Million Dollar Valentine. Rita Clay Estrada
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informally.
Reluctantly, he continued on his way, but he gave one more sexy look over his shoulder before he left the shop.
Crystal took an extra moment to watch him walk through the mall toward his office. He had a nice walk, but it would have been more fun to watch him without his suit jacket on….
BLAKE FELT Crystal’s eyes on him all the way down to the mall office. He was irritated, stimulated and self-conscious by that knowledge.
From the moment he’d seen Crystal Tynan, he’d been intrigued. Helen had called and told him this would be Crystal’s first day and had asked him to welcome her, please. Instead, he’d forgotten what he went there for.
Crystal was a piece of work, he told himself, trying to minimize all the feelings he’d just gone through. That woman had gotten under his skin in less than a moment of not-too-close contact. By the time ten minutes had passed, he’d been intrigued in spite of himself.
She was very unlike the kind of woman he was usually drawn to. He liked a more chic appearance, a more conservative type of woman. This woman, though beautiful in her own way, looked like a free spirit. Not his type at all. To his mind, she was dressed all wrong for a store owner—especially for as elegant a shop as Helen’s floral and gift shop. Although Flagstaff was part of the Southwest and many of the clerks dressed like Crystal, she was representing the owner. His friend.
He could have kicked himself for ignoring the real reason he’d wanted her dressed differently. He had to be honest. Her clothes were fine. He’d just wanted her to be a little more like him in her choice of clothing. Perhaps a little tailored. Maybe wearing high heels that gave the illusion of legs from here to there….
Where the hell did that thought come from? Blake ditched that thought instantly, before he could react to the image.
Too late.
He wasn’t looking for complications in his life right now. And Helen was just his friend, and all he needed to worry about was whether or not Crystal Tynan would maintain the shop’s image and do the best job for Helen. The store wasn’t called Entrée for nothing. It catered to Flagstaff’s richest, most elite clientele, creating custom-designed floral arrangements and selling high-end unique gift items.
Wrong image or not, God she was beautiful. She had great hair. Taffy-colored, it sheered down her back almost touching her softly rounded hips. And those eyes. They were something. Big, uptilted, light and toasty-warm-brown and beautiful. A man could get lost in those eyes. He’d love to be looking down into them while…Squelch that thought, too. Reaching the office area of the mall, he opened the glass door and entered.
This was his favorite time of day. The mall held only employees and several mall-walkers, usually senior citizens who moved through in groups at a steady pace, enjoying the exercise as well as the controlled air-conditioning or heating. There weren’t any problems—yet.
About an hour from now, many of the walkers would join together in one of the small lunch counters or eating establishments and have breakfast and lively talks.
By noon, the theater would open its doors and the mall would be packed. Combine those two items with the after-holiday sales going on, and there would be chaos. He hoped Crystal could handle the crush.
“Hey, Marilyn,” he said as he walked by his secretary’s desk. An older woman, she was efficient and loyal. She’d been the mall’s administrative secretary since the mall had opened over six years ago. He had inherited her, and he was damn lucky to have done so. “I’ll be in my office for the next hour.”
“Okay. Fresh coffee in the pot. Let me know if you need anything,” she called, not bothering to look up. Instead, she continued going through the pile of mail stacked on top of her desk. She’d give him his portion later.
After he finished with the mail and before he had the meeting with the department store executives about the renovation plans, he might check and see how Crystal Tynan was doing. It was the prudent thing to do, seeing as she was new to the area and the business….
“AND THEN YOU CAN ADD one or two of these,” Linda instructed, picking up several large orange silk flowers.
She looked up at Crystal as if she needed guidance, but pursed her lips to keep quiet. Linda was about ten years older than Crystal, half the height and twice the size—and just as sweet as could be.
A few customers wandered around the shop and both women had already approached them, but the lookers wanted to continue looking. Meanwhile, Crystal stood behind the counter while Linda demonstrated the basics of arranging.
Crystal took one stem, stood back and eyed the arrangement before carefully inserting the orange flower in the side center.
Linda smiled. “Very good,” she said, pride evident in her voice as she praised her new student. “The symmetry is excellent.”
“Thank you.” Crystal gave a critical eye to the floral arrangement, then looked back at her teacher. “You really think so?”
“Definitely. It’s very unusual, kinda like you, but it works. Kinda like…”
“I know,” Crystal laughed. “Like me.”
“Is that for sale?” one of the customers asked as she reached the counter with her purchases. It took Crystal a moment to realize she was talking about the arrangement.
“Oh, it’s…” Linda began.
“It certainly is.”
“How much?”
“Thirty-three dollars,” Crystal announced calmly. “Marked down for the January sales.”
The woman smiled. “I’ll take it.”
With an efficiency of movement, Linda took the woman’s charge card and wrote up the item, then packed it carefully in wrap and bag. It wasn’t until the woman left the store with her new purchase that both of them burst out laughing.
“Told you that it was unique. You’ve got talent,” Linda said in satisfaction.
“That and thirty-three bucks will get you a floral arrangement from Entrée,” Crystal stated in a low whisper. “Let’s do one more before I take a break and stalk around the mall.”
“You’re on.” Linda reached for another bowl, a brilliant purple one this time. “Get going, Ms. Tynan.”
Crystal began choosing silk flowers from their holders, red, gold and a lighter purple; Mardi Gras colors. As she picked one, held it against the other and continued to choose, she decided it was about time to ask other questions. “Linda? What can you tell me about Blake Wright?” Not that she was interested. She was just curious. After all, she should be interested in her aunt’s friend.
Linda pursed her lips thoughtfully, but there was a curious light in her eyes. “Well, he’s the manager of this mall, and has been for two years. They brought him in from somewhere up north. He’s thirty-something and strict on his rules and regulations about the mall. A little bit of a stuffed shirt, but the women don’t seem to mind. And he used to date one of the buyers of the main department store here.”
“Is she still in Flagstaff?”
“No, she was transferred.” Linda frowned. “He didn’t seem half as upset as she was, but you know how men are. When it comes to emotions, they never show anything.”
Although a little on the shy side, Linda obviously held very firm opinions in a general kind of way. Especially about the male species.
“I don’t run into too many men like that,” Crystal murmured, sticking another flower into the wire cage at the bottom of the vase. “I work with a lot of guys who do nothing but moan about women all day long.”
Linda’s eyes widened, suspiciously. “Really?”
Nodding her head Crystal laughed.
They worked