They chatted for another ten minutes about cases they were each working on before signing off with a promise to text the next day.
Leah plugged her phone into its charger and set it on the nightstand. Tilly was her touchstone, helped ground her when she felt like she was floating off into the ether. And she’d definitely felt that today, though it had taken her by complete surprise. Next to nothing. That’s what she knew about Teddi Baker. But damn if that woman hadn’t run through her brain, messing things up, disorganizing the organization she depended on. She really needed to focus on important things.
“Like, oh, I don’t know…my job, maybe?”
Outside, the wind picked up, newly fallen leaves rustling along the pavement, clicking softly against the windows. Leah slid into bed. Sheets cool and soft, comforter just heavy enough. Might be time to dig out the flannel set. Winter would arrive in no time, and she tried to concentrate on that, the weather, which turned out to be laughable. Impending snowflakes and upcoming holidays were quickly replaced with much more pleasant things.
Like dark, dark eyes, olive skin, and dimples.
Chapter Three
“So, the DiMarco-Jensen wedding is Saturday, right?” Harlow McCann bit into her cheeseburger and hummed her delight.
Teddi nodded, stabbed a chunk of cucumber and a tomato from her salad, and tried not to let her cheeseburger envy show.
“Just get the burger next time.” Harlow shot her a wink. Harlow was her best friend and the most confident, cheerful person Teddi had ever met. Harlow loved life and everything about it. Gusto—Harlow was the epitome of it, and Teddi envied her more than she cared to admit. To herself or anybody else.
“That,” Teddi said, waving her fork up and down to indicate Harlow’s black floral-print dress and black leather jacket, “is fabulous, by the way. What I wouldn’t give for half your fashion sense.”
“Please, you always look amazing. You’re sophisticated. I can’t pull off sophisticated. I have to settle for edgy.”
She did it well, there was no denying it. Edgy. Trendy. Hip. Harlow was all those things. Teddi always took mental notes but just didn’t have the same level of style as her BFF. “How’s Rashim?” Harlow and Rashim had been her very first clients, their wedding simple and beautiful.
“My boo is great. Working too much, but that’s nothing new.” Something passed over Harlow’s face then. If she hadn’t known her so well, Teddi wouldn’t have caught it.
“What’s up?”
Harlow sighed, sipped her Sprite. “I’m just a little annoyed by everybody asking us when we’re going to start a family. Even my mom. Especially his mom. It’s been almost ten years. Where are my grandchildren?” Harlow did a perfect Pakistani accent when imitating her mother-in-law.
“You guys don’t want kids.”
“I know that. He knows that. Nobody else seems to even consider that as a possibility.” She groaned, then waved a hand. “Talk about something else. Please. How’s my boyfriend, Preston, the beautiful, beautiful hunk of a man?”
Teddi sipped her drink and grinned at the familiar question. “He’s good.”
“Still gay, huh?”
“Afraid so. Also, you’re married.”
“Listen, I have fantasies. You can’t stop me. They’re totally allowed.”
“They are.” God, she loved how Harlow could make her laugh. Shifting gears, she said, “I got a new client last week. Wedding’s next September.”
“Oh, good. And not a last-minute one. Nearly a year. That’s a nice change.”
“Right? I meet with her again this Friday. I’ll give her your card.” Harlow was a photographer and a damn good one. Teddi sent all her clients Harlow’s way, and not one had ever been dissatisfied. Not in ten years. “Her name is Kelly, and she came in with her big sister, Leah.”
Harlow popped a French fry into her mouth and nodded as she chewed.
“She seems to hold at least some of the purse strings,” Teddi said.
“The sister?”
“Mm-hmm. Kelly seemed to run things by her, looked to her for approval. I don’t know what she does for a living, but she didn’t seem to be worried about what I might charge. I wonder if it’ll be different as things progress. Whether it’ll be an issue.”
“With the sister.” Amusement. Teddi detected it in Harlow’s tone immediately.
Teddi swallowed. “Yes.” Felt herself flush.
“You’re blushing.” Harlow took another bite of her burger. Satisfaction was all over her face. Harlow knew her well. Too well. “Spill.”
“Damn it.” Teddi hung her head for a second, annoyed at her apparently fantastic impression of a piece of glass. Harlow saw right through her.
“You have a thing for the sister.” Again with the amusement, the self-satisfaction.
“Shut up. You don’t know everything.”
Harlow grinned widely. “I know you have a thing for the sister.”
“You annoy me.”
“It’s my life’s work. Now tell me all about her.” Elbows propped on the table, hands clasped near her chin, body leaning forward, Harlow was settled in.
Teddi blew out a breath, resigned, and sat back in her chair. “There’s nothing to tell, really. I mean, we spent about half an hour together.”
“But she affected you if you’re still thinking about her a week later, yeah?”
“She did.” She really, really did. Teddi didn’t add that part. Didn’t add how she’d watched Leah walk Kelly to her car or how she’d kept watching until Kelly had driven away and Leah had turned toward the shop. Had she seen her? Teddi had done a terrible job of pretending she’d been in the window to fix the display. No way was she going to tell Harlow that. “So, I stared at her when she left. I stood in my own window like a stalker and stared.” Teddi closed her eyes in defeat. It was impossible to hide things from Harlow. Impossible.
“She must be hot.” Harlow’s grin said she was enjoying this way too much.
“Stop grinning like that.” Torn between shame and humor, Teddi reached for the glass on the table, turned it slowly with her fingers.
“I’m sorry.” Harlow’s tone said she was, as did her reach across the table and the way she squeezed Teddi’s forearm. “It’s just been a really long time since I’ve seen you notice anybody. It makes me happy, that’s all.” Once Teddi let herself smile, relief crossed Harlow’s face. “What does she look like?”
That face was not hard to recall. It had invaded Teddi’s mind and stayed there for days. “She’s blond, hair just past her shoulders. And I’ve never seen eyes so green, my God. They were intense. Deep. She’s a little shorter than me. She was in a suit, so she must be some kind of businesswoman.”
“Pants or a skirt?”
“Pants. And pumps. Black pantsuit with black pumps and white shirt underneath with tiny black dots.”
“Interesting. A slick professional suit, but polka dots under it. She’s playful.”
“You think?”
Harlow laughed and held her hands palms up. “How the hell would I know?”