“That’s why I chose it,” Sanjay said. “To match your loveliness.”
“You’ve no need to flatter me any longer, Sanjay. Our negotiations are officially at an end.”
“It’s not flattery. And I thought you said that negotiations were ongoing.”
Emma smiled. “They are. But since I was successful in signing Harjit, our deal is concluded. And if I hadn’t spent that night with you, I would have been so stressed meeting Harjit, I probably would not have succeeded.”
Sanjay stroked her cheek. “You would have. You are a v
ery determined woman.”
Emma glanced around the hotel lobby. Her taxi was due to arrive soon. She hesitated to say what was on her mind, but she knew she didn’t have much time.
“Will we see each other again?”
“Do you want to see me again?” Sanjay asked.
Emma thought about that. The last thing she needed to complicate her life was a long-distance relationship. “Yes, I do.”
He smiled. “Then we shall. Though I doubt that you will have occasion to return to India anytime soon.”
Emma nodded. “Harjit is coming to Los Angeles to finalize the deal. He’s very eager to visit California.”
“Actually, I plan to visit L.A. in the near future.”
A sudden happiness leaped within Emma. “Really?”
Sanjay nodded, his eyes glittering. “Perhaps we can get together and negotiate a new deal.”
“A new deal?”
“Why not? Except this time around you will teach me about baseball.”
“I don’t know that much about baseball.”
Sanjay leaned over and kissed her. He whispered against her lips, “And I couldn’t care less about baseball.”
Emma smiled. Then she heard a taxi horn blaring outside the hotel. “That’s for me.”
Sanjay picked up her bags and escorted her outside. Once she and her bags were inside the taxi, he took her hand and brushed his lips across the palm.
“Till then.”
She smiled. “Till then.”
Pins and Needles
IAN FREY
I WANTED TO SUPPORT Miki. She’d done a lot for me in the year we’d been together. For example, she’d backed me up when I wanted to return to school, even though it meant sacrificing the overtime pay I’d been using to treat her to the occasional fancy restaurant—so I knew that giving her the same kind of consideration was the least I could do. She didn’t say a word against the weekly poker nights with my friends, the first long-term girlfriend who’d given me that space; and even when I came home a loser from those games, she just shook her head and told me to do better next time.
She was also the most beautiful woman I’d ever been with. Her small stature and heart-shaped face would have given her an innocent air if it weren’t for the leather skirts and high-heeled boots she favored, or the plunging necklines of the sweaters that showed off her surprisingly generous curves. I was lucky to be with her and I knew it…but I still couldn’t bring myself to be a practice dummy for her new dream job as an acupuncturist.
“Come on, David,” she said, leaning over my prone form. “I need to be able to practice when I get off work, and the school closes by seven every night. I can’t get all the hours I need for certification without some help at home.”
“Hon, I’m sure it’s therapeutic, but I just can’t. Those needles give me the creeps.”
“You got your ear pierced,” she said accusingly.