“Why would he be doing that?” My voice squeaked on the last word.
“So I know how to do it. Why else?” She sliced open an envelope, stacked it neatly to the side, and moved on to the next.
I looked to Ethan for an answer, but he seemed a little dazed. So I asked again. “Why are you showing my grandmother how to go through the office mail?”
“Angela quit yesterday without notice.” He cleared his throat. “Verda happened to show up right afterward.”
“Angela? Your secretary? But what does that have to do with—?” Oh, no. I got it, and I didn’t like it. “You hired my grandmother? Seriously?”
“Just for the interim, until I can find a replacement. It seemed like a good solution yesterday when Verda offered.” His gaze floated off to my left somewhere.
“Grandma? Why?” Ouch. I instantly regretted asking that. Because I knew why.
“Why not? It’ll be fun being around you, and I can earn a little extra money. I worked as a secretary for years, you know that.” A simple enough statement, which would make a great deal of sense to anyone else. I nearly bought her oh-so-innocent explanation too, but then I noticed her hand—the one wielding the letter opener—moving in the direction of Ethan’s shirt.
She wouldn’t actually slice his shirt off. Would she? I tried to keep an eye on her while I spoke. “But you’re so busy all the time. With Vinny. Maybe you should reconsider.”
“I won’t be coming in every day, dear. Just two or three mornings a week. To help out.” She winked at me, and her hand inched closer.
Okay, I needed to stop this before she did something crazy. “Grandma? What are you doing?”
“There’s some lint on Ethan’s shirt. I’m just going to pull it off.”
“What? That’s not—” Ethan’s hand went to his shirt at the same time Grandma’s did, but she was quicker. Not to mention sneakier.
“Already got it!” She pretended to drop the invisible piece of lint on the floor, and scooted back to her former position, grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary. Her free hand tightened into a fist.
I dashed to her side and grabbed the letter opener. “What’s in your hand?”
“Oh, dear. All the chatter distracted me.” Grandma Verda batted her eyelashes innocently at Ethan, her voice as sweet as southern iced tea. “I’m so sorry, but it seems I somehow removed one of your buttons.” Then she opened her fist, and lying there was the button in question.
“Yes. Somehow. I wonder how that happened?” I glared at my grandmother. Or I tried to, but she didn’t look at me.
Ethan held up a hand. “It’s not a big deal. I have plenty of other shirts at home. Not a problem.” He grinned at Grandma Verda. “Remind me not to chatter around you when you’re opening mail, though,” he teased.
“I’m so terribly sorry. You know what? I’m positive I have a travel sewing kit in my handbag. Why don’t you slip that shirt off for me and I’ll fix it right up. I’ll be done before you know it!”
My God, she was good. I had to admit, even I was a little impressed, and I’d grown up witnessing her antics. I thought I’d seen it all. Curiosity got the better of me, and I walked back around to the other side of the desk and took a seat. So I could watch her in action.
“That’s a very nice offer, Verda,” Ethan said, “but it isn’t necessary. It’s just a button.”
“Young man, you are in a position of authority here. You need to look the part. It will only take a minute,” Grandma Verda said.
“Really. It’s okay. Let’s finish the mail so I can have one of the girls show you how to use the phones.”
Grandma Verda pouted. I tried not to chuckle, because as sorry as I felt for Ethan, I knew she’d win. He didn’t have a chance. And nope, I wasn’t going anywhere.
“I’ll feel badly all day unless you let me mend your shirt.” She sighed pitifully. “But if you’re sure.” She rubbed her eyes, and I thought—maybe—she was taking it too far. But then she sort of did a heavy shrug, as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. “Okay. Show me the rest of the mail,” she said with a sigh.
Ethan glanced at me and then back at my grandmother. “I don’t want you to feel bad about this, Verda. It’s no big deal.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “I hate the thought of you walking around all day with a missing button…”
Humor glinted in Ethan’s eyes as he gave in. “If it’s that important to you, I’d be quite pleased if you’d mend my shirt.”
