CHAPTER EIGHT
“Ihave to say this one more time: I’m sorry about last night.” Mark glanced over at Allie. She’d had a funny look on her face—a reserved look like she was steeling herself against what was to come.
“What part—sending me to a rat trap or hauling me out in my pajamas?”
“Both!” He laughed.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “It all worked out okay.” “Yeah, it did.” He’d gotten to spend the night under the same roof as this magnificent creature, Anthony cooked a mean waffle, and he had a beautiful woman sitting next to him. “What do you have planned for today?”
She laced her fingers together and hooked her hand over her knee. “My apartment building is being fumigated, so I thought I’d hole up in a bookstore down the street until six when I can get back in.”
Mark took that as an opening. “Would you consider helping me with a project?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Sure.”
“I need a baby gift for Anthony and Leticia and I have no idea what to get them. It’s been a long time since Chloe was a baby and I don’t want to get them a generic present.”
She clapped her hands together. “That’s easy.”
“It is?” Not for him. The gift had been in the back of his mind since they announced the pregnancy. Kate had a few ideas, but none of them seemed just right. Anthony was one of the few friends unspoiled by Jasmine’s advances. He’d turned her down twice and was the one who broke the news to Mark that she’d been unfaithful. He thought she’d been
flirting and wouldn’t really go through with her advances with the director … until she did.
“Yes—but you’ll have to go where few men have dared to tread.” She wiggled her fingers maniacally.
“Where’s that?” Visions of baby showers and boutiques flashed through his head.
“The fabric store. Mwa-ha-ha.”
He handed her the phone. “I think I’ll be fine.”
She put the info in and Siri had them turn at the next light. “If you say so.” Her eyes held a secret delight that delighted Mark. If this was her reaction to going to the fabric store, he’d gladly spend hours there.
Mark had spoken much too soon.
Forsyth Fabrics had row upon row of fabric in a warehouse-type building. The floor was blanketed with thin carpet and the walls were light cream. He stopped ten feet inside the door, clueless as to which direction they should go to find a baby blanket and why anyone would volunteer to comehere in the first place. From the other side of the store, a child’s scream of frustration echoed off the ceiling.
I feel your pain.
Three gray-haired women pawed through a bin of rolled fabric labeledEnds.A harried woman in high heels compared two blue swatches, holding them up to the light and dropping them to the floor and sighing heavily. Two clerks in green aprons wielded shiny scissors under a sign that read “Cutting Table.” Another one worked the register. There wasn’t another guy in sight. Mark hunched his shoulders and pulled his baseball cap down.
Laughing, Allie grabbed his arm and pulled him to the left. “You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t know if I want to.” He scurried to keep up with Allie’s excited quick-steps. “What exactly are we looking for?”
Allie stopped at the far wall. Considering her options, she released his arm and ran her hand over the green shades of soft fabric. “Something that
would make Leticia smile.”
“She used to smile all the time.” Mark paused. “I think this baby is stressing her out. But she smiled this morning. You’re good for her.” “Thanks.” Allie shrugged modestly.
Mark tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his hand lingering. “You have that effect on people.”
“I’m just me.”
“You’re pretty.” He was going to say pretty great, but his voice died off when she leaned slightly into his palm.
They maintained eye contact, the air buzzing between them, until Allie turned her attention back to the fabric. She ran her hand down a dark green. “Why do you touch them like that?”
