of yours in the future, though. It might not fly well in the dining room of the Club.”
Gwen simply nodded her agreement.
“But, Will, you know I’m right. You shouldn’t have your BlackBerry at the table. If I have to behave, so do you.”
Gwen cleared her throat, desperate for the chance to escape. “Um, I find that I’m really exhausted all of a sudden, and since Evie and I have a big day tomorrow, I’m going to head on to bed.” She wanted to be out of there before Evie left; there was no way she was ready to deal with what almost happened. She then rushed for the safety of her bedroom before either Harrison could say anything.
That had been close. Too close.
CHAPTER FIVE
TAKING Evie shopping had seemed like such a good idea at the time. She’d even enjoyed the morning’s activities—haircuts, manicures, pedicures, lunch in the Neiman Marcus restaurant. Evie’s need for female companionship and her obvious enjoyment of such a girly day out kept a smile on Gwen’s face.
But that almost-but-not-quite moment of the night before kept haunting her. She might have had more Will-free thoughts if Evie could go longer than ten minutes without mentioning him. Or if Evie didn’t share so many mannerisms with Will that a tilt of her head or a certain phrase didn’t make her think of him.
It was bad enough she’d spent hours staring at the ceiling last night replaying each and every second of her entire short history with Will in her head, trying to figure out when her professional working relationship with the man had veered wildly off-track. Spending the morning trying not to moon over the man while still spending time with his sister…well, that was a new exercise in personal torture.
And the torture wasn’t over yet. The instant connection between her young charge and her sister should have clued her in. Their kindred shopping spirits recognized each other instantly, and Gwen resigned herself to a very long afternoon.
Sarah had commandeered a private room normally reserved by the personal shoppers to Dallas’s elite. Using the information Gwen e-mailed the day before, Sarah created a personal store for Evie where everything was exactly the right color, size and fit for her body type. Entire outfits, complete with shoes and accessories, hung on rolling racks lining the walls.
Evie started out hesitantly, seeming unsure of style and overwhelmed by the choices. It didn’t take long, though, for her inner fashionista to emerge, and soon she sorted through the racks like a pro. Haute couture welcomed her with open arms, and Evie was still going strong three hours later.
She’d even worn out Sarah, who Gwen thought never tired of shopping.
Safely ensconced on an out-of-the-way couch, she kept half an eye on Evie’s “yes” pile to be sure nothing violated the brief list of fashion taboos provided by Marcus and Will and spent the time brooding. Unfortunately she couldn’t find any answers or reasonable explanations for her behavior.
Sarah eventually turned Evie over to one of the Personal Shoppers with the excuse that Evie would need one in the future anyway, and tiptoed carefully through the colorful mess to Gwen’s sofa.
“The child can shop.” Sarah slid her feet out of their purple slingbacks and wiggled her toes in relief.
Gwen laughed. “That she can. I’m exhausted just watching.”
“She’s a natural. Great sense of style and an eye for what works. She’ll be a real trendsetter in a couple of years.”
“I’m just glad Parkline has a uniform, or else I’d be sitting here for days.”
Sarah chuckled. “All that’s really left is formal wear and she only needs one or two right now. Chris from Lingerie is on her way, so it should wind down after that. Out of curiosity, does she have a spending limit?”
Gwen watched as assistants slid Evie’s purchases into giant shopping bags. “I guess not. At least not that I was told.” Waving in the direction of the growing pile, she asked, “Do y’all deliver?”
“Looking at the commission Liza is about to earn off Evie, I’m sure she’ll work something out.”
“Thank goodness.”
Sarah handed her a bottle of water. “Speaking of work ing out, how’s everything going with the handsome-yet-infuriating Will Harrison?”
Oh, great. Exactly the conversation she didn’t want to have. “About the same. Evie called him on using his BlackBerry at the table last night.”
“She didn’t!”
“Oh, yes, she did. In front of Marcus Heatherton.”
Sarah’s jaw dropped. “You must have been dying.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“What’d he say?”
“Marcus or Will?”
“Will, silly. Like I care about what Pillar-of-Society Marcus Heatherton thinks.”
“Nothing actually. Evie’s remark kind of got lost in the whole temper fit she had, so I never heard him address it.”
“But after dinner, surely one of you said something.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks as the image of Will leaning toward her on the couch flashed in her mind. “Um…not really…um, we were talking about, um, other things.”
“Gwennie…” Sarah tucked her feet under her and leaned in. “You’re blushing. What aren’t you telling me?”
Her sister knew her too well. “I’m not telling you anything.”
“So there is something to tell.”
“I mean, I’m not not telling you anything. Or nothing. Or…you know what I mean.” Flustered, she unscrewed the top of her water bottle and took a long drink.
“Did you and Will…” Sarah glanced around quickly, but the assistants had moved on and Evie and her personal shopper were still chattering away in the dressing room. “Did you two, you know?”
“No!” Gwen’s ears were burning from the blush. She probably looked like an overripe tomato by now. “I barely know him, Sarah. Jeez. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“But something happened or else you wouldn’t be that attractive shade of red. Will made a play, then.”
“No.” Lord, was that tiny voice hers? “I mean, sorta. Maybe he did?” This was embarrassing.
“Ah.” Sarah got to use her all-knowing worldly-wise Big Sister Voice. “I’m going to assume there was no actual physical contact, right?”
Gwen nodded.
“But from the tone of your voice, it sounds like you wanted him to. Well? Do you, Gwennie?”
Exhausted from asking herself the same thing, Gwen gave up trying to fend off her sister’s questions and gave in to the desire to
