Moira chuckled. “I bet that ruined the moment.”
“He recovered. Got down on one knee for the repeat and made a big speech. It was beautiful. The whole restaurant applauded.”
“I wish I could have been there to see it.” She beamed. “I really am so happy for you, Zoey. Have you set a date yet?”
She released my hand, and we settled into our chairs across the table from each other.
I took a sip of champagne and sighed. “Nothing official yet. We’ve got a lot going on right now, so we’re thinking sometime late next year.”
Her forehead creased. “It’s a shame it won’t be sooner.”
I didn’t understand. “I’m in no hurry. We practically live together anyway. We’ll get to it eventually.”
“No, that’s not it.” She twirled her champagne flute between her fingers, watching the bubbles swirl in the glass. “I’m selling the shop and retiring to Florida with my sister.”
My heart sank. No Moira? No Splendid Creations? Hadn’t my world already been altered enough? I realized I was being selfish. I hadn’t even seen her in months. It wasn’t as if she had to plan her life around my convenience. But really, she was my go-to baker. I’d always expected she would be the one to do my wedding cake someday.
I forced myself to give her a bright smile. “Florida. Wow.” I took a second to gather myself together. Moira had worked hard. She deserved this. I raised my glass to her. “Congratulations. I’ll miss you—and your delicious cakes—but I’m really happy for you.”
She grinned and raised her glass in return. “Thank you. And congratulations on your engagement. I know you’re going to be very happy.”
We each took a sip, then set down our glasses.
“Let’s get to work,” she said. “If this is going to be our last collaboration, I want to make it spectacular.”
I reached into my magic purse without looking and pulled out the skimpy notes on Fiona’s wedding. Sara had given me very little to go on. Apparently, Fiona liked bold and whimsical designs, wanted a variety of cake and filling flavors but didn’t care which ones and still hadn’t chosen her color scheme.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to do the majority of the work on this one.” I flipped the page on my notes, hoping something new had appeared on the back. It hadn’t. “We’ll also be planning this without knowing the final colors. Sara couldn’t get a decision out of the bride, so I’m going to call her myself.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time the colors changed on me.” She jotted something down on her own notepad. “Just make sure I have them before I make the fondant for it. I’ve had people change their minds when the cake is half finished.”
“I’ll call her tonight.”
Moira and I talked about the design of the cake, and since it had been left up to me, I went with a four-layer topsy-turvy cake with bold designs alternating between whatever colors Fiona chose. Moira sketched a few ideas for me, and I picked out the parts I liked best. Or rather, what I hoped Fiona would like best. Seeing the sketch, I felt a little less irritated that Sara had booked this absentee-bride wedding. It gave me the opportunity to put a piece of myself into it in a way I couldn’t with previous brides.
Although I’d tasted Moira’s samples a hundred times in the past, this would be my last shot. I took my time dragging bits of cake through frosting and fillings, savoring every combination I could think to put together. In the end, I chose a different setup for each layer. The bottom was a simple French vanilla cake with Bavarian crème filling. Next up, a chocolate fudge with peanut butter cream, then lemon cake with fresh strawberry filling. The top tier was a red velvet with whipped cream cheese filling.
“If Fiona can’t find something to like in those combinations, I guess she should have made the time to choose for herself,” I said, draining my last glass.
Moira smiled as she finished jotting down notes on the job order. “They’re excellent choices, Zoey. You did a good job.”
She walked me to the door, and a lump formed in my throat.
Don’t be stupid, Zoey. She’s not leaving tomorrow.
I brushed aside the sudden bout of melancholy. “Thanks for everything, Moira. I’ll see you again before you leave.”
“Of course you will,” she said. “I can’t leave until I sell the business, and I’m not even putting it up for sale for another few weeks.” She paused, her face wistful. “And when the time comes, I hope you’ll send me a wedding invitation so I can come back for it.”
Her request touched me. She was a trusted business colleague and someone I would have called a friend. It was good to know she felt the same way and was willing to travel all the way from Florida to be at my wedding. That was something only a true friend did.
“Of course I will.” I gave her a quick hug. “I’ll come by and see you soon.”
I took two steps down the sidewalk, and my big black SUV pulled up to the curb next to me. The window rolled down.
Riley winked from behind the wheel. “Hey, cutie. Need a lift?”
I pretended to think about it. “Do you have any candy?”
He gave me a serious look. “Do you want some candy?”
“Oh, no!” I shook my head. “I’m not supposed to take candy from strange men.”
“Ah. Then, no. I don’t have any candy.” He graced me with his most charming smile.
“Fantastic! I could really use a ride.” I hopped into the passenger side of my own car. “No funny business, though. I have a fiancé.”
Riley snorted. “That guy? You deserve so much better.”
I laced my fingers through his and smiled. “You’re probably right. I am pretty fabulous.”
Any minute, the world would probably be in danger again. But for the moment, I was content. Also, a little buzzed from the champagne, but Riley didn’t need to know that.
