The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane

by Sheila Roberts

  “You’re working for Dan Masters?”

  “This is my first day. My alarm didn’t go off.”

  “You know that’s no excuse for speeding. You could have killed someone.”

  “Yeah, there’s so many people on this road. Or I might have hit a squirrel.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Are you giving me lip?”

  “I could think of a lot of things I’d like to give you, pretty lady, but lip isn’t one of them. Not when you’re in that uniform, anyway. Look, I deserve the ticket. Just hand it over.”

  She nodded and went back to her patrol car, and Devon sat in his truck, seething. Of all the places to be patrolling, she had to pick this road. Why couldn’t she have been in town somewhere eating a doughnut?

  Judging from that tight ass of hers, she didn’t eat doughnuts. Did she have a boyfriend? Probably. And he was probably even bigger and tougher than her.

  Now she was back. “I’m giving you a warning this time, since you’re new in town. Don’t let me catch you speeding again.”

  “No, ma’am,” he said. She started to walk away “Hey, Officer Friendly. You got a boyfriend?”

  She frowned. “You been watching Raising Arizona?”

  He grinned at her. “Nicolas Cage. I remember that movie.”

  “This isn’t the movies,” she said and marched back to her patrol car.

  Devon grinned. She likes me.

  Yeah, he thought later, once he was settled in at the building site and swinging a hammer. Maybe he’d stick around Icicle Falls for a while.

  * * *

  It was nearly noon, and Bailey was stocking shelves with exotic teas and jams when Todd walked in. “I see our merchandise made it,” he said.

  “Yep.” All except the chocolate. The cash register and glass display case sat on the other side of the room. When they had their grand opening, that case would hold all manner of Sweet Dreams truffles, from their white chocolate rose truffle to the newest flavor, dark chocolate ginger.

  She stepped back to admire her handiwork. Yes, it was starting to look like a real business. “Wait till I get my teapots and china mugs set out.”

  “Then there’ll be way too much estrogen in the air for me,” he joked.

  Today he was wearing jeans and a brown T-shirt decorated with a likeness of the Neanderthal that lurched across the outside of his tavern. Proud to Be a Neanderthal the shirt bragged. Todd could drag her back to his cave anytime and do whatever he wanted.

  Stop that, she scolded herself. He’s not yours, and you’re going to be nothing but professional from now on.

  She smiled a professional smile without an ounce of flirting in it. “It’ll work for our customers, though.”

  “You’re doing a great job of pulling this together,” he said.

  “I can hardly wait to see it filled with people.” She could already envision shoppers browsing through the fancy food items and picking out the perfect teapot, could see mothers and their little girls at those tables, enjoying a tea party, imagine girlfriends indulging in the chocolate tea she planned to serve or sisters meeting to sample her white chocolate–lavender scones.

  Sisters. The pleasant vision curdled. Cec was still mad at her.

  She’d get over it once she and Todd were engaged, but Bailey wasn’t sure how she’d feel. Her sister’s animosity still stung like a bad burn, and even though she wanted to patch things up, she didn’t know if they’d ever be able to regain what they’d lost.

  And the idea of Todd with another woman was painful. She was so drawn to him, more strongly than she’d ever been drawn to Brandon. (Who would have thought that was possible?) How was she going to run a business with this man, go through the years watching him build a life with someone else, especially when that someone was her own sister? Pretty hard to avoid the happy couple when they’d all be sharing a table during the holidays.

  She’d have to find a way, though. If Todd and her sister were meant to be, then that was that. She’d simply have to deal with it.

  “So, you going to the street dance?” he asked casually.

  The Fourth of July was only a few days away. The residents of Icicle Falls celebrated with parades and picnics and fireworks on the Wenatchee River at night. But the festivities started on the third with the street dance. People of all ages turned out to visit with each other, show off their dance moves and eat everything from hamburgers and corn on the cob to cotton candy. There’d been a lot Bailey had missed when she moved to L.A., and the street dance was right near the top of that list.

  “I don’t know.” The last thing she wanted to do was hang around on the edge of the crowd and watch Todd and Cec swaying together to some romantic love song. “Are you and Cec going?”

  His easy smile was replaced by the serious expression he wore when they were talking about budgets and profit margins. “Cec and I aren’t together anymore.”

  Oh, no. Oh, yes! Oh, crud. A tin of jasmine tea slipped from her hands and landed on the floor. She knelt to pick it up. “You’re not?”

  He knelt, too. And the look he gave her was hot enough to boil a tea bag. “I think you can guess why.”

  She wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him. No, she wanted to throw up. “I thought you might want to go,” he said, bringing them back to the subject of the dance.

  She stood and took a step back. “You just broke up with my sister.” How could she go to the street dance with Todd when he’d just dumped Cecily?

  This is what you’ve wanted, she reminded herself. Except now that she had it, she didn’t want it so much. Guilt had erected an enormous wall between her and him.

