A Secondhand Murder (33 page)

Yeah, I saw the ulterior motives behind his ‘overheated' reference.

He spread out a blanket and sat down, then patted the space beside him.

“
Just a minute.” I walked away from the nest he'd prepared and wandered closer to the water.

“
Here they are.” Joy bubbled in my throat. I could barely get the words out.

“
Here what is?” He got up and came over to me.

“
My Jimmy Choos.”

“
Whose shoes?”

“
My favorite strappy stilettos.” I gave them an adoring onceover; they were still linked together by the straps. But, oh, the straps! They were so shredded that it looked like strands of linguini were hanging from the shoe. And the heels. No longer three inches high. One was sporting a stubby inch. The other was missing the heel entirely. Something had been chewing on them.

I cradled the mess in my arms and began to cry.

“
Eve, honey. I'll buy you a new pair.”

“
I don't want a new pair. I want
this
pair.”

“
Well, I'll buy you a better pair. Come sit down with me.” He caressed my arm, and I could feel goose bumps travel from my fingers to my shoulder. Maybe I could forget about the shoes.

“
Really? A better pair?”

“
Sure, sweetie.” He took my chin in his hand and turned my face to his. The kiss he delivered made the goose bumps retreat, only to be replaced by Jell-O knees and a gleeful jump of my stomach.

“
They cost over three hundred dollars.”

He stopped kissing me.

“
How much?”

“
Three hundred twenty six dollars and fifty five cents. Maybe I can find them at a consignment shop for less.”

We resumed our kiss.

Lesley A. Diehl
retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York. In the winter she migrates to old Florida--cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post office. Back north, she devotes her afternoons to writing and, when the sun sets, relaxing on the bank of her trout stream, sipping tea or a local microbrew. You can find Lesley online at www.lesleydiehl.com.