Judy Matthews stood outside Harry's Haberdashery, located in Hiho's only mall, and waited for Harry Ferris to raise the locked grid blocking the entrance. This was the last place she wanted to work, but a teacher had to earn a living during summer break. Last year she'd been lucky to get a job at a fabric store. Sew So Quick was the perfect place to avoid men.
An upscale men's clothing store was not.
This summer Judy was going to see no men, hear no men and speak to no men. She'd made a vow to take a vacation from the opposite sex after she caught her now ex-boyfriend Brett Howard cheating on her.
At first she thought avoiding men would be a piece of cake. She knew every eligible bachelor in Hiho, Ohio, and her dream man was definitely not among them. All she met were users and losers, maybe because she was blond, petite and too trusting for her own good. No more!
That was before her plans for the summer changed.
Harry bustled forward from the back room of the store and lifted the steel grating so she could duck under it.
"You're early. That's good," Harry said in his brisk, clipped voice.
He was a short man, gray-haired and wiry with enough energy for three people. He doted on his grandsons and gave no indication he'd even noticed Judy was female. Talking to Harry wouldn't compromise her man ban. It was handsome, eligible hunks she intended to avoid for the next couple of months. She'd been dating since eighth grade and a break would lessen her stress considerably.
"I want to give you another lesson before we open up," Harry said.
Judy suppressed a groan. She knew perfectly well how to measure and fit clothing, but Harry thought marking a suit for alterations was a mystic art. Anyway, it was unlikely he would trust her with any of his suit-buying customers. Yesterday, her first day, she'd sold zebra-striped boxers to the head of the chamber of commerce and a dozen pairs of black silk socks to the local undertaker, but her boss handled the big sales.
At least Harry's customers were mostly middle-aged business types. She could fend off their flirting without being tempted to break her no-men promise to herself.
Six shirts and a leather belt later, Harry took the afternoon off to go to a grandson's Little League game.
"I'll have my cell phone if you run into any problems," he said.
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Judy assured him as she waited for old Mr. Powers to try on a pair of trousers.
When he called her to mark the length, she left the dressing room door open so she could watch for other customers and got down on her knees with a hem marker and pins.
"Aren't you afraid you'll swallow one of those?" the portly white-haired man asked as she used her mouth as a pin holder.
"Noop." She dropped two pins answering him.
"You got another customer," he pointed out helpfully. "Young fella. Looks to be thirty-two–thirty-two."
A thirty-two waist and a thirty-two inseam added up to slender and tall, but Judy refused to turn her head to check him out. She didn't want to be tempted. Hopefully he'd see how pricey Harry's clothes were and wander out of the store.
"Good lookin' too," Mr. Powers commented. "My hair was black like his once, but that was before your time."
She stuck the last pin into the navy gabardine slacks and stood up.
"Be careful not to knock the pins out when you take the trousers off," she warned.
"Maybe you oughta take them off for me."
He was only joking, but she wondered how many lame attempts at humor she'd have to endure this summer.
"Your boy is looking at Harry's best suits. Better get out there and encourage him. Just put the slacks on my tab," Mr. Powers said with a suggestive wink.
She was used to high school kids who thought a teacher just south of thirty was an old crone. This would be a new experience, fending off come-ons from the geriatric crowd.
Walking around a display of dress shirts, she saw a great-looking guy looking through a rack of suits. He was a Greek god in faded jeans and a yellow T-shirt.
He's only a customer, she admonished herself. Brett had looked gorgeous to her until she found out he was having an affair with Nadine Jamison.
Judy was determined to get her self-esteem back on track. That meant no men. Harry's Haberdashery was a no-ogling zone, and she had the willpower to ignore the attention of any male who walked into the place.
"Can I help you, sir?" She emphasized "sir" to sound as impersonal as possible.
Mr. Powers had warned that he was good-looking, but she wasn't prepared for chocolate eyes and the thousand-watt smile the customer turned on her.
"I hope so because I'm in big trouble," he said.
"Are you interested in a suit?" She kept her eyes focused on the neutral zone between his chin and pecs.
"I've never see eyes as green as yours before," he said.
"Just a trick of the light."
She needed to do the exact opposite of what she usually did when she met a spectacularly attractive man.
"I'm surprised to see a woman as beautiful as you in Hiho, Ohio," he said.
That was her cue to ask why he was there. Men loved to talk about themselves, but the new, more resistant Judy wasn't going to give him any encouragement.
"Are you looking for anything in particular?" she asked in her most businesslike voice.
"Suits. And stuff to go with them."
"Do you know your size?"
