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When it came to relationships, the challenge had been maintaining them. When he loved, he was all in. There was no in-between. Debra was the last woman he’d given his heart to, and she had handed it back with artillery shells in it. It hadn’t been loaned out since. There’d been women, but it was strictly physical, or as his grandmother put it, to get his ice-cream cone dipped once in a while. She w
as incorrigible. Cecile Mangum was a virtuoso at human nature, and seeing someone’s true colors. If Ivan could’ve done that half as well, he’d have saved himself a lot of heartache.
Debra’s deception had cut deep, but it was history. Ivan had survived. Now a new woman had caught his eye and breathed life back into him. She was exciting and beautiful.
Yes, definitely time to move on.
*
Tiffany spotted Ivan walk in. “Damn, you’re good! I love it,” she said excitedly.
“That’s good to hear,” he replied.
The Petite Boutique was not officially open, so they were alone.
“No, really. I love hearing the chime when the door opens. To know I’ve got 24/7 monitoring gives me a sense of security, and the surveillance feature…wow,” she exclaimed. “That I can be home and use my laptop to see the inside of my store blows my mind.”
It was hard not to get caught up in her excitement. Her eyes sparkled with it. Ivan was unable to keep from grinning, either. “Then I’ve done my job. I promised you Mission: Impossible, but on a budget,” he teased.
Ivan showed Tiffany more features and set up her surveillance program on her laptop. He helped her through the tutorial, as well as pointed out additional upgrades she could get later.
“Thank you for doing all this for me, Ivan.”
“It’s been my pleasure, Tiffany.”
Her associate, Celeste, walked through the door. When it chimed, the two shared a smile.
She walked him out. “So what’s next for you?”
“Jeannie asked me to conduct another senior safety class.”
“That sounds like fun.”
Suddenly, Ivan’s expression turned mischievous. “Great. I need an assistant.”
She stopped smiling. “Me? Huh? I… No, I couldn’t. I’d be terrible at it.”
“I doubt it. You said you’d taken self-defense classes before.”
“Yeah, but that was some time ago.”
“So you’re saying you can’t do it?”
There was a hint of challenge in his voice that ruffled Tiffany’s competitive side. She nodded before her cautious side could catch up. “I’ll do it. When is it?”
“Tonight. The name of the class will be on the door. If there’s a change, I’ll call you.”
“I don’t know, Ivan, I—”
Without warning, he held a finger up to her lips to silence her. She stilled.
“Tiffany?”
“Hmm?” She mumbled around his hand.
“Say yes.”
He moved his finger from her lips, but remained in close proximity.
