He tried to suppress a laugh and ended up snorting. “I’ll take that as a compliment and we’ll leave it at that. See you Sunday.”
As soon as she stuttered out a goodbye and hung up, he burst into laughter. The good doctor certainly had a way with words.
Chapter Twelve
Meredith threw her arms around Jason as he stepped into the apartment and hugged him hard. She’d offered to meet him at the airport but he’d insisted on taking the train in. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too, mom.” He kissed her cheek. “You look good. You change your hair or something?”
“A few highlights, a little trim.” She closed the door behind him and took stock of her boy. He might be half an inch taller. No, that wasn’t it. Maybe his shoulders had filled out. Whatever the change, he’d certainly become more handsome. He looked more like Garrett every time she saw him. His father would’ve been so proud. “You get better looking every time I see you. You must have girls all over you at school.”
He grinned and by the looks of his smile, he was wearing his retainer like he was supposed to. “Stop fishing.” He dropped his duffel bag and nodded toward the coffee table. The bouquet of yellow roses was impossible to miss. “Did I miss your birthday or something?”
“No, you didn’t miss my birthday.” She should have done something with those but it was hard to hide five dozen roses. “You must be starved. Do you want to grab a bite out or get delivery?”
He crossed his arms and planted his feet, impishness dancing in his eyes. “What’s up with the flowers?”
“They’re from a friend. So what’ll it be for dinner?”
“A friend sent you a like hundred roses?” Jason smirked. “I’m totally not buying that.”
“Sixty. Not a hundred. And yes, he’s just a friend. Now, I’ll ask you one more time. What do you want for dinner?”
“He, huh?” The smirk broadened. “That’s cool. So what’s your boyfriend’s name?”
She leaned against the counter and folded her arms across her chest. “Delivery it is.”
“Make you a deal.”
“And that is?” This should be good.
“You tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.” He wiggled his brows.
“Tell you my what?” Perhaps college was not the best environment for her son. Seemed to be warping his mind.
“The name of the guy you’re seeing.”
Hah! So Jason was going out with someone. She smiled sweetly. “You first.”
“I’m not dating a guy, sorry.” He chuckled, obviously proud of himself.
“I’m not seeing anyone.” Lying to your son. Great. That should win you mother of the year. Maybe you can write a book about that.
“That’s cool.” He snatched up his duffel bag and headed for his room. “Neither am I.”
Rotten child. She moved the roses to the small dining table, then leafed through her collection of take-out menus. Jason loved pizza. The menu for Sylvo’s had a coupon attached to it good for one free topping. Thoughts of anchovies and broccoli made her smile. That would fix his wagon.
Jason came back out mumbling something.
“What did you say?”
“What happened to my room?”
“You mean where are the posters of girls in bikinis and sports cars? I don’t particularly care to look at those and since you’re hardly here anymore—“
“Oh, I see. You’re kicking me out to make room for your boyfriend.” He added a sing-song tone to the last word as he plopped down on the couch, put his feet up on the table and reached for the remote. “That’s nice. That makes me want to come home more.”
“Brat. Shoes off the table.” She ruffled his chestnut locks as she walked past and picked up the phone. “I’m ordering pizza. Any special requests?”
He flipped through the channels at a mind-numbing rate. “Extra meat, extra cheese, nothing green.”
She knew her boy so well. “Anchovies then?”
“Mother.” He slanted his eyes at her. “Please.”
“Just teasing.” She dialed Sylvo’s and placed the order. After she hung up, she settled onto the couch beside him. “How are your classes?”
“Good.” He shrugged, his eyes still on the screen. “Not much to tell.”
“Getting along with your quadmates?”
“Yeah, except for this one guy.” Jason looked over. “He eats everybody’s food. He says he doesn’t, but we know he is.”
She nodded slowly. “I hate when you know someone’s doing something, but they won’t confess to it.”
“Yeah,” he said, giving her a pointed stare. “Me, too.”
