Page 29 of First Date: Divorce
Now Mrs.Cavendish gave him a would-be sympathetic look.“Of course, sir.”
Except he wasn’t leaving from boredom.There’d been one moment when the dressing room door opened a bare slice for the clerk to hand K.D.clothes, with the angle just right for the mirror to show him her leg nearly to its top.The chance of that happening again would make it worthwhile to stick around.
He also wasn’t leaving because of Hilary flashbacks.Until this instant, he hadn’t thought of her at all.
He was leaving because he thought K.D.needed a break from him.
Besides, if he stuck around, she’d argue — more — about the expense, about his paying.And she’d be uncomfortable modeling clothes for him, which confined her to the dressing room.
Depending on what she tried on, he might have been uncomfortable for other reasons.
A natural, male reaction.
No big deal.
Because no way was he getting burned again.Once stupid was an accident.Twice stupid was certifiable.
On the other hand, with K.D.Hamilton he’d be a different brand of stupid.… Except he wasn’t going to be stupid at all.Not ever again.
He’d suspected the difference between this woman and his ex from the moment she walked into Cully’s office.When he’d purposefully been untactful about her wardrobe not fitting the style needed for Marriage-Save, he’d been sure.
Hilary would have been in a snit for a month.K.D.didn’t blink, acknowledged the truth, and dealt with the situation.
Yet he’d seen her flicker of pleasure when he’d said her clothes suited her.
He’d meant it.Yes, her clothes fit her fine.And he enjoyed that.He wasn’t dead.Just not about to jump into a fire.
But there was something else about K.D.’s wardrobe.A practicality, a reliability, a sure-heartedness to what she wore…
God, he might be certifiable already, thinking clothes were sure-hearted.
He completed necessary business at the bank, his one legitimate errand.Then he wandered into a gift shop with way too many cat statues for his taste.Wasted time in the drug store.If he went back to the dress shop now and happened to catch K.D.trying on a couple things—
“Hey, Eric.Eric Larkin.”
He turned toward the male voice behind him and smiled when he saw Kiernan McRae.
They’d met — and spent a memorable Christmas — as part of the group snowed in at a convenience store/bar.With Pauline’s beau, Gramps, as their far less than welcoming host.
Kiernan said he’d come to Billings to pick up a computer part.He hefted the laptop bag on his shoulder.“To make sure it worked, rather than ordering, waiting, trying, and needing to start all over if it didn’t do the job.”
Eric said he was in Billings while a friend shopped.
The younger man’s eyes widened slightly.
Possibly at the name of the shop.But Eric wondered if he’d heard rumors and which ones if he had.
Kiernan was part of the Slash-C Ranch crowd, which centered around the Currick family and friends.Eric knew Dave Currick through a lawyers group even before the snowbound Christmas that included Kiernan.Plenty of the Slash-C folks were good friends with the Far Hills Ranch folks, as well as having connections in Bardville.But Eric doubted any of them would have talked about his and K.D.’s undercover effort.
“You’ve time to kill, then.I hear this bakery—” Kiernan gestured two shop doors from where they stood.“—has fine coffee.”
“I do have time to kill and coffee sounds great.”
As they chatted about the strange menus they’d resorted to during their snowbound Christmas, they supplemented the coffee with a fresh piece of pie each — apple for Kiernan, peach for Eric.Eric also bought a bag of cookies.
The woman behind the counter sent them to one of the small tables with a mini-pot of coffee.
They’d caught up on the people they knew in common when Kiernan refilled their cups, emptying the pot.“When we talked in the attic of Gramps’ store at Christmas…”
