Tall Dark and Hungry(15)

She would have been off on her time estimate, however, Terri thought as she took care of business, then left the stall. She was in such a rush, her hands were still a bit damp from washing as she hurried out of the bathroom and up the hall toward where Bastien leaned patiently against the wall.

"I'm sorry,"she blurted as she reached him. "They were-"

"Cleaning the washroom and had half the stalls blocked off,"Bastien finished for her soothingly. "Yes, I know. One of the other shoppers told me. It's all right. Not your fault.»

"Oh."Terri relaxed, glad to know he hadn't been left wondering what on earth she could be up to all this time, and that he didn't seem angry about the wait. "Well, I was as quick as I could be.»

"I'm sure you were. Shall we go?»

Nodding, Terri fell into step beside him to walk back out into the store. She glanced at Bastien curiously as they walked, wondering what was different, then she realized that he didn't look quite as unwell as he had. He didn't look 100 percent, but getting him out of the sun had already brought about some improvement.

"You're feeling a bit better?"she asked.

"A bit,"he admitted. "Not back to normal yet, but I'm much improved.»

"Good."Terri smiled at him. "Perhaps a little more time out of the sun will right you completely.»

"That and a bit more lunch,"he agreed.

She looked at him with surprise. "Did you wander off and have something to eat while I was in the ladies' room?»

"What?"He glanced sharply at her as they stepped on the down escalator.

"You said a bit more lunch,"she pointed out.

"Oh."He relaxed again. "I meant a bit of lunch. I misspoke.»

"Oh."She nodded. "We could do that now if you like.»

"Let's shop around first,"he suggested as they reached the first floor. "It isn't quite noon yet, and we are here at Macy's. We may as well get a bit of shopping in. Then we can break for lunch and decide where you want to go next.»

"Okay."Terri agreed absently, her feet slowing as they passed the cashier who had been berated in such a humiliating manner earlier. The mean customer was still there, but her whole demeanor had changed. She was smiling apologetically and patting the girl's hand.

"I'm so sorry, dear. I don't know what I was thinking of, treating you that way. I shouldn't expect you to break the rules for me, and really-I don't even have the box for the toaster, do I? Please forgive my earlier behavior,"the woman was saying.

Terri's eyebrows rose. "Wow,"she whispered. "What an about-face.»

"Hmmm."Bastien just shrugged. "She must have got an attitude adjustment.»

"Well, no one needed it as much as she did, but it's still rather surprising. I wouldn't have believed that someone could change their attitude that swiftly if I hadn't just seen it.»

"Life is full of surprises,"he said mildly, then smiled at her. "So, where do you want to start? Women's wear? Jewelry? Perfume?»

"Are you getting tired?»

"No."Bastien glanced at Terri and forced a smile for her benefit. In truth, he was exhausted. The bitter old biddy he'd snacked on had eased the worst of his hunger, but not all of it, and he was still suffering. He could use another pint or so of blood, but hadn't had the opportunity to take one. And no one had seemed as appropriate a victim.

Bastien smiled to himself at the memory. He'd enjoyed changing that old woman's attitude. She'd been much more pleasant once he'd finished with her. Of course, it was just a temporary adjustment, but at least the salesclerk in the store had benefitted. Perhaps she wouldn't go home today hating her job, the public, and the world at large.

"Oh, look! Victoria's Secret."Terri stopped walking and simply stared at the storefront with pleasure.

Bastien smiled at her almost awed expression. The woman was so easily pleased. After shopping at Macy's they'd had lunch in a little deli, he picking at some sort of chicken sandwich they'd both ordered while she chattered away and devoured hers. The food actually tasted all right-pretty good, in fact-but after years of not eating, he didn't have the stomach for large quantities. After lunch they'd wandered, ducking into a music and discount DVD store. Terri had been very good about keeping to the shaded areas to keep him out of the sun. Now they stood in shadow under one of the many construction scaffolds that seemed to fill the city, and she gaped at the store across the street with its half-naked dummies in the window.

"We should go in,"Bastien suggested.

