Packed With Pleasure

Irritated with himself, he racked his brain for something else to say. “My sister Sarah Armstrong got married in April and someone gave her one of your baskets as a gift. She said it made the honeymoon.”

“Yes. The Ramsey-Armstrong wedding. I believe her basket was called Palm Tree Passion. Were you wanting to order something similar for your friend?”

“Wow,” Alec said, impressed. “That’s some kind of memory.”

“It’s a Montgomery family trait,” she replied. “Although it often comes in handy when running a business, vividly remembering everything that happened to you can sometimes be a minus.”

A brief wistfulness moved across her face and Alec experienced a rush of empathy. There were quite a few things in his life he was glad remained fuzzy. Like his father’s fatal heart attack, and the time he busted up his leg during a motorcycle race.

Mentally he shook his head, still unable to believe he’d not only survived but had in fact thrived. He’d come so far. From the scrappy kid who got involved in one daredevil stunt after another as a way of dealing with his father’s death to the well-respected editor in chief of a very successful men’s magazine. He had gone from borderline poverty to being rich beyond his wildest dreams, and he owed his success to his uncle Mac and the ability to face his fears head-on and defy them.

“My baskets are each original creations,” Eden said, breaking into his memory. “Tailor-made for the recipient. Can you tell me a little more about your friend?”

“Randy?” Alec grinned. “He’s a hotdogger and a half. A balls-to-the-wall no-fear sort of guy.” His grin disappeared. “But he’s been different ever since he met Jill.”

“Different?”

“You know. He’s love-struck. Has this dopey smile on his face all the time. Doesn’t want to do the things he used to do.”

“His priorities have shifted.”

“Yeah,” he said nostalgically, already missing their bachelor high jinks. He was happy for Randy, but he knew things would never be the same between them again.

“And what’s his fiancée like?”

Alec was incredibly aware of exactly how close they were standing. Eden was near enough to touch. He could feel the very air vibrating between them.

“Jill’s nice. Quiet. Not the type I pictured him with.”

“And what type is that?”

“Well, Randy is so bold I guess I always imagined him with someone a bit more…” He hesitated.

How to put this so it didn’t sound as if he didn’t like Jill. He did like her. She was very sweet. Demure, a little shy and very brainy. It’s just that he couldn’t figure out why this particular woman? How had Randy known that, above all the other women in the world, Jill was the one? His buddy had dated women who were certainly more beautiful, more adventuresome, more sophisticated. Why her? Why now? How was she different from the rest?

“Yes?” Eden prompted.

“Flashy. I pictured him with a colorful, flamboyant woman.”

“From what you tell me, Randy seems pretty flamboyant all on his own.”

“He is.”

“So maybe opposites attract?”

Their gazes met and that same arc of electricity that had called to him on the street surged again with startling clarity. Opposites attract, eh? What about this sudden chemistry between them? They were anything but opposites. A woman who spent her days concocting erotic fantasies had to be just as sexually adventurous as he.

“Maybe. They’re doing this second virginity thing. Personally, I don’t get it, but Randy claims they’re not having sex until after the wedding to prove their love for each other.” He shrugged.

“Randy’s newfound celibacy and choice of mates isn’t what’s really bothering you, is it? It’s the simple fact he’s getting married.”

“Bothering me?” Alec stepped back. “Who says I’m bothered about Randy getting married.”

“You’re losing your stag partner.”

“What?” He blinked at her.

“When Randy got engaged to Jill, you no longer had someone to go chasing babes with. No strip-club buddy. No one with whom to take potshots at married life. Plus, as his business partner you’re fretting that his marriage will affect his career choices.”

Alec stared, open mouthed. He was taken aback by her insight. How could she know that ever since Randy met Jill he’d felt not only left out but also worried about the future of their business?

It was one thing for two carefree bachelors to publish a magazine called Single Guy. It was quite another for one of those bachelors to be shackled in matrimony. Alec feared Randy would forget how to connect with their happily single readership and the magazine would lose its competitive edge.

And secretly, in the dark recesses of his mind, in a place he refused to acknowledge existed, Alec was jealous. Not of married life. Oh, no. He realized that particular institution wasn’t for him, but of the special closeness Jill and Randy shared. Seeing them together sometimes made him wonder if indulging in daredevil sports, hopping from trendy nightclub to trendy nightclub, attending lavish parties, and wining and dining local celebrities was all there was to life.

He hated being forced to examine his lifestyle choices.

What he needed in order to shake off this woefully inappropriate “third wheel” feeling was a good old-fashioned fling with a woman who knew lots of naughty bedroom tricks. Indulging in the thrill of the chase never failed to lift his spirits.

And from the looks of this erotic shop and the seethe of sexual chemistry oozing between them, he suspected Eden was exactly the kind of woman he was looking for. And he was already having wickedly wonderful thoughts about how to please her in bed.

She was asking him more questions about Jill and Randy. What kind of fabrics they liked, their favorite movies, their mood music.

But Alec wasn’t listening. All he could think about was kissing those luscious lips of hers.

“I had no idea this process was so involved,” he said, but he was thinking, How can I get you into my arms?

“Oh, yes.” She nodded. “When you buy an Eden Montgomery original you’re getting much more than sex toys in a basket. You’re purchasing a gift of art from the heart as well as a treat for the senses.”

Man, did he want to experience her treats firsthand. She was exactly what the doctor ordered. A shot of pure sexual adventure to chase away his “my-best-friend-is-getting-married” blues.

“Sarah did say she’d never seen anything quite like your baskets.”

“I must warn you, gift consultation can take as long as an hour.”

“No kidding.”

“I’m a stickler for details, but you can rest assured your friends will appreciate your gift. I guarantee my work.”

A brilliant idea occurred to him. Alec checked his watch. “If the consultation takes an hour then I can’t do this today. I’ve got an appointment in Midtown in forty-five minutes. Plus I don’t have all the data you need. How about this—I talk to Randy, find out more about Jill’s likes and dislikes.” He reached into a pocket for his business card and passed it over to her. “You drop by my office around one tomorrow afternoon, I’ll buy you lunch for your trouble and we can do the consultation then. How does that sound?”

Eden accepted his card and stared down at it. She hesitated a moment and his heart did that idiotic beat-skipping thing again.

She’s going to say no, he thought, and his spirits plummeted.

What in the hell was the matter with him? He hadn’t been this nervous since his high school prom. Blame his uncharacteristic anxiety on a long dry spell.

Speaking of second virginity, he’d been celibate for the past eight months. Not because he hadn’t had plenty of opportunities, but simply because no one had excited him to the point of making an effort.