"How tall are you?"
"Five-three." She answered without thinking.
"Just the size I like."
"Sir, I can't assist you unless I know what you have in mind."
Darn! She had to watch what she said. She'd seen men look at her that way often enough to know exactly what he was thinking.
"What color do you have in mind?" she asked.
"Blond. I've always been partial to blondes." He grinned.
"I'm really too busy to play games," she said primly.
Her new customer looked over at Mr. Powers, who was on his way out of the store.
"I can see you're rushed. Is the store always this crowded?" he teased.
"Are you really interested in a suit, or do you just enjoy tormenting salesclerks?" If that didn't turn him off, she might be in trouble. He was too darn cute for her peace of mind.
"Sorry. I don't like suits, but I need several for my new job in Rob Pawley's law office."
"I know him. He was my best friend's boyfriend until she met her husband."
This was her cue to ask questions that would jump-start a potential relationship. The old Judy would've played the game and listened with rapt attention while he tried to impress her.
"So you're a baby lawyer in need of clothes you can wear to court," she said briskly.
"That's the deal."
"Well, I can see you have the fashion sense of a derelict."
If Harry heard that, her summer job would be history. But she had to be self-protective. This was exactly the kind of man she'd sworn to avoid, not just this summer but forever.
"You don't pull your punches, do you?" Will Stanton asked. "Do you sell many suits?"
He didn't know why she was so prickly, but he was more amused than annoyed.
"I've never sold one. This is only my second day."
"Interesting career choice."
"I'm a teacher. This is how I make ends meet in the summer."
"What grade do you teach?" he asked.
"Family living skills at the high school. If you want a suit, I'll be happy to help you, but I'm not here to make new friends."
"I take it you have a significant other." Disappointed, he turned and took a light blue suit off the rack.
"No, and I don't think that color is right for you."
"I'm single, too," he said. "And you're right about the blue." He paused. "If you're going to help me, it would be convenient to know your name. I'm Will Stanton."
"You can call me what my students do — Ms. Matthews."
"I had a lisp when I was a little boy. I try to avoid saying Ms. Don't you have a first name with no S in it?"
He was stretching the truth, but she intrigued him. Her dynamite looks and the sparkle in her eyes belied her grumpy attitude.
"Judy." She avoided looking at him. "I think the suits on this rack are designed for more mature men. The ones over there are more your style."
Was she talking about age or did she think he was immature?
"I'm not all that young," he said as he followed her across the store. "I worked a few years before I went to law school. In fact, I'll be thirty in a few months."
"Do you like single- or double-breasted jackets?" she asked.
He was glad her back was turned. He bit back a comment about the spectacular pair of breasts under her silky pink short-sleeved blouse, but he couldn't suppress a grin.
"Single, and I don't like herringbone."
"I like this black suit," she said holding one out for his inspection. "It's really sophisticated."
"No black for me today. I haven't recovered from the tux I had to wear for my brother's wedding last weekend."
He'd been thinking a lot about the wedding. Odd as it seemed for his younger brother to be married, he was mildly envious. His parents were enjoying a long, happy marriage, and Will realized something was missing from his life. He had his law degree and a job with good partnership potential, but he was tired of being single.
"Charcoal would be a good choice," Judy said.
He was already thinking of her as Judy. He wasn't melodramatic enough to think he was smitten, but there was chemistry at work here. His brother swore it had been love at first sight with his new bride. Will was more inclined to believe in lust at first sight, but what did he know about the real thing? He'd had lots of girlfriends, but the right woman kept evading him.
He took the jacket she handed him and slipped into it.
"Feels a little tight in the shoulders, but I like the color and style," he said.
She adjusted the shoulders and yanked on the back slits so they hung right over his butt. The woman was only checking for fit, so why were her attentions such a turn-on?
"You need a long," she said decisively. "The owner expects every suit he sells to fit perfectly. He has a great tailor, and alterations are free."
"I need some decent clothes in a hurry." He tried on another jacket and liked the feel of it better.
"This size works," he said.
"You haven't even checked it out in the mirror."
"Do you like the way it looks?"
"Yes, but…"
"Put it in my pile. I need two suits, a sports jacket and some slacks."
He hated shopping and made quick decisions, but did he really want to hurry the process this time? He was having a whole lot of fun with the saleswoman in spite of her cool attitude. Or maybe because of it. He loved a challenge.
"I really am new at this," she said, sounding far less sure of herself. "The owner will be back by four o'clock. You'd be much better off waiting for him."
"You're doing fine."
