Music of Souls

That produced a laugh from both of them and put the question to rest. "Let's see," said the shopkeeper, "I'd say a 42 long should work."

"Good then, let's have at it, chop, chop, in a bit of a hurry here."

Claudia put on a pout, thinking she had misread Jackson's intentions for her. He tapped her gently under the chin. "Don't worry sweetheart, I have plenty of time for you." She smiled and started rifling through the rack of suits. The shopkeeper pulled out a dark blue Jay Kos and a grey Armani. Claudia chose a black Valentino. "Great." said Jackson. "Ring 'em up."

"What? All three?"

"Yep, here's my card." He held out his American Express. The shopkeeper stood astounded, holding the two suits. Jackson could see this guy needed some motivation to move fast. He removed a hundred dollar bill from his money clip and waved it in front of the shopkeeper's nose. "This is yours if you get those puppies bagged and ready to go in under three minutes." The shopkeeper grabbed the Valentino from Claudia, the credit card from Jackson, and bolted to the register.

Jackson turned his attention to Claudia, who stood motionless. He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Don't you want to try those on?"

He would have loved to watch her ogle him as he strutted for her, but he didn't have time. "Not necessary, my tailor is a miracle worker."

"You just spent upwards of nine-thousand dollars on suits and you don't want to try them on?"

He leaned in to her, brushed his lips against her ear and whispered, "I've got a closet full of Caracenis and Brionis at home." He felt her shiver under his lips. Stepping back, he put on his most, "guilty as charged" smile. She returned the smile, yet still seemed unable to speak. "Let's get out of here," he said, taking her arm again. He dropped the bill on the counter, pocketed his card, and grabbed the garment bags.

"Come again!" called the shopkeeper behind them.

"Well, that was fun," Claudia said once she had composed herself.

Jackson stopped and gently pushed her against the brick wall they were walking by. He faced her and moved in close. He heard her sharp intake of breath and crooned, "I'm thinking we might have a different kind of fun together."

"What do you have in mind?"

"The Hotel Roseville is only a few blocks, why don't we go there and I'll show you just how much fun I can be. Would you like that?" He had taken a lock of her hair between his fingers and gently twirled it.