by Linda Kage
“Uh…” Isobel’s confused gaze slid to the place where I was hiding before guiltily jerking her attention back to Ezra. “Sure. In the back?”
He started to nod, then waved a farewell toward Shaw until something on the countertop caught his attention, waylaying him. I had wrapped both the cookies I’d left on his desk and the ones I’d brought here in the same decorative cellophane gift bag with gold swirling designs on them.
Holding my breath, I watched his eyes widen as he pointed at them. “Where did you get those?”
“Um…” Shaw shifted from one foot to the other, clearly not too good at being put on the spot, but at least not ratting me out.
Ezra narrowed his eyes accusingly. “Kaitlynn was here. When was Kaitlynn here? Wait, you actually know Kaitlynn? How do you know Kaitlynn?”
When Shaw didn’t have a ready answer, his eyes too big with the inability to tell a lie, Camille cleared her throat. “Did you say Kaitlynn? You mean that pretty blonde, long hair, with the perfect amount of wave in it? About my height? Blue eyes. Awesome shoes.”
Ezra whirled to her, his gaze intent.
Sucking in a gulp with his sudden interest on her, Camille stuttered, “Yeah, uh, yeah. She was in here a minute ago. You just missed her.”
“She was? Which way did she go?”
“She went that way,” Gabby lied smoothly, pointing northeast.
Spinning toward the doorway, Ezra hurried off, only to pause a few feet from the exit and point at Isobel, announcing, “I’ll be right back.”
I had no idea what he would’ve said to me if he’d ever hypothetically caught up to me outside, but it made me all warm and giddy to realize he actually wanted to speak to me again.
Unless, wait, what if he only wanted to accuse me a lying some more?
That wouldn’t be cool.
“And he’s gone,” Shaw said as soon as the door fell closed.
I stood and stepped from behind the bookshelf with a rueful cringe, brushing floor dust off my hands and backside while everyone watched.
“Okay, this is one story I gotta hear,” Gabby said, “because let me tell you, honey, that was one fine business suit.”
Camille whistled and fanned herself. “That was one fine butt.”
“That…” Isobel heaved out a heavy sigh. “That was my brother.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Brother?” I whirled toward Isobel, whispering, “No.” I even shook my head to deny it.
But then I blinked rapidly as pieces began to come together. Ezra had said his sister was disfigured and still one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. That description fit Isobel perfectly. She was simply lovely, scars and all.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, backing away from her and lifting my hands in apology, though I had no idea what I was apologizing for. “You are. You really are, aren’t you?”
She shook her head, smiling out a confused frown. “How do you know Ezra?” Then her expression fell. “Oh, Lord. Please don’t tell me he’s been giving you unwanted attention.”
“What? No!” I cried a bit too quickly before flushing. “I mean, it totally wouldn’t be unwanted, if he were… Which he’s not, because why… Why would he give little ol’ me any attention? I’m no one.”
Gabby snorted. “I think the girl doth protest too much.”
“Definitely,” Camille agreed with a nod.
I scowled at the two.
“Yeah, no one buys the theory that he’s not interested in you,” Shaw mused, glancing toward the entrance. “He seemed too desperate to catch you. You’re definitely not no one to him. I think we’re all just curious as to why he’s so intent to track you down.”
“Probably to cuss me out some more,” I muttered glumly, my shoulders slumping. When everyone lifted their eyebrows in curiosity, I waved a hand and explained, “I’m kind of his least favorite person at the moment.”
Shaw snorted. “Not unless your name’s Lana Judge.”
I winced.
“But… Wait. Isn’t that your name?” Gabby asked, making every person in the shop whip their attention her way, me included. She shook her head. “I mean, the Judge part. Not Lana. She’s Kaitlynn Judge,” she explained to the others before glancing at me and shaking her head. “Who’s Lana Judge? Do you go by Lana?”
“No!” I shuddered, horrified. “Good God, no. I go by Kaitlynn. Or Kait. Or Kaity.”
“Wait.” Isobel stepped curiously forward. “Your surname is Judge? Judge as in JFI, Judge Fashions Industry, the company my family owns half of?”
When I nodded, Isobel glanced worriedly toward Shaw, who met her shocked gaze and let his mouth fall open. “Holy shit,” he murmured as both he and Isobel turned back to me. “Are you… No. That would be too crazy. You’re not Lana’s daughter, are you?”
“Of course not,” I instantly defended myself only to sigh out my dejection and let my shoulders slump. “I’m her stepdaughter.”
“Oh,” they said in unison before both taking a single step away from me.
I gulped, feeling like a leper, merely because I was associated with one Lana Judge.
“Who’s Lana Judge?” This time, it was Camille who asked.
“She runs half of Judge Fashions Industry while Ezra runs the other half,” Shaw answered, “and from the way he talks about her, she’s the devil incarnate.”
I nodded. “That’s actually an apt description.”
“Wow.” Gabby blew out a low whistle. “If Kaitlynn Judge—the bearer of all things positive and perky and bright—is calling someone evil, then they’re damn evil.”
I winced—one, for being called such nice things when I could list a couple dozen flaws about myself without blinking an eye, and two, because yikes, I probably shouldn’t have been talking so rudely about Lana behind her back. No one deserved that. Not even the devil incarnate.