He gave her a wicked grin. Had her cheeks been that pink when he first saw her? Maybe she wasn't as indifferent to him as she pretended.
He took a long time deciding on a light tan summer suit and a brown linen jacket.
"I should get a couple extra pairs of slacks in case I forget to hang them up when I go to bed," he said.
Ah, bed. He conjured up images of a beautiful blonde sharing his, and, no surprise, she had Judy's face and spectacular figure.
"How soon can I get this stuff?" he asked.
"Only two or three days after Harry marks it for alterations."
"Let's speed things up. You mark it."
"Really, Mr. Stanton," she said using his name for the first time. "You should wait for an expert. I could call him to come in now."
"Call me Will. You either mark the alterations yourself or lose the sale," he said softening his threat with a grin.
"All right, but don't complain if they're not perfect."
She led him back to a fitting room and took a measuring tape from a hook on the wall.
"Harry insists on complete measurements." She sounded as though she'd rather fit a boa constrictor with a raincoat.
"Should I take my shirt off?" He felt hot as he imagined her cool fingers across his chest.
"No! Just lift your arms."
He raised them forward leaving just enough space for her to step between them. He got light-headed from the flowery scent of her hair when she leaned close to put the tape around his back.
She adjusted the tape across his chest. "There," she said.
He could hear the rush of air as she exhaled. He was as unsettled as she seemed to be, and the really intimate measurements were still to come.
The waist and arm measurements brought out his latent ticklishness. Worse, he was afraid of what was happening south of his navel.
"Uh, do you know your inseam?" she asked.
He did, but he let his inner bad boy speak for him.
"I've forgotten."
She gave him a look of speculation but stooped to do her job. He could hardly resist touching her golden hair.
"Stand up straight," she reprimanded him, but not before he saw her hand tremble.
She couldn't have proceeded more gingerly if he'd been wired to explode on contact.
When the deed was done, she recorded the measurement on her clipboard.
"Do you have a spare scrap of paper for your phone number?" he asked hopefully.
Maybe he was rushing her, but he was on fire with eagerness to get to know Judy better.
"Sorry, no."
She sounded a little regretful, so he tried again.
"All I had in mind was dinner to thank you for your help."
"I don't date customers."
"When did you make that rule? You said today is only your second day."
"I'm not dating anyone all summer."
"Well, I'm glad it's not just me." He felt irrationally disappointed.
And just as irrationally he decided then and there to change her mind.
The next day Judy knew her only hope of avoiding falling in love again was to avoid Will Stanton. How hard could that be? He'd finished updating his wardrobe, so there was no reason for him to come to Harry's Haberdashery again.
She'd stuck to her resolve and hadn't encouraged him at all. He didn't even get her phone number. In a few days she'd stop thinking about him.
It had been dumb to walk past Rob Pawley's office at seven o'clock yesterday evening. She'd had a vague idea that lawyers sometimes worked late, but she didn't get the hoped-for glimpse of Will.
No doubt her mind was playing tricks on her. He couldn't possibly be as drop-dead gorgeous as she remembered. He had the boyish charm of Hugh Grant in one of his best movie roles, but that didn't mean Will wasn't a louse like most of the men she met.
Unfortunately, he looked like a heartbreaker. Imagining his trim, hard body next to hers kept her tossing and turning all night. Would he be a gentle lover? She was a pushover for strong men who knew how to be tender.
Business was slow that morning. Hilda Henderson came in to buy a tie for her husband and lingered to gossip. Judy didn't know anything interesting except, of course, the arrival of the new attorney. She didn't mention it to Hilda, who would surely broadcast it.
Judy wanted to keep gorgeous newcomer Will her secret for now. And if she didn't stop thinking that way, she'd spend her whole summer walking, running and driving past Pawley's law office.
As if she needed reminding how bad her taste in men could be, Mr. Wrong sauntered into the store.
"I heard you were working here," Brett Howard said.
He flashed his famous grin in her direction, but it left her cold. What had made her think his unruly brown hair and bulging biceps were sexy? She was so over him, and she wasn't about to make the same mistake again.
"What do you want, Brett?"
"I just thought we could talk. You know, go out for dinner or something."
"No way."
"I owe you an apology. I'm sorry. Nadine was a mistake."
"You were my mistake. Please leave me alone."
"Don't be that way, Judy. We had a good thing going."
"Goodbye, Brett." She turned her back, but he put his hand on her arm.
"At least listen.…" he began.
"No, you listen," another masculine voice said. "Judy doesn't want to talk to you."
She spun around and was dumbfounded to see Will confronting Brett. Even more astonishing, Brett backed off, slinking out of the store with a sullen expression.
