Miracles for Nick

by Holly Fuhrmann

  He slammed his briefcase onto her desk. “Two weeks. We're before a judge I don't know the slightest thing about. We have to plot a defense, but in order to do that, I need answers. I need you to help me this time. At that last meeting you just sat and watched the meeting fall apart. I need you, Glory."

  "You need me?"

  "To help plot the fairies’ defense."

  Of course. He needed her for fairy help, not for rumpling help.

  "Do you believe they're fairies?” she asked.

  "Of course not. I've just fallen into the habit of referring to them as fairies, since that's how they refer to themselves.” He paused and studied her a moment. “You don't believe they're fairies, do you?"

  "Well, no. I mean, it would be nice to believe that there really is magic in the world, that happily-ever-afters really do exist, and that I'm about due for one.” If she lived in that type of world, then Nick Aaronson might just be the man for her. They way he worried about the fairies, the way he'd taken this case to heart despite the fact he never wanted it in the first place, despite all the reasons she had for not falling for a man like Nick—if there really was magic in the world he'd be just the man for her.

  But the fairies were simply delusional, harmless women, and Nick Aaronson wasn't the man for Glory Chambers. At least not in an ever-after sense. But maybe there was a slim chance he could be hers for a passing moment or two.

  "Glory, you're a lovely woman, but I'm not ready for an until-death-do-us-part kind of relationship. I can hardly handle casual dating. I—"

  Gently, she touched her index finger to his lips. “Shh. I wasn't asking you for a commitment. But maybe you should think about committing me after I do what I've been fantasizing about since you walked in the door."

  "What?” he asked, his voice raw with something Glory knew should make her nervous, but instead made her more determined—

  Before she could talk herself out of it, she kissed him. Oh, not some little light peck with her lips barely brushing his type of kiss. No, she kissed his socks off, kissed her own socks off, and wished she had the nerve to kiss off other articles of clothing.

  There was a burst of recognition—a this-is-where-I-belong feeling—that terrified her, and conversely left her wanting more.

  Tasting and exploring Nick, reveling in the fact he not only didn't end the kiss, but deepened it, exploring her as much as she was exploring him. Glory jerked his shirt from his waistband and slid her hands beneath the cloth, exploring the texture of the soft flesh covering his superb muscles.

  Superb. Yes, that was an apt word to describe Nick Aaronson. Superbly male. Kissing him left Glory feeling totally feminine and totally—

  She broke off the kiss. “We can't do that again.” She withdrew her hand from beneath his shirt, took two hasty steps backward, and probably would have kept going except she backed right into the door.

  "I mean it.” Her voice was just a husky shadow of its normal self. “This can't keep happening. There are too many reasons why we shouldn't let it happen. Not the least of which is you and I really don't want to like each other."

  "No, we don't, do we?"

  "It's your family and their fairies that are doing it. If I believed in magic, I'd believe these feelings were just some spell.” Actually, it would be easier to believe what she was feeling was someone else's will being imposed on her own. She'd never felt like this before. “So let's agree we'll work together for Myrtle, Fern and Blossom—with no more kissing. And when the case is settled go our separate ways."

  "Deal."

  Nick sounded relieved. Well, that was good because Glory was very relieved to know that soon her association with him would end.

  But first they had to clear the fairies.

  "So where do we begin?” she asked.

  * * * *

  "So, let's start at the beginning,” Nick said.

  They were all back in his conference room, and he was bound and determined to finally get some straight answers from his pseudo-fairy clients.

  In unison the three women started talking.

  "We—"

  "Grace—"

  "In the beginning—"

  "Stop!” Nick said. “Myrtle. You start."

  The redheaded leader of the pack sat a little straighter and shot her sisters a pleased smile. “Fine. Once upon a time there was a writer named Grace—"

  "We've been over this. Start at the beginning of this case, not at the beginning of Grace's life.” Nick resisted the urge to scream. If he felt like screaming when they'd just started, how would he feel an hour from now?

  "If you keep interrupting I'll never get the story told,” Myrtle scolded.

