wear whatever you want,” Karen assured her. “Though popular tradition that wearing white is a symbol of purity isn’t correct. The Greeks wore white as a color of celebration.”
“Really?”
“Mmm-hmm. But the Western white wedding gown was popularized when Queen Victoria wore white to her wedding. At the time, only rich women could afford a dress they’d never wear again. Now, of course, any bride can wear whatever she wants.”
“That’s interesting, but I’m still not wearing white.”
“That’s fine.”
She wondered if she really wanted to work with someone whose every sentence sounded like a barked order.
She glanced at Chelsea, wondering how she felt getting stuck with this woman for a sister-in-law. If she and David ever actually got married.
But she was surprised yet again when Chelsea said, “Sarah’s been my best friend since I moved here when I was fourteen.”
Sarah’s face softened completely when she smiled, Karen noted with relief, which it did now, in an impish grin. “You only hung out with me cause you had the hots for my big brother.”
“Not true.” She opened the takeout container and handed Karen a fork. “Not completely true. Go ahead and eat, I know you’re starving.”
“Yeah, please, don’t mind me,” Sarah said.
“I can’t take notes and eat at the same time,” Karen argued.
“Look, I don’t think you’re going to need a lot of notes. You probably won’t even agree to plan this crazy wedding.”
Once more she sent Chelsea a puzzled glance.
“Why wouldn’t I want to plan your wedding?”
Sarah assumed her irritated expression once more. “It was my boyfriend’s idea. He wants to recreate our first date.”
Now Karen understood the irritation. She was beginning to feel some herself.
“You two went skydiving?”
“No.”
“Hang gliding? Spelunking? Snorkeling? Some activity that took place underground, undersea or in the air?”
Sarah’s eyes grew round. “Undersea? Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. I’m planning a scuba wedding for next summer as we speak.”
“And don’t forget the circus wedding,” Chelsea reminded her. “I told you, Karen can do anything. She’s amazing.”
“Well, I never wanted a spectacle. I want to spend my life with the guy and that’s it. I must really love him to let him talk me into this.”
“Maybe you should tell us what it is?”
Sarah slapped her forehead with her open hand. A modest diamond twinkled on her ring finger. “I’m a serious person. Hardworking. A divorce lawyer. I have a certain reputation around town for toughness and smarts.” She put down her hand and stared at Karen. “If news of this gets around, I’ll be a laughingstock.” She glared.
But Karen was pretty tough, too, and also had a reputation to upkeep. She adopted Sarah’s drilling gaze. “Where did you have your first date?”
“I must have been insane,” she said, more to herself, Karen thought, than to anyone else in the room. “I must still be insane.”
From imagining feats of derring-do, her mind moved to seedier possibilities. If they’d done something sexually kinky or engaged in some illegal activity on their first date then she really didn’t want any part of it.
She was a little firmer this time when she asked, “There are some weddings I won’t plan. Where did he take you on your first date?”
As though admitting a terrible secret the woman said, “The zoo.”
Once again, Karen had to struggle not to laugh at her newest potential client. “The zoo? Here in Philadelphia?”
“Yes,” came the sulky reply. “Mike is this weird alternative guy. He adopted a zoo animal as part of their conservation program and he took me to the zoo on our first date to meet little Mikey.”
“I’m guessing this is an opposites-attract kind of relationship.”
“Oh, you’ve got that right. I’m a classic Type A.” Like Karen might not have figured that out yet. “Mike’s all Zen about everything. Doesn’t own a microwave, only has one clock in his house. He’s a high-school counselor and he teaches yoga.”
There was a beat of silence. “I’m guessing he’s great in bed,” Karen said before she could censor herself.
To her relief Sarah laughed, a husky, earthy laugh. “Oh, he is. It’s the only reason I put up with him.”
“Huh,” her old friend said. “What she means is, he’s the only guy who’s ever put up with her.”
That laugh came again. “True.”
“Well, I can tell you that a wedding at the zoo is easy to arrange, it’s a popular spot for weddings and if it means something to the two of you then you should do it.”
She took a shaky breath that Karen suspected was more about the idea of getting married at all than about the venue. “All right, then. Let’s do it.”
Karen began to take notes. “And I’m sure you know that Chelsea is the best caterer in town.”
“Totally.”
“And Laurel will do you an amazing cake.”
“I’m not having a cake with zoo animals on it,” she protested. “It’s bad enough getting married at the zoo without having a wedding cake that should be at a kids’ birthday party.”
“Laurel would never be so boring as to put a zoo animal on a cake. You can meet with her to discuss your needs.”
“No, no. You do it. Honestly, I want to leave everything in your hands.”
After that it was easy. Sarah was businesslike, knew how many people were coming, had chosen several possible dates in the summer and very clearly liked to delegate. To Karen, that made her close to a dream client.
“I am so excited,” Chelsea said at one point, her eyes shining with emotion.
The usually tough Sarah softened immediately. She leaned over to grip Chelsea’s hand. “Me, too. And when you and David get married, we won’t only be best friends. We’ll be sisters.”
Would they? Karen couldn’t help but wonder.
Chelsea seemed genuinely excited about seeing her best friend get married before she could drag the woman’s older brother to the altar.
Not for the first time, Karen wondered what was wrong with David to keep an amazing woman like Chelsea waiting.
He’d almost lost her once through his own stupidity. Karen was worried he was about to repeat his mistake.
Mistakes. There seemed to be a lot of those in the air.
Chelsea’s cell phone rang and, after checking the call display, she backed out of the room. “It’s Anton. I’d better get back. Come visit me when you’re done with Karen,” she said to Sarah, and with a wave she was gone.
It didn’t take long for Karen to extract all the information she needed for now. Then, on a hunch, she said, “Can I ask your professional opinion about something?”
