NINE

MONA WALKED INTO THE SHOP Monday morning wearing a swing tent top and skinny pegged pants in apple green and tangerine. Fruit-shaped earrings in the respective shapes and colors hung from each ear.

She spun a circle on the toes of her sling-back mules. “Well, what do you think?”

Harley watched Mona’s hair settle into place with the same easy wave as her top. “It’s a step away from the Far East drag queen but I’m not sure in what direction.”

Mona propped one retro-sixties outfitted hip on the corner of Harley’s desk. “I have suffered a nervous breakdown and emerged unscathed. Bring on the breakfast.”

“Hold that thought,” Harley ordered and stepped into the recessed alcove around the corner from her desk:

She returned with a tray bearing croissants, bagels, and muffins, along with butter, cream cheese, and raspberry jam. Setting the tray on her desk, she reached for a second platter laden with a Limoges tea service and a steeping pot of Earl Grey.

“Well,” Mona began. Lips pursed, she touched her finger to the banana glaze drizzled down the side of one muffin, then pinched off a blueberry and popped it onto her tongue. “I think I’ll fall apart more often.”

Harley reached for a poppy-seed bagel. “Are things better with you and Gibson?”

“Let’s just say Gibson has a lot on his mind.”

“Such as shopping for matching wedding bands?”

“Gibson doesn’t do jewelry.”

“Then how about two tickets for a honeymoon cruise?”

“Let’s just say Gibson is reconsidering whether he prefers to have his mid-life crisis or me.”

“Ah, an ultimatum.”

“I prefer to think of it as chaos management.” Mona split open the muffin, then frowned when she caught sight of the suitcase tucked in the kneehole of Harley’s desk. “You did it, didn’t you? Spent Sunday reading the trade rags just like I said you would.”

“Only until noon. Then I went shopping. And… made a couple of phone calls.”

Mona’s eyes widened theatrically. “You called him back.”

“Saturday night, Sunday morning and Sunday evening.” Harley dipped a knife in the cream cheese and dotted her bagel half.

Mona waved off the complaint. “I’m surprised you still have a voice this morning.”

“I have Earl Grey for that,” she said, pouring them both a cup.

“What’s a little sore throat when you’re investing in your future? I’m sure he’s worth every hundred-dollar bill.” Mona meowed, closing her lips around her muffin.

Harley smiled to herself, absently reaching for another scoop of cream cheese “He said pretty close to the same thing.”

“Not lacking in self-confidence, is he?”

“Or sex appeal. Or apparently money. Mona, he talked about sending his kid brother to A & M to study veterinary medicine.” Harley slapped the knife back and forth across her bagel. “He didn’t even stutter over the cost. He just stated it as a fact of life.”

“Hmmm.” Mona chewed, then poured two cups of tea. “First he’s gorgeous. And now he’s loaded. When are you going to see him again?”

Loaded. Harley couldn’t even think about that now. It put an external spin on what was a very internal connection. One she didn’t want to lose. “If I see him again it won’t be anytime soon. I’m off to Fredericksburg for an auction tomorrow. I thought I’d spend a few days checking the out-of-the-way shops around Austin and San Antonio.”

Declining Mona’s offer of cream, Harley lifted her cup and blew across the steaming surface. “Mrs. Mitchmore called this morning and wants me to look for a linen tablecloth. Are you up to holding down the fort for the rest of the week?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You didn’t sound too great last time I talked to you.”

“That was before Gibson dropped by and reminded me why his senior class voted him Most Likely to Succeed Without Trying.”

Harley couldn’t help it. “Do I need to be on the lookout for a crib?”

“No, but you might want to pick up a suitable bridesmaid dress,” she said causing Harley to sputter her tea. “I know how you love old clothes.”

“Almost as much as you hate them.” Harley couldn’t remember ever smiling a bigger smile. She pulled Mona into a fierce hug. “I can’t believe it. The man who doesn’t believe in the arcane tradition of marriage finally popped the question.”

