Chapter One

There was nothing like smell to make an experience whole. Claudia grabbed a cart as she headed into Central Market and inhaled. The smell of ripe fruit greeted her nose. She immediately felt warm; there was something about the market on Saturday morning that made her feel good, something about the way the various exotic fruits blended together that made her feel calm and relaxed.

Central Market had become her oasis in the midst of a hectic week.

Central Market was Austin's semi-upscale, semi-trendy supermarket. Its aisles were stocked with the hard-to-find and exotic. Nothing ordinary here. If you were looking for organic food and top-notch catering, this was the place to go.

There was no rest for the weary in Claudia's household, especially when the weary was the wannabe superwoman type. Even though she had left him at home over twenty minutes ago, Claudia knew exactly what her fiancé was doing right now -- nothing. He needed to "decompress" from his stressful week at the office. She frowned and stopped at the coffee counter. Must be nice. Claudia had no time for decompression, though her week had been as stressful as most -- she'd closed two major deals that the office had been working on for over a year, filled in as the "snack mother" for her best friend's kid's class, and taken her cat to the veterinarian three times. For Claudia, it was important that everything get done, and get done well. Nothing could slip through the cracks. She liked feeling efficient, but efficiency had its price: exhaustion.

"Decaf latte please, soy milk." She scrounged in her bag for some cash. Claudia never had time to make it to the ATM, but shopping wasn't complete without her coffee. Maybe a cooking class was going on too. Central Market was famous for those, and although she'd never had the time to formally sign up, Claudia had eavesdropped on quite a few.

"Okay, you know they are much more fun when they are fully loaded. Decaf and skim -- what would the point be? I will take one fully loaded, with a double shot, please."

Claudia turned around and looked up into a face that was vaguely familiar, surrounded by curly, dark brown hair. His long eyelashes framed his almond-shaped eyes perfectly. She tried to place his face but couldn't. Was he wearing mascara?

"Excuse me? But caffeine is bad for you. The way you asked for it will give me wrinkles, and I don't make enough to afford a plastic surgeon." She sipped at her cup and grimaced.

"I sincerely doubt that you have to worry about that. You take care of yourself. You are not about to wrinkle, and there are so many plastic surgeons in Austin we might as well be in L.A. I'm sure you can find one within your budget." He took the cup the person behind the counter handed him. "And you should try your latte with whipped cream on top. It will make your day." He sipped and dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. "I'm Cody, I work downstairs from you, in IT -- "

"I knew you looked familiar." Claudia placed her coffee cup on the counter and extended her hand. They must have ridden in the elevator together once or twice. "I'm -- "

"Claudia Barrett." Claudia was immediately overcome as his massive fingers wrapped around hers in the strongest handshake she had ever felt.

"I know who you are. Everyone does now. That was a major coup you pulled off with Boeing. They were about to drop us. The whole office is talking about it. Good job."

Claudia worked for Pittsford Electronics, and Boeing was their largest customer, one usually handled with kid gloves. Their last account executive had said something to set them off, and they'd repeatedly threatened to take their business elsewhere until Claudia had stepped in and signed them to a ten-year exclusive agreement. She'd ended her stress-filled week as the star of the office.

Claudia blushed. "Thanks. They had to come around sooner or later. We do have the best product." Cody stopped shaking her hand, but he didn't let go. She shook her hand free and fidgeted. The tightness of his grip had been uncomfortable. She still could not seem to recall the exact place she'd seen Cody before. "You have a good shopping trip. You may be the only man in here."

"You might be right about that, but I love to cook so I am here all the time. I'm used to it."

"Really? Your wife must love that. My fiancé doesn't even know how to get to the kitchen." Claudia thought about the last time Jackson had tried to cook anything. He'd scorched one of her best pots so badly that it had set off the smoke alarm.

"No wife. No girlfriend." He shook his head. "That's too bad about that fiancé. I find cooking therapeutic. It calms me after a long day at the office. He should try it sometime." Gingerly, he balanced his cup in his shopping cart. "Take care." He paused, not trying to hide the fact that he was checking her out. "And I like those shoes. I know you didn't buy those here in Austin."

"No, no I didn't." She glanced down at her new sandals, half frowning. "You know shoes? These are Taryn Rose. I got them in Houston." Claudia opened her eyes wide in recognition as her "gay-dar" perked up. Not many men would dare make a shoe comment to a woman they didn't know. Or any woman, for that matter.

"I wouldn't say I know them. I just appreciate women who take care of their feet."

"Oh, okay, I am surprised you noticed. Men usually don't. It was nice talking with you."

Claudia picked up her coffee and headed into the market. Central Market was set up so that the traffic flowed through smoothly ...