That was all Grandma Verda needed to hear. Without hesitation, she began unbuttoning his shirt for him. I put my hand over my mouth to cover my grin.
“It’s the right thing to do,” she was saying.
With a slight tilt of her head, she winked at me. I winked back. Poor Ethan. I reminded myself to scold my grandmother later, because her actions were wrong. But for now? I waited on the edge of my seat. Literally.
“I can take care of this, Verda.” He gently removed her hand from his shirt, turned slightly away, and finished unbuttoning it himself. His position couldn’t have been better. As soon as the shirt came off, I’d have a perfect view of his right shoulder. Anticipation had me scooting closer. I leaned in a bit more. Was this it? Was Grandma Verda right? Was I actually about to find out if Ethan was my soul mate? I leaned in even farther. And waited.
Grandma Verda watched in rapt attention. He lifted his shoulders, pulled the shirt back and off his arms, and…I almost chewed my lip off in frustration. Because instead of the bare back I’d expected to see, what greeted me was a white T-shirt. Sure, it fit him like a second skin, and the urge to touch him blasted through me, but it seemed—for now, at least—my question was to remain unanswered.
Settling back in my chair, I pulled my lollipop out of my pocket, removed the wrapper, and stuck it in my mouth. Because while I wasn’t exactly queasy, my stomach swirled as if I’d just stepped off of a roller coaster. My grandmother appeared just as frustrated. She slumped forward for a second, but then she got to business. In less than five minutes, she had the button sewn back on and was handing the shirt to Ethan. “There. All fixed.”
“Thanks.” He shook his head, a bewildered haze once again settling around him. “I…ah…appreciate it.”
“You’re such a delightful man. I’m so going to enjoy getting to know you better.” She patted him on his arm. “Oh! And the rest of the family will adore you. Especially Isobel, Alice’s mother. She’ll think you’re perfect!”
His confusion deepened. “That’s…nice. Thank you, Verda.”
Before she could say anything else, I jumped in. “Hey, Grandma? I kind of need to talk to Ethan for a minute.”
“Well, go ahead. Cat got your tongue?”
“Grandma!” I threw my gaze from her to the door. Luckily, she got the message.
She wrinkled her nose. “Since my granddaughter wants your undivided attention, I’ll take the mail to the desk out front and finish opening it. That way you two can talk.” She grabbed the pile of mail. When she reached me, she held out a hand and I dropped the letter opener in it.
When the door closed again, Ethan put his shirt back on. It didn’t bother me, because it wasn’t like I could see anything anyway. “Did I miss something there?” His Irish lilt was a little more pronounced than normal.
I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth. “I warned you. My grandmother is a little quirky. Things seem to happen when she’s around.”
“I’m still not sure how she talked me into hiring her. I was all set to say no, because I worried it might be awkward for you, but somehow I ended up saying yes. And this morning, I was going to have someone else show her the mail, but…” He blinked. “Well, let’s just say your grandmother should give lessons in charm. She’d be a millionaire within a month.”
The realization that he liked her, even with all her manipulations, made me like him even more. “Grandma Verda’s kind of an original.”
&n
bsp; He chuckled, and the warm rolling sound eased into me. Rather than sitting in his chair, he took the one next to me. “Something about that generation, maybe. As I said before, she reminds me a great deal of my own grandmother.”
Dear God, he smelled good. The scent punched into my brain, interrupting my thought processes. “Um, Ethan? What cologne do you wear? I’d like to pick some up.”
“As a gift?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to say what I was thinking, that it was more along the lines of dousing one of my nightshirts with it, but luckily, rational thought won out. “Um. Yes. As a gift…for…one of my brothers.”
He reached across the desk and grabbed a pad of Postits. After scribbling on the top sheet, he handed it over. “I don’t think you can buy it locally. I wrote down the Web site I purchase it from.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” I folded up the little yellow paper and shoved it in my pocket.
He waited expectantly, his eyes never leaving mine. I tried to remember what I needed to tell him, but sadly, my mind remained a total blank.
“There’s something I wanted to ask you, but you go first. What did you need to talk about?” he said.
