I smiled at him.
He smiled back.
Thank goodness for not refusing. Seems as if dear Dano was my saving grace today. He’d eaten with Buzz earlier, but graciously offered to meet me for coffee, which I took as a good sign.
“I feel a bit overdressed for this place,” I said, knowing it was stupid small talk, but Dano-make that most guys-didn’t do small talk very well. Actually, they didn’t talk nearly as much as women, and when there was a lull in the conversation, I always felt obligated to fill in the dead airspace.
Dead airspace. I was full of lousy analogies today.
He looked at me. His eyes drifted down toward my hint of cleavage. Actually, when I bought the dress under Goldie’s impeccable taste and guidance, it fit differently. There was no cleavage. At least that’s the way it was after Goldie tucked here and there and then let me look in the mirror and insisted I buy it.
When I dressed today though, there was about a two-inch cleavage that I couldn’t tuck away. Gotta love my Goldie!
And apparently Dano couldn’t help noticing too.
I felt like a naughty nurse, but leaned a bit forward. He said, “You look fine.”
Fine? I gathered a statement like that coming from ER Dano could be likened to a compliment from Jagger. “Fine” was like the word “fantastic” in a normal guy’s vocabulary. I had actually convinced myself that it was so.
As I had convinced myself that ER Dano and Jagger were not normal, run-of-the-mill guys.
Way too delicious for that!
He took a sip of his black coffee and looked at me, his eyes drifting occasionally to my chest as he spoke. “Pansy is in recovery now.”
“Oh, wow. Good. Then she survived the surgery.” I nodded. “That’s great.” How I wanted to ask if I could talk to her, but realized I would have to do it on my own. I’d snuck into places before and was getting quite good at it. Besides, who’d question me in my scrubs? Certain there’d be police guards outside her door, I’d have to come up with something. Although lying was not my strong suit, I was getting better and better at it. Hey, practice makes perfect, Stella Sokol always said. However, I’m quite certain she never meant to use it for lying.
In fact, I know she never meant to use it for lying. She was the main reason I stunk at lying-her and “Sister Mary I Can Get Away With Anything I Want Because I’m a Nun.” I think I had her throughout all eight years of Catholic School, and still had the scars on my knuckles from the wooden ruler to prove it.
Dano sipped at his coffee, and I realized my mind wandering had caused a lull, the dead-airspace thing. Natch, he didn’t fill it, but merely looked at me over the rim of his mug.
I owed Goldie for the cleavage.
“So, are you going back to the hospital to see her tonight?”
Dano looked confused, and well he should. There seemed to be no love lost between he and Pansy. Make that Pansy and any employee, so I guessed her room was not going to be filled with get-well cards, balloons or flowers.
What a sad life to be so disliked.
And, damn it, what a difficult case now, since there could possibly be a gazillion suspects! I made a mental note to ask Jagger…damn him…if he’d gotten anything from the lieutenant.
I would give Jagger credit in that he did share what he learned with me if it pertained to my case. For as competitive as he seemed, he did try to help me be the best investigator I could be. He taught me well.
But just what was he teaching Airbrush Lady?
I told myself to stop that and shoved a spoonful of my clam chowder into my mouth.
“Nice day, weather-wise,” Dano said, taking me by surprise.
I nodded, yet hadn’t paid attention. The day had flown by so far. When I looked out the diner’s window, I noticed everyone with shorts, hats, tees or sunglasses on and a gentle breeze said it must be a gorgeous New England day. Very low humidity.
I swallowed. “You’re right. It is.” After several minutes, I had finished my meal pretty much in disappointing silence. ER Dano was a pip. Quite possibly harder to figure out than Jagger-which seemed like a monumental impossibility.
He paid the check even though I insisted I should, we walked out the door-with a dull disappointment in my gut-and I turned toward my Volvo.
“Give me your address, Nightingale.”
I swung around, scowling. “Huh?”
“Be ready in an hour. Can’t let this day go to waste.” With that he turned and walked toward his white pickup truck.
Ready? Ready? How ready? “Hey, wait!”
He turned around.
“Wear what?” I shaded my eyes with my hand since the late-afternoon sun was so crisp, clear and bright. “What should I be ready for?”
He looked at me as if I should have known. “Beach.”
I gave him my address and he waved away my directions and I had no doubt ER Dano could find me. And not because he drove an ambulance and knew the entire town of Hope Valley and surrounding areas.
Nope.
ER Dano always got what he wanted. Of that I was quite certain. Always? Hmm?
Watch out, Pauline!
“I think the pink is better than the peacock blue,” Goldie said as he hustled about me, stepping over the pile of clothes on the floor. My clothes. On my bedroom floor! And me standing there in my bra and white jeans without a hint of embarrassment in front of these two jokers. I didn’t even have to tell myself it was like a bathing-suit top.
Miles hurried out of my closet. “Gold…hon, blue has always made her pale gray eyes look more silver. More noticeable. And she needs that with her hair. You know, so light next to that skin.”
Goldie leaned into me as he held up the blue spandex top close to my face. “I see what you mean, but it also makes her pale complexion look…well, forgive me, Suga, but paler. No. She needs more help than blue.”
I grabbed the top from him. “You two busybodies are going to make me late. I’ll wear yellow.”
They both screeched.
I shook my head and laughed. “Well, it’s only a trip to the beach. I’m sure we’ll just walk along the boardwalk and besides; I’ll need my denim jacket. With the sea breeze, it’s probably cooler down there. So it almost doesn’t matter what I have on underneath.”
Goldie grabbed the blue top from my hands and stuck the pink one in its place. “Jacket schmacket. Make sure you wear uncovered spandex long enough for him to get a load of your perky-”
I smacked him on the arm.
“You two are pathetic.” I looked Goldie in the eye. “And stop trying to force another guy on me ’cause you don’t want me interested in Jagger!”
Goldie’s face dropped.
“Damn it.” I hurried toward him and wrapped my arms around his gigantic frame. “Sorry. I’m sorry, Gold. I know you always have my best interest in mind and keep telling me that Jagger is addictive, like cocaine, and will mess me up. I know. I know.” I felt him lift his head and in the mirror behind him, noticed him grin. I pushed him away. “You shit!”
Miles broke out into hysterical laughter, and it was at that moment that I knew I loved these two as my best friends and couldn’t move out of there anytime soon. It really didn’t feel as if I were an intrusion.
Besides, I couldn’t freaking afford it yet.
A bad choice in cosigning a car loan for an ex-friend and a bad addiction to a shopping habit, which I’d curtailed immensely lately, would keep me there a bit longer.
“I’m gonna be late if we keep this up.” I grabbed the pink top-since in reality, Goldie was the fashion expert-and said, “Gold, do my makeup. Please? I’ll wear the stinking pink.”