“Five, five, five, six, three, seven, seven.” He’d always been a whiz with numbers—a blessing until now.
“Perfect,” Miz Rusty said, adding, “And remember... my offer to buy you a beer has no expiration date.” With a wave she moved quickly away from him, her skirt billowing out behind.
It took Reo several seconds to recover from the rain check, and by then she’d reached the midpoint landing and disappeared from view. She took with her the sunshine, leaving him in the shadow that was his life these days. Disgusted, disoriented and apparently as weak in the head as the knees, Reo stood looking after her for a moment. Then he slowly turned and trailed the maintenance man down the hall.
Chapter Two
“Chin up. Shoulders back. Stomach in. Chest out.”
“Chest out!” Beatrice Hanson, dubbed “Rusty” at birth by her older sister, snorted her opinion of that ridiculous order and tugged up the strapless bodice of the evening dress her housemate, Jade Martinelli, had rented for her to wear to tonight’s charity ball. Tight, black and sequined, it boasted a neck cut halfway to her belly button. Rusty felt naked. “I’ll have you know that if my chest sticks out any farther than it already does, I’m going to be arrested for indecent exposure.”
“Not tonight,” her friend replied, eyeing Rusty’s shiny finery in the full-length mirror before which the two of them stood. “Tonight you’ll fit right in and turn the head of every rich bachelor in the place—exactly what I’m hoping to do. And to think you’re only going to this shindig to make some business contacts.” She sighed as if Rusty were crazy or, at the least, a lost cause.
For a second they stared at their reflections in silence—two young women so opposite in looks, personality and motives, yet both dressed to knock ’em dead. Rusty suddenly wished she hadn’t let Jade talk her into tonight’s glitzy affair, even though it would be an excellent opportunity to rub elbows with some well-to-do moms more than willing to let someone like Rusty plan their children’s elaborate parties.
“Thanks for agreeing to go with me on such short notice,” Jade said, as if picking up on Rusty’s regrets.
“How could I refuse when you bribed me with a free ticket, free dress and free manicure.” Rusty held out her hands and inspected the bright crimson polish applied at a nail boutique barely an hour ago. “What do you think of the color?”
“Snazzy. Hides the red punch stain under your fingernails.”
Rusty grimaced at the truth of that. Such stains were an occupational hazard when one hosted children’s parties for a living. Lemon juice worked beautifully to remove the unwanted tint... when she found time to use it. She’d been busy until four o’clock today with a Mardi Gras celebration at the Sampson Enterprises day care, then had a very productive meeting with Angie Mallett, mother of one of the kids and a personal assistant to the CEO of the company.
“Are you ready to go? I’m dying to make an entrance.” Jade tucked a stray strand of her luxurious dark hair into the curls pinned up tonight to reveal faux diamond earrings. She wore scarlet, and if Rusty’s dress could be called indecent, Jade’s should be called illegal. Rusty knew that when bachelor heads turned, it would not be to look at a five-foot-five, freckle-faced redhead playing dress up. No, Jade, six feet tall and dark, would catch the eye of every man in the room, just as she always did. And who knew... maybe this time one of them would actually meet her mercenary standards.
“I’m ready,” answered Rusty, who held no malice toward Jade for her misguided goals. Tonight Rusty’s could only be considered fiscal, too. She’d been trying for ages to extend her client base to the influential side of town. This glitzy fund-raiser was just the social opportunity she needed. Rusty had high hopes for the evening, knowing things could only get better.
“We’ll take my car,” Jade said, breaking into Rusty’s thoughts.
“You mean you didn’t hire a golden carriage, oh Fairy Godmother?”
Jade hooted with laughter. “Cinderella, you ain’t.”
“And neither are you,” Rusty said, a gentle reminder that sobered the effervescent Jade for maybe half a second.
“Look... just because a rich guy dumped on your sister is no reason to assume they’re all jerks. In fact, I’m more than willing to give one a whirl.” She shrugged and led the way to the door. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll even get lucky tonight. Heck, honey, maybe you will, too.” She stopped short, a faraway look in her eye. “I can see it all now. You walk into the ballroom, nothing on your mind but business. You make a beeline for the first mommy-type you see, only to stop short when a strange man catches your eye. He’s tall, he’s dark, he’s handsome, he’s rich. Most important, he’s instantly in love with you.”
“Good grief, Jade. Would you quit talking nonsense and come on?”
“You’re drawn to him like metal to a magnet.”
“We’re going to be late.”
“Time stands still as the two of you come together, embrace and...kiss.” The last word was little more than a sigh.
“Are you coming or not?” Rusty tapped her toe on the floor in impatience.
“Suddenly it’s hearts, flowers and forever after.”
“Jade, I’m warning you...”
“And you never have to worry about anything again.” Jade’s eyes glazed.
“Snap out of it!”
It took several seconds, but Jade’s stare finally focused, and with a heavy sigh, she shrugged her acceptance of cold reality and once again headed for the door. “Can I help it if I’m a hopeful romantic and you’re a hopeless stick-in-the-mud?”
“Stick-in-the-mud!” Rusty stopped short. “I’ll have you know I’m the hostess with the mostest.”
“To the under-five set, maybe,” Jade answered, stopping to look back at her.
Rusty’s jaw dropped. “Are you saying I don’t know how to act around adults?”
“Yes, and male adults in particular.”
“I’ll have you know that I offered to buy a beer for a very handsome guy this very afternoon. I even gave him my phone number.”
“You’re kidding! Who?”
“His name is Brad Turner. He works in the mail room at Sampson.”
“You tried to pick up a teenager?”
“He was much older than that. Probably in his midto late-thirties.”
“God, Rusty. Only you would hit on a thirty-year-old mail clerk. That’s an entry position in any company. He’s got to be a real dud to still be in that sort of job at thirty.”
“So maybe he’s a supervisor or something,” murmured Rusty, somewhat defensively. Trust Jade to find something wrong with a man who would’ve knocked Rusty’s socks off earlier that day... had she been wearing any. As it was, he’d made her poor ol’ heart thump like a tom-tom.
She closed her eyes, remembering just how he looked: shaggy dark hair, gorgeous baby blues, chiseled jawline shadowed by whiskers no amount of shaving could completely erase. The man’s body was nothing to scoff at, either, as she recalled. Muscular...obviously fit. So what if he was a bit slow to warm up? He’d become quite human before their elevator time came to an end. And if she’d just had another half hour with him, he might even have loosened up enough to accept her offer of a beer.
“I’ll bet you a dollar to a doughnut he’s not a supervisor,” said Jade, bursting into Rusty’s Technicolor memories. “Want to know how I know?”
“Not really, but I’m sure you’re going to tell