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...