"Really?"
Now he laughed. Her tone had been so blandly polite. "It shows what a hold Baudelaire had on me. I don't usually forget something like that. Then again, he didn't have complimentary things to say about beauty. "
"No? What did he say?"
" 'With snow for flesh, with ice for heart, I sit on high, an unguessed sphinx begrudging acts that alter forms; I never laugh, I never weep. ' "
"What a sad man he must have been. "
"Complicated," Mitch said, "and inherently selfish. In any case, there's nothing icy about you. "
"Obviously, you haven't talked with some of my suppliers. " Or, she thought, her ex-husband. "I'll see about having that contract drawn up, and get you the written permissions you need. As far as work space, I'd think the library would work best for you. Whenever you need it, or want something, you can reach me at one of the numbers I've given you. I swear, we all have a hundred numbers these days. Failing that, you can speak with Harper, or David, with Stella or Hayley, for that matter. "
"I'd like to set something up in the next few days. "
"We'll be ready. I really should be getting home. I appreciate the drink. "
"My pleasure. I owe you a lot more for helping me out with my niece. "
"I think you're going to be a hero. "
He laid some bills on the table, then rose to take her hand before she could slide out of the booth on her own. "Is anybody going to be home to help you haul in all that loot?"
"I've hauled around more than that on my own, but yes, David will be there. "
He released her hand, but walked her out to her car. "I'll be in touch soon," he said when he opened the car door for her.
"I'll look forward to it. You'll have to let me know what you come up with for your sister for Christmas. "
Pain covered his face. "Oh, hell, did you have to spoil it?"
Laughing, she shut the door, then rolled down the window. "They have some gorgeous cashmere sweaters at Dillard's. Any brother who sprang for one of those for Christmas would completely erase a forgotten birthday. "
"Is that guaranteed? Like a female rule of law?"
"From a husband or lover, it better glitter, but from a brother, cashmere will do the trick. That's a promise. "
"Dillard's. "
"Dillard's," she repeated, and started the engine. "Bye. "
"Bye. "
She pulled out, and as she drove away glanced in the rearview mirror to see him standing there, rocking on his heels with his hands in his pockets.
Hayley was right. He was hot.
ONCE SHE GOThome, she pulled the first load out, carried it in the house and directly up the stairs to her wing. After a quick internal debate, she piled bags into her sitting room, then went down for more.
She could hear Stella's boys in the kitchen, regaling David with the details of their day. Better that she got everything inside by herself, upstairs and hidden away before anyone knew she was home.
When she was finished, she stood in the middle of the room, and stared.
Why, she'd gone crazy, obviously. Now that she saw everything all piled up, she understood why Mitch had goggled. She could, easily, open her own store with what she'd bought in one mad afternoon.
How the hell was she going to wrap all of this?
Later, she decided after dragging both hands through her hair. She'd just worry about that major detail later. Right now she was going to call her lawyer, at home - the benefit of knowing him since high school - and get the contract done.