White Offerings by Ann Roberts Page A

called twice more with her own ideas. I can’t even remember why she called the next two times. By then I was a mess.”
    She quickly calculated in her head. “I thought you said it was six times?”
    “It was. The last time was a hangup. I answered, but she didn’t say anything. She was probably embarrassed.”
    “Probably,” Ari said to ease Jane’s anxiety.
    “I don’t know what to do. I really don’t want to go out with her, but I’m kinda afraid to say no.”
    Ari ran her hand through her tangled hair and felt the beginnings of a tension headache. “Sweetie, you need to accept the possibility that Isabel is responsible for the orchids. She certainly has opportunity, and I’d say she’s definitely infatuated with you, which certainly gives her motive.”
    “I don’t know. I was so sure it was a man.”
    “Well, you certainly can’t date people out of fear. That’s really warped. I think you need to have a talk with her. Just be honest and tell her that you don’t want to see her.”
    “But what if you’re right and she
is
my stalker? She might come after me with a knife or a gun.”
    “I don’t know what to tell you, honey. If you’re this worried, you need to hire a professional. Have someone watch Isabel, or watch
you,
to see if you’re being followed.” Ari wandered into the kitchen in search of coffee. Ever a darling, Molly had brewed a pot and left a sticky note with a heart on the carafe. “Have you slept with any private investigators?”
    “Very funny, Ari.” Jane sighed. “Actually, I asked the receptionist at work and she gave me the name of a well-respected lesbian who does a lot of work in the community. She hired her when her deadbeat ex-husband skipped out on child support.”
    Ari poured a steaming mug of magic and took her first sip. “Who is it?”
    “Biz Stone.”
    She knew the name. Biz had quite a reputation for enjoying female companionship, and it was very possible she and Molly had spent an evening together at some point in the past. “How well do you know her?”
    “If you mean, have I ever slept with her, well . . . maybe. She frequents Hideaway, and I know who she is, but I don’t
remember
ever being with her.”
    “Huh,” she added absently between sips.
    “I already called her, and she’s meeting me for brunch, so I hope you can join us. I’m spending the morning previewing houses with Aspen. She swears she knows
exactly
what she wants now,” Jane said sarcastically.
    “Maybe you’ll get lucky.”
    “In what way?”
    She laughed. Jane’s mind never strayed too far from the bedroom. “I mean, maybe you’ll find the perfect house and Aspen will want to write a contract.” A thought suddenly occurred to her. “What are
you
talking about?”
    “Well . . .” Jane paused. “It’s just that Aspen has been coming on to me—”
    “Excuse me? This woman is not the kind of woman you should date. She’s a nut.”
    “But she’s a nut who makes an incredible flan. I went over to deliver some more listings, and she was preparing this divine meal. The smells from the kitchen were intoxicating, and she’s really a beautiful woman with an unbelievable body.”
    “And how would you know this?”
    There was a long pause until Jane finally said, “Okay. We’ve already been to bed. I broke my rule.”
    “Again.” Jane had a rule about dating clients, which was as flexible as the Republican Party’s ethics. “So she made flan and you jumped into bed with her?”
    “Well, it didn’t hurt that she answered the door in this little panty and bra outfit.”
    Ari shook her head and opened the fridge. Inside Molly had left a bag of Einstein’s bagels with another sticky note heart. Her lover was scoring big points now. “Did she know you were coming over?”
    “Yeah, I called from my car. You think her little seduction scene was planned? She told me she was just multitasking by cooking and trying on new clothes.”
    She chuckled. “Of course it was