âWhy is it that all the really great-looking men are married?â
âIs that a trick question?â Natasha arranged a velvet-gowned doll in a child-sized bentwood rocker before she turned to her assistant. âOkay, Annie, what great-looking man are we talking about in particular?â
âThe tall, blond and gorgeous one whoâs standing outside the shop window with his nifty-looking wife and beautiful little girl.â Annie tucked a wad of gum into her cheek and heaved a gusty sigh. âThey look like an ad for Perfect Family Digest.â
âThen perhaps theyâll come in and buy the perfect toy.â
Natasha stepped back from her grouping of Victorian dolls and accessories with a nod of approval. It looked exactly as she wantedâappealing, elegant and old-fashioned. She checked everything down to the tasseled fan in a tiny, china hand.
The toy store wasnât just her business, it was her greatest pleasure. Everything from the smallest rattle to the biggest stuffed bear was chosen by her with the same eye for detail and quality. She insisted on the best for her shop and her customers, whether it was a five-hundred-dollar doll with its own fur wrap or a two-dollar, palm-sized race car. When the match was right, she was pleased to ring up either sale.
In the three years since she had opened her jingling front door, Natasha had made The Fun House one of the most thriving concerns in the small college town on the West Virginia border. It had taken drive and persistence, but her success was more a direct result of her innate understanding of children. She didnât want her clients to walk out with a toy. She wanted them to walk out with the right toy.
Deciding to make a few adjustments, Natasha moved over to a display of miniature cars.
âI think theyâre going to come in,â Annie was saying as she smoothed down her short crop of auburn hair. âThe little girlâs practically bouncing out of her Mary Janes. Want me to open up?â
Always precise, Natasha glanced at the grinning clown clock overhead. âWe have five minutes yet.â
âWhatâs five minutes? Tash, Iâm telling you this guy is incredible.â Wanting a closer look, Annie edged down an aisle to restack board games. âOh, yes. Six foot two, a hundred and sixty pounds. The best shoulders Iâve ever seen fill out a suit jacket. Oh Lord, itâs tweed. I didnât know a guy in tweed could make me salivate.â
âA man in cardboard can make you salivate.â
âMost of the guys I know are cardboard.â A dimple winked at the corner of Annieâs mouth. She peeked around the counter of wooden toys to see if he was still at the window. âHe must have spent some time at the beach this summer. His hairâs sun-streaked and heâs got a fabulous tan. Oh, God, he smiled at the little girl. I think Iâm in love.â
Choreographing a scaled-down traffic jam, Natasha smiled. âYou always think youâre in love.â
âI know.â Annie sighed. âI wish I could see the color of his eyes. Heâs got one of those wonderfully lean and bony faces. Iâm sure heâs incredibly intelligent and has suffered horribly.â
Natasha shot a quick, amused look over her shoulder. Annie, with her tall, skinny build had a heart as soft as marshmallow cream. âIâm sure his wife would be fascinated with your fantasy.â
âItâs a womanâs privilegeâno, her obligationâto weave fantasies over men like that.â
Though she couldnât have disagreed more, Natasha let Annie have her way. âAll right then. Go ahead and open up.â
âOne doll,â Spence said, giving his daughterâs ear a tug. âI might have thought twice about moving into that house, if Iâd realized there was a toy store a half mile away.â
âYouâd buy her the bloody toy store if you had your way.â
He spared one glance for the woman beside him. âDonât start, Nina.â
The slender blonde shrugged her shoulders, rippling the trim, rose linen jacket of her suit, then looked at the little girl. âI just meant your daddy tends to spoil you because he loves you so much. Besides, you deserve a present for being so good about the move.â
Little Frederica Kimballâs bottom lip pouted. âI like my new house.â She slipped her hand into her fatherâs, automatically aligning herself with him and against the world. âI have a yard and a swing set all of my own.â