There was the whoosh of the door opening, and she heard Carla draw in her breath. That was her “man sound,” as Carla was always on the make.
Kim looked up to see Travis standing in the doorway. He had on a forest green shirt and jeans, and with his dark hair and eyes he looked as virile as any man ever had. He seemed to exude masculinity, as though it were an aura around him.
“I am in love,” Carla said under her breath as she moved next to Kim. Since Travis had eyes only for Kim, Carla added, “Please tell me he’s one of your relatives so he’s available to the rest of us.”
Kim didn’t answer as she gave her attention back to the couple—but the girl was looking at Travis, and her young husband was frowning. Customers lost, Kim thought.
Travis came forward and stopped close to the young woman. When she smiled at him, he smiled back.
“I think we should go,” the young man said, but his wife ignored him.
“I see you in aquamarines,” Travis said in a voice Kim had never heard him use before. It was soft and sultry, silky.
“Really?” the girl asked, sounding about fourteen.
“With your eyes, what else could you wear?”
The young woman wasn’t especially pretty and her eyes were a nondescript brown. On the other hand, the ring Travis was nodding toward was one of the most expensive in the shop.
“I’ve never thought of wearing aquamarines before.” Turning, she batted her eyelashes at her husband. “What do you think, honey?”
Before the young man could answer, Travis leaned across the counter so his upper torso was in front of the girl. “But if you want something less expensive, those little amber rings would be all right. They don’t sparkle in the same way, but the price is easier on the credit card.”
The young woman was looking at Travis’s neck, at the way his hair curled along his golden skin. She looked as though she were in a hypnotic trance. When she lifted her hand as though she was going to touch his hair, her husband leaned in front of her. Travis stepped back.
“We’ll take that ring and the earrings too,” the man said, pointing to the aquamarines.
“Good choice,” Travis said as he turned and smiled at Kim.
Part of her wanted to say thanks, but the larger part was disgusted by what he’d just done.
“You ready for lunch?” he asked Kim.
She nodded to Carla to write up the sale, then went behind the far counter with Travis following her. “It’s ten A.M.,” she said, her voice cool. “It isn’t time for lunch.”
“Are you angry at me?”
“Of course not!” she snapped as she pulled out a tray of bracelets and began to rearrange them.
Travis picked up one and held it up to the light. “Nice.”
The bracelet was the smallest but the most intricate, and the stones were the best quality. It was also the most expensive item she carried. She took it from him. “You seem to have learned something about jewelry.”
“I’ve had a lot of experience.” He leaned toward her. “I have things to tell you, so let’s go walk somewhere and have lunch.”
“Travis, I have a business to run. I can’t come and go at your whim.”
He looked at Carla, who hadn’t stopped watching him, and smiled at her. “She looks capable of taking care of the place.”
Kim lowered her voice. “Stop flirting with the women in my shop.”
“Then come out with me.”
“Where were you this morning?”
His face turned serious. “I got up at five, drove into the wilderness, and went for a run. When I got back you’d left for work. It’s nice of you to be concerned.”
“I’m not,” she said as she locked the glass case. He was smiling at her. “All right! So I was worried. With the way you drive you could have run off a mountain and no one would know you were there.”