Free Dark Valentine by Jennifer Fulton

mind having one if she could find the right woman to settle down with. So far, that wasn’t panning out too well.
    Her thoughts drifted back to Kate. Was the wife hunt a factor in her fixation, too? She didn’t know the woman at all, and “potential wife” was not what she’d seen in the bar that evening. All the same, after spending a night with Kate, she’d been willing to keep an open mind and see her again. She hadn’t expected to be turned down flat. If Kate had intended to inflame her desires by playing hard to get, it had worked. The trouble was, Jules didn’t think she was playing.
    She leaned back in her chair and weighed her options. She could impose self-discipline and wait for her libido to settle down. Or she could sleep with another woman and hope that would put the encounter with Kate into perspective. Or she could do what she really wanted to do—find the wretched woman and talk her into bed again.
    The solution was a no-brainer. Jules took her cell phone from her pocket and silently thanked Gilbert Desjardines for teaching her everything she knew about slippery investigative techniques. Smiling to herself, she dialed Casitas Laquita and exchanged some pleasantries with Denise, one of the owners. Then she lied through her teeth.
    “Listen, the reason I’m calling is to ask a favor. I’m supposed to be hooking up with a woman I met last time I stayed. She was in the next room. Kate…er…”
    “Oh yes, I remember.” Denise didn’t supply the last name, as Jules had hoped.
    “Small problem.” Jules persevered. “I had her cell-phone number but it got washed with my jeans. I was wondering—”
    “You know I can’t give out guest information,” Denise interrupted with a note of regret. “I’m sorry.”
    “Of course. I would never ask that.” Jules thought fast. “Actually, I was wondering if you could send her something.”
    “Sure.”
    “I really like her,” Jules confided. She had been staying at the inn regularly for three years and never with the same woman. She and the two owners had sometimes shared a laugh about her footloose habits, and Jules was sure they would help her out with a real romance if they could. “I thought if I gave you my credit-card details, you could send her some flowers with my name and number. Then she’ll call me and we can make our plans.”
    “I don’t see why not,” Denise said after only a slight hesitation. “Red roses?”
    “No.” Jules wanted to send a more subtle message. “Make it peonies and irises.” Peonies were sensuous and romantic, and irises lasted longer than most cut flowers. They would come into bloom and look beautiful for days. Kate would be thinking about her every time she saw them.
    “I think she’ll like that combination,” Denise said. “She seems kind of sweet and old-fashioned.”
    Jules grinned. Now for her coup de grace. “There’s a florist in Vegas I like. They deliver everywhere. I’ll give you the number.”
    She felt sneaky as Denise read the phone number back to her and then took down the credit-card details. But she told herself all was fair in love and war, and even more so since this was a matter of lust and ego gratification.
    “What would you like the card to say?” Denise asked.
    “‘I can’t stop thinking about you.’ And my name, of course.”
    Denise chuckled. “You sound smitten.”
    “Just a little.” Jules hoped she sounded innocent. “Thanks for doing this. Oh, and don’t forget to have them put my cell number on the card, too…while you’re playing Cupid?”
    “No problem. I’ll call the order in right away.”
    “I owe you,” Jules said.
    Denise wished her luck, and Jules gave it thirty minutes, then phoned the florist. Sounding as vague as she could, she said, “I placed an order for flowers about a half hour ago. For Julia Valiant.”
    “Yes, ma’am. I have the order right here.” The clerk sounded young.
    “I just realized I might have given you the wrong