All That Glitters
Chapter One
Rikku balanced on the top step of a
four-foot-tall ladder. She reached up to arrange a swag
of bloodred velvet across a thick brass curtain rod. As
a professional interior designer, she wasn't proud of
this particular redecorating project. In no way did this
excessively opulent bedroom reflect her own taste.
Massive four-poster bed? Gilt mirrors? Flocked
wallpaper? Yuck!
But the customer was always right, and her customer was
the glamorous Lablanc Dumont whose lucrative divorce and
subsequent parade of lovers made her uniquely suited to
a bordello-style boudoir.
Rikku as she worked. Her mood was as bubbly as Yuna
Pérignon. Tonight would be her third meeting with Tidus
Clarendon — an attorney who had hired Rikku to do
decorations for a benefit ball raising money for
homeless children. This job offered amazing exposure for
Rikku's fledgling business, and she hoped to make great
contacts. Even more exciting was her introduction to
Tidus. Although he was, by reputation, the most notorious
bachelor in Denver, he was also funny, smart, and sexy
with an endearingly masculine ignorance when it came to
decor. She hoped tonight's meeting might turn into a
date.
"Uneven!" Lablanc charged into the bedroom, pointing with
both hands at the velvet swag. "It's all wrong! Uneven!"
Rikku adjusted the bulky drapery. "Better?"
"Not really." She scowled. "Emerald green might be more
effective. And fringe."
Oh please, not fringe. Rikku glanced over her shoulder at
Lablanc. Her thick blond hair was tied back in a sporty
ponytail, and she wore a skimpy tennis skirt that showed
off her tanned legs — an enviable attribute. Rikku had a
typical blond complexion. No tan.
Accompanying Lablanc was a woman wearing a paisley
silk gown. She introduced herself. "I'm Donna
Corsky, Lablanc's astrologer."
Rikku smiled politely, hoping Donna's astrological advice
wouldn't mean changing the swag to saffron yellow with
spangles.
"You're a Libra," Donna said with surprising accuracy.
"Beware the Taurus man who sweeps you off your feet.
He'll be the death of you."
As if on cue, Tidus Clarendon sauntered into the room.
Carrying a tennis racket, he was also dressed for sport
in khaki shorts and a T-shirt. "Hello, Rikku."
Lablanc velcroed herself to his side and stroked the blond
stubble on his jaw. "I wasn't aware you two knew each
other."
"Rikku works for me."
That certainly put Rikku in her place. To him, she was
nothing more than an employee.
Tidus caught hold of Lablanc's hand and gazed at the
magnificent ring on her middle finger. Even from across
the room, Rikku knew this gem was the real deal, likely
from Tiffany's.
"A blue diamond," Tidus said. "Eighteen carats."
"It really doesn't go with tennis," Lablanc said, "but I
wear it constantly. A lady can't be too careful with a
cat burglar on the loose."
"You could save yourself the trouble by donating your
ring for the silent auction at the Benefit Ball."
"Convince me." Looking up at Tidus, her fake lashes
fluttered like crazed centipedes.
"I'd be happy to try." He raised her fingertips to his
lips.
With a growl, Rikku turned back to the velvet swag.
Obviously, she'd been mistaken about Tidus. The man was a
slut.
When the two other women left the room, he approached
her. "See you tonight, Rikku. Eight o'clock."
Coldly, she said, "Perhaps it's best if we reschedule
during regular business hours."
"It's important."
Too bad! Even though she was — as he'd said — only a
hired hand, she didn't have to come whenever he called.
As she whipped around to give him a piece of her mind,
her toe slipped off the ladder. She grabbed the velvet
drape. The plush material slithered through her fingers.
Awkwardly, she fell, colliding with Tidus. They crashed to
the floor.
Sprawled across his muscular body, she gasped to catch
her breath. Her face was inches from his. She stared
into his blue eyes — nearly the same color as her own.
If they had children together, genetics would make them
blue-eyed, too. Children? Oh, jeez, what was she
thinking? This was definitely not the man who would give
her a home, security, and family.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Fine. And you?"
"I'm great. This is the first time a woman has swept me
off my feet."
