Stranger in the Moonlight (Edilean 7)
“There’s a girl, Carla, who works for Kim, and she’s after any half-decent-looking man who comes in the store. She knows something about a missing sapphire ring. I think it’s connected to the caterer and I want to find out about it. Can your son handle that?”
“Easily,” Penny said and seemed to be amused. “What else have you found out?”
“Not much, just that Kim is doing quite well in her little shop.”
“Enough to make this man want it?”
“Yes,” Travis said. They knew a lot about what a person would do to own a lucrative business.
“You don’t think it’s possible that this caterer is actually in love with pretty Kim?”
“He may well be, but let’s just say that if he touches her, I’ll be needing a pair of dueling pistols.”
“Well, well, well,” Penny said.
“How’s it coming with your relatives in Janes Creek?”
“Everyone is happy for the free weekend. But I need to warn you that even your dad might not be able to afford my uncle Bernie’s room service bill.”
“That’s all right. I’m getting used to dealing with relatives. Mom’s new . . .”
“Her what?” Penny asked. She was marveling that they were having a personal conversation that included her life.
“The man she’s planning to marry. I’ve been working for him.”
“Good dental?” Penny asked, covering her surprise.
Travis scoffed. “No pay, just advice. Lots of advice.”
“Good or bad?”
“Depends on the outcome, which I don’t know yet. I have to come up with a reason why I should go with Kim to Maryland.”
“You’re asking her permission to go?” Her surprise turned to shock.
“Yes,” Travis said. “I can’t talk anymore. Joe wants me at work at seven A.M. tomorrow. I’m attaching steel shelves to brick walls. I can hardly wait.”
“I, uh . . .” Penny didn’t know what to say so she murmured good night and hung up. “I think I like this Edilean,” she said as she got back into bed.
Nine
“So what’s it like living with him?” Carla asked Kim the next morning. “Great sex, huh? He looks like he’d be fabulous in bed. How’s his endurance? Does he—?”
“Carla!” Kim snapped. “Could you please be a bit more professional?”
“Not getting any, are you? Not with an attitude like that. Saving yourself for Dave? But if you change your mind, I know this perfume you could try that might help. It—”
Kim went into her office and shut the door. She hadn’t seen Travis this morning, as he’d already gone to work at Joe’s new store. He’d left her a funny note on the kitchen counter about how he was looking forward to learning how to drill holes in brick. They should have turned the bricks on their sides. They already have holes in them, he’d written, making her smile.
It was nice to start the day with a laugh, but she would have liked to have seen him.
Her cell rang with a number she didn’t know.
“Meet me for lunch?” Travis asked. “Please?”
Instantly, her bad mood lifted. “Where?” She refrained from saying, When? How? Should I bring food? How about a few clarity three diamonds?
“How about Delmonico’s circa 1899?”