“Ugh. Now I feel bad. Lana’s really not so awful.” Not as awful as, say, the true devil, anyway.
Camille patted my back as if she somehow understood. “It’s okay not to like someone.”
Sending her a grateful smile, I started to thank her for reassuring me when the strangest thought crossed my mind.
I gasped and turned to Isobel, suddenly remembering… “Hey! You’re his sister. You can answer my question. You know that Maleficent costume you made Ezra wear to the Halloween party at work because he lost a bet to you? He said it was your second choice. But he refused to tell me what your first was. So, please… Please, I gotta know what you originally wanted him to wear that night.”
Isobel blinked at me without answering. Then she slowly said, “You know about that bet?”
“Sure. He told me about it at the office party. We—”
Before I could explain anything else, however, Shaw snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “Holy shit!” he exploded. “You’re the yellow Power Ranger.”
I froze, gaping at him. Then I warily asked, “How… How did you know that?”
Growling out her frustration, Gabby clapped her hands to gain our attention. Then she pointed between her and Camille. “Yeah, we’re lost over here. We all started this conversation together, so you can’t just go off and leave us out of what sounds like the most interesting part. Now… What the hell are you guys talking about with Maleficent and yellow Power Ranger costumes?”
I rubbed a spot that was beginning to throb on the side of my head, but it ended up I didn’t need to think about a good way to answer her, because Shaw did it for me, spilling out the entire story, and I mean, everything.
“Wow,” I said, trying not to feel violated by how much everyone in the room now knew about me. “Ezra really told you everything, didn’t he?” But then I remembered, I’d pretty much spilled the same details—and maybe even more—to Brick.
“No, he told me,” Isobel interrupted with exasperation. “I’m Ezra’s confidante. This one…” Nudging Shaw in the ribs, she rolled her eyes. “Just has a nasty habit of eavesdropping.”
“He does,” I confirmed as I closed my eyes and gripped my head between my hands. “And he didn’t like learning I was the stepdaughter of his nemesis. So, now do you see why I ran off as soon as I realized who he was that night? I knew he wouldn’t like learning my connection to her. As soon as I learned who he was, I knew. And I swear, I didn’t know it was him in that courtyard before we started talking. Except, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe me. That’s basically what he told me this morning, anyway, when I finally confessed who I was. He thinks I knew all along and that I’m up to something tricky and bad. So, yeah, I’m the anti-Christ to him now. Just like my stepmother.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Gabby claimed, shaking her head. “You’re the epitome of goodness and kindness. You’re the only one in the building who leaves Christmas cards and treats in our mail boxes. And the day we moved into the building, you helped us carry boxes inside, then entertained my little brother for hours while we unpacked shit. How could anyone believe anything even remotely nefarious about you?”
Camille nodded. “The way Gran tells it, you’re so sweet the freaking sun shines because you smile.”
“Okay, that’s a little farfetched,” I grumbled, beginning to feel put-on-the-spot. “I’m not anything special.” I hated it when people said nice things about me. It actually made me feel guilty, as if I were somehow deceiving them, because yeah, like I mentioned before, I could instantly name off too many not-so-great things about myself.
“Hey, if Gran likes you, then you’re cool,” Camille added a bit forcefully, as if I’d just insulted her beloved relative.
“But—”
Behind me, the door chimed again as it came open. My body instantly buzzed with awareness, and I didn’t have to take in Shaw or Isobel’s wide-eyed expressions to realize who’d just entered the store.
I was the last to turn around, slowly and with my breath held the entire time.
He stood in the doorway, his dark hair windblown and cheeks brighter from running through the cold. It was honestly a magnificent sight to behold. I inhaled sharply as he kept his gaze on me and no one else in the shop and stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind him.
Incapable of a single movement, I stared back, not sure what to do.
“I wondered if you were hiding in here and hadn’t left the shop at all,” he finally said, his tone mild, holding no anger or resentment.
I cringed. “Yeah. The running and hiding bit is getting too predictable, isn’t it? I should definitely change up my game plan.”
He stepped toward me, only for Gabby to intercept him, jumping between us and poking him in the chest before fisting her hands on her hip.
“You’re not going to cuss her out, are you? Because let me tell you one thing, buddy. Kaitlynn did not know who you were when you two met in that courtyard on Halloween.”
Ezra jerked to a halt and blinked at her. With an expression that said, who are you? he turned back to me.
“You told them?”
“No,” I said, scowling and crossing my arms over my chest. “You told. Your sister. Who allowed this guy to eavesdrop on you…” I pointed Shaw’s way. “And then he went and spilled it to everyone and their dog.”
“She’s totally exaggerating,” Shaw whispered to Ezra. “I didn’t tell anyone’s dog.”
Ezra sent him a short glare before glancing at his sister and sighing. He turned back to me, his expression repentant. “I apologize. That wasn’t very well done of me to spread gossip that way. Knowingly or otherwise.” He shot another short glare Shaw’s way.