  "Fine.” He felt his teeth clench and consciously relaxed them. “Go on."

  "Grace wrote about love, but didn't have a love of her own. In her books she found loves for Nettie, Pauline, Susan, Alice, and the Spring sisters, April, May and June. But she couldn't find one for herself. So we came to help."

  "And you're claiming you three are characters that Grace wrote about?” Nick asked.

  "That's right. Did you ever read the Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams? In it, the Skin Horse explains that toys that are loved long enough and hard enough become real. Well, Grace and her readers loved us hard enough and well enough that, like that rabbit, we became real."

  "And you expect a judge to buy that?” Nick wasn't buying it, and from the look on Glory's face, neither was she. So how on earth could they expect a judge to? Actually, strutting a story like this could get an attorney in trouble, and Nick had no idea what kind of patience Judge Bernard Fallon had.

  Fern shrugged. “It doesn't matter if he buys our story. It's the truth—that's all that matters."

  "Max and Joy will testify for us,” Blossom said.

  "No.” He wasn't about to tell them his brother and sister had not only offered to testify, but were insisting on it. “I have read Grace's books.” Admitting that much was probably too much. “And while I'll admit the three of you resemble her characters, even if I believed in fairy tales, you couldn't be Grace's fairy godmothers since both Glory and I are sitting here looking at you. Grace's fairies could only be seen by their godchildren. You claim I'm the godchild, and yet Glory and an entire restaurant of customers can see you."

  "Oh that.” Blossom looked worried.

  "Yeah, that,” Nick said.

  "Well, we went in front of the fairy council and got some rules changed,” Myrtle said.

  "Just like that, they changed the rules?” Glory jumped in.

  Nick shot her a grateful look, then wished he hadn't looked at her. She was a distraction. Her coppery curls were piled into a wild mass on top of her head. And those blue eyes—he could get lost in their depths if he'd give himself half a chance. But he wasn't about to give himself that chance. Then he thought about the kiss they'd shared. The kisses.

  He gave his head a shake. No. Giving Glory and her kisses even the slightest chance wasn't a good idea. And he certainly wasn't going to even consider thinking about what kind of woman would hire fairies, and then stand by them so steadfastly when they were in trouble. That type of loyalty and devotion were far more appealing than her kisses, which were far too appealing for Nick's own good.

  "There were extenuating circumstances,” Myrtle mumbled.

  "Which were?” Nick pressed.

  "We can't say.” Myrtle's tone left no room for arguments. The fairies might muddle things, but they didn't intimidate easily.

  "Blossom, can you say?” Glory asked.

  The blonde ignored her sisters’ distressed expressions and said in one rushed breath, “Oh, we had to argue long and hard, you know, and finally the council agreed there was no other way since Ber—"

  "Blossom!” Myrtle and Fern yelled in unison.

  "Sorry."

  "Prove it to me,” Nick said suddenly, hoping to catch them off guard.

  "Prove what?” Myrtle asked.

  "Prove that you're fairies.”
When they couldn't do magic, they'd have to admit they were delusional, and admitting there was a problem was the first step in solving it. Max would surely know someone who would be able to treat the three women's fairy delusions. Nick didn't know why he hadn't thought about it before.

  "Do something magical.” He tossed the gauntlet on the table and waited.

  "We can't,” Blossom said sadly. “I know it would make it easier for the two of you to believe, but we can't prove we're fairies by using our magic. It was part of the deal."

  "What deal?” Glory asked.

  "With the council. We gave up our powers ... well, not really gave them up. We agreed not to use them in front of any humans, until these two cases—yours and Nick's, and Fiona's—are over."

  "Grace threatened to make us mortal, and the council thought living like humans might be a humbling experience,” Fern explained. “Nick, your dream was our last bit of fairy magic."

  "Well, there was a few small things, but we never did them when any mortals were around,” Blossom added.

  "Yet, you claim to read minds,” Nick stated more than asked.

