The Promise - By Danielle Steel Page 0,54
her own nosiness, but it was wonderful getting all this news of him, and maybe … maybe he'd … She kept her smile cool, pleasant, and detached as he shook his head.
“No. Just a business trip. But she doesn't know about it yet. Well, what do you think? The brown suede, or the dark green?”
“The brown suede with the red stripe. I think it's gorgeous.”
“So do I.” He nodded happily at Marie's choice and signaled to the salesgirl. He was taking three pieces, and asked her to ship them airmail to New York. Then he did live there. She had wondered. “Thank you for your help, er … uh … Miss …”
“Adamson. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I apologize if I asked too many questions. The holidays always have a strange effect on me.”
“Me too. But it's such a nice time of year. Even in New York, and that's saying a lot.”
“Is that where you live?”
“When I'm home. I travel a great deal for my job.”
That still didn't tell her if he was working for Michael, but she knew she couldn't ask. And suddenly, it made her ache, just standing there, being so near him, wanting to know about someone who no longer existed for her anyway—or shouldn't have. And then he looked at her again, as though something about her had bothered him. For a moment she felt her heart stop, but his smile told her that he had no idea who she was. She pulled at her hat a little to assure that he couldn't see the last of the tape and held Fred a little closer in her arms as Ben continued to stare at her.
“I know this is a crazy thing to ask,” he said, “but … could I invite you somewhere for a drink? I'm leaving on a plane in a few hours, but we could hop over to the St. Francis, if ….”
She returned the smile, but she was already shaking her head. “I'm afraid I have a plane to catch too. But thank you for the offer, Mr. Avery.”
And then his smile faded slowly. “How did you know my name?”
“I heard the salesgirl say it.”
She was quick with the response, and he shrugged and then looked at her with regret. She was an incredibly beautiful girl. And no matter how much he had come to love Wendy in the three months since their affair began, he could still have a drink with a pretty girl. It was too bad she was leaving town, too. And then he had a thought. “Where's your plane to, Miss Adamson?”
“Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
He looked as disappointed as a schoolboy, and she laughed at the look on his face. “Damn. I was hoping you were going to New York. We could at least have enjoyed the flight together.”
“I'm sure the young lady with the luggage would have appreciated that.” Her eyes scolded him, but only a little, and they both laughed this time.
“Touché. Well, maybe next time.”
“Do you come to San Francisco often?” She was intrigued again.
“No, but I will.” And then with a look at the luggage and a smile, he added, “We will. My firm is doing a big project here. I'll probably be spending more time here than in New York.”
“Then perhaps we'll meet again.” But her voice sounded almost sad. It was only Ben after all. It didn't matter how often she saw him, he still wasn't Michael. The salesgirl broke into her reverie, and she realized it was time to go. She only looked at him for a long moment as he wrote out the check for the amount the salesgirl had tallied up, and then silently she squeezed his arm. He looked up in surprise, and she barely whispered, “Merry Christmas,” before disappearing from where they had stood chatting for almost half an hour. He looked around when he had finished the check and was disappointed to find her gone. She had left so abruptly. He looked around the store as best he could through the throngs of Christmas shoppers, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had left by the side entrance, and was just then hailing a cab. She felt tired and heavyhearted. It had been a long morning.
She gave the driver the vet's address, dropped Fred off there, and jumped back in the cab to go home. She was already packed. All she had to do was pick up her bags and head for the airport. She felt