Best Laid Plans Read Online Free Page B

raised a defensive palm. "Don't
say it. I know I'm acting like a selfish, spoiled only child. I should be happy
and content with what I have. And it makes me angry that I'm not." She
leaned against the chair, exhaustion and relief making her groggy. "I'm
already at my peak. I've accomplished my goals. What else is there?"
    "What about the fashion
shows?"
    Her hand pushed away the thought.
"They were a challenge at first, but. . ." Her voice drifted off.
    "Burnout."
    Amanda shook her head.
"Boredom," she corrected. "I'm like a hamster on a treadmill.
Running, running, but only my body gets exercised. Not my mind, not my
creativity, not my talent."
    "When was the last time you had
a vacation?"
    "I just got back from
Paris."
    He gave her a knowing look.
"Since when is a buying trip a vacation?"
    "Actually it's a
transformation," she returned with a grimace. "You're reshaped into a
very delicious, very expensive bonbon. Served at all the parties, wedged into
the showings, sprinkled with sugary gifts." Her eyes closed. "You're
right, it's no vacation. You're always on guard, trying to get the jump on
another buyer. Fashion retail is a glamorous profession, one that gives moments
of vitality, but lately it's just a job."
    One gray eye opened and peered at
him. "If I tell you another secret, will you promise not to laugh?"
At Lucas' affirmative nod, Amanda reclosed her eyes. "For the past twelve
years my main commitment has been to my job. It's been my first love. But
lately," her voice grew slightly melancholy, "I feel the urge to
settle down. The old nesting instinct. I want to have the two point five
children, the station wagon and the flea-ridden dog."
    "Does this have anything to do
with Brian Neuman?"
    "Brian?" Her eyelids opened,
astonished that he would remember a name he'd heard just once. "Brian and
I were in 'heavy like' but. . ." She sighed again. "You explain it to
me, Lucas. Why is it when two people are nice, eligible and bright, the pieces
just don't fit. Not for happily ever after."
    "I don't know, Mandy."
Lucas took possession of her right hand. "I've often asked myself that
same question." He traced her slender wrist, then each elegant polished
fingernail. "It never seems to be a physical incompatibility, just the
intangibles. That's what makes a relationship all or nothing."
    "Isn't that the truth. You want
the one thing you can't put your finger on." Clearing her throat, Amanda
focused on the intimate coupling of their hands. "Are you still seeing
Kitty Byrnes?"
    "We just celebrated six
weeks."
    "That sounds promising."
    Lucas gave a diffident shrug.
"Sometimes I think so, then again ..." His voice drifted off.
"We seem to have to work awfully hard at it. A relationship shouldn't be
like that." Hazel eyes regarded her. "You and I never had that
trouble."
    "Lucas," she chastised,
"we were never after anything physical. We're Plato's ideal -nonsexual
lovers." Amanda balanced her left elbow on her knee and set her chin in
her palm. "But now you know what I'm going through both personally and
professionally. So positive one minute, so confused the next. It's a
merry-go-round I'd like to get off."
    A pair of masculine hands gently
patted her cheeks, bringing a soft flush to her pale complexion. "That's
why I'm here, kid. I've got a proposition for you."
    "Proposition?" she returned
archly. "As I recall you once accused me of not knowing the difference
between a proposition and a preposition!"
    "Listen, any girl who would go
out with a guy nicknamed 'Cherry Picker' deserved to be ridiculed."
    "Charlie was a perfect
gentleman."
    "Don't sound so damn
disappointed." Lucas gave her his most charming smile. "My
proposition is on the up and up."
    Amanda's lips twisted.
"Hmmm..." Her suspicions grew as his smile broadened, even white
teeth giving a wolfish grin. "Come on, Lucas, give. What is…" The
footlights began to flicker, a sinuous electric glow arched and twisted to the
rhythmic taped piano intro.
    She let out a