Chapter 10
Tiffany was alone in the store when the bells rang, alerting her to a potential customer. She hustled from the stockroom and stopped short when she saw Linda McCarthy taking a look around.
“Hi, Linda,” Tiffany managed to say, even though her mouth had gone totally dry. “Nice to see you.”
Linda raised her arms to hug Tiffany. “I wanted to come in and see your store and congratulate you on starting a business. I surely remember what that is like.”
“Kind of stressful,” Tiffany said, relieved that this would be a friendly visit from her sister’s mother-in-law.
“Do you mind if I poke around a bit?”
“Of course not.” Knowing Linda’s approval and endorsement could be critical to the success—or failure—of her store, butterflies stormed in Tiffany’s stomach. “Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“I certainly will. Everything is so pretty.” Linda held up a floral silk robe and glanced at the price tag.
Tiffany had to hold herself back from recommending items that might interest her. Maybe, if she got very lucky, Linda wouldn’t notice the smaller room behind the beaded curtain. The idea of Linda McCarthy in a room full of dildos and vibrators had Tiffany on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
While keeping half an eye on Linda as she perused the racks, Tiffany sorted a stack of invoices and made note of which ones had to be paid sooner rather than later.
“Could I try this on, Tiffany?” Linda asked, holding up a pink floral silk nightgown and robe.
“Of course. Let me get a fitting room ready for you.”
“Would also you mind offering an opinion?” Linda asked almost shyly, which was interesting. Tiffany had never known her to be shy.
“I’d love to.”
“Great, thanks.” Linda stepped into the dressing room. “Okay,” she said a few minutes later. “Here goes nothing.” She opened the door tentatively. “What do you think?”
“It looks wonderful on you—and I’m not just saying that because I want you to buy it.”
“I quite like it myself.” Linda took a closer look in the mirror. “I wonder what my husband would think of it?”
“Venturing a guess here, but I’ll bet he approves wholeheartedly.”
Linda smiled at Tiffany in the mirror. “I bet he will, too. Sold!”
“I’m so glad you found something you love.”
“I do love it.”
Linda changed and brought her purchases to the register. As Tiffany was ringing up the sale, Linda pointed to the beaded curtain. “What’re you hiding back there?”
“Oh, nothing. Just this. And that.”
Linda raised an eyebrow. “This and that, huh? Mind if I take a look?”
Tiffany wanted to die on the spot. “Um, well, ah…”
Linda surprised her by giggling. “Must be some pretty good this and that if your face turns bright red.”
“It’s pretty good, all right.”
As she watched Linda walk over to the curtain, Tiffany’s heart pounded.
Linda parted the curtain and took a good long look before glancing back at Tiffany with a scandalized expression on her face. “Oh. My.”
“I told you—this and that.”
“Where does one begin to know where to start with…items…such as this…and that?”
“I recommend starting simply.” Tiffany forced her legs to carry her across the room. “May I?”
Linda stepped aside to admit Tiffany into the room. “By all means.”
Tiffany reached for an egg-shaped vibrator and handed it to Linda, all the while telling herself to treat her sister’s mother-in-law the way she would any other customer who had questions about her inventory.
As long as she kept up that pretense, she might get through this without suffering a stroke.
“And what does this little number do?”
“It vibrates.”
“Oh.”
Watching Linda McCarthy examine the vibrator from every angle made Tiffany want to giggle like a child, but somehow she managed to maintain her professional demeanor.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with this.”
Images of what Blaine had done to her with theirs flashed through Tiffany’s mind like an X-rated movie. “You place it against your, um, pleasure points.”
“I don’t know if I could do that.”
“Well, you don’t have to do it. Your, ah…your husband could do it for you.”
“Oh. Oh.” Linda’s face turned bright red this time. “I don’t know if he could do it, either.”
“I bet he’d love to try.”
“You think so?”
“I’d almost guarantee it.”
“I’m trying to imagine how I’d broach the subject with him…”
“You could say that you stopped into my shop today, and I talked you into trying something new.”
“That’d be one way to introduce the idea.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Tiffany said. “Take that one on the house. If you discover you like it, come back and get another one to try.”
“I couldn’t do that! You’re in business to make money. Not to give things away.”
“I’m also in business to help people try new things and to spice up their love lives.”
“Not that my love life needs much spicing, but I have to admit I’m curious. I’ll take it.”
Tiffany smiled all the way to the register, where Linda insisted on paying for the vibrator.
“You’re very good at this,” Linda said as she accepted the red-striped bag from Tiffany. “I predict you’ll be a smashing success.”
“That’d be very nice.”
