all right.”
“We’re on a crowded street and all I could think of was that I wanted to kiss you.”
“The feeling was mutual.”
She frowned at him then. “That only increases the problem. What we need is a solution. What are we going to do about this?”
Jase dropped his gaze to her mouth, then met her eyes again. “I think we both know the answer to that.”
She frowned at him. “I don’t like it. It’s going to interfere with everything. I have enough on my plate.”
“Me too.” The fact that the frustration in her tone was such a perfect match to his own eased what he was feeling. He managed a smile. “I guess we’ll just have to compartmentalize and work around it. And speaking of work, Eva Ware Designs has been open for a good fifteen minutes. I suggest we resume this discussion later.”
Maddie lifted her chin. “Fine. Good. We’ll keep our focus on our investigation.”
Together, they threaded their way back into the stream of pedestrians.
“I meant to tell you in the car that I have an idea about what we should do when we get to Eva Ware Designs.”
Jase glanced at her. “Don’t keep me in the dark.”
“We seem to have two goals. You’re primarily interested in figuring out who on the inside might have robbed the store. Of course, I’m interested in that too. I want to learn as much as I can about Eva, but I also want to find if there’s someone there Eva confided in.”
“Someone who might have known about you?”
Maddie nodded. “The more I think about it, the more I believe she must have confided in someone. And that someone may be able to shed some light on why Jordan and I were separated.”
Jase held his tongue. His impression of Eva Ware was that she was a very self-contained woman. He’d had some time to think in the shower earlier. As he’d turned it over in his mind, he’d become convinced that she’d had some idea of who had broken into her store from the very beginning, yet she confided in no one. Not in Jordan. Not in him. She was a private woman and she knew how to keep a secret. She’d kept a very important one for twenty-six years.
“And I want to see Eva’s appointment calendar. It might be better when we get there to separate and gather our information separately.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, Jake thought. “As long as I don’t have to let you out of my sight.”
“I have a question,” she said.
“Ask away.”
“Do you have any thoughts on why my mother asked Jordan and me to change places?”
Jase thought for a moment. “I think Jordan’s theory that she wanted the two of you to experience the life she and your father had separated you from is a strong possibility. Did the fact that you’re a talented jewelry designer play into it? Perhaps. But I also think she may have been experiencing some regret.”
“It that’s true, why didn’t she just bring us together? Why put it in her will so that our coming together would only occur after her death? Now, I’ll never get to know her.”
“I don’t know the answer to that question, Maddie. But this way she’ll never get to know you either. Her loss.”
“I’m going to get some answers.”
When they stopped at the corner, he ran a finger down one of her earrings. “By the way, I like these. For what it’s worth, your mother might have wanted you to experience Jordan’s life—but I don’t think she wanted you to stop being true to yourself.”
Chapter Seven
EVA WARE DESIGNS was housed in a building on the corner of Madison Avenue and 51st Street. Because her nerves had been steadily building during the last few blocks, Maddie slowed and focused her attention on the display windows. As distracting as the man beside her was, she was going to put him out of her mind and concentrate on what she’d come to New York to do—learn as much as she could about Eva and Jordan.
The white marble facade of the building framed four two-foot-square windows, two on each side of the glass-doored entrance. Each window was artfully lit and showcased a single piece of jewelry.
Bait, she thought. The minimalist approach intrigued her, especially when she recalled the more cluttered window displays in the boutiques that carried her jewelry in Santa Fe. Most of the shop owners had no acquaintance with the idea that less might be more.
Maddie moved from one window to the next, not as a delaying tactic anymore, but because she was fascinated. Her eyes widened when they spotted the solitary emerald set in a delicately woven gold band. She guessed the ring to be at least two full carats, and yet the craftsmanship of the design made it look so delicate. Eager to see more, she bypassed the entrance and walked around the corner.
“We haven’t even gone inside, and you look like a kid in a candy shop.”
She grinned at Jase. “That’s exactly how I feel.” She waved a hand at a window holding a pair of earrings, each offering a mini explosion of tiny, multicolored gems. “Putting only one piece in each window—it’s a brilliant marketing idea. It forces the viewer to focus solely on the artistry of the piece.”
“It was Jordan’s brainchild. It took her almost six months to win your mother over. Your cousin Adam fought her tooth and nail.”
The last window held a pendant, three inches square. The gold was hammered and though it was crafted on a much smaller scale, it still made her think of a breast plate that an ancient warrior might have worn into battle. Wanting to get a closer look, she barely kept herself from pressing her nose against the window. There was a diamond set in the center of the pendant and radiating out from it were four rows of turquoise stones.
Something tightened around her heart. “I didn’t know Eva worked with turquoise.”
“Sorry,” Jase said. “I don’t have much information on that. I knew about the display windows because Jordan vented about it for several months.”
Maddie pressed her fingers against the glass, wanting very much to touch the pendant. “It’s a little like some of the pieces I’ve designed—except I don’t use diamonds or gold. I’d like to know how she developed that hammering technique.”
“We should go in. That’s the kind of question your cousin Adam should be able to answer.”
Yes. She turned to look at him and saw that he was leaning against the white marble wall, regarding her steadily.
She cocked her head to the side and regarded him right back. “You’re thinking that I’m stalling. And I have to admit, my window-shopping started out that way. And then I just got caught up in out-and-out gawking. I’ve been in awe of Eva Ware’s jewelry ever since I started to dream of designing some myself.”
Straightening her shoulders, she moved past him and around the corner. “And you’ve made your point. I didn’t come here as a besotted fan. I came to get some
