Free Home for Love by Ellen James Page A

the next few days she lavished her love on the old place, bringing all sorts of gifts to it—an antique rolltop desk, a china butter dish, two large bath towels decorated with black Scot-ties in red bows. It was like celebrating the home's long-forgotten birthdays.
    By the time Saturday came around again, Kate had also purchased the tools she needed to make her advance into the garden. She spent a contented morning raking up ancient leaves and poking into hardened earth with a spade. Then she crawled under the hedge, humming to herself and enjoying the good, clean snap of shears on dead branches.
    Kate heard the sound of a car driving up, and a moment later an elegant pair of high-heeled shoes strolled into her line of vision. The shoes were glossy black patent leather, cut in simple lines to display a graceful set of ankles. Kate inched herself out from under the hedge and stood up. Gloria Nestor faced her, looking polished in a mint-green linen suit and a black silk blouse. Kate glanced down at her own T-shirt with its ripped hem and her denim shorts, which had been patched in three different places. Just being around Gloria made her feel inadequate. Gloria's assurance was obviously more than skin-deep; she carried herself like a woman who had believed in herself since babyhood. But she was not dismissive today, and she greeted Kate pleasantly.
    "Hello," she said. "I was looking for Steve, but I suppose he isn't home."
    "No, he's not," Kate answered.
    "That's too bad. I wanted to ask him to pick me up early before the opera tonight."
    It hurt to know that Steven was going out with Gloria; it hurt far too much. "I'm sure you can call him later," Kate said mechanically.
    "Yes, I'll do that," Gloria said, but she made no move to leave. Instead she perched herself on the edge of the stone fountain, her beautiful ankles crossed casually in front of her. "Steve was telling me how you're transforming his house," she went on. "He says you're quite a talented decorator."
    Kate was skeptical about that last comment. The Steven
she
knew was less than flattering about what she'd been doing to his house. She smiled a little to herself.
    "I'm sure that it's a very gratifying experience, working with Steve," Gloria said. "Just between us girls, Kate, he's quite an unusual man."
    "Yes, well, I suppose he is," Kate answered cautiously. She wasn't sure where this conversation was headed.
    "It's not just that he's so attractive, although that certainly counts for a lot," Gloria elaborated. "He's intelligent, sensitive and caring. He's also potentially one of the most successful lawyers in the country."
    Kate picked a twig out of her hair. Yes, Steven Reid was all those things, as well as stubborn, impatient and opinionated. He wouldn't be nearly as interesting a person without such traits. Gloria made him sound like a saint. How dull that would be!
    Gloria was observing her too carefully, Kate thought, annoyed by the undercurrents she sensed.
    "How much of your message do you actually want me to relay to Steven?" she asked without ceremony.
    "Oh, Steve already knows what a high regard I have for him," Gloria said easily. "I was just wondering how you felt about him, Kate, and it's clear that you share my opinion."
    Kate said nothing to this, sure that Gloria would use any information she gleaned today to suit her own purposes. At last Gloria stood up, shaking back her lustrous mane of hair. Her eyes were oddly opaque, so dark they were almost black, and they were impossible to read.
    "I've enjoyed chatting with you, Kate," she said, sounding companionable and completely sincere. "I'd like to talk to you again sometime. I might be able to throw some decorating business your way."
    "I have more than I can handle right now," Kate said.
    "You should always cultivate your contacts," Gloria answered coolly. "I could be of invaluable assistance to you in your career. Goodbye now. Please do tell Steve that I stopped by to see him."
    Kate nodded