Carolina Moon

grin. “I’m not moping.”
    “You would, given half a chance. I’m an expert on moping.” She edged a hip onto the desk. “Come on over to Wade’s with me. You can, like, brush up against him or whatever, and find out what’s going on in his head about me.”
    “I will not.”
    “Oh, be a pal.”
    “No.”
    “You’re such a bitch.”
    “That’s right, now go away. And put that bracelet back where you got it.”
    “Fine. It’s not my style anyway.” She leaned over the desk. “What am I thinking right now?”
    Tory glanced up, and her mouth quivered. “It’s inventive, but anatomically impossible.” She swiveled back to her keyboard. “Faith, thanks.”
    With a sniff, Faith pulled open the door. “For what?”
    “For deliberately annoying me so I wouldn’t mope.”
    “Oh, that. My pleasure. It’s so easy, after all.”

29
    “W ade, honey?” Faith cocked the phone on her shoulder and peered over the counter toward the storeroom, where it seemed to her Tory had been holed up for ten days. “You busy?”
    “Me? Of course not. I just finished neutering a dachshund. Another day in paradise.”
    “Oh. What exactly do you—no, never mind, I don’t think I want to know. How’s my baby?”
    “I’m just fine, and how are you?”
    “I meant Bee. Is she all right?”
    “Usurped by puppy breath.” He let out a weighty sigh for form. “She’s enjoying herself. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about her first day at work later.”
    “I’m having a first day at work, too. Sort of.” Faith studied, with a surprising sense of satisfaction, the glass displays she’d polished to a sparkle. “What time do you think you’re going to be done over there?”
    “I should be wrapped up by five-thirty. What did you have in mind?”
    “I have Cade’s convertible, and I was thinking how it would be if we took us a long drive. It’s so hot and sticky. I’m not wearing a thing but that red dress.” With a sly smile on her face, she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “You remember my red dress, don’t you, honey?”
    There was a long, long pause. “You’re trying to kill me.”
    Her laugh was low and satisfied. “I’m just trying to be sure, since we’ve been spending a lot of time lately having conversations and so forth, that a certain part of our relationship isn’t neglected.”
    “I can get behind that.”
    “Then why don’t we take that drive. We could find us a cheap motel and play traveling salesman.”
    “What are you selling?”
    This time her laugh was long and robust. “Oh honey, just trust me. The price is going to be right.”
    “Then I’m buying. We’d have to drive back late tonight or early tomorrow morning. I have appointments.”
    “That’ll be fine.” She was getting used to this making-plans business. “Wade?”
    “Yeah?”
    “You remember how you said you were in love with me?”
    “I seem to recollect something of the sort.”
    “Well, I think I love you back. And you know what? It doesn’t feel half bad.”
    There was another long pause. “I think I can get out of here by five-fifteen.”
    “I’ll pick you up.” She hung up and danced around the counter. “Tory, come on out of there. Might as well be in jail,” she stated, as she pulled open the door.
    Tory merely looked up from her inventory list. “You’ve never actually had a job, have you?”
    “What would I want one of those for? I have an inheritance.”
    “Fulfillment, self-satisfaction, the pleasure of completing a task.”
    “All right, I’ll work with you.”
    “Have they built a ski lift in hell?”
    “No, really, it might be fun. But we’ll talk about that later. Now, you have to come along with me. I’ve got to run home and get some things together.”
    “Go ahead.”
    “Where I go, you go. I promised Cade. And we’ve played here, your way for…” She checked her watch, rolled her eyes. “Almost four hours.”
    “I haven’t finished here.”
    “Well, I have. And if we stay here the rest of the day, those FBI people might come back.”
    “All right.” Tory tossed down her pencil. “But I promised my grandmother I’d be at my uncle’s by five.”
    “That’s perfect. I’ll drop you off there before I pick up Wade. Grab us a couple of Cokes, honey. I’m just parched.” Faith breezed out to freshen her lipstick in one of Tory’s decorative mirrors.
    “Since when do you have a reflection?” Tory asked, sweetly, as she brought out the