Not Quite Dating

Jack sat in the chair. “You just show me what you have, don’t worry about price.”

Sharon smiled, lifted her eyebrows, and then disappeared behind the drapes separating the store from the small storage room. When she returned, she brought a rolling pole and proceeded to show him half a dozen dresses.

“Hazel eyes spark with a little color,” she told him. She displayed an emerald green off-the-shoulder dress with sequins down the neck.

“Not that one.” It reminded him of a Christmas tree without a star.

The next one had only one shoulder sleeve, leaving the second shoulder bare. He liked the red silk, and the slit up the thigh had him imagining the possibilities. “Maybe,” he said.

Sharon placed it on a separate rack than the green one.

A cream skintight number with an open V at the top would be nice, but he knew from his own experience that most women stayed away from white. A silver sequin would be perfect for a New Year’s Eve party, but not right for Jessie on Saturday.

“What about this?” Sharon saved the best for last. “Women love wearing black and this one has the one-shoulder look you liked in the red. A simple slit up the back will keep the woman wearing it dancing throughout the night. I even have a wrap the lady can wear over her shoulders should she get cold.”

Perfect. Not too daring or suggestive. Elegant and slightly understated, but with Jessie’s figure, it would pop once she stepped in it. “You have shoes to match?”

“Of course. I even have a nice pair of jeweled earrings that will dangle from your lady’s ears. I don’t think a necklace will work with this neckline. If you’re against costume jewelry, Mitch over in fine jewelry has the real thing. He’s just down the hall.”

The image of Jessie walking toward him in the dress danced in his head. He could hardly wait. “I’ll take it.”

“And the earrings?”

“I’ll have to think about that,” he told her. If he were to show up with diamond earrings, Jessie would likely think ill of him. The last thing he needed was for Jessie to think he was a thief. She’d be a lot more comfortable in costume jewelry anyway, he told himself. Still, he didn’t really care for the sound of fake anything associated with Jessie.

Jack stood and reached for his wallet. From the front of the boutique, Sam walked in with a phone in his hand. “There you are, Mr. Morrison. Sorry to interrupt.”

Hearing his name, Sharon’s gaze narrowed before shooting up in surprise.

“No problem, Sam.”

“Mr. Morrison is on the phone, said he needed to talk to you.”

Jack reached for the phone Sam held. “Would you mind putting all this on here?” he asked Sharon, handing her his credit card.

She glanced at the card, then back to him. “Of course.”

“Hello, Dad,” Jack said as he placed the receiver to his ear. He turned away from the clerk and braced himself for his father’s outburst.

“Jack, what’s this I hear about you not coming home for Thanksgiving?” Gaylord’s gruff voice filled the earpiece of the phone, causing Jack to pull it away from his ear.

“I have a lot to do here. Getting away isn’t smart right now.”

“Horseshit, son. No one works on Thanksgiving.”

“Lots of people work over the holiday,” he corrected. “The hotels don’t close.”

“Still doesn’t mean you have to be there. The hotels run themselves.”

“I’ll try and get home for Christmas,” Jack offered.

“Try? Trying isn’t good enough. Aunt Bea won’t know what to do with herself if you aren’t here to cook for.”

Jack smiled, thinking of his aunt’s easy smile and quiet disposition. How she and his father were both children of the same parents and yet turned out so differently had always been a mystery. “Is Katie home?”

“Barely; she’s here but gone most of the time.” Disappointment laced Gaylord Morrison’s words. Neither Katie nor Jack spent as much time at the ranch as their father would have liked.

“I’ll give her a call and see if I can reel her in. I should have a break midmonth. I’ll come home for a few days then. Tell Aunt Bea to save some pie for me.”

His father grumbled a little more, but finally relented and hung up.

Strange how things had changed over the years. Gaylord had been an absentee father most of Jack’s childhood, building the hotel chain and taking over other, weaker chains, all of which took time and years. With Gaylord’s advancing age came the realization of what he had missed. Now he wanted it back. At least that’s what Jack thought. Had Jack told him the real reason he wasn’t returning to Texas for the holiday, Gaylord would be having his pilot fire up his jet so he could meet Jack’s lady friend.

Jack didn’t need that.

“All set to go, Mr. Morrison,” Sharon told him while she handed back his card and the box. “I went ahead and put in the earrings, no charge. Although it seems crazy charging you for anything at all…considering.”

“It’s all good, Sharon. It’s been a pleasure.” Jack tucked the box under his arm and left the boutique with a smug smile.

Unlike any other time he’d bought something for a woman he was attracted to, this time he’d done it for the sole purpose of making her happy. He wasn’t doing it to find a lover…not completely, anyway. In reality, he hadn’t taken a lover since Heather. Not because Heather broke something inside of him, but because he couldn’t see past the plastic facade the women he’d met wore.