Return to You

red lace,
her attention focused on the people across the store. It was all
she could do not to stand there and stare.
    Olivia was absolutely striking.
    She didn't know what she imagined the young
woman would look like. Attractive certainly, given her father's
handsome looks, but Lainie hadn't expected barely tamed
wildness.
    It made her wonder if Everett had any of
that in him.
    She winced. Mr. Parker. She shouldn't
think of him as Everett. Unseemly considering she was his executive
assistant. No one ever called him that.
    The tall, sexy man bent and kissed her
boss's daughter. Was he her boyfriend? They certainly looked
close.
    "Tomorrow night, babe," the attractive man
promised Olivia.
    Lainie watched him stride out the store. A
dinner date. At his house. With a movie. He must be a boyfriend. Or
at least a contender.
    Covertly, she watched Olivia talk to her
gypsy friend. She told herself it was natural to be curious. She
hadn't known Olivia existed until last night before dinner—and
she'd been working for Everett for seven years.
    Only years of training kept her from showing
her surprise when she found out the girl in the photo hidden in
Everett's desk was his daughter. Calmly, she'd filed away that
tidbit of information.
    She shouldn't have been surprised. The girl
in the photo did have some resemblance to Everett. What she didn't
understand was why he kept the picture hidden. And why Olivia never
called. And where Olivia's mother was.
    Lainie looked down, startled to see she was
crushing the bra in her fist. She let go and smoothed out the soft
fabric.
    "You'd look fabulous in red."
    Lainie looked up. Goodness, Olivia was tall.
She never considered herself short, but even in her practical heels
she stood a few inches shorter than Olivia.
    Up close, she could see signs of strain that
hadn't been apparent across the room. She wondered if it was
because Olivia had no makeup on. Not that she needed it.
    Lainie would have killed for lashes like
that.
    Everett's daughter watched her
inquisitively, and Lainie realized she was staring. She cleared her
throat. "Do you think so?"
    "With your creamy skin, definitely. That bra
will look dynamite on you."
    For the first time, Lainie gave the lingerie
her full attention. It was the kind of underwear a confident woman
would wear—one who knew her seduction would be welcome. That wasn't
her. She fingered the scarlet lace longingly. "I don't know."
    "If I were you, I'd pick the red, but I have
a lovely charcoal gray set over here that you may prefer." She
strode across the room. Caressing the red bra one last time, Lainie
hurried after the younger woman.
    "Here it is." Olivia triumphantly held up
the bra.
    It was beautiful. Charcoal silk accented
with a touch of ash gray lace. Lainie reached out to touch it. So
soft.
    "Try it on."
    She hesitated.
    "There's no obligation to buy. Pretend
you're at a friend's house, trying on her clothes." She guided
Lainie to a dressing room, draped the bra on a chair, and left.
    Lainie gazed at the bra uncertainly. It was
so unlike the functional underwear she wore. She wasn't the type of
woman who wore fancy things.
    But it couldn't hurt to try it on.
    Slowly, she shrugged out of her suit coat
and the white man-style dress shirt. She made a face at her plain
white bra and dropped it on the chair before reverently picking up
the gray one.
    "Oh my," she whispered after she put it
on.
    "How are you doing in there? Did I give you
the right size?"
    "Yes. It's perfect."
    "May I see?" Before she could say anything,
Olivia came in.
    " You need to have it," Olivia decreed. "It
makes your gray eyes look stormy and mysterious. I'll let you get
dressed."
    Overwhelmed, Lainie reluctantly stripped out
of the bra and put her own staid clothes back on.
    Olivia was waiting for her outside. "You
need to have it. I'll give you thirty percent off the price."
    There was something in her tone that made
Lainie aware the shopkeeper was interested in more than just a
sale. She looked into her dark gaze. The eye color was different,
but Lainie bet Olivia could see into a person as clearly as Everett
could.
    "I'll take it," she said finally. "But I'll
pay full price." It wasn't like she couldn't afford it. Being the
executive assistant for the most powerful producer in Hollywood was
demanding, but she was well compensated.
    As Olivia rang her up, Lainie said, "You
have a lovely store."
    Olivia smiled. "Thank you."
    Handing over her credit card, she cleared
her throat.