deliberately once more across her mouth. She continued to gaze at Kit, via the mirror this time. “Oh, yes, I think we met at the holiday party,” she said after a moment. “You’re dating Matt, right?”
That seemed like a presumptuous remark to make to a stranger.
“You must have me mixed up with someone else,” Kit said. “I had an appointment with Mr. Healy today, but I barely know him.”
“My mistake,” the woman said. She dropped the lipstick back in her purse. “Have a nice day.”
I will, Kit thought, as soon as I’ve escaped from here.
She tossed the paper towel in the trash and hurried to the elevator bank. She felt relieved to finally be descending toward the lobby. The rest of the afternoon was spent roaming the D&D building as well as two stores that carried pieces inspired by the Gustavian period. She was still waiting to hear if Avery Howe liked the concept for her cottage, but she wanted to be prepared to kick into gear once she received the okay.
By the time she reached the office, it was after seven and both Dara and Baby were long gone. She let herself into the apartment, feeling the same rush of comfort and pleasure she always experienced when she walked through the door. Though the open living space wasn’t huge, she’d worked hard to make it dazzling.
She started to turn toward the island in front of the kitchen area when she suddenly froze, staring at her midnight-blue velvet sofa. Something wasn’t right.
The seven accent pillows were in a neat row, just as she liked them. But they were in a different order than she’d left them in that morning.
Someone had been in her apartment.
chapter 4
She crossed the room to the sofa and stared at the pillows. She was sure her imagination wasn’t going cuckoo on her. When she’d left the apartment that morning, the pillow with the Union Jack—a whimsical touch she’d added—was in the middle of the arrangement and flanked on each side, from outside in, by a pillow in fake zebra, one covered with kilim fabric, and another in solid red. She was ridiculously particular about the order and always kept it that way. But now the Union Jack pillow was one spot over from where it should be.
Stepping back, she anxiously examined the room, searching for anything else that seemed weirdly off. But nothing else was out of place.
Maybe, she reassured herself, Baby had used the apartment for a meeting with a potential client or a new one, and the pillows had gotten shuffled around. Clients were often curious to see a designer’s home, dropping broad hints like, “So what’s your place like?” But Baby always let Kit know in advance if she’d be taking advantage of the space. She’d said nothing about a Friday meeting.
Kit tried Baby’s cell, but it went to voicemail and she left a message asking her to get in touch. She tried Dara next. But as the phone rang, she realized that of course Baby must have used the apartment and she was totally overreacting. What other explanation could there be? That some psycho with an uncontrollable urge to fluff had snuck in and rearranged the pillows? Clearly, she’d been so unsettled about the Florida experience that she was now practically jumping at the sight of her own shadow. She was about to break off the call when Dara answered.
“Since I missed you this afternoon, I just thought I’d make sure nothing came up,” Kit said, fudging.
“It was actually fairly quiet,” Dara told her. “Though Corey stopped by and left off the latest drawings for you.” Corey was one of the freelance draftsmen she and Baby assigned work to.
“Good. I actually haven’t popped into the office yet, so I didn’t see them. Why don’t I let you get back to your Friday night? You and Scott doing something fun?”
“We’re going out later to hear a friend’s band play.”
“Enjoy—oh just one more question.” As long as she had Dara on the line, Kit couldn’t resist asking.
“Did Baby meet with a new client today? It looks like she might have been in my apartment with someone.”
“She didn’t mention anything, but a prospect may have dropped in while I was out. I went tile shopping for Baby at three and headed home from there.”
“Oh, right. Okay, I’ll catch up with Baby later.”
“Is anything the matter?”
“No, no. It just looked like someone had been on the couch.”
Dara laughed. “Maybe Baby snuck in a power nap when