and not to talk about their old girlfriends, either.
When the bell over the shop door pinged, she looked up, relieved to have her thoughts interrupted. When she saw who was entering, Charity felt her face grow warm. She slid her shoe back on, hardly noticing her pinched toes.
"Mr. London." She moved forward, trying to ignore the way her pulse skipped a beat when he smiled at her. She'd seen that wide smile in more than a few of her fantasies.
"Hi."
"We just got a new shipment of crystal last week," she said, stopping at the shelves near the front of the store where a series of delicate crystal creatures basked in the late-afternoon sun.
"I noticed. Let me see the Pegasus, would you?"
Charity handed him the small winged horse, oddly pleased that he'd chosen her favorite piece. He cupped it in his fingers, holding it up so that the sunlight poured through it. Charity studied him while he examined it.
It was odd how his face had come to mind while she was talking with Diane yesterday. It wasn't as if she really knew him, not on any personal level.
Gabriel London had been coming into Hoffman's for over a year. Every month or so he came in and bought one of the little crystal animals Mr. Hoffman imported from Europe. The small pieces were exquisitely crafted and priced accordingly. They had a number of customers who collected them but none who lingered in her thoughts like Gabriel London.
It was hard to say just what it was about him that made him so memorable. He wasn't enormously tall— an inch or so over six feet maybe. He was built on lean lines, all muscle and not much bulk.
His hair was medium brown, worn short but shaggy, as if he couldn't be bothered with keeping it tamed. His eyes were hazel, a rich amalgam of green and gold. His features were too long, too angular to be really handsome. His mouth was wide, bracketed by lines that said he smiled often. His chin was strong, stubbornly shaped. His nose was... well, rather noselike.
Nothing all that extraordinary. But somehow it all blended into a whole that was considerably greater than the sum of the parts. No mere physical catalog could capture the way his eyes wrinkled at the corners when he smiled. Or the way he moved with a sort of casual grace that made her heart beat just a little faster than it had any business doing.
"What do you think?"
Charity blinked. What did she think? She'd been so wrapped up in analyzing Gabriel London that for an instant she thought he was asking her opinion of himself.
"Think?"
"Of the Pegasus," he prompted.
"The Pegasus. Of course." She blinked at the small crystal figure in his hand, trying to shift her thinking.
"Mind on other things?" he asked.
"Just drifted off, I guess. Sorry."
"No problem. Daydreams are a sign of an intelligent mind."
"According to whom?"
"According to me," he said, giving her that grin that never failed to make her heart skip.
"I'm not sure my boss would buy that philosophy," she told him with1 a smile.
"A slave driver?" he asked sympathetically.
"No. But he's not much inclined to encourage daydreaming on the j ob."
"Too bad." He held the Pegasus up so that the sunlight streamed through it. The delicate wings seemed to quiver with life. If she narrowed her eyes, Charity could almost believe it was about to take flight.
"It looks alive, doesn't it," he said, reading her thoughts.
"Yes. It's a lovely piece." She reached out to touch one finger to the proudly arched little head, half-surprised to feel cool glass beneath her touch, rather than the warmth of a living creature.
"It's hard to believe that a human being could create something so exquisite," he murmured, talking to himself as much as to her.
"It's nice to be reminded of the good things we're capable of."
"Yes."
He looked past the Pegasus, his eyes meeting hers. Charity felt her color rise, and she hoped he'd attribute it to the warmth of the sun that poured in the front windows. She could suddenly hear Diane's voice suggesting
When the bell over the shop door pinged, she looked up, relieved to have her thoughts interrupted. When she saw who was entering, Charity felt her face grow warm. She slid her shoe back on, hardly noticing her pinched toes.
"Mr. London." She moved forward, trying to ignore the way her pulse skipped a beat when he smiled at her. She'd seen that wide smile in more than a few of her fantasies.
"Hi."
"We just got a new shipment of crystal last week," she said, stopping at the shelves near the front of the store where a series of delicate crystal creatures basked in the late-afternoon sun.
"I noticed. Let me see the Pegasus, would you?"
Charity handed him the small winged horse, oddly pleased that he'd chosen her favorite piece. He cupped it in his fingers, holding it up so that the sunlight poured through it. Charity studied him while he examined it.
It was odd how his face had come to mind while she was talking with Diane yesterday. It wasn't as if she really knew him, not on any personal level.
Gabriel London had been coming into Hoffman's for over a year. Every month or so he came in and bought one of the little crystal animals Mr. Hoffman imported from Europe. The small pieces were exquisitely crafted and priced accordingly. They had a number of customers who collected them but none who lingered in her thoughts like Gabriel London.
It was hard to say just what it was about him that made him so memorable. He wasn't enormously tall— an inch or so over six feet maybe. He was built on lean lines, all muscle and not much bulk.
His hair was medium brown, worn short but shaggy, as if he couldn't be bothered with keeping it tamed. His eyes were hazel, a rich amalgam of green and gold. His features were too long, too angular to be really handsome. His mouth was wide, bracketed by lines that said he smiled often. His chin was strong, stubbornly shaped. His nose was... well, rather noselike.
Nothing all that extraordinary. But somehow it all blended into a whole that was considerably greater than the sum of the parts. No mere physical catalog could capture the way his eyes wrinkled at the corners when he smiled. Or the way he moved with a sort of casual grace that made her heart beat just a little faster than it had any business doing.
"What do you think?"
Charity blinked. What did she think? She'd been so wrapped up in analyzing Gabriel London that for an instant she thought he was asking her opinion of himself.
"Think?"
"Of the Pegasus," he prompted.
"The Pegasus. Of course." She blinked at the small crystal figure in his hand, trying to shift her thinking.
"Mind on other things?" he asked.
"Just drifted off, I guess. Sorry."
"No problem. Daydreams are a sign of an intelligent mind."
"According to whom?"
"According to me," he said, giving her that grin that never failed to make her heart skip.
"I'm not sure my boss would buy that philosophy," she told him with1 a smile.
"A slave driver?" he asked sympathetically.
"No. But he's not much inclined to encourage daydreaming on the j ob."
"Too bad." He held the Pegasus up so that the sunlight streamed through it. The delicate wings seemed to quiver with life. If she narrowed her eyes, Charity could almost believe it was about to take flight.
"It looks alive, doesn't it," he said, reading her thoughts.
"Yes. It's a lovely piece." She reached out to touch one finger to the proudly arched little head, half-surprised to feel cool glass beneath her touch, rather than the warmth of a living creature.
"It's hard to believe that a human being could create something so exquisite," he murmured, talking to himself as much as to her.
"It's nice to be reminded of the good things we're capable of."
"Yes."
He looked past the Pegasus, his eyes meeting hers. Charity felt her color rise, and she hoped he'd attribute it to the warmth of the sun that poured in the front windows. She could suddenly hear Diane's voice suggesting