“Congratulations on your new venture. I’ll be sure to tell my friends they need to stop in and check out what you’ve got.”
“That’d be great. Thank you. I, um, I also want to say that I appreciate how good you’ve been to my sister. She’s quite fond of you, and I can see why, after spending some time with you.”
“Thank you, honey. I love her very much. She’s made my son so happy.”
“They are some kind of happy,” Tiffany said wistfully.
She was surprised when Linda reached for her hand. “You’ll have your turn one of these days. Don’t let what happened with Jim make you bitter about love. You can do better.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
“Well, I must be off. Thanks again.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the business.”
Linda was almost to the door when she stopped and turned back to Tiffany. “You won’t tell anyone what I bought, will you?”
“Absolutely not. It’s our secret. But I’d love to know what your hubby has to say about it, if you feel like dishing.”
Linda flashed a bright smile. “You got it.”
As the bells chimed to announce Linda’s departure, Tiffany clapped her hands and did a little jig. The bells chimed again when Patty came into the store.
“Was that Linda McCarthy?” Patty asked, wide-eyed.
“The one and only!”
“And she bought something!”
“You bet she did.”
“I’m so happy for you, Tiffany.”
“Thanks.” Tiffany took a closer look at her assistant, noticing she’d made an effort with her hair, makeup and clothes. “You look so nice.”
Patty’s face flamed with embarrassment. “I’m trying. Still no boyfriend, though.”
“These things take time. It’s only been a couple of days since you unveiled the new you.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“I’ll give some thought to who might make a good boyfriend for you.”
“You will? Really?”
“Sure. It’ll be fun to narrow down some candidates.”
“We need to get you a boyfriend, too.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Tiffany said, thinking of Blaine, who was hardly her boyfriend. She wasn’t sure what he was, exactly. He defied description. “Let’s focus on you first.”
“I’m fine with that!” Patty said, making Tiffany laugh.
The bells rang on the door again, and a young woman entered, glancing around the store tentatively.
“I’ve got it,” Tiffany said to Patty. Approaching the woman, who wore a polo shirt with shorts and a ball cap, Tiffany said, “Hi there. May I help you find something?”
“I’m looking for a dress, but this seems to be an underwear store.”
“Actually, we have some summer dresses in the back. Could I show you?”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
“Have we met?” Tiffany asked as she led the woman to the back of the store. “You look familiar to me.”
“You were at Luke and Syd’s party last fall, right?”
“Yes! That’s it. I’m Tiffany Sturgil, Maddie McCarthy’s sister.”
“Kara Ballard. I run the new launch service in the Salt Pond.”
“It’s all coming back to me now.” Tiffany gestured to the racks of sundresses that lined the back of the store. “What’s the occasion?”
“The opening of Stephanie’s restaurant.”
“I’m so looking forward to that. Should be a great party.”
“I have no idea what to wear.”
“You’ve come to the right place.” Tiffany looked through the racks for the dress she thought would best complement Kara’s coloring and figure. “How about this?” She held up a red halter dress with exotic flowers on the skirt. “Summery but not too flashy. Something tells me you don’t do flash.”
“Not really my thing,” Kara said with a grin. “But I love that. Could I try it on?”
“Absolutely. Patty, would you please open a dressing room for Kara?”
“You got it, boss.”
“I’ve got the perfect strapless bra that’d work perfectly with this dress.” Tiffany glanced at Kara’s chest, trying to be subtle. “Thirty-four D?”
Kara stared at her. “How’d you know that?”
“She knows her breasts,” Patty said, making Tiffany and Kara laugh.
While Kara tried on the dress and bra, Tiffany rummaged through the bins of panties looking for a particular thong that would work with the dress and match the bra. She found it and turned as Kara emerged from the dressing room, looking stunning in the red dress.
“Fabulous,” Tiffany said.
“Definitely,” Patty agreed.
Kara stood in front of the three-way mirror and looked at the dress from all angles. “I have to say I agree. Perfect.”
“This would make it perfect,” Tiffany said, holding up the silky thong.
Kara eyed the thong with trepidation. “Never gone there.”
“Oh, honey, you can’t have panty lines with that dress,” Tiffany said.
“I suppose you’re right. I’ll take it all.”
“Great!” Tiffany started for the register but caught a glimpse of Kara’s expression out of the corner of her eye. “What is it?”
“I, um… I have a date. First one since a bad breakup a couple of years ago. You think he’ll like this?”
“Any man with a pulse would like that dress and the way it looks on you.”
Kara laughed. “You sure know how to fill a girl with confidence.”
“That’s my job.” Instilling confidence in other women was a highly satisfying part of her new job.