All at once, it came back to me: The e-mail. The invitation. Awesome. Better to just get it over with, you know? “Well…I sort of sent you an e-mail this morning. See, I meant to send it only to you, but somehow I clicked wrong, and it went out to several other people.”
“Is this a problem?”
“Not really, but I thought you should know. Because…well, I sort of…Not sort of. I did. And…” Crap. This was hard. Really, really hard.
Then he did something completely unexpected. He wrapped his hand around mine. His touch set off little tiny explosions in my brain, making it even more difficult to think. And to breathe. “You did what?”
I still couldn’t think. Probably I needed oxygen, so I sucked in a large mouthful of air. Only, instead of helping, it made me a little dizzy. My mouth went dry. “Um.”
“What is it, Alice? It can’t be that bad.”
“I asked you out on a date. In the e-mail. And by now, probably everyone knows about it, so, well…I needed to tell you.” I hoped he understood me, because no way would I be able to say it all again.
He didn’t reply, but he didn’t let go of my hand, either. A light of interest—and humor?—gleamed in his eyes. “Let me make sure I have this right. You asked me out on a date via an e-mail, which you accidentally sent to several other people here at Enchanted Expressions. Is that correct?”
“Um. Yes.” He didn’t appear taken aback by the idea. At all. That propelled me forward. “On Saturday. To a cookout,” I blurted.
The gleam in his eye grew brighter. “Ah, yes. The American tradition of broiling meat over a grill in the great outdoors. And you’d like me to escort you?”
“Should be fun,” I offered. “And you’ll be able to meet my friends.”
He didn’t respond right away, which worried me. Maybe I’d gone too far? Maybe I’d misinterpreted everything? Or, even worse, maybe I was delusional. I should have known better than to listen to Grandma Verda. But then he squeezed my hand, sending another thousand volts through my brain. “I’d love to go. I’m just sorry I didn’t ask you out first. I was planning on it.”
“Really? You were?”
“Yes, I really was. But you beat me to it.”
Wow. Warmth centered into me, flowing through my body like water. “So…you’re not upset about the e-mail?”
“Not at all. Are you?”
Hmm. How much to say? “Not upset, but worried, maybe. You are the boss. I don’t want people thinking bad things about you. Or me.”
“We’re allowed to have a personal life, Alice. And as long as we don’t let it affect what happens at the office, then I don’t see any issues.” He grinned. “Besides, I think you’ll find most people here won’t even care.”
Well, okay. He had a point. There were already several couples, a few of them even married, employed at Enchanted Expressions. And, as he’d said before, it was a laid-back office. But it still worried me.
Even so, that worry didn’t stop the tingle of excitement from knowing he was interested. In me. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I am. I’m not saying there might not be some teasing here and there, but I’ve worked hard to create an environment that respects personal space. Give the people here a little credit. They’re not going to care what we do in our off time.”
All at once, his shoulders stiffened. “Unless you’re not comfortable with this. That’s an entirely different matter. I’d like to date you, Alice. And seeing as you sent me that e-mail, I’m assuming you feel the same. But what’s most important is your comfort level. You can take the invitation back if you’re having second thoughts.”
“No! I’m not. I definitely am not doing that,” I murmured.
“Then don’t worry about the e-mail. I’ll take care of it,” he promised.
This thing happened then; I’m not sure exactly how to explain it. But the air became charged, and all I wanted to do was lean forward, stroke his cheek with my hand, and kiss him like he’d never been kissed before. As if he could hear my thoughts, he blinked. His eyes darkened from their normal light gray to a smoky black.
The yearning grew stronger. I stuck my lollipop back in my mouth and willed my body to chill out. My skin flushed, and I knew, without even looking in a mirror, I was likely red all over. I tried to find control, I really did. But as he leaned forward, I knew if his lips touched mine, I’d lose any and all control—and dear God, what a pleasant thought that was.
His eyes found mine again, still dark, searching. I needed to cool down. Fast. Before I did something I shouldn’t be doing—at least not here, and not now. I wished for an icy cold shower, because honestly, being doused with frigid water was about the only thing that would stop this moment that was about to happen. Tickles of anticipation dotted my skin. And then a long, slow series of shivers began.