Judy opened her mouth, but no words came out. Will was even more attractive than she remembered. He practically glowed with good looks in a short-sleeved white dress shirt and a green square-bottom woven tie.
"Well, I've never done anything like that before," he said with a sheepish grin.
"Done what?"
She really wanted to ask why he'd chased off her obnoxious ex-boyfriend, but the question was too dangerous. All men were out of bounds for her this summer. She'd promised herself.
"Come off like Mr. Testosterone."
His smile made her melt, then she remembered her vow. Brett was the best reason she knew to be strong. This time last summer she'd been madly in love with him. Look how that turned out.
"I'm afraid your clothes aren't ready yet, Mr. Stanton."
"Call me Will. Is he the reason you won't give me your phone number?" He nodded at the door where Brett had disappeared.
"Partly, but there's nothing wrong with taking a summer off from…entanglements. It's relaxing. I'm having a wonderful, carefree time." She shut up, afraid she'd belabored the subject.
"What do you do besides work?" he challenged.
"I do things. I have friends. I like to swim."
Her summer activities seem pathetically dull compared to the prospect of spending time with a man like Will, but it was too soon after Brett to risk another relationship.
"Lots of things are more fun if you do them with someone else."
He was standing three feet away, but he radiated sexual heat that made her cheeks feel burning hot.
"I don't lack company," she said.
"People here are friendly," he said. "They like to talk. You have a lot of friends who sing your praises."
A lot of blabbermouth friends, she thought, beginning to understand why Will had intervened with Brett. Someone in town had given him an earful about their breakup.
"I've lived here my whole life. Naturally I know most of the people in Hiho. Now I have to work. Are you here as a customer?"
"Sure. Unless I'm going to wear T-shirts with my new suits, I need some shirts. A couple of ties, too, but I'm hopeless at deciding on colors."
She glanced over at the huge display of neckties that dominated the center of the store. Harry was famous for having the biggest selection in the county. It would take hours to examine every one.
Not that she didn't want to spend time with Will. That was the problem.
Her only defense was her vow. To ensure a stress-free summer, she was not going to make any decisions about men, not even simple ones like whether to go on a date.
Will was talking. She'd missed whatever he'd been saying.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice softened by concern.
"I'm fine, but I'm not an expert on ties. You'd probably do better going with your instincts."
"I trust my instincts with women. They tell me you should have dinner with me tonight."
"I don't think so."
"I'm a stranger in town. I haven't even found an apartment yet. You could think of it as an act of mercy. You'd be saving me from a lonely night in my motel room."
"When you put it that way, no. I don't feel the least bit sorry for you. If you absolutely can't stand your own company, I know someone who can be persuaded to go on a blind date."
She wanted to take that back immediately. Wouldn't she be crazy to introduce a hunk like Will to Brandi Rankin who was too cute for words? In the fall, Judy thought she might loosen her dating ban….
"No thanks," he said interrupting her thoughts. "Tell you what," he continued, "just grab a couple of ties that will go with my new suits. I'll look at shirts while you do."
"I can't do that. I mean, they come in hundreds of colors and patterns, not to mention prices."
Where was Harry when she needed him? Oh, yeah, he was in the fitting room with a customer. Funny how she forgot about other people when Will was in the store.
"Okay, we'll look together and count it as our first date," Will said, grinning.
Usually Will would rather sit through sixteen hours of sitcom reruns than shop for clothes, but he was enjoying himself immensely, thanks to Judy. He even made her laugh when he enthused over a bright purple tie adorned with cartoon characters.
"You won't sway Judge Brown in that tie," she warned. "He's so conservative he thinks rock 'n' roll is the devil's drumbeat."
"There's a lot you could tell me about this town," he mused. "We could call it an orientation instead of a date."
The owner of the store finished his sale and came over to see if he could help with Judy's slow customer, namely him.
"Are you finding what you want?" he asked.
Was he ever! Will had never met anyone quite like Judy. She was trying hard to be cool and detached, but her personality was too warm and outgoing to suppress.
"I'm doing fine," he said. At least he would be if he could get to first base.
"Good. Judy, I'm leaving for my service club meeting. You don't mind taking your lunch break when I get back, do you?"
She agreed, which gave Will an idea. If he couldn't persuade her to have dinner with him, he'd try to take her to lunch.
"You've shopped enough for today," she said when her boss left.
"You're not like any salesperson I've ever met," he teased. "You can see I have no sales resistance. Aren't you going to sell me some pricey luxury item? Silk pajamas come to mind."
"Would you wear them?"