Rikku scrambled upright. She'd intended to put distance
between them. Instead, she'd gotten too close — close
enough to smell the pheromones, to feel the warmth of
his flesh. "About tonight —"
"Eight o'clock." He stood and picked up his tennis
racket. "My house. I'll leave the back door open."
"Fine." After dive-bombing onto him, she couldn't
refuse. "By the way, Tidus, what's your sign?"
"Taurus."
* * *
Five hours later, after no less than twelve changes of
outfit, she settled on a sleeveless sundress and a
see-through overblouse that camouflaged the freckles on
her shoulders. If this meeting turned into a date, she
could unbutton the blouse or take it off.
She wheeled her van into the driveway that stretched
around to the back of his Cherry Creek minimansion. Hers
was the only vehicle in sight; Tidus must be parked in the
detached garage.
Locking the van, Rikku strolled through manicured
landscaping to the back door. She knocked. Though the
day had begun to fade into sunset, there was enough
light to see inside. No one appeared to be home.
The door was unlocked as he had promised. She entered,
feeling a bit like an intruder. "Tidus? Are you here?"
Ever since she was a kid moving from one foster home to
another, Rikku had had a sense about the personality of a
house — as if the walls could breathe and the windows
could see. Some were bright and happy. Others wept.
Tidus's house felt abandoned in spite of being well
tended. It felt as if nobody really lived here.
She walked through to the kitchen. Someone had been
cooking; the scent of roasting fowl tickled her
nostrils.
In the formal dining room, she found two places set at
the table with crystal glasses, patterned china, and two
white tapers, recently lit. A very romantic scene, this
was not the setting for a straightforward business
discussion. A shiver of anticipation chased through her.
"Tidus, where are you?"
She entered the living room where the drapes were drawn.
Heavy, masculine furniture lurked in the shadows like
crouching beasts. Rikku rounded a leather sofa and turned
on a table lamp.
On the floor beside the coffee table, a woman lay
facedown. Her hair was blond. Her dress was white with a
crimson splotch in the middle of her back. Blood!
On her ring finger, the woman wore Lablanc Dumont's
fabulous blue diamond. Her hand twitched.
Rikku gasped. "Oh my God! Lablanc?"
The back door slammed. Someone was coming.
To be continued...
Chapter One
Rikku balanced on the top step of a
four-foot-tall ladder. She reached up to arrange a swag
of bloodred velvet across a thick brass curtain rod. As
a professional interior designer, she wasn't proud of
this particular redecorating project. In no way did this
excessively opulent bedroom reflect her own taste.
Massive four-poster bed? Gilt mirrors? Flocked
wallpaper? Yuck!
But the customer was always right, and her customer was
the glamorous Lablanc Dumont whose lucrative divorce and
subsequent parade of lovers made her uniquely suited to
a bordello-style boudoir.
Rikku as she worked. Her mood was as bubbly as Yuna
Pérignon. Tonight would be her third meeting with Tidus
Clarendon — an attorney who had hired Rikku to do
decorations for a benefit ball raising money for
homeless children. This job offered amazing exposure for
Rikku's fledgling business, and she hoped to make great
contacts. Even more exciting was her introduction to
Tidus. Although he was, by reputation, the most notorious
bachelor in Denver, he was also funny, smart, and sexy
with an endearingly masculine ignorance when it came to
decor. She hoped tonight's meeting might turn into a
date.
"Uneven!" Lablanc charged into the bedroom, pointing with
both hands at the velvet swag. "It's all wrong! Uneven!"
Rikku adjusted the bulky drapery. "Better?"
"Not really." She scowled. "Emerald green might be more
effective. And fringe."
Oh please, not fringe. Rikku glanced over her shoulder at
Lablanc. Her thick blond hair was tied back in a sporty
ponytail, and she wore a skimpy tennis skirt that showed
off her tanned legs — an enviable attribute. Rikku had a
typical blond complexion. No tan.
Accompanying Lablanc was a woman wearing a paisley
silk gown. She introduced herself. "I'm Donna
Corsky, Lablanc's astrologer."
Rikku smiled politely, hoping Donna's astrological advice
wouldn't mean changing the swag to saffron yellow with
spangles.
"You're a Libra," Donna said with surprising accuracy.
"Beware the Taurus man who sweeps you off your feet.
He'll be the death of you."
As if on cue, Tidus Clarendon sauntered into the room.