Oh-so-gently, he removed the lollipop from my hand and pulled it from my mouth. Dear God, he was really going to kiss me.
“Alice,” he sighed, “I find you in my thoughts constantly. Even when I’m supposed to be focusing on other things, you’re there, making it quite difficult to concentrate on anything.” His head bent down. I gave up the fight, closed my eyes, and waited for our lips to touch.
My stomach swirled, the shivers grew stronger and, right or wrong, too fast or not, I couldn’t wait for his kiss. His hand grasped my chin, tipped my face upward, and another tremble whisked over and through me.
Just as our lips should have met, a blast of icy cold water poured down on my head, slicing through my clothes to my skin. I gasped. Pulling back, I opened my eyes. “It’s raining!” I choked, wrapping my arms around me.
“Not rain!” he called over the downpour. “The sprinklers have gone off. Come on, we need to get out of here. There must be a fire in the building.”
He pulled me from the chair. Before we even made it to the door, however, we realized the rain had stopped. Just like that. And that’s when it hit: I’d wished for an icy cold shower, and that was what I’d gotten. Maybe this was good, maybe bad, but at least I had time to think about the kiss that had almost happened.
“Hmm, that’s a little strange,” Ethan remarked. We turned back to appraise the room, and what we saw was even stranger. Because the only wet spots were the chairs we’d just sat in; everything on Ethan’s desk remained dry, and the rest of the office was untouched. “I’m going to make sure everything’s okay,” he said, heading for his phone.
Another thought occurred: Not all of my wishes came true. But this particular wish had. Was that because Ethan wasn’t my soul mate, or was it just because it was too much, too soon? Or perhaps it was the wrong place? I didn’t know. But, somehow, whether with magic or without, it needed to be figured out.
I tugged at my wet clothes and then pushed a strand of sopping hair behind my ear, wa
iting for Ethan to finish his call. When he hung up, he said, “Everything’s fine. But the sprinkler company is sending a technician over to see if they can figure out what happened.”
“At least your computer and everything is okay,” I pointed out. I felt kind of bad, because I knew the technician wasn’t going to find anything wrong.
“Thank goodness.” He took in my wet appearance, and then glanced down at his own soaked clothes. “Go home and change. I’m going to do the same. If it weren’t for that staff meeting today, I’d suggest we play hooky. Go take in a movie or something.”
Honestly? I was kind of glad for the staff meeting. Because I kind of thought a little distance before spending any more alone time with Ethan would be a good plan. You know, just to get things straightened out in my head.
I remembered that feeling right before the kiss that didn’t happen—how much I’d wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to taste him. I shook my head to push the sensation away.
“That would have been nice,” I mumbled.
“Another time,” he promised.
“I’m…um…going to go do that now—go home and change,” I said. And with that, I swiveled on my heel and attempted to walk naturally out of his office. I was pretty pleased I didn’t fall on my face.
Later that afternoon, dressed in dry clothing and after the staff meeting, I gathered my belongings and headed for my desk. Other than a few snickers from my coworkers regarding the mass-delivered e-mail, not to mention my soaking wet departure from Ethan’s office that morning, the meeting had gone well.
True to his word, Ethan had put a halt to the giggling. He’d made a quick announcement about how we were a team, and that every person within the team also had a private life that sometimes bled into the workplace. He reminded us to respect each other, and to keep the focus on work. His message did the trick, because the sidelong glances ended.
Beyond that, we were going to move ahead with my design ideas for the Frosty’s account as well as Missy’s, and present both to the client in a few weeks. So, points for me.
Missy had glared at me throughout the entire meeting, however. I didn’t know if it was over the account or the date e-mail, or maybe both, but Ethan was right. I needed to confront the issue and deal with it. Her attitude bugged me. A lot. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those women who needs everyone to like her, but if someone’s going to dislike me, it’d be nice to know why. I was pretty sure it wasn’t just because we had divergent views on the ad campaign.
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