  "Oh, that's not magic,” Myrtle said with a small laugh. “It's ... well, for us it's a sense, like smelling or hearing or—"

  "I get the picture.” Damn. Every time he thought they were making headway, he found he hadn't moved an inch. “Back to your story."

  Myrtle folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. “We fixed up Max and Grace, and did a bunch of little matches before we fixed up Joy and Gabriel."

  "And that just left you,” Fern said to Nick.

  "The last Aaronson on our list.” Blossom sighed, a breathy little Southern-belle-type sigh, and pressed her clasped hands over her heart. “It's so romantic. A whole family of happily-ever-afters, just like the Spring sisters."

  Nick didn't want to hear any more fairy talk of happily-ever-afters with Glory. He didn't want to think about Glory at all. Glory who was once again just sitting across from him, taking in the conversation but not helping him. Blossom was prattling on about the Spring sisters, a group of Grace's fairy godmother romance books, but Nick was only half listening. He was concentrating on Glory. She was giving the small blonde her full attention, smiling a soft little smile as she listened.

  Nick imagined what it would be like to have that attention focused on him, to have that soft smile all to himself. To have those soft lips pressed against his, opening and inviting him in. God, he wanted her. And the wanting seemed to grow by leaps and bounds, despite his need to keep his distance.

  He realized that Blossom was winding down. “And then May built a small shelter on her lonely island and dreamed about Julian, while he was on his lonely island dreaming about her. Of course, we helped those dreams along."

  "Of course it was your fault that they ended up on different deserted islands.” Fern looked smug.

  "Was not. You know it was you who suggest we strand them—"

  "On the same deserted island."

  "Girls,” Myrtle scolded, then turned her attention back to Nick. “Oh, we've had some tough cases in the past. Why, I wasn't sure we'd ever get June out of jail for kidnapping."

  Fern hurriedly added, “And then there was the time when Susan had mono—"

  Blossom interrupted. “And Cap fell and broke his hip."

  "Or—"

  Nick massaged his aching temples. He couldn't seem to keep his fairy clients—or his wayward thoughts about Glory—under control. “I think we get the picture. Those relationships turned out all right, but what I need to know is what happened to Fiona."

  "And so did Max and Grace's, and Gabriel and Joy's relationships,” Myrtle pointed out.

  "But Fiona's romance didn't. What happened to Fiona?” Nick repeated.

  "Her case might not have worked out yet, but May and Julian had a bit of a wait on their separate islands before they got their happily-ever-afters,” Myrtle said.

  "You mean you're not done with her?” Oh, God. That's all he needed. Three old ladies, convinced they were fairies, being sued and still trying to play matchmakers.

  "Of course we're not done with her,” Myrtle assured him.

  Nick suppressed a groan. “So why are you here tormenting—"

  "Nick, we're not tormenting you.” Blossom looked hurt.

  "—me if you're still working on Fiona's case,” he finished, ignoring Blossom.

  "Because Fiona's case is special,” Fern said.

  "And it's tied to yours,” Blossom said, hurt feelings obviously forgotten.

  "I thought you wanted Glory and me to get together.” Fiona? Now they were going to try to fix him up with Fiona? That's all he needed—representing three fairy godmothers who were convinced he should fall in love with the woman suing them. He looked across the table at Glory—Fiona couldn't hold a candle to her.

  Why had the fairies given up on giving him a happily-ever-after with Glory?

  As if she really could read his mind, Fern said, “We haven't given up on you and Glory."

  "Then how can I be tied to Fiona?"

  "Oh, you're not tied to her romantically,” Blossom said merrily. “Oh, tying. Now there's a thought girls. We could tie—"

  "No tying,” Glory warned. She'd been trying to keep quiet, but it was hard. When the fairies had said that Nick and Fiona were tied ... well, she couldn't quite identify the feeling that had struck her chest like a physical blow. The feeling should have been relief, but it wasn't. No, relief in her case wasn't spelled F-I-O-N-A.

  Deciding that since she'd entered the fracas, she might as get her two cents in, Glory continued, “No tying, and no matchmaking. We're here today because Nick has to have some sort of defense for you. We're not here so the three of you can get into more trouble."