"I'll wear the bottoms if you'll wear the top," he offered.
She walked over to the register to tally up his purchases, which gave him a chance to check out her adorable backside and shapely legs. He was even more determined to make her forget she'd sworn off men.
"I need to learn all I can about the town," he said as she put his purchases in a bag.
"Try the chamber of commerce office. They have brochures."
"I'm more interested in personalities. I was hoping you could help me."
She avoided looking directly at him as she turned him down again.
An older guy walked into the store and approached Judy.
"Hi, Harvey. I'll be with you in a minute."
"There is one more thing I need," Will said. "A pair of chino shorts."
"Help yourself," she said with mock sweetness. "By now you know the stock as well as I do."
He was not making progress with the prickly woman of his dreams. Oddly enough, he wasn't tempted to give up. In fact, he was enjoying the challenge.
She turned her charm on the other customer. He felt an irrational stab of jealousy even though the guy was old enough to be her grandfather.
After locating a pair of light khaki shorts in his size, he took them to a fitting room. It wasn't necessary to try them on, but he wanted an excuse to outstay her other customer. He was determined to get to know her better.
He took off his jeans and stepped into the pleated shorts, but when he tried to zip them, he couldn't. He tried again, then looked down.
He'd been so preoccupied working out a strategy to see Judy that he'd managed to catch the tail of his shirt in the zipper.
Okay, he'd been zipping up his britches for most of his life. He could handle this.
He tried force first, but the stubborn tab wouldn't budge. Then he tried to work the cloth free of the teeth with no success at all. Even when he tried to rip his shirt to release it, the stubborn zipper resisted.
Judy wasn't going to believe this was an accident. She was sure to think it was a dirty trick to make her fiddle with his fly.
He tried again and failed, but he couldn't leave the dressing room with the fly stuck in the open position.
With great reluctance, he opened the door a crack and called her name a couple of times until he got her attention.
Would that man never give up? Judy ignored Will's first call and scowled when he said her name more urgently the second time.
"Can you come here? I have a problem," he said.
She smiled to let him know she had his number.
"I'm busy with another customer right now."
"I'm not kidding," Will said. "The zipper is stuck. Don't you have a tool for this sort of thing?"
"Not that I know of."
She was pretty good with zippers, but he was very much mistaken if he thought she'd fall for his trick. Measuring him had been bad enough.
After her customer left, Will pleaded for her help again. If he was faking, as she suspected, he could cool his heels until Harry got back.
"I can't spend the whole day in here," he said through the crack.
"I could call 911."
"They don't appreciate frivolous calls."
"You're probably right. Come out and I'll see what I can do."
How long would he carry on this charade?
"I can't. It's stuck in the down position."
"Of course it is."
"My shirt is stuck in the teeth."
"That's a shame."
"Your boss left you in charge. That means you have to handle problems."
"You are a problem," she agreed making no move to come.
"You come here, or I'll come out," he warned.
"Suit yourself."
He came out covering himself in front with his jeans. Turning his back to the entrance, he showed her his problem.
"You really are stuck! Get back into the fitting room."
"Not unless you'll fix the zipper."
He had a real problem. She was so embarrassed and contrite that she meekly followed him into the privacy of the cubicle.
"I thought you were faking."
"I thought you thought I was faking. Nothing like this has ever happened to me."
"I'm good at zippers." She hoped.
She'd never known a man who wore sexy black briefs. At least they weren't caught in the zipper.
She got down on her knees, the better to work and also to avoid his gaze.
"It would probably be better if you try not to…"
Her hand brushed against him as she struggled to release his shirt.
"…touch me," he said, weakly concluding his sentence.
It seemed to take eons, but at last she worked the shirt free of the zipper.
"Thank you," he said, reaching down to help her up. "I was beginning to feel like your prisoner."
She laughed softly and couldn't remember why she'd ever sworn off men. How did she end up so close to his lips?
She was standing in front of a man with an open fly, but he wasn't taking advantage of it. He wasn't a louse like Brett. Would it be so terrible to be kissed by a nice guy like Will?
What the heck! There had to be more to her summer than working and swimming.
She puckered her lips and leaned forward for the softest, sweetest kiss she'd ever experienced.
"That's a thank-you kiss," he whispered. "Is there any chance at all you'd have lunch with me?"
Judy thought fast. Will was charming, sweet and nothing like the men that had caused her to swear off dating. Suddenly an idea struck her.
"Now that I think of it, I only meant to swear off Hiho men. You really don't live here yet, do you?"
"Not yet," he said with a smile she could feel all the way to her toes.
The End