“Oh, yeah, the lady cop.” Curt’s grin returned as, seemingly forgetting his outrage, he wagged his eyebrows meaningfully. “She looks pretty good for a broad her age. You think she might be interested in a date with yours truly?”
“Ex-cop,” Darla hurriedly clarified. “And I think she’s, er, already seeing someone.”
A small falsehood Jake would owe her for, Darla thought with an inner grin. Jake had met Curt once in the store and had been distinctly underwhelmed by the man—though, of course, the “older” woman (Jake barely had a couple of years on Curt) had been a bit earthier in her recap of the encounter. Then came a more sobering thought, and Darla added with a frown, “Besides, Curt, I thought you were already dating someone. Haven’t you been going out with Tera Aguilar?”
The daughter of Great Scentsations owner Hilda Aguilar, Tera was barely twenty-one. In face and figure, she closely resembled her petite, elegant mother, but unlike Hilda, Tera favored revealing clothing and exaggerated makeup, which, in Darla’s opinion, masked the girl’s genuine beauty. What she saw in Curt, who was twice her age and pretty far down the scale from Prince Charming, Darla couldn’t guess. But even if Darla didn’t think much of the matchup, she still didn’t like seeing the girl played for a fool.
Curt, however, displayed no embarrassment at being called out.
“Sure, me and Tera, we have a few laughs together, but, hey, I like to play the field,” he replied, smoothing back his hair in a preening gesture.
The move shifted the open collar of his polo shirt, revealing a glimpse of gold chain against hairy chest and reminding her of Robert’s Mr. Gold Chain Dude. Darla suppressed a grimace. What was it with these middle-aged guys pursuing girls half their ages? Well, she knew what it was; she just couldn’t believe that the girls in question fell for it every time.
To Curt, she simply said, “I’d watch my step if I were you. Hilda Aguilar might look all sugar and spice, but I have a feeling that she could kick the butt of any man she thought was two-timing her daughter.”
“Hey, who’s to say I didn’t already put the moves on Mama, too?” Curt countered with a wink. “I like ’em young, I like ’em old.” Then, when Darla shot him a sharp look of disapproval, he puffed his cheeks in an exaggerated sigh. “What? I was kiddin’. You women, you got no sense of humor.”
“Guess not,” Darla agreed in a cheerful tone, though she wasn’t smiling. Odd how, with just a few words, the man could use up his store of goodwill that he’d banked with her only a few minutes before. “Anyhow, thanks for the warning about the scrap thieves. We’ll keep our eyes open. Tell Barry I said hi.”
Curt raised his blunt hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I know when I’m not wanted. Call me when that book comes in, will ya?”
“Sure thing, Curt. Have a nice day, now.”
The door closed behind him, and Darla felt a bit of serenity return. Just for good measure, though, she spritzed again with the organic gardenia scent. Robert, meanwhile, poked his head from around the reference shelf again, then, seeing Darla’s “all clear” nod, he led his customer toward the register. The mom-to-be was busily perusing one of the short stack of volumes she clutched, seemingly unaware of the unpleasantness that had just occurred.
Darla stepped aside to let Robert handle things, watching in approval as he zipped through the transaction like a pro. One of the advantages of his having grown up in an era when Baby’s First Toy was, more often than not, something electronic, she supposed. Her own favorite electronic toy took that opportunity to ring. A glance at the caller ID confirmed her guess that it was Jake on the line.
“Hey, kid, I was in the middle of a client conference call, so I just got your SOS,” came her friend’s concerned voice before Darla could get out a hello. “Hang tight. I’m headed up there right now.”
“Don’t worry, the crisis is over,” Darla assured her. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Go ahead and tell me about it now,” Jake replied, her voice in stereo as she stepped into the store.
Darla gave a wry smile as she hung up her cell. “A day late and a dollar short, as my dad always says,” she told her friend as Jake strode toward her. Darla glanced over at