* * *
Since we were in Sausalito already, we made a run to Sara’s house to pick up her mail and collect her newspapers. Sara and Maurice were able to spend time inside the house by traveling through the closet network to get there. Going outside was a no-no for a demon and a closet monster, considering her house was on a fairly busy neighborhood street with lots of people walking their dogs and kids riding skateboards.
The Homeowners Association would probably hold an emergency meeting to vote on monster residency policies, not to mention how fast the Neighborhood Watch would get a SWAT team out to blow open Sara’s front door.
Better for Riley and me to handle the mail and the lawn service.
We left the mail and the newspapers on the kitchen counter, knowing Sara would probably be by in the evening. On our way out the door, I stopped at her refrigerator and turned all her magnets upside down.
Not only would it irritate her, it would drive Maurice crazy, too.
“Next time we come,” I said, taking a souvenir picture of Sara and me at the aquarium and flipping it sideways, “let’s rearrange the furniture.”
Riley didn’t look enthused. “Oh, that sounds like loads of fun. Why don’t we paint the place orange and green while we’re at it?”
I gave him a hard look. “Sarcasm before three? Shame on you.”
He shrugged. “I like to get an early start.”
From Sara’s, we drove across town to the office. Riley waited in the car while I collected the junk mail and flyers that had piled up through the mail slot. Before I flipped off the light and shut the door, I took a good look at the little room where Sara and I had spent so many hours interviewing clients, calming brides, shouting at vendors.
I still had to figure out what to do with all the furniture, office supplies and the craft stuff in the back room. We didn’t want to keep paying rent on a space we no longer used. Something had to be done. I wasn’t ready to give it up quite yet, and I d
idn’t want to believe that Sara was, either.
I sighed and locked the door.
Once that was done, we found a spot to park around the corner for one last errand.
The bell jingled as we stepped inside the herbal shop, and a blur of fuzz and fur catapulted from across the room into my arms. I was ready for him. Milo, the utterly dashing fennec fox, was my biggest fan—and I was his. He covered my face in foxy kisses, and I laughed while I let him smother me.
I gave him a gentle hug and kissed the soft fur behind his one good ear. “I missed you, too, sweet boy. How about you let me come in the rest of the way?”
Riley scratched Milo’s head and got a foxy kiss of his own on the back of his hand.
Andrew appeared from the back, drying his hands on a dishcloth. “Well, look who you found, Milo. Tell them to come in and sit down.” He grinned and waved us through to the comfy old sofa at the back of the store. “Let me make some tea and I’ll be right over.”
Riley and I snuggled into the couch with Milo, who trampled back and forth between us, whapping us each in the face with his bottlebrush tail and making excited yips. At my feet, a nose pushed at my ankles, and Milo’s brother Howard, the enormous, grumpy-looking gray bunny, shoved himself behind my legs. Once he was settled in his Zoey-fort, Howard refused to budge while he shredded a piece of newspaper he found under the sofa.
Andrew crossed the room carrying three mugs of steeping tea. “Ah, the boys love their Aunt Zoey.” He grinned and set the mugs on the table in front of us. “You look a little down, Zo. I made you my Sunshine tea. It chases away the clouds.”
I blew on the hot liquid and took a tentative sip. “Tastes like raspberries.”
“Among other things.” He tipped his head toward Riley’s cup. “I made you green tea with mint. That’s your favorite, right?”
Riley’s eyes twinkled. “Thanks for remembering.”
We sat in comfortable silence while we blew on our tea. Andrew was his typical cheery self, all freckles and motion in a compact, muscular frame that always seemed ready to spring into action any second.
But something was off. I couldn’t quite place it, since I tried to keep my filters shut tight around my friends for fear of eavesdropping on their emotions. When I’d first found out I was an empath and learned to block out other people’s feelings, I’d learned quickly that I had no ability to read other people by body language alone. I’d always relied on my empath skills, though I hadn’t known I was doing it.
Since then, I’d learned a little about how to read people—plus I had some sleuthing skills I hadn’t exercised in the past. Andrew’s shoulders weren’t held as straight as usual. A tiny, nearly imperceptible line had formed between his eyes since the last time I’d seen him.
And if my nose was reading things right, he was drinking the raspberry tea, too.
I cleared my throat. “So.” I took a sip, not breaking eye contact. No use beating around the bush. “What’s wrong.” It was more a command than a question. He’d have cornered me the same way if the situation had been reversed.
Andrew sighed. “Wow. That took, what, three minutes since you walked through the door?”
I shrugged. “I’m getting better at this. And you’re terrible at covering up your thoughts. What’s going on?”
“You sure you didn’t cheat and take a peek?” He smiled to let me know he was teasing. “I don’t peek at your aura, you know.”
“I would hope not. I am a lady.”
Milo stepped from my lap to Riley’s, turned in a circle to wrap himself in his fluffy tail, then collapsed in a furry heap.
“Guess I’m not going anywhere.” Riley rested one hand on the snoozing animal, a look of contentment on both their faces.
Andrew cradled his cup in his hands, and I wondered how he didn’t burn himself on the hot ceramic.
“We’re drowning,” he said. “Business has thoroughly sucked lately. Daniel’s been working extra hours at the retirement home, but he can’t support us on a nursing aide’s salary. Nor should he.”