"Yes,"she breathed. Many women would have fussed that he, a man, would hardly have any interest in visiting a women's lingerie store. Then they would have said, "Well, all right,"as if really reluctant to drag him in, despite the fact that they were dying to go. Terri didn't bother with that. She wanted to go in; he had suggested she should, and she had agreed. End of story. It was wonderful.

"Come on."Taking her elbow, he urged her to the corner as the walk sign began to flash. They hustled across the street, reaching the opposite side and ducking into the Victoria's Secret just as the light turned red.

Terri paused inside the door, her gaze shifting quickly over everything. Perfumes and escalators were in the center, and silk and lace everywhere else. Bastien could almost imagine her mind working out where to go first. Left, right, up? She went left. A logical move, he silently approved. It allowed them to work the store in a clockwise fashion.

The first clerk they came across was friendly. She greeted them pleasantly and suggested they approach her if they had any questions, then she left them alone. Terri moved through the nighties in the area, oohing over this, ahhing over that, and at last they made their way around the store to the escalators and the second story full of panties and bras.

"Is there something I can help you with?"another woman asked.

Terri set down the pretty purple lace panties she'd been looking at and smiled. A beautiful, stick-thin model of a salesgirl was eyeing her in a condescending manner. "No, thanks,"she said. "I'm just looking.»

"Hmm."The woman pursed her lips and looked her over as if she were dog meat.

Bastien was off to the side, trying to stay out of the way. He had noticed that Terri seemed to flit about, looking here and there, and rarely stopping. He had found that if he followed her too closely, he ended up having to step to the side or backtrack to get out of the way as she whirled and changed direction. Such movements could be quite abrupt, as her eyes were constantly skating over the area ahead, and if she saw something that caught her eye, she beetled off toward it. If not, she veered off another way, or turned back. It was just easier to give her space to maneuver. But now Bastien moved forward, his protective instincts coming to the fore. This clerk obviously wasn't impressed with Terri's attire, her worn jeans and T-shirt.

"We'll call on you if we need any help,"he spoke up, drawing the woman's eye and her full attention.

Her attitude changed in a heartbeat, her lips un-pursing to become a warm smile. "Well, hello.»

The clerk spoke as if stumbling across a lovely treasure in her store. Bastien tried not to grimace. He was a good-looking man, and used to women paying him attention, but he had seen the way this one's eyes had skated from his face to the expensive watch he wore, to the family signet ring with the Argeneau A etched in diamonds. She smelled money, and liked the smell.

Bastien glanced toward Terri to see how she was reacting, only to find that she'd moved off and was now examining a rather pretty black satin bra that would look quite lovely on her. At least, it did in his mind as he imagined it. Forgetting about the clerk, he moved after Terri.

"That's lovely.»

"Yes, it is,"she agreed with a grin.

"There are matching panties for it."The clerk had followed, and now she couldn't be more helpful. Moving past them she returned with several pairs. "Let's see. I'm a small. That would make you… what?"She glanced down to consider Terri. "An extra-large?"she suggested innocently. Then she turned to Bastien and added in a husky voice, "I can model these for you.»

Bastien had to bite his lip as Terri's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She flushed, then seemed to go terribly calm. Her voice was kind when she spoke. "That won't be necessary, I'm sure. And no, I'm not an extra-large. But don't feel bad for making the error. It's the boobs,"she said bluntly. "It can be terrible being so well endowed. They often give the first impression that you're large everywhere."Her gaze dropped briefly over the woman's almost flat chest, and she commented, "You're lucky you don't have any at all to cause that problem.»

While the clerk choked on that, Terri added, "Don't worry, though, a little more experience in your career and I'm sure you'll get the hang of sizing your customers properly.»

Bastien grinned at the furious clerk over Terri's head, enjoying the woman's discomfort. Had he thought Terri needed protecting? Obviously not.

Terri turned to him and said, "I think I've had enough shopping for now. How about an ice cream?"She didn't wait for an answer, but marched off toward the escalator at a quick clip.

"You handled that beautifully,"Bastien said as he caught up to her.

"I was a bitch,"Terri responded. "And halfway through my ice cream I'm going to feel horrible for behaving so badly.»