I set myself up for that, didn’t I? Taking a deep breath, she answered his unspoken question. “He owns a couple of restaurants in town.”
“She’s a chem major.”
The smile in Jason’s eyes told her more than his words. He liked this girl. “A chem major, huh? Well, that’s encouraging. What’s she look like? I bet she’s a knock-out.”
He grinned and fussed at small hole near the hem of his t-shirt. “Yeah, she’s hot.” He glanced up, concern thinning his mouth. “But she’s totally smart, too.”
“I would hope so if she’s a chem major.” Despite his father’s death when he was four and his stepfather’s death when he was seventeen, Jason was incredibly well adjusted. She, Garrett and Michael had definitely raised this child right. She wanted to weep with pride but decided to save that for later when it wouldn’t embarrass her son. “What’s her name?”
“Kristi. She’s got freckles and she wears these little wire-rim glasses.” He made circles with his fingers in front of his eyes.
Her son was smitten by a girl in glasses. Maybe the world wasn’t going to hell in a hand basket after all. “So why don’t you invite her to come for a weekend sometime? I’d love to meet her.”
He gave her a sly smile. “Do we have to sleep in separate beds?”
“You would even ask me that question?” She poked him in the arm. “I knew I should have sent you to military school.”
“Yeah, right.” His eyes glazed over with the blue glow of broadcast television.
“Where’s she from?”
“She’s—hey,” he stared at her expectantly. “Shouldn’t you be giving up some info, too?”
Here we go. “What would you like to know?”
“I don’t know. How ‘bout a name?”
She could give up that much. “Kelly.”
“Kelly? You’re dating a guy with a girl’s name? Sounds like a loser.”
“Jason. He is not a loser. He owns two very popular restaurants in the city.” Heaven help her, she was defending the cowboy to her son.
“Doesn’t count. You told me that part already. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“He’s from Texas.”
He shook his head, but the mischief sparkling in his eyes gave away his true feelings. “Doesn’t sound good, mom. Only two things come from Texas, steers and quee—”
“That’s enough, young man.”
“I’m just saying...” He held his hands up and shrugged, smiling like he’d won something. “So when do I get to meet The Lone Ranger?”
“You don’t.” She patted his arm. “There’s really nothing going on so there’s no reason for you to meet him.”
“You mean he’s not going to be my new step-dad? Because I could really use a male role-model in my life.” He snickered.
“I’m glad you amuse yourself.” She tried to recall the sweet-natured five-year-old who had once crayoned daisies on her bedroom wall in an effort to cheer her up. He hadn’t really understood Garrett’s death but he’d known she was sad. “When did you get to be such a wise guy?”
“It’s okay,” he said in a patronizing tone. “If you don’t want to introduce me to your booty call, I completely understand.”
“Booty call? Does that mean what I think it means?” Shock rippled through her.
“Yeah, you know,
a booty call is somebody you hook up with.”
Oh Lord. It did mean what she thought it did. “I am not sleeping with him and even if I was it isn’t any of your business.”
“Chill, would you? I don’t care if you’re sleeping with him or not. Personally, I say go for it but hey, it’s your life.” He shrugged and went back to watching T.V.
“Yes, it is my life, thank you very much.” Good heavens, college had morphed her sweet boy into a male version of Viv. “Let’s pretend, just for a moment, that we’re actually having this conversation. Why do you think I need to be sleeping with someone?”
He turned to face her. “I’m just saying you deserve some happiness in your life and if that happiness is...um, quality time with this guy, then I say have at it.” He dipped his head so she couldn’t see his expression as clearly. “You’re too young and too pretty to be alone.”
Despite the fact that her son was encouraging her to have sexual relations with a man she hardly knew, she grinned. It was an uncontrollable parental pride kind of thing. Her son thought she was young and pretty. She kissed his temple. “Thanks, honey. That’s a really sweet thing to say.”
“Well, you know, since you’re putting me through college and all that.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Then that’s the most expensive compliment I’ve ever received. I’m going to finish up some work in my office but I’ll come back out when the pizza gets here and we’ll watch a movie. Pick something you want from Pay-Per-View and we’ll order it.”