I’d never seen the shop busy, exactly, but usually somebody would have come in by now.
Riley’s voice was low to keep from disturbing Milo. “Can we do a marketing blitz or something to get more customers in here?”
“What do you think the problem is?” I asked. “Your teas are fantastic. I’d probably be in a hospital by now if you hadn’t cured my empath headaches. You used to have customers. Where’d they all go?”
Andrew’s eyes were sad. “I don’t know. There are tea shops all over town now. And you can buy bulk herbs at the natural food stores. When I started this place, I was the only game in town. Now...” He shrugged. “I’m inconveniently located and an extra stop.”
Riley set his cup on the table. “I hate to see this place go, but I’m yours when you need a hand moving. Just say the word.”
I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw something. I wanted to tell Andrew to “buck up” and “hang in there,” even though I knew those were useless phrases. “What are you going to do?”
More than anything, I wanted to cover my ears before he could answer.
“I think I’ve got no choice. I have to close the shop.” He took a gulp of tea that surely must have scalded all the way down.
It felt like he’d shot a cannonball into my stomach. Why was everything changing? Moira was selling the bakery and moving to Florida. Sara and I were closing the business. Now Andrew’s herb shop was folding.
To be fair, I didn’t think he’d ever made a lot of money at it. He drove a station wagon that had seen better days decades ago. He lived in a two-bedroom houseboat that was in constant need of repairs.
I suspected what little money he did have went to the retirement home where his grandparents lived—the same one where he’d met his boyfriend, Daniel.
“Besides,” he said, “Daniel’s thinking about going back to school to finish his nursing degree. I need to get a real job and help him make that happen. It’s my turn, you know?”
Even with my filters slammed shut, Andrew’s sadness and regret pooled around him in sticky gray clouds.
He saw me looking at the spaces around him and smirked. “I knew you couldn’t resist peeking.”
I opened my mouth to object, but I was interrupted by the jingle of the door. Andrew rose from his chair and hurried toward the front to greet his rare customer. He returned a moment later, escorting a woman I recognized.
Madame Emilia the fortune teller spread her arms, the diaphanous material of her dress and cloak moving with her and making her seem larger than she was. Fake jewels, moons, stars and golden eyes covered the purple velvets and deep-blue silks.
“Miss Donovan, I must speak with you. The spirits have an urgent message.”
Chapter Six
Madame Emilia’s Fortunes was directly across the street from Andrew’s herb shop. I’d never been inside, but I’d been right outside after she fell through her plate glass window when the Leprechaun Mafia cursed her with bad luck.
The doctors had done an excellent job, and the scars on her face a year later were only noticeable because I’d seen the original damage close up—close enough that I’d been covered in her blood by the time Riley had pulled me away to make room for the other EMTs.
She’d come to see me shortly after she was healed enough to be up and around, to thank me for staying with her until help had arrived. Occasionally, we both happened to be visiting Andrew at the same time and had tea together.
Madame Emilia was a sweet lady. And because I knew her, I also knew the grand gestures and fancy costumes were part of her gimmick to satisfy customers. In real life, she drove a minivan, took her kids to soccer practice every Tuesday and handmade quilts she sold online.
Her name wasn’t Madame Emilia, either.
“Hi Sheila,” I said. “New kaftan?”
She grinned and spun around. “I made it myself. Too much?”
“Never too much. It’s exquisite.”
She plopped into an empty chair, the material billowing around her. “I saw you guys come in. Let’s see the ring.”
I stuck my hand out and let her ooh and aah over my sparkles. “I guess I haven’t seen you in a few months.”
She turned my hand side to side to catch the light at different angles. “Is it true he proposed on top of Mount Tamalpais?”
I glanced at Riley to catch him blush. He did that every time he heard me tell people about that night. He was adorable. “No, the midnight picnic was on top of Mount Tam. He convinced a sphinx to fly us up there.”
She gasped. “A sphinx. You’re joking.”
Riley took my hand and gave her a polite smile. “It wasn’t difficult. Sphinxes are the taxi drivers of the Hidden world.”
I knew that wasn’t true, not even a little bit. But I did know that Riley was uncomfortable with the conversation. For such an open guy, he was more private than people knew. But the picnic really had been wonderful. After the sphinx—his name was Ronald—had dropped us in a clearing on top of the mountain, Riley spread a blanket for us to sit under the stars, with another blanket for us to cuddle under. Mount Tam was covered in snow, yet that clearing didn’t have a flake in it.
Molly had loaned him a miniature picnic basket that looked like it could hold maybe one medium-sized orange. Yet both blankets came out of it, followed by a tall thermos of piping-hot spiced cider, three kinds of really good cheese, baguettes, chocolate truffles, caramel apple tarts. The basket was like my purse. It could handle anything he put into it and still not weigh an ounce more.
The absence of snow beneath us had been nice, but it didn’t keep it from being winter. We tasted a little of everything from the basket while keeping each other warm under the thick blanket. And when we were done eating, we made each other even warmer between those two blankets on top of a snowy mountain in the middle of winter.
Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) Page 6