“Well, not exactly,” Mona mumbled into Harley’s ear.

Drawing back, Harley asked, “What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?”

“The only thing that popped was Gibson’s jaw when it hit the ground. He has a much better understanding now of why I was voted Most Likely to Win in a Battle of Wills.”

Harley laughed. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“What can I say?” Mona gave a saucy shrug. “I love the man. He loves me.”

“But you want him to put his money where his mouth is.”

“Exactly. If he wants me to invest the rest of my life in his mid-life crisis—not to mention sacrificing my lithe and lovely body,” Mona added with a dramatic shimmy, “he’d better be willing to make the same commitment.”

“Well said. And well executed.” Harley applauded loudly, wondering how the human race had managed to survive so long between battles of wills and mid-life crises.

“Listen, I’d better be off. I left the number of the bed-and-breakfast where I’ll be staying right here,” she said, indicating a slip of paper tucked into one of two dozen cubbyholes in the desk. “I’ll call you when I get there tonight.”

“Are you going to be calling anyone else tonight?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Harley admitted, lowering her cup and saucer to the desk.

Mona licked her fingers clean of muffin crumbs and glaze. “I believe that Fredericksburg is getting close to Gardner’s area code.”

“I’ve thought about that, too.”

“And if you’re staying in a bed-and-breakfast it’s sure to have nice sun-dried sheets and fluffy pillows and a huge feather bed. Just the way you like it.”

“How do you know what I like?”

“I’ve worked with you for four years, Harley. If it disgusts me, you’ll love it.”

“That works in reverse, you know. You with the black-tiled bath and speakeasy bedroom.”

“What kind of bedroom do you think Gardner Barnes has?” Mona asked, her gaze glazed and dreamy.

“He has an antique four-poster and a candlewick quilt.”

“A match made in heaven.” Mona clasped her hands to her chest, then narrowed one sharp eye. “How do you know so much about his bed? Harley, did you have phone sex?”

Harley felt her blush rise from the inside out. “No. Not really. But he asked me about my bed so I asked him about his.”

“What else did he ask you?”

“Only about my nightgown. You know, that one Everly sent?”

“You mean that strappy piece of sin and sex?”

She nodded. “And I told him about the sheets.”

“Not the—”

“Yes, the pink-and-black ones.”

“Oh, Harley, what must he think? First the Evan Picone suit and now Victoria’s Secret. You’ve given him everything a man wants. From sophistication to sluttery.”

“Sluttery?”

“You know what I mean. Did you ask him about the Excalibur thing?”

“No, but I did ask him how many times he’s pulled this business-card number.”

“And?”

“He said I was his first.”

“The man wants you. I knew it.” Mona reached for Harley’s suitcase. “What are you waiting for? Get going. I’ll call the bed-and-breakfast and tell them you’ll need coffee for two.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Harley ordered, eyeing the inch of cream cheese she’d slathered on her bagel. She set it down with disgust.

They walked out the back door of the shop into the narrow alleyway where Harley parked her Blazer. She climbed behind the wheel, adjusting the cuffed hem of her denim shorts before she shut the door. “Call me if you get any special requests while I’m gone.”

“Don’t worry.” Mona set the suitcase behind Harley’s seat. “I plan to sell you out of a job so you can retire in the manner to which you deserve to become accustomed.”

Harley blinked at Mona’s convoluted logic. “And who’s going to provide this lifestyle of the rich and famous?”

“Gardner Barnes, of course.”

Harley started the engine and put the truck in gear. “Maybe if I can interest him in a couple of my most expensive pieces I can retire on my own terms.”

“Boring, Harley, boring. You have no sense of adventure. You need someone to retire with you and show you how to have fun.”

Harley thought of the adventure she was taking with Gardner right now. “I don’t know, Mona. I might just surprise you.”

I’ve certainly surprised myself, she thought, driving off with a backward wave.