  He stood, too, and pulled her toward him. “I like your sister, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  They’d been moving toward this like a leaf on the Wenatchee River being pulled along by the current. She’d felt drawn to him from the first time she saw him at Pancake Haus. Yet all she could say was “Poor Cec.”

  “Poor all of us if I’d kept seeing her when I could feel the situation changing between you and me,” Todd said. “I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a hypocrite. I wanted Cec, but I’m not the right man for her. I can see that now. And I’m not going to ruin our lives by being with the wrong person. Growing up, I saw firsthand what happens when you do that. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, especially her.”

  Everything he said made sense. Still, she hesitated.

  “You think seeing us together is going to come as some big surprise to her?”

  But Bailey continued to hesitate.

  “Come on, Bailey,” he said gently. “I know this is awkward.”

  Awkward? This was more than awkward. It was grand theft boyfriend. Cec would kill her.

  “I really think something’s happening between us,” he said. “Let’s not screw it up.”

  She looked into his eyes and thought, Soul mate, and the walls of resistance crumbled. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.” Fear of an ugly sisterly encounter encouraged her to add, “But can we wait until dark?”

  * * *

  “Are you doing the seven-layer dip for the Fourth again?” Samantha asked Cecily as they left Sweet Dreams Chocolates for lunch at Zelda’s.

  The Sterling family gathered together for a barbecue to celebrate Independence Day every year. Since their mother had downsized, the location had been switched to Samantha and Blake’s house. The family would go to the parade in the morning, then explore the arts and crafts booths, returning midafternoon for a big meal and croquet on the lawn. This would be followed in the evening with snacks on the riverbank as they watched their fellow residents set off fireworks. Cecily had always been part of this family event. Even when she lived in L.A., she’d come home to spend the Fourth in Icicle Falls.

  This year she had no
desire to do that. Todd had dumped her and was probably making plans with Bailey. No way was she going to stay around for that. She’d already booked a flight to L.A.

  “Actually, I’m not going to be here,” she said.

  Samantha looked at her in shock. “You’re kidding.”

  “A friend in L.A. invited me to come down there.” The truth was, she’d invited herself, but she preferred not to share that information.

  Samantha frowned.

  Cecily cut her off before she could say anything. “Right now I need some time away.” She could feel her sister’s assessing gaze. Humiliation infused her skin, heating her face.

  “You and Todd broke up,” Samantha guessed.

  “You could say that,” Cecily said, trying to keep her tone light. Darkness crept in, and she added, “Or you could say he dumped me.”

  Samantha let out a long breath. “I think we need to start lunch with a Chocolate Kiss.”

  Two Chocolate Kisses and a few bites of salad later, Cecily didn’t feel any better. Samantha had tried to keep the conversation on business, the latest book Cecily’s book club was reading, what she thought of the movie Cass had picked for their next girls’ movie night, anything but the subject of Cecily’s love life. It didn’t help.

  “Tell me again why I came back here?” Cecily asked miserably.

  “Because your life in L.A. sucked.”

  “Oh, yeah. Now it sucks here, too. How special.”

  At that moment Luke walked in with his mom and daughter.

  “Cecily!” cried Serena, even as her grandmother admonished her to use her inside voice.

  “I’m betting it doesn’t have to,” Samantha said in a low voice, and Cecily made a face at her.

  Serena was the first to reach the table. “Miss Cecily, you know what? Grandma took me over to where Daddy works, but we didn’t get chocolate.”

  “Well, we’ll have to fix that,” Cecily said.

  Luke and his mother had arrived at the table now. “I think she likes coming to see you as much as she does getting chocolate samples,” Bernadette Goodman said to Cecily.

  “When I grow up I’m going to work for you,” Serena informed her.

  “What are you going to do?” Cecily asked.

  “Sell chocolate.”

  “You might want to run the company, like Samantha does,” Cecily said.

  Serena cocked her head and studied Samantha, considering.

  “Then you can eat all the chocolate you want,” Samantha told her.

  “Okay,” Serena said, nodding. “I’ll do that.”

  “Well, that settles that,” Samantha said. “Now we know who to leave the company to.”

  “I get ice cream for dessert,” Serena confided. “And if I’m really good, Daddy’s going to take me to the street dance. Are you going to the street dance?”

  “Not this time,” Cecily said, keeping her voice neutral.

  “Other plans?” Luke asked casually.

  “I’m going to see some friends in L.A.,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

  “Oh,” he said, taking that in. It probably wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

  Now Serena was tugging on her father’s arm. “Come on, Daddy. Let’s go eat.”

  “Always lovely to see you,” Bernadette said to the sisters and led Serena away.

  Luke lingered a moment longer. “So, you’re not going to be around for the Fourth,” he said, as if still trying to wrap his mind around this bit of information.

  She shook her head.

  “I need to…talk to Charley,” Samantha improvised, and she, too, scrammed, leaving Luke and Cecily on their own.

  “Are things over with you and Black?” Luke asked.

  She nodded. “It didn’t work out.”

  “Cec,” he began.

  “Don’t. Let’s not go there. Okay?”

