In reply, he pulled the cord over his head, then pressed the tourmaline into his bare skin for a moment.
"No," he replied firmly. "It stays right here. This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me."
She smiled, pleased that he seemed so touched by the present. "It's not very expensive, you know," she chided. "A close friend of mine owns a metaphysical shop in the Castro district and gave me a good deal on it."
Matthew shook his head. "You could have picked it out of a bubble gum machine for all I care. It doesn't matter in the least to me how much it cost, because the real value is the thought that went into it. I'll always treasure it, Sasha, because you gave it to me."
The look in his eyes as he gazed down at her was both tender and almost frighteningly intense at the same time, enough so that she glanced away quickly, not wanting to think about what that sort of look might really mean.
"Now, didn't you mention something about champagne and dessert?" she asked brightly, intentionally lightening up the very serious mood. "I seem to have worked up something of an appetite."
Chapter Eleven
Mid-January
"You know, when I first saw that dress, I thought it might not be the right color for you, given that your hair and skin are close to the same shade. But I couldn't have been more wrong. It's perfect for you, Sasha. And I'm totally impressed that you found such a gorgeous dress in a consignment store. You've got great taste."
Sasha gave Julia a lopsided grin. "Well, I can't take all the credit, I'm afraid. I know how difficult it is for you to get around these days, and Tessa was busy with all the last minute details for your baby shower. So, since I didn't want to bother either of you, I took my landlords with me."
Tessa frowned. "Both of them? I thought you told me only one had good fashion sense."
Sasha's grin quickly changed to a grimace. "That would be Chad. The one who actually found this dress in the racks. The other one is Julio, who tried to help but unfortunately kept pulling out the most atrocious things I've ever seen. I can't believe anyone actually bought those dresses in the first place, and that now there's someone else willing to put out good money for them."
Julia wrinkled her nose, then winced when one or both of the twins gave her a kick, before rubbing her swollen belly soothingly. "Ouch! These two devils are really active today. I hope they don't decide to kick me again when I'm in the middle of lining your eyes, Sasha. Otherwise, your makeup might turn out a little scary looking."
"You look gorgeous," Tessa told Sasha warmly. "Absolutely gorgeous. And that's without a lick of makeup or any accessories. Julia's right - that dress could have been made for you. You're lucky it didn't need any alterations."
Sasha shrugged. "Just a couple of minor things that I was able to do myself. I learned how to be handy with a needle and thread when I was still a young girl. There were always last minute repairs that had to be made to our costumes before a competition or performance."
She had told her two friends about the years she had competed in ballroom dance as a child and adolescent, relieved to discover that she could actually laugh about some of the experiences now.
"You know, we're still waiting to see pictures of you from back then," reminded Julia, who was sipping peppermint tea and nibbling on one of the snickerdoodle cookies that Tessa had baked that morning. "And don't try and lie and say you don't have any, because we won't believe you."
"Unfortunately, there may be a few tucked away in the deep, dark recesses of a bureau drawer somewhere," she admitted reluctantly. "I'll show them to you someday. But I'll warn you now, you probably won't even recognize me. I showed them to Julio once, and he said I was wearing more makeup than a female impersonator. He should know - apparently he was one at some really sordid point in his life that I don't think I want to hear about."
Tessa gave a delicate little shudder. "Agreed. But I'm with Julia - I do want to see those pictures one of these days. And we'll make sure to keep the makeup for tonight very light."
Julia nodded emphatically. "No one is going to mistake you for a dude trying to look like a woman. Now, go take the dress off for now so we can glam you up a bit."
Obediently Sasha walked out of Tessa's lavish master bathroom into the bedroom, and carefully shimmied out of the one-shouldered, pale gold silk Grecian-styled gown. Tessa had thoughtfully left a spare bathrobe on the bed for Sasha to wear while having her makeup and hair done, and she slipped into it after carefully hanging up the dress.