Carrying a tennis racket, he was also dressed for sport
in khaki shorts and a T-shirt. "Hello, Rikku."
Lablanc velcroed herself to his side and stroked the blond
stubble on his jaw. "I wasn't aware you two knew each
other."
"Rikku works for me."
That certainly put Rikku in her place. To him, she was
nothing more than an employee.
Tidus caught hold of Lablanc's hand and gazed at the
magnificent ring on her middle finger. Even from across
the room, Rikku knew this gem was the real deal, likely
from Tiffany's.
"A blue diamond," Tidus said. "Eighteen carats."
"It really doesn't go with tennis," Lablanc said, "but I
wear it constantly. A lady can't be too careful with a
cat burglar on the loose."
"You could save yourself the trouble by donating your
ring for the silent auction at the Benefit Ball."
"Convince me." Looking up at Tidus, her fake lashes
fluttered like crazed centipedes.
"I'd be happy to try." He raised her fingertips to his
lips.
With a growl, Rikku turned back to the velvet swag.
Obviously, she'd been mistaken about Tidus. The man was a
slut.
When the two other women left the room, he approached
her. "See you tonight, Rikku. Eight o'clock."
Coldly, she said, "Perhaps it's best if we reschedule
during regular business hours."
"It's important."
Too bad! Even though she was — as he'd said — only a
hired hand, she didn't have to come whenever he called.
As she whipped around to give him a piece of her mind,
her toe slipped off the ladder. She grabbed the velvet
drape. The plush material slithered through her fingers.
Awkwardly, she fell, colliding with Tidus. They crashed to
the floor.
Sprawled across his muscular body, she gasped to catch
her breath. Her face was inches from his. She stared
into his blue eyes — nearly the same color as her own.
If they had children together, genetics would make them
blue-eyed, too. Children? Oh, jeez, what was she
thinking? This was definitely not the man who would give
her a home, security, and family.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Fine. And you?"
"I'm great. This is the first time a woman has swept me
off my feet."
Rikku scrambled upright. She'd intended to put distance
between them. Instead, she'd gotten too close — close
enough to smell the pheromones, to feel the warmth of
his flesh. "About tonight —"
"Eight o'clock." He stood and picked up his tennis
racket. "My house. I'll leave the back door open."
"Fine." After dive-bombing onto him, she couldn't
refuse. "By the way, Tidus, what's your sign?"
"Taurus."
* * *
Five hours later, after no less than twelve changes of
outfit, she settled on a sleeveless sundress and a
see-through overblouse that camouflaged the freckles on
her shoulders. If this meeting turned into a date, she
could unbutton the blouse or take it off.
She wheeled her van into the driveway that stretched
around to the back of his Cherry Creek minimansion. Hers
was the only vehicle in sight; Tidus must be parked in the
detached garage.
Locking the van, Rikku strolled through manicured
landscaping to the back door. She knocked. Though the
day had begun to fade into sunset, there was enough
light to see inside. No one appeared to be home.
The door was unlocked as he had promised. She entered,
feeling a bit like an intruder. "Tidus? Are you here?"
Ever since she was a kid moving from one foster home to
another, Rikku had had a sense about the personality of a
house — as if the walls could breathe and the windows
could see. Some were bright and happy. Others wept.
Tidus's house felt abandoned in spite of being well
tended. It felt as if nobody really lived here.
She walked through to the kitchen. Someone had been
cooking; the scent of roasting fowl tickled her
nostrils.
In the formal dining room, she found two places set at
the table with crystal glasses, patterned china, and two
white tapers, recently lit. A very romantic scene, this
was not the setting for a straightforward business
discussion. A shiver of anticipation chased through her.
"Tidus, where are you?"
She entered the living room where the drapes were drawn.
Heavy, masculine furniture lurked in the shadows like
crouching beasts. Rikku rounded a leather sofa and turned
on a table lamp.
On the floor beside the coffee table, a woman lay
facedown. Her hair was blond. Her dress was white with a
crimson splotch in the middle of her back. Blood!
On her ring finger, the woman wore Lablanc Dumont's
fabulous blue diamond. Her hand twitched.
Rikku gasped. "Oh my God! Lablanc?"
The back door slammed. Someone was coming.
To be continued...
