you know that’s not me. I don’t do pretty little lies. And in this case I don’t have to. You’re smart, patient and creative, all great traits for a teacher. I think you should go for it.”
“You don’t feel I’m too old to bother now?” Savannah asked.
“Phff. There are people of all ages at State, but if it bothers you, try online classes. These days you can practically get your degree without ever going to the classroom.” Claudia absently pushed a few hangers along the rack. “But isn’t this kind of sudden? What brought this idea on?”
“I’ve always wanted to go to college, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to study. Something Rick said last night really started me thinking. Teaching feels right. But it’s been so long since I was in school.”
“What did he say?” Of course, Claudia snagged on the Rick element.
“I was telling him about some of the seminars I’ve attended at dinner last night, and he said I made something ridiculous sound interesting.”
“At dinner you say?” Claudia wiggled her dark brows.
“Oh, stop. It was a reward for putting in a long day.”
“It sounds like you had a good time.”
“Yes. I mean, no. It wasn’t like that. And believe me, I put my foot in my mouth before I was through.” She went on to tell her sister how she’d tried to change the subject when it got too uncomfortable.
“You asked him about his dating rules?” Claudia smirked at Savannah over a rack of cocktail dresses. “How brave of you.”
“The conversation was getting heavy.” Savannah shook her head at the red mini dress Claudia held up. The color would clash with the red in her hair. “I was trying to lighten things up.”
“Right.” Claudia eyed the red dress, shrugged and draped it over her arm. The color would be stunning with her own coffee-brown hair, green eyes and pale skin.
“Ohh, look at this.” Claudia held up a black dress and the breath caught in the back of Savannah’s throat. It was fitted from the hips up, with wide bands of material that wrapped the dress, crisscrossing each other over the breasts and then flaring out to create short, off-the-shoulder sleeves. A full, flirty skirt would swirl several inches above the knee.
“It’s beautiful, but I can’t. This is a business trip. I’ll have no occasion to wear a cocktail dress.”
“You never know. It’s always good to have a little black dress along on a trip just in case. And this material will travel really well. Come on, at least try it on.”
Giving in to temptation, Savannah disappeared into the fitting room. Of course, she loved the dress. It fitted like a dream, making her feel pretty and special.
She stepped out to show Claudia.
“Oh my.” Her sister circled Savannah, practically purring. “You have to buy it. If you don’t, I’ll buy it for you, and I can’t afford it.”
Savannah did want it. “It has no sleeves. It’ll be too cold to wear in England.”
“My roommate is from New York. She has a beautiful black wool overcoat you can borrow.”
“I can’t borrow your roommate’s coat.”
“Sure you can. She never wears it unless she’s going home. Come on, Savannah, you know you want it.”
Savannah grinned. “Yeah, I do. But probably not for England.”
“Please. Wear this to dinner and Rick will forget all about his rules.”
“Oh, no. No.” She shook her finger at her sister. “He can keep his rules. I just didn’t want him thinking I was looking to get married and leave Sullivans', or that I was desperate for a man.”
Claudia laughed as she went back to shopping. “Instead he probably thinks you were hitting on him.”
“Oh, my God.” Appalled, Savannah rounded the rack and caught Claudia’s arm. “Is that what it sounded like to you?”
“Calm down.” Claudia pried Savannah’s fingers loose. “I was just kidding.”
“No, you’re right.” Weak as the events of last night replayed through her head, Savannah sank into a chair outside the fitting room. “I was trying for light and sophisticated, but it sounded like a proposition.” She mimicked a stab to the heart. “Just kill me now.”
“Such drama. That’s more me than you.” Claudia squeezed Savannah’s shoulder. “Sister mine, I love you, but we both know the flirting gene skipped you.”
Tragic, but true. Still Savannah shook her head. “He doesn’t know that.”
“Okay, so what did he say? What are these famous rules?”
“He didn’t answer. The waiter came with the check and the moment was lost. And that was the end of dinner.”
“He just left?” The notion clearly outraged her younger sister, who’d been wrapping men around her little finger since infancy. Even their father responded to Claudia. Of course she was the shining image of their mother, which helped.
“No. Rick is too much of a gentleman to do that. He walked me to my car. Oh, gosh, and then told me I could have today off and he’d see me at the airport. Oh, this is bad. First the kiss and now I’ve propositioned him. I’ll probably get home and find a message telling me I’ve been traded with Tammy from accounting.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there.” Claudia dropped to the floor to sit cross-legged in front of Savannah. “You never mentioned a kiss. Spill! I want all the details.”
Heat rose in a tide from Savannah’s chest to her hairline. “It’s your fault. You told me to thank him for the extra money from the scholarship.”
“You actually kissed him?” Claudia demanded. “On the mouth?“
Savannah blinked at her. “Of course not, on the cheek, but you’re missing the point here.”
“Right, right. I see the problem. In the last two days you’ve kissed him and hit on him.”
Savannah groaned. “That’s it. I’ve cost myself the perfect job. And a trip to Europe.”
“He’s really got you twisted up. I’ve never seen you so flustered over a man.”
“He’s not a man. He’s my boss.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Claudia admonished her. “He’s all man and if you’re trying to ignore that, no wonder you’re in trouble.”
“You’re not helping,” Savannah said.
“Helping? Right, you want to know if he realized you were hitting on him.”
Savannah gritted her teeth.
