idiotic shoes. They’re like eight hundred dollars! It’s not my job to care how you spend your money, but I’m not for sale.”
His eyes dropped to the god-awful Gucci sneakers, and he cringed. “My aunt gave them to me,” he hurriedly attempted to explain. “Swear to god,” he added when she smirked.
“Your aunt? That’s your explanation?”
“It’s the truth,” he growled. “She’s a professional shopper, and I drew the chauffeuring short straw. Next thing I knew, we were at Paseo Nuevo with me as her shopping Sherpa. The stupid shoes were her idea.”
One brow rose. “Paseo Nuevo?”
“Yeah. And in addition to the thank-you shoes, I have several boxes of See’s Candies.”
“Ooh, I love See’s.”
Whew! Crisis averted. Pretty Summer was willing to get a coffee with him but had zero interest in his wallet. Furthermore, candy from the iconic LA chocolatier was an instant mood changer.
“So does my aunt,” he quipped. “In addition to holding a gold medal in shopping, she has a special love for arcane facts and told me one while we explored the candy store.”
“Do tell.” Summer chuckled.
“How’s your knowledge of classic TV shows?”
She gasped, and her eyes glittered. “Black and white?” she asked.
Arnie grinned. “I Love Lucy?”
“Of course.” She giggled. “Are you kidding? My dad was a big fan of the old stuff. The Honeymooners, Lucy, and one called Petticoat Junction.”
“So you know the candy episode where Lucy and Ethel work at a conveyor belt with chocolates?”
Summer giggled. “Classic!”
“My aunt says Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance visited the See's Candy kitchen in Los Angeles to learn how they dipped and wrapped the chocolates. The store on La Cienega. The visit led to the comedy bit.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome!”
So this is what it feels like to rescue one’s own ass from the fire, he thought with no lack of self-congratulations. For whatever the reason, it mattered what this golden girl thought of him.
Knowing when to hold and when to fold, he saw his chance to leave on good terms and stood quickly. She backed up two steps. Her face held a startled quality.
“Good lord”—she chuckled—“you’re rather big, aren’t you?”
Oh lady, you have no idea how big.
Shut up, he growled to the seventeen-year-old boy in his subconscious. The one who filtered everything through a sex lens.
He lifted a shoulder and offered a lazy smirk. “It’s an optical illusion.”
She glanced down and pointed at the shoes that sparked their encounter. “The size of your feet is not an illusion.”
“Summer! You wench! Are you commenting about my, uh, size?”
An adorable and very pleasing blush colored her pale skin. Pleasure engulfed his senses. The women he knew would have issued a challenge with the wicked innuendo. Summer’s obvious mortification suggested she wasn’t the type.
She feathered blond hair behind one ear and looked away. “I wasn’t flirting,” she mumbled.
He reached for her hand, felt the tingle when they touched, and gave a gentle squeeze. “I know.”
Her eyes climbed slowly to his. With a smile, he said, “I will meet you at Starbucks promptly at nine.”
Summer nodded. “On the corner.”
“I know the one,” he answered.
They smiled through an awkward moment. He put exactly six dollars on the table as a tip, nodded, and headed for the door. When he stepped outside, Arnie inhaled deeply and blew out a centering breath.
He looked at his watch and calculated how much time he had to kill. Long enough to go back to the hotel, shower, and change his damn shoes.
2
The tile walls and floor of the restaurant’s bathroom gave off the usual January chill as Summer stripped off her uniform, rolled it in a ball, and stuffed it along with her sneakers into the bottom of a backpack.
Sliding into a pair of flats, she stood in her bra and panties inside the large handicapped stall in the senorita’s bathroom and willed herself not to shiver.
Digging into her makeup bag, she found a sample size tube of Miss Dior body milk and squeezed it dry while rubbing it all over her body.
Shaking out a stretchy balloon sleeve sweater dress she haggled for at a thrift store, Summer held it up and sighed. It was all she had so it better look okay.
The soft sweater-like fabric felt lovely against her skin. Burgundy was one of her favorite cool weather colors. It made her blond hair stand out. Though casual, the dress’s deep V-neck and cuffed balloon sleeves gave the outfit a wow factor.
There was nothing she could do about the plain flats. They were all she had with her. Arnie’s height