  He released a long, frustrated breath. “Fine. See you when you get back.”

  She felt sure she wouldn’t see him around the office now that she’d shot him down again. But all she could think about was how much she still wanted Todd. God only knew why. And God only knew why she kept pushing away a man who cared about her. A man who was more than willing to give her that family she wanted.

  “You’re an idiot,” she told herself. Why, oh, why couldn’t she feel the same electricity with Luke that she felt with Todd?

  Maria came over to see if she wanted anything else.

  “Yeah,” she said, shoving away her salad. “Another Chocolate Kiss.” It looked as if that was the only kind she was going to get for a very long time.

  * * *

  Damn it all, Luke was done trying with Cecily. Life was too short to waste on a woman who wasn’t interested. So what if she liked his kid—and he felt the earth shift under his feet when he kissed her? So what if they were the best match she’d ever make? She couldn’t see it. Or refused to. And if she wanted to be stubborn and stupid, then he was done.

  His mother’s hopeful smile fell away at the sight of his angry face. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” she said gently as he slid into his seat.

  “Yeah, and ‘He who hesitates…’” Luke quoted back to her. “Anyway, nothing’s getting built—not now.”

  “What were you building, Daddy?” Serena asked.

  A new life. At least he’d been hoping to. He didn’t want to stay single forever, and his daughter needed a mother. Cecily was his dream woman—kindhearted, funny, great with kids. She’d been giving Serena a birthday present every year ever since her first birthday. Even when she’d lived in L.A. she never forgot, always sent something.

  Well, there were other women out there who could remember a birthday, other women with blond hair. None as beautiful as Cecily Sterling, but, hey, he didn’t need drop-dead gorgeous. He didn’t have to have the prettiest girl in town.

  But he wanted her like a fish wanted water. What was he going to do?

  “Daddy, what were you building?” Serena persisted.

  “Nothing, princess.”

  “Timing,” his mother said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he said irritably.

  “Maybe the timing isn’t right.”

  He picked up his menu and glared at his options. The timing never seemed to be right for them. It probably never would be.

  * * *

  Devon stopped by The Man Cave on his way home from work.

  “How was the first day on the job?” Todd asked.

  “It was okay,” Devon said with a shrug. “It’s money.”

  “Not the same as pitching a no-hitter,” Todd said and handed him a beer.

  “Not the same as having your own business, being in charge of your own life.”

  “Not as much responsibility, either,” Todd pointed out. “You collect your paycheck, you go home and you forget about work.”

  “Until you get laid off.”

  “A lot less hassle than losing your shirt.”

  His brother was right about that. Still, someday he wanted some kind of business of his own. He wanted to be successful. And he didn’t want to have to worry about getting fired over being late for work. Masters had been decent about it when Devon explained, but Devon knew he wouldn’t like him making a habit of it.

  “Everything went okay, right?”

  “Oh, yeah. Once I got there. My alarm didn’t go off.”

  “I heard it.”

  “You did? Why didn’t you come wake me up?” Devon demanded.

  “What, do I look like Mom? Anyway, I figured you heard it, and I rolled over and went back to sleep.”

  “Guess I’ll have to turn the volume up higher,” Devon said. “The lady cop stopped me on Icicle Creek Road.”
<
br />   Todd shook his head over his brother’s bad luck. “She give you a ticket?”

  “Let me off with a warning.”

  “Tilda? You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  “She never lets anyone off with a warning.”

  Devon took a slug of beer and digested that information. “She got a boyfriend?”

  Todd shook his head again. “She was going out with one of our local firefighters for a while, but they broke up.” He looked suspiciously at Devon. “Why are you asking?”

  “I’m thinking maybe I’ll take her to that street dance that’s coming up.”

  “You and the cop?” Todd scoffed. “Does she know how many DUIs you’ve had?”

  “That’s ancient history.”

  “Not that ancient.”

  “But it’s in the past.” He’d treated his trashed shoulder with alcohol. Driven buzzed more than once. Got caught more than once. That was the old Devon, though. He was done with that stuff. New town, new start, new Devon.

  Todd raised a hand. “Just sayin’. And it wasn’t too long ago that you hit me over the head with a beer bottle.”

  “But I didn’t drive.”

  “Thanks to the Icicle Falls Police giving you a ride to the station.”

  Devon frowned. “You gonna bring up every mistake I ever made?”

  “No, just the ones that prove my point. Tilda’s not your type. Anyway, the cops will all be working the street dance.”

  “Maybe I’ll work on her while she’s working the dance,” Devon said with a grin.

  “And maybe you’re nuts,” Todd said. “But go ahead. Be my guest.”

  “You think I can’t get her.”

  “I’m thinking, why would you want her? They don’t come any tougher than Tilda.”

  “Tough on the outside, soft on the inside. Anyway, if I stick around, I’m not planning on staying celibate.”

  His brother chuckled. “On second thought, go ahead. It’s about time you met your match. Try and mess with Tilda, and she’ll cut your heart out and eat it for breakfast.”