Always Friday Read Free Page A

somewhere
under all that Armani baloney. He needed loosening up in a bad way. And she was
just the person to tweak his buttoned-down sensibilities.
    “Which translates,” she said with a wry twist of her lips, “to
I wouldn’t be caught dead driving such a thing.’ “
    “Now, I didn’t say that.”
    She laughed. “You didn’t have to. I’ll bet you drive a
Mercedes.” She squinted at him for a moment. “Brown.”
    “Gray.”
    “Close enough.”
    He seemed surprised. “How did you know?”
    “Lucky guess.” She could spot the type at fifty paces. Her
old Mercedes had been beige. She much preferred Buttercup.
    “I know you’re in a hurry, but could you explain Gram’s
sudden interest in racetracks and RVs? I’m concerned.”
    “Well, Pirate’s Pleasure is a racehorse Aunt Olivia and Aunt
Martha want to buy, and—”
    “A racehorse?” The words erupted from him. Looking at her
with a pained expression as if his shorts were too tight, he mashed his fingers
against the tail of his silk tie. “What the hell would two old ladies do with a
racehorse?”
    If he was upset about the racehorse, he’d probably blow a
gasket over the RV and the treasure-hunting scheme. She’d wait and let his
grandmother explain that one. Tess glanced down at her watch.
    “Yikes, it’s almost nine o’clock. Becky will kill me if the
delivery wagon isn’t ready.” Giving him a bright smile, she scrambled into the
car and fluttered her fingers. “Bye. I’ve got to run. Be sure and make yourself
at home. I’ll see you later,” she called out as she roared away from the curb.
    *    *    *
    Just as Janice and Sue came in to work the evening shift at
the Mermaid, Ivan phoned. He reported that Dan was reading in the study, and
that Hook and the ladies had phoned from Louisiana. Thrilled to hear that Dan
was in town, they promised to be back in time for dinner. Tess peeled off her
stained apron and hurried to the house on Broadway.
    After she had bathed, Tess slipped on a long tube dress slit
from left ankle to knee and turned the convertible turtleneck into an
off-the-shoulder band. Though she considered this cotton knit dress one of her
most comfortable, the bold purple and teal-swirled fabric also hugged every
curve of her body. And a good body it was, she admitted as she surveyed herself
critically in the full-length mirror. Especially since she’d stopped spending
her days behind a desk.
    She spritzed a bit of scent on her throat and brushed her
short hair back into full gleaming waves. She even took time to add a touch of
exotic eye shadow and a dash of lipstick. She told herself it wasn’t for Daniel
Friday, but, as she studied her reflection in the mirror, she kept trying to
picture herself in his eyes. Her chin lifted and her shoulders drew back just a
tad.
    With a wry smile, she cocked an eyebrow and said, “Maybe I’ll
give you a little something to remember on those cold nights in Pittsburgh, Mr.
Friday.”
    She added a few bangle bracelets, and dangling peacock
feather earrings that brushed against her bare skin, then slipped into Moroccan
sandals and went downstairs.
    Ivan and Dan were having drinks in the large formal drawing
room. Tess entered the room and smiled as she listened to the booming voice of
the older man regaling Dan with one of his exploits. Ivan, who dearly loved a
fresh audience, was perched on the edge of a gilt chair, gesturing broadly. He
looked totally out of place in the high-ceilinged room with its Aubusson
carpet, gold chandelier, and rococo revival furniture. The beefy Bulgarian wore
a Greek fisherman’s sweater, his latest sartorial passion, stretched over his
thick chest.
    Dan, in his navy blazer, seemed more comfortable on the
elaborately carved settee where he sat listening politely to Ivan’s tale. He
had on a fresh shirt and another conservative tie, the spares, no doubt, which
every good executive carried in his trusty leather briefcase. Before either of
the men was