  Blossom wrung her hands together. “But Glory, we need Nick to get her and..."

  "Get her who and do what?” Nick demanded, suspiciously.

  Fern and Blossom opened their mouths as if they were going to answer him, but Myrtle squelched them with a look. “Now, Nick, we can't tell all our secrets."

  Nick raked his hand through his dark hair, mussing it. Glory felt the urge to walk around the table and smooth it back into place for him. Instead of allowing the impulse—the silly impulse—to guide her, she sat on her hands.

  Nick smoothed his hair back into place, saving Glory the trouble. “Listen,” his voice was tight and controlled. “I didn't want to take this case, but I did because for some crazy reason I felt responsible for you all."

  "We've answered everything you've asked,” Myrtle said.

  "Except for what happened between the three of you and Fiona,” Glory pointed out.

  "We visited her and had a plan, but she wouldn't cooperate,” Blossom said. “If she'd simply listened, then she wouldn't have had to sue us."

  "What plan?” Nick asked.

  "We wanted her to come with us to Fairyland,” Blossom said despite the fact Myrtle was shooting her looks that could kill. “And it's against the rules to just kidnap people."

  Finding the weak link, Nick pressed, “But according to Grace, you had her kidnapped."

  "Oh, we didn't kidnap her, Clarence did,” Blossom said. Myrtle looked like she was going to shush her, but Blossom shook her head and said, “He needs to know the truth. We couldn't just take Fiona to Fairyland if she didn't want to go. If you'd read your fairy tales, you'd know that people have to enter the fairy-circles of their own free will."

  "Oh, we might try to trick them, but they ultimately make the decision,” Fern added.

  Myrtle thumped a fist on the table. “Your mouths waddle like a duck's a—"

  "Myrtle!” Fern and Blossom gasped in unison.

  "Why do you want Fiona to go to Fairyland?” Glory asked, trying to diffuse the situation and get this meeting back on track.

  "Why, haven't you guessed?” Fern and Blossom asked together, despite the fact Myrtle's face was a brighter shade of red than her hair.

  "How could we gue
ss anything?” Nick roared. “Just answer the question. Why do you want Fiona to go Fairyland to find her own happily-ever-after."

  "Why, Nick, Fiona's a fairy,” Blossom and Fern said.

  "She doesn't know she's a fairy,” Blossom added. “But she is."

  Myrtle jumped out of her chair and stalked from the conference room.

  "Oh, now she's going to be in a snit,” Fern moaned. “Myrtle likes to think she's the boss, but you two needed to know what's going on."

  "Come on, Fern, let's go see if we can catch up to her and talk her out of being mad."

  Fern and Blossom scrambled out of their seats and out of the room.

  Glory stared at Nick, feeling at a loss. How did she comfort a man who represented three supposed fairy godmothers who were being sued by another supposed fairy who apparently didn't know she was a fairy? The first thought that came to mind was kissing. Lots and lots of kissing.

  Nick stood and started gathering his papers. “That's it. I quit."

  "Nick, you can't quit.” Glory wasn't sure what to do. She didn't believe the fairies, but she also didn't believe they intentionally harmed Fiona. She didn't believe they were a danger to anyone but themselves. And, she realized, she didn't believe Nick was going to quit.

  "Well, I do.” He stalked toward the door.

  She rose and simply touched his elbow. It was enough to stop him. “But if the case is coming before the judge so soon, what will we do?” she asked softly.

  "How should I know? And you don't have to do anything, you're not being sued."

  He shook his arm as if to free himself of her touch, but Glory held on. She wasn't going to let go of Nick that easily. Not that she wanted him for anything more than his legal expertise. “I may not be the one being sued, but I am responsible for them."

  "Why? Supposedly they're my fairy godmothers, not yours."

  "But they work for me. And I believe they have their hearts in the right place."

  "Do fairies have hearts?” he sneered.

  "You can't just walk away from this.” She was talking about the fairies, she assured herself even as she moved closer to him. She took his papers and gently placed them on the table. “You can't just walk out on us."