Too Good To Be True

Chapter One Clary SageAn essential oil with a warm, nutty scent, it has euphoric properties which promote a sense of well-being When Carey Browne stepped out onto West 34th Street she stopped in surprise. Not that she should have been surprised, she said to Ben, who was standing beside her holding at least half-a-dozen Macy's bags thanks to her indulgence in a sudden frenzy of last-minute shopping; last night's report from the Weather Channel had shown a shocking weather system heading in from the Midwest and they'd said there was a likelihood of snow on the East Coast. It was just that despite the bitingly cold morning air which had caused their breath to hang in little puffs in front of them when they left the hotel, there hadn't been any signs of snow as they walked into the store over an hour earlier. Now it was falling in a slow-motion frenzy of heavy white flakes and was at least an inch thick on the sidewalk."Sorry," said Ben, who'd told her that the Weather Channel wasn't always accurate and that January snowstorms often blew themselves out. "I wanted to be optimistic."She linked her arm through his and snuggled closer to his fur-lined leather jacket. "It doesn't matter," she told him. But she frowned because if the snow continued falling at this rate their flight was sure to be delayed. She did some mental calculations and hoped that even if they were delayed, she'd still manage to get back to Dublin in time for her shift the following day. If worse comes to worst she could always phone, let them know she'd be late and get someone to cover for her. But she didn't want to phone Ireland because, if she did, she'd have to tell them everything that had happened in the last few days, and she wasn't ready to do that yet. She'd hardly got her head around it herself. Besides, she wanted to tell them face to face."We'd better leave ourselves a little extra time to get to the airport," she told Ben as they walked down the street, carrier bags bumping against their legs. "I've never been here in a snowstorm before, but whenever it snows at Dublin there's always problems with people getting delayed.""I do my best to be optimistic because you always look on the worst side." He grinned at her. "I bet you anything we get away on time.""You think?" There was amusement and challenge in her voice."Absolutely.""How much?""Five dollars," he told her. "It's all the cash that I've left since you cleaned me out in the store."She looked at him penitently, but her brown eyes twinkled. "I couldn't help it. The discounts were so utterly brilliant that those clothes just begged to be bought.""I know," he said. "But to max out both your credit cards and all of your cash...""Give me a break!" she cried. "I didn't do it all today."He laughed. "I know, I know. New York, Las Vegas, New York -- what's a girl to do? And," he added, "there were some unexpected expenses."She flung her arms round him and kissed him on the lips. "I loved the unexpected expenses," she murmured. "And I love, love, love you.""I love you too," he said."Sure?" she whispered."Sure I'm sure.""Certain?""I've never been more certain of anything in my life." He brushed melting snowflakes from the mass of nut-brown corkscrew curls that framed her face and from the pair of tiny, dark-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. "You're a wonderful woman, and you'll certainly be the best dressed woman in town when we get home if today's spree is anything to go by -- what's not to love?""I don't want you to think that we've made a terrible mistake," she told him. "And I'm sorry about the shopping. Really I am."He grinned. "I don't think thatI'vemade a terrible mistake -- at least I managed to keep my credit card number to myself!""You think?""I hope so.""'Cos if you really loved me you'd definitely give me your credit card number." She smiled teasingly at him.O'Flanagan, Sheila is the author of 'Too Good To Be True', published 2004 under ISBN 9780743470445 and ISBN 0743470443.