“Oh, yes, I see it,” she told Dillon with enthusiasm. When the light hit the figurine just the right way, she was certain that the jacket and top hat sparkled thanks to a sprinkling of sequins.
Belatedly, Hailey suddenly realized that he was still holding her up on his shoulders.
“I’ve got to be getting heavy for you,” she said self-consciously. “You can put me down now.”
Kneeling, Dillon carefully guided Hailey down from his shoulders, even though he denied the assumption she had made.
“You’re not getting heavy at all,” he insisted. “Believe me, I’ve hauled sacks of concrete that weighed a great deal more than you weigh. I put you up on my shoulders because I figured that was the fastest way to get you to catch a glimpse of that frog,” Dillon explained to her. “I wanted you to see it before someone else bought it.”
“And I really appreciate that,” Hailey told him.
As if to prove it, the second her feet made contact with the ground, Hailey immediately rushed between shoppers, making her way over to the next row so she could purchase the figurine.
Dillon made no attempt to stop her or to tell her to slow down. Instead, he just followed in Hailey’s wake.
She could move really fast. But then, why shouldn’t she? he asked himself. Hailey obviously kept that body of hers in excellent shape with those exercise classes she had put together. He had a feeling that she didn’t just stand back and let the instructors do the heavy lifting. She was the type to be there every step of the way, he thought.
By the time he had caught up to her and was at her side, Hailey had concluded negotiating with the older woman who was selling the figurine. The dapper figurine was nestled in with a number of other “treasures” that the woman had brought to the flea market in an attempt to sell.
“Can I interest you in this ancient cameo?” the woman asked, holding the necklace up and waving it slightly before her face.
“No, thank you. All I want is the figurine,” Hailey assured her.
“Are you sure?” the woman asked, unconvinced. “After all, a girl can always use another piece of jewelry,” the woman told her. She held up the necklace again, as if the second time was the charm.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m only interested in the frog figurine,” Hailey told her. “Now, if you have any others...”
“No, Froggie here is one of a kind,” the woman informed her. Her face lit up and as she smiled, it made some of her more prominent wrinkles look as if they were receding and fading away. She gave Dillon a long appreciative look, her brown eyes sliding up and down his body. “Kind of like your fella, here,” she told Hailey.
Not wanting Dillon to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, Hailey quickly denied the woman’s assumption.
“Oh, he’s not my fella. We just ran into one another here this morning.”
The older woman’s eyes lit up as they gave Dillon a second, even longer appreciative survey. “Then could he be mine?” she asked with genuine interest.
The woman was probably about twenty years older than they were, possibly more, and behind the smile there was definitely something about her that reminded Hailey of a determined predator. She could almost envision the seller’s appetite causing her to all but devour Dillon in a couple of well-placed bites.
Just in case she was right, Hailey decided an ounce of prevention might be called for.
“On second thought, I spoke too soon,” Hailey told the woman as she shelled out the money for the figurine. Sparing Dillon a quick wink, she added, “He is my fella.”
Rather than be annoyed, the woman smiled knowingly as she nodded her head.
“Yes, I thought you might change your mind once you had a chance to think about it,” the seller said knowingly.
That had Hailey wondering if she had just been played.
Well, it didn’t matter. She had gotten what she wanted: a one-of-a-kind frog figurine in good condition.
After taking her money, the seller carefully deposited the stylish frog into a paper bag. The bag was too small to properly house the frog, but it did manage to cover his legs all the way up to his waist. It also covered up his cane.
“You’re good luck for me,” Hailey declared with a bright, pleased smile as she looked at Dillon.
“Glad I could help.”
He gave the area a quick, final cursory look. “Are we done here?” he asked hopefully, then tagged on “Or—?”
“Or,” she told him without any hesitation. “I want to look around a little more and see if I can locate any more frog figurines. And besides,” she glanced back at him and his hands, “you’re still empty-handed,” she pointed out.
“Oh, I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Dillon responded, his eyes drifting over in her direction.
“Well, I know what I’m looking for,” she said by way of conversation. “What are you looking for?”
“I think it’s a case of I’ll know it when I see it,” Dillon told her.
Hailey smiled at him with a knowing smile. “In other words, you haven’t the slightest idea what you’re looking for.”
Dillon laughed lightly as he moved his shoulders up and down in an evasive shrug. The shrug told her beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had certainly guessed correctly.
“All right, then,” Hailey told him gamely, threading her free hand through his. She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got another forty-five minutes before I have to get back to the spa. Let’s see if we can make the most of that time.”
“What happens