“It’s fine.” I cleared my throat, then lowered my gaze before my guilt got the best of me. Gritting my teeth with a wince of apology, I confessed, “Because, actually, um, I didn’t exactly keep it a secret either. I confided everything to Broderick.”
Ezra grimaced, obviously not a fan of learning Brick knew about us, before he sighed his acceptance and nodded out his forgiveness.
Meanwhile, Camille hummed a sound of interest. “Ooh, Broderick’s a sexy name. Who’s Broderick? Is he as hot as his name? Single? Likeable? Within my age range?”
I sent her a dry glance. “He’s a womanizing man-whore.”
She rubbed her hands together, grinning. “Really? Tell me more.”
With a shrug, I added, “But he’s my best friend, so he’s alright, I guess.”
Before she could respond to that, Ezra touched my elbow. I jumped at the contact, not expecting him to ever touch me again. I swear, my elbow began to sizzle with the most delicious tingles.
“Can we talk?” he asked quietly as if not wanting everyone else to hear us, though they obviously did, since they were all standing right there, around us, listening very intently to everything we were saying. He cast the roomful a petulant glance before turning back to me and adding, “Alone.”
Nothing about his demeanor screamed anger, or upset, or revenge. He didn’t seem mad at me at all, just kind of reflective and quiet. It made me think the things he wanted to say might not be so bad. In which case, hell yes, I wanted to talk.
Nodding, I blurted, “My apartment’s close. We can go there.”
And oh God, what the heck had I just offered? Could I really keep my hands to myself if he went to my place with me, just the two of us?
His gaze swirled with something yearning but sad. “Okay.”
I glanced at the other four people around us. “We’re going to go talk.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Isobel said, nodding her approval.
Ezra took my elbow again, but this time he didn’t let go, which was fine since I didn’t want him to. But as soon as we started toward the exit, Camille jumped forward.
“Oh, sweetie.” She lifted her hands, stopping me. “Hold on a sec. You still have floor dust all over you from when you were hiding.”
She went about dusting me off, and Gabby even stepped in to help.
On the other side of the counter, Shaw snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “Dust!” he cried as if the word was a revelation in itself. Then he murmured, “Cinders,” before a huge smile spread across his face. He grinned smugly at Ezra. “Evil stepmother.” Transferring his attention back to me, he added, “Please tell me you have two ugly stepsisters.”
“No.” I frowned, wondering why he would ask such a strange, random question. “I have two stepbrothers, but neither of them are ugly.”
Chuckling, Shaw folded his arms over his chest and nodded. “Close enough.”
Next to me, Ezra dryly muttered, “Ha, ha. You’re so not amusing.”
“What is he talking about?” I asked.
Ezra rolled his eyes. “Nothing. He’s an ass.”
“Wait.” I glanced toward Shaw. “Is he equating us to—”
“No!” Ezra growled as if the very idea were a crime against humanity before grasping my elbow a third time and hauling me from the flower shop.
“Don’t forget to tell us how everything turns out,” Shaw called after us. “Inquiring minds want to know.”
Ezra flipped Shaw off over his shoulder as he shut the door behind us. “I seriously question my sister’s taste in men.”
I studied his furrowed brow and pinched lips before a slow smile spread across my face. “You like him.”
His scowl only grew before he sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he muttered moodily, reluctantly admitting, “I do. I actually like the asshole. He’s been good for Izzy.”
“That’s sweet.” Smiling broadly, I wrapped my hands around his bicep and snuggled closer before lifting my nose to the biting breeze that felt good against my cheeks.
The moment seemed perfect. Ezra was here, talking to me, walking with me to my apartment. Life just didn’t get much
better than—
He glanced down at me sharply, or rather at my arms wrapped so intimately around his bicep, making me realize I’d just cuddled right up to him as if we were some kind of couple. As if it had felt like the most natural thing in the world to do.
Because it had.
Oh, crap.
With a gasp, I let go and stepped away, instantly apologizing. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I hurried down the sidewalk ahead of him, but ugh, he kept pace, so I added, “That was… That was way too forward of me.”
I almost told him I owed him two drinks now, but no. No, we shouldn’t share inside jokes like that anymore. We weren’t—we weren’t a couple.
Shaking his head, he glanced away and smiled.
I frowned, confused by the grin. “What?”
He chuckled then and shook his head again. Then he met my stare, highly amused before saying, “Too forward?” as he sniffed out another laugh. “You do remember that time I had my tongue in your mouth and my hands on your ass, right?”
I blushed and cleared my throat. “Yeah, but that was… That was before we became enemies.”
His smile died and his gaze burrowed into me with question.
Highly uncomfortable, I turned away and kept walking. “I’m just at the end of this block. Here.” I pointed, trying to hurry our progress, but he took my free hand that had been hanging at my side and slowed me enough to turn me toward him.
My lips parted in surprise as I gaped up into fathomless blue eyes.
He shook his head. “We’re not enemies, Kaitlynn.”
Oh my God. Those words. They were like everything I didn’t even realize I’d needed to hear. Except…
“Then what are we?”
Ezra looked as miserable as I felt before he shook his head slowly. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, in order to figure out.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I nodded. “Okay.”
Talking sounded good.
Figuring out the status of our relationship sounded even better.