Reflected Pleasures by Linda Conrad

going to like Juanita,” Ty said casually as they strolled toward the department store for her appointment.
    The man didn’t seem fazed by the heat. He was still as cool and crisp in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans as he had been hours ago when he’d first walked into the office.
    But riding around the countryside with him and being so close was driving Merri crazy—and making her body temperature rise higher than ever.
    She would’ve thought that being sweaty would cool any erotic longings she might have. But no. If anything, having perspiration inch its way down between her breasts was causing her mind to automatically form images of tangled bodies and blazing hot passion.
    But those kinds of thoughts would never do. She and Ty were on the verge of forming a true friendship. There were hardly any strained silences between them anymore.
    Hopefully, he had put their one kiss out of his mind. She only wished she could’ve done the same. But just when she was laughing at some joke he’d told—or whenever they were quietly discussing his plans for the future of the Foundation. That’s the time when the memory of his arms around her, taking her lips and making her blood sing, came back to haunt her—and make her long for more.
    As Ty would say, Shoot. And dang it all.
    â€œI hope Juanita will be able to help us with clothes donations,” Merri managed to say, trying hard not to think of kissing him again.
    â€œI’m sure she will,” Ty said with a smile. “Juanita is a big shot in the fashion industry. She’s headquartered in New York and is the national sales manager for some huge design firm. She comes back to Texas a couple of times a quarter to check on sales here. I’d guess she knows lots about modeling shows.”
    â€œOh?” Uh-oh.
    They entered the department store and asked forJuanita. A nice clerk called to some office and then directed them to the second-floor specialty boutique.
    Merri had a bad feeling about this. Even in the cold blast of air-conditioning that had felt so good at first, the sweat broke out on her forehead. There probably weren’t two people in high positions in the New York fashion world that she didn’t know—and most she knew very well.
    Her mind was racing, first trying to place a Juanita that she might know from the New York scene. And second, trying to figure some way out of her appointment altogether.
    â€œThere she is,” Ty said as they stepped off the escalator. “Hey, Janie!” he called, trying to capture a woman’s attention on the other side of the floor.
    Janie? Oh my God. No. Not Janie Ramirez. It couldn’t be.
    â€œJanie?” she asked with trepidation. “I thought her name was Juanita.”
    â€œOh, sure. Janie is a nickname. ’Round here she goes by both, but in New York I understand they only know her by Janie.”
    It was too late for Merri to run and there was nowhere for her to hide. Was this going to be the end to her true-life Odyssey?
    As they walked closer, Merri dropped her chin and hung back, hoping that she could keep most of her body hidden behind Ty’s. Though her mind was racing, there didn’t seem to be any way of avoiding catastrophe.
    â€œGood to see you, Juanita,” Ty said as he greeted the other woman with a smile in his voice. “I’d like for youto meet my new assistant and Jewel’s new renter, Merri Davis.” He stepped aside so that the two women could face each other.
    Merri kept her eyes down, took a deep breath and stretched out a hand. “How do you do, Ms. Ramirez.”
    â€œMerri? Why…I…” Janie said with obvious confusion in her voice. But she took Merri’s hand and clung to it.
    â€œYes,” Merri broke in. “The name is Merri Davis. Jewel has told me so much about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
    Merri took a chance and glanced up through the top of her