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WE TOOK A BATH ON OUR payment from Todd and settled for half our normal rate, plus expenses. As it turned out, he didn't find the heiress either. The team that went to Missouri following a vague lead that Mary's name might have been changed to Schmidt discovered the heiress in St. Louis.
Gertie's pictures of Gino's hairy back cleavage were deleted, and I'm forever grateful that she can't use them to scare me into doing something I'd rather not. I've already had a plateful of that! As far as Gino's frontside goes, I'm happy to say that it will remain a mystery. Gertie played his stupid male ego by calling him Tiny, and I just followed her lead. His own insecurities did the rest, and I doubt he even knows his upper back looks like a hairy woman's chest.
Later that week Carter called and apologized for questioning me the day that Gertie shot up the spa. I apologized too and explained it wasn't personal. We left it at that, knowing the issues of trust and truth were a work in progress. He came over that evening to watch a movie, and I asked him to accompany me on an errand the following day.
His brows lowered. "It's not the wedding at the spa, is it?" Apparently, he had heard that Mary and Harry were officially tying the knot.
"Don't you want to go?" I teased. "Gertie tells me they're expecting a full house."
"Is she still disappointed that she's not a bridesmaid?"
"She's made herself the unofficial flower girl," I replied with a smile.
"What about Ida Belle?"
"She's dreading the wedding as much as you are. Harry told her he has a younger brother he wants her to meet. But there is one bright spot. Mary's teenage grandson is giving her away so clothing is required. However, to answer your first question: No, it's not the wedding. That's in a couple weeks."
"Can you give me a hint?"
"You have to wear your uniform," I said.
"So what? I wear that almost every day," he replied.
"It also involves flowers."
"Music?" he asked suspiciously.
"I hadn't planned on it, but I can make arrangements if you want," I teased.
"Don't bother. As long as it's not an unpleasant duty or a personally embarrassing task, I'm your man."
I liked the sound of that and promised him it would be unusual and possibly entertaining. "Pick me up at ten," I requested when he left that evening.
The next morning he arrived on time, wearing his uniform and a look of curiosity. I saw he was trying to figure out what was in the two wrapped packages I had him put in his truck, but I wouldn't tell him. "We're going to the Lone Pine Nursing Home in Cooper's Creek," I said after I got into his truck.
"That's a two-hour drive," he replied with a slight frown.
"And well worth it," I guaranteed.
"I'm holding you to that," he warned me. But he glanced over with a smile, and I knew he'd drive anywhere I asked.
At the nursing home, I pressed the buzzer and told them I had a delivery for Mary Shea. When the attendant at the check-in office saw Carter, she waved us through so we headed to Mary and Frieda's room. I handed one package to Carter.
"Do I get to open it now?" he asked. I shook my head and pointed into the room. "Why do I have to go first?"
"Because you have blue roses." I shoved him into the room, and Frieda screeched in surprise until she saw me waving. Then she eyed Carter shyly and blushed when I nudged him and he handed her the package. She unwrapped the blue silk roses that I'd put in a vase, and she squealed in delight.
"Hey, who's visiting?" Mary shouted from her side of the room. "Someone pull the curtain."
"That's your cue," I said, handing him the other package.
"You owe me big time," he muttered before moving the curtain back.
Mary clapped excitedly when she saw him. "Ooh, handsome! I knew you'd come for another visit. What did you bring me?" Her fingers twitched, and she held out her arms so Carter gave her the other package. "Oh, my!" She bit her lip when she saw the faux orchid in a pot. "Thank you."
I chose silk flowers because I knew they'd be able to enjoy them longer than real flowers. Plus, blue roses don't exist in nature, and I'm certain I didn't have the patience to explain that to Frieda. The ladies were busy examining their gifts. Each claimed they had the nicer flowers and had captured Carter's heart.
"Why are you going to all this effort?" he asked.
I shrugged and dropped my eyes. It was hard to explain why I felt compelled to return with him to deliver the flowers. I'm not sure I even knew myself. It's not like I'm an emotional woman who gets easily attached to others. And I'm not especially empathetic either, which isn't surprising, given my CIA past. Maybe it was the fact that, were it not for my friends in Sinful, I knew that one day I'd end up like these women.
I looked up when Mary sighed, and I smiled because Carter kissed her cheek and then Frieda's before we left. They were shouting at each other, and we could hear them down the hall.
"I told you he's mine! After all, he kissed me first."
"Yeah, but he gave me a present before you! Did you see how he got all dressed up—for me?"
"He's a hottie alright! I guess we could share him."
Carter growled when he heard that. "You set me up."
"What can I say? You're a real hottie in that uniform," I teased. I held his arm as we walked out and gave him a hug when we reached the truck. "Thank you. This means as much to me as it does to them. Now, how do I pay off the 'big time' debt I owe?"
"I'll let you know." When he got behind the wheel, he said, "We didn't really stay long enough to be entertained."
"No problem! We can do that if you join me as my 'one plus' for the big wedding in two weeks," I said with a grin.
"I get the feeling I've just been outmaneuvered."
"Nah. I'm just preparing you for an event with nice clothes, flowers, and music," I joked.
"I don't like dancing," he warned me.
"Neither do I." Yet.
We stopped to eat before we drove back to Sinful, and I stretched and yawned when he pulled into my driveway. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"
He nearly killed me with his eyes and reached for his door handle. "Gertie's not going to bang on the door with a pan of brownies again, is she?" he asked, following me to the door.
I grabbed the front of his shirt and brushed his lips with mine. "No." I reached for the knob and was pulled into the house when Gertie whipped the door open.
"There you are! Ida Belle and I have been waiting. I got this new video that combines yoga with martial arts." She waved it at me, and Carter snatched it from her. "Oh, would you like to join us?" she asked him.
"Feng Shui Yoga?" His lips twitched, and he tossed the video to me. "I think I'll pass. But you have loads of fun."
"Gertie, get back here and help get the pie dished out," Ida Belle hollered from my kitchen.
Gertie shook her head and whispered, "I don't know what she'd do without me. She's helpless! Coming, Ida Belle!"
She scurried to the kitchen, and I turned to Carter. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"
"For the scintillating combination of two snoozers—yoga and decorating? No. And though I wouldn't mind being here to see Ida Belle's face when she finds out there are no martial arts involved, I need to change the oil in my truck."
I walked him to his truck and gave him a proper thank you for his help that morning. "Don't forget we have a date in two weeks," I said as he got in and closed the door.
He rolled the window down. "I'll be collecting the balance on your debt long before then." His gaze flickered toward the house, and I turned in time to see the curtains moving in the window. "Fortune, the next movie is going to be at my house."
"Should I let Ida Belle pick that one?"
His eyes narrowed. "Keep joking because I like having the balance in my favor."
"So do I."
He paused briefly. "You like it in my favor or yours?"
I just grinned and headed into the house with a wave. In truth, I didn't care whose side the balance favored as long as we were on the same page.