Polished Off

by Lila Dare

  “Marv! What are you doing here?”

  “Running the lights and sound. I’ve gotta keep my hand in until the theater’s rebuilt.”

  “You’re rebuilding?” Given his negative attitude toward the theater, the news surprised me. “I thought you wanted out from under it.”

  Rubbing his fleshy nose, he said, “Me, too. Until it burned. I couldn’t believe how sad it made me to see the bricks all blackened like that. So, I’m rebuilding. If I’m lucky, maybe the fire got rid of the mice. I should reopen by next summer. I’ve already got a production of Waiting for Godot booked in. It’s one of my favorites.”

  I congratulated him and caught up with Rachel in the hall. She was talking to a good-looking blond kid she introduced as Braden after giving me a hug. If the look in his eyes was any indication, he appreciated the real Rachel; he didn’t even glance at Tabitha when she swept by in a fog of roses and triumph.

  “Stella’s not, like, totally upset about the dress, is she?”

  “No,” I said with a smile. “She understood.”

  “Great!” Rachel beamed. “Let me change and we can go,” she said to Braden.

  He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “Why don’t you just wear that? You look great.”

  Nice kid, I thought, as another high school-aged girl with waist-length brown hair elbowed her way past a clump of people and stood in front of Rachel and Braden, arms akimbo. She quirked one dark eyebrow. “I didn’t think you’d do it, Whitley, but you kicked butt.” She lobbed something metallic toward Rachel, who snatched it out of the air. A key ring. “One week, okay?”

  “Thanks, Shannon.” Rachel jangled the keys victoriously as she and Braden headed off for whatever after-pageant celebration they had planned.

  “Ready?” Marty’s voice sounded behind me.

  I turned with a smile that got broader as I studied his elegant figure in the well-cut tux. His closeness made my tummy do loop-de-loops.

  “Well?” he prompted.

  “I think I just might be,” I said.

  My mischievous tone kindled an answering smile that curved his lips and lit his brown eyes. “We are talking about dinner, right?” The look in his eyes said he hoped we weren’t.

  I tucked my arm in his. “Among other things.”

  Organic Skin-Care Recipes

  Mocha Body Scrub

  2 cups coffee grounds

  ¾ cup kosher salt or brown sugar

  1 tbsp. cocoa oil (other oils work fine, too, including olive

  oil) or cocoa butter

  Pour oil or place cocoa butter in a medium bowl. Add coffee grounds and salt or sugar. Mix well. Use to exfoliate arms, back, chest, etc. by massaging gently into skin during or just after shower. (If using during shower, ensure you have a wide enough drain to wash the coffee grounds down.)

  Eucalyptus Bath Salts

  3 tbsp. Epsom salts

  10 tsp. baking soda

  6-8 drops eucalyptus essential oil (or sandalwood or

  vanilla)

  5-6 drops food coloring (your choice of color)

  Measure Epsom salts into small bowl. Add baking soda and crumble together, mixing well with your hands. Add 6-8 drops of your essential oil. Don’t overdo it or your bath salts will dissolve. Mix well. Using gloves, mix the food coloring into the bath salts, making sure the color permeates the mixture evenly. Transfer to a glass jar with tightly fitting lid. Use within two weeks (or they lose a lot of their scent). To use, add a handful of salts to the tub while the water’s running.

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Lila Dare

  TRESSED TO KILL

  POLISHED OFF