If the Stiletto Fits...

Dalton took a sip of the whiskey the waitress brought, then grinned. “Any woman who showed up at my door wearing those high-assed shoes I saw in that ad on Fifth…Whoa, baby.”

The ad was provocative—showing a woman from behind, wearing no top as she smiled teasingly over her shoulder and dressed in a short, black skirt, fish-nets and a pair of Lily’s red stilettos.

Cindy leaned forward, and James feared they all might get to know her a little too familiarly if she made that motion then drew a deep breath. “You’re the one who works for Lily Reaves?”

She said Lily’s name with the same breathy quality he’d witnessed in countless women the last several months. Women apparently worshiped shoes with the same fervor as men worshiped sports. Or women.

“She makes the most amazing shoes,” Cindy continued. “I’ve got on a pair now, in fact.” She lifted her leg above the table, obviously intending to show everyone, but Dalton tamped her down.

James exchanged a look with Teresa, who grinned at him and shrugged. Their quiet dinner was turning into a sideshow, with Lily being the topic of conversation. Gracious didn’t even begin to cover the woman’s positive qualities.

Yep, she’d fit into his plans perfectly.

3

BACK IN HER APARTMENT, but still dressed in her Brian-the-disastrous-date pantsuit, Lily punched in Gwen’s cell-phone number. “I need you,” she said without ceremony.

“Now? We’re at the Tiger, Lil.”

“I know.”

“I just saw some big-time rapper.”

“Who?”

“Don’t know his name, but he ordered champagne for the entire bar, so that qualifies as cool in my book.” She paused, slurping. “What’s up?”

“James is retiring. Brian proposed.”

Silence. Then, “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Duh! I’m officially having a pity party. Where are you?”

“I’m having a free freakin’ glass of champagne.”

“I’m drinking alone.”

“I’m now draining said glass and signaling Kristin. We’re on our way.” Her voice became muffled, then she came back clearer. “Any particular reason for retirement or proposal?”

“James wants to open a café in Connecticut. Brian thinks I’m a vulnerable woman who needs his protection.”

“I won’t even touch the vulnerable-woman thing, ’cause that’s just stupid, but what the hell is so interesting about Connecticut?”

“Exactly my reaction.”

“Okay, hang on. We’re on our way.”

By the time they arrived, Lily had pulled cold pizza from the fridge again and was drinking chardonnay straight out of the bottle. She leaned against the door and let her friends in the apartment.

“Give me that!” Kristin said, snatching the bottle. “For God’s sake, you can at least use a glass.”

Lily sniffled. “Why? My life is over.”

Gwen grabbed her arm, dragged her over to the couch, then pulled her down and sat beside her. “Stay.”

Lily slid her arm from her friend’s grasp and was about to shove another bite of pizza in her mouth when Gwen grabbed that, too. Man, that woman was tough. She had a reputation for tough, and Lily knew better than anybody just how truly deserved it was.

She, Gwen and Kristin had met about five years ago at a women’s business seminar. They’d all been out of school for a few years—Lily from the fashion institute, Gwen from NYU and Kristin from the Pink Petal School of Hair and Cosmetology. Lily had been working for a top designer at the time, but he never let her share her creativity or have any input into the designs. The others had had similar experiences, so, frustrated working for other people, each of them had decided to open her own business—and had absolutely no idea what the hell they were doing.

Over the years they’d shared ideas, triumphs and setbacks in both their business and personal lives. Lily was more grateful for their friendship than just about anything.

Kristin brought glasses, the wine bottle and ice bucket into the den, arranging everything on the coffee table. Then, when she saw the pizza, sent Gwen into the kitchen for a decent snack.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the sofa, Kristin stared at Lily. “Let’s start with Brian.”

She huffed out a breath. “Why? I don’t care about Brian.” How whiny could she get? She hated how this was affecting her so adversely, but, damn, she really hadn’t seen a day this awful coming.

“But maybe I’ll understand a little better how you got in this state,” Kristin said.

Gwen—her tall, thin body encased in a spectacular bronze dress, her dark hair pulled up loose and sexy on her head—shoved aside a stack of magazines, then set a plate of grapes and cheese on the coffee table. Lily’s gaze shifted to Kristin—a voluptuous blonde, who wore a body-skimming pale pink pantsuit.

She’d really messed up her friends’ night out. Since they looked as great as they did, she felt doubly guilty. “I shouldn’t have dragged you guys over here.”

Kristin waved her hand. “Forget it. We weren’t having that good a time, anyway.”

As she was settling on the other end of the sofa, Gwen opened her mouth, looking as if she might argue, but bit into a grape instead.

“So, Gwen told me Brian thought you were vulnerable and that’s why he proposed.”

“What I want to know,” Gwen said, “is whether you kneed him in the balls or ground your stiletto into his foot.”

Lily tossed back her hair. “Neither. I showed great restraint.”

Kristin grinned. “That’s a first.”

“He also said I needed a partner who’d support and understand me.” Lily frowned. “I’ve got James. What do I need with a partner?”

Kristin pursed her lips. “He probably meant an emotional partner, someone to share your life with.”

Lily waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m not ready for a commitment like that. Besides, I’ve got friends.”

“What about sex?” Gwen asked.

Lily gulped her wine. “According to my cabbie, marriage isn’t a guarantee of that, either.” And she was going to give her sister hell about that the next time they talked. She’d never felt as though she fit in with her conservative, country-loving family, though she’d never all out said she was against something as basic to human life as marriage. But this whole lack-of-sex thing had her reassessing.

“My cousin says the same thing,” Kristin added. “Says she and her husband never do it anymore.”

“I wasn’t that interested in Brian, anyway,” Lily said, then, sighing—the whole deal really was pretty embarrassing—she recounted her conversation with Brian, including his revelation that he wanted a sugar mama.