She made a weird sound, as if she just swallowed her tongue.
“Good morning,” she said after a beat. “Can we have a do-over?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“You like teasing me, don’t you?”
“Love it.”
I liked to make her blush too, but it was too early in the day for that confession.
“I have great news for you, Tess.”
“Oh my God, no. Can you wait for it until I’m with Skye? I had this whole thing planned where I shared this moment with her if it was good news.”
“And if it was bad news?”
“Umm...I’d process it and then find the gentlest way possible to break it to her.”
I was speechless, and that rarely happened.
“You can always message me when you’re with Skye, and I can call you again.”
I couldn’t believe I was entertaining this, but I didn’t like that she labeled me as stiff. I had this inexplicable urge to please her.
“No, that wouldn’t work. She’d be able to tell that I already know. I thought the calls were coming in the evening. I’m meeting Skye at six.” She sounded almost accusatory.
I laughed, leaning back in my chair. “Thought we’d switch things up, shorten the waiting time.”
“So we’re really in, huh?”
“Yes. We’re sorting out the contract, and we’ll send it to you this evening. You can take as long as you want to review it, and of course certain points are negotiable. If you’d rather not take the deal, we understand. But we hope you do.”
“Wow. Skye will be so happy.”
Something about that sentence bothered me. Wasn’t she happy? Didn’t she want this?
“I’m going to think about a cool way to break the news.”
“Are you going to celebrate?”
“Of course. In style.”
“What does that include?” I was going off record again, asking personal questions, things we usually didn’t discuss with our mentees.
“Champagne, of course, and a lot of food. I’m thinking a platter of French and Swiss cheeses.”
“So you like your cheese.”
“Oh yeah. I like even the lowly mac and cheese. As long as it’s creamy and chock-full of calories, I’m in.”
“And champagne? Any special kind?”
“Actually, yes. I like Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel. It’s only produced in small batches, so I have to head over to Dumont Gourmet. Fingers crossed that I find it. I didn’t want to buy it before I knew if we’d be accepted. I didn’t want to jinx anything.”
“I see you take celebrations very seriously.”
“Oh yeah. I even—” She stopped abruptly.
“You what?”
“Never mind.”
“Tess...”
“It was too outrageous to say out loud, even for me.”
“I’m even more intrigued. Tell me. I think you and I have been past outrageous since the first time we met.”
“I can’t believe you’re bringing that up,” she whispered.
I chuckled, imagining her all flustered and blushing. “I have a confession to make. I like teasing you, Tess. Making you blush. Even if I’m not there to see it. I can picture it in vivid detail.”
“You’re cruel.”
“No, just weak for you.”
“Oh, so you don’t flirt the panties off every woman you meet?”
“Only you. I promise you that.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, we’re going to collaborate, so we really should behave. Why don’t you tell me what the next steps are?”
She was right. I needed to rein myself in.
“We’ll be emailing you the contract today. We need to know within fourteen days if you want to move forward with the collaboration.”
“Okay. Thank you for calling to let me know. Have a great day.”
“You too. And Tess? Next time I see you, I’ll get you to tell me all about your outrageous celebrating habits. No matter what it takes.”
I heard her sharp intake of breath just before the call disconnected.
Instead of focusing on the contract, I opened Dumont Gourmet’s website on my browser, checking where the nearest one was and then ordering a bottle of Tess’s favorite champagne. I wanted to make her smile.
I had no idea how I was going to work with this woman and not make her mine.
Chapter Seven
Tess
“Wait, I didn’t order this,” I told the delivery guy from Dumont Gourmet. He stood in front of the store, holding a bottle of my beloved Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel. I’d only looked online to see if they had it available and planned to pick it up later.
Dumont Gourmet was run by my brother-in-law’s sister, but she couldn’t possibly know I was planning to order it.
“No, it was a gift order. Sender is a guy named...” He paused, checking a list on his phone. “Harrington.”
My pulse quickened. I took the bottle from him, inspecting it closely. I was bursting to know more details. When had Liam ordered the bottle? Had he scheduled the delivery just as I was about to leave? I didn’t make the delivery guy stay to question him. By the looks of his bulgy backpack, he had lots of stops to make.
The second he left, I grabbed my phone and headed to the back room; the front was packed with customers, and I didn’t want to be in the way.
The front of the shop was very elegant, with velvet couches and golden light fixtures. We were determined to make lingerie shopping a pleasant experience for everyone. Girls transitioning to womanhood, adult women embracing their sensuality, or mothers learning to feel sexy again. We had something for everyone, and we were proud of that.
We’d redone the back room a few months ago because we spent a lot of time here playing around with customization options. The room was windowless, so we had half a dozen lamps in the corners as well as spots in the ceiling. It was also where we kept part of the inventory, so black metal shelves lined the walls.
The silky terracotta carpet was the centerpiece, along with the two dark-green armchairs and the ottoman. This room might not have windows, but it had plenty of life. We’d hung paintings everywhere, so you didn’t even notice the lack of natural light at first.
I wasn’t even trying to tone down my grin as I typed.
Tess: You sent me a bottle of champagne???
Liam: Yes.
Tess: Why?
Liam: I don’t know. Impulse. I wanted to surprise you.
Tess: You certainly did. I was just about to head out to meet Skye.
Liam: I know. You said you’re meeting her at six.
Wow, he was so thoughtful!
Liam: Maybe also a gift to get in your good graces. Easier to make you tell me all about your inappropriate habits next time.
Holy shit, he was being flirty again. It was so much easier to resist flirting back over the phone than face-to-face. He was going to be our business partner. There was no place for anything else. Besides, the way my relationships were going, the chances of the next one going bust were at 99 percent.
Liam: What are you doing now?
Tess: Working on more customization options.
Liam: Want to send me pictures?