“Cool,” he mumbled, lost in some sports commentary show.
She walked to her office. As if pressure from the girls wasn’t enough, now Jason thought she should have a fling with Kelly. Maybe she should take the chance, let things happen with Kelly, see where they went. If her career got a boost along the way, so be it.
A slow smile curved her lips as the idea bloomed like a fat, butter-colored rose. There were worse things in life than dating a hot, young chef with eyes so blue you could disappear into them for days.
And probably few better.
* * *
Kelly checked his watch. Nearly midnight. He had to hurry. The week was almost up. He slipped out of the VIP dining room and back to his office. After making sure the door was locked, he dialed the combination for the safe under his desk and opened it.
He took out Gram’s cookbook, nudged the safe door shut with his foot then sat. Paging through to the recipe for the chocolate fireballs, he stopped and considered what he was about to do. If he didn’t bind the recipe to the book, the spell’s power would be lost. Without the spell, Mery might change her mind about helping Shelby.
And seeing me.
That couldn’t factor in. Using the book for personal gain was not only wrong, it was dangerous. He knew that. His mother’s life was proof enough. Still, Shelby needed the help.
Blowing out a breath, he rubbed the back of his neck. He knew what needed to be done.
He pricked his finger with his pocket knife and began to trace the words in blood, forever binding them to the page.
* * *
Saturday came and went in a blur of activity. Meredith took Jason shopping for some new clothes then out to lunch. They stopped by his favorite museum, the Cooper-Hewitt, to see an exhibition on engineering high performance textiles. By the time, they got home it was a little after five o’clock.
Jason called up a buddy of his at NYU and made plans for the rest of the night just as he thought she would. Spending the evening on the couch with a good book sounded just fine to her.
“Hey mom, I’m gonna grab a shower and then meet Ben for dinner, is that cool? I’ll probably hang out with him so I don’t know when I’ll be home. Probably late.”
She nodded. “Take your cell phone and be careful. You need some money?”
He grinned. “Do I ever say no to cash?”
Her laugh matched his. She dug in her wallet. “Here’s a fifty. Don’t go nuts.”
“Please.” Reaching for the bill, he shook his head. “Fifty bucks hardly buys you a lap dance in this town any more.”
“Jason!”
“Kidding, mom. Kidding.” He disappeared down the hall. She heard the shower a few minutes later.
She kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the sofa. Maybe a quick nap, then she’d tackle that autobiography on Mamie Eisenhower she’d been meaning to read. She closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting from Mrs. Ike to Kelly and Sunday afternoon.
When she awoke, the silence told her she was alone. She sat up. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She caught it as it fell. A note from Jason. What a good kid.
She checked her watch, surprised to find she’d slept nearly an hour. Almost seven. Her stomach growled as she stretched. The nap had done her good. She felt re-energized but reading had lost its appeal.
Flipping on the light, she wandered into the kitchen to see what looked edible. Nothing jumped out at her, which wasn’t surprising because what she really craved was tex-mex.
Forty-five minutes later, she walked into Sedona hoping Kelly was there and ready to curse her impulsiveness if he wasn’t. She prayed her outfit looked sophisticatedly sexy and not like she was trying too hard. Black trousers paired with a deep coral top edged in seed beads seemed like a great choice at home but now she wondered if the top wasn’t too snug. Or low cut. Like she was trying too hard. Feeling unsure of yourself really sucked, to use a word Jason was fond of.
The hostess greeted her. Meredith pointed toward the back. “I’m going to the bar.”
The girl nodded. Meredith wondered if a lot of women came in here by themselves. Please don’t let me look desperate.
Groups of beautiful people crowded the bar area, laughing and chatting. Expensive perfume mingled with the spicy aroma of food. She wove her way between the people, looking for a spot to slip in and order a glass of wine. She didn’t need the courage so much as she wanted to warm her cold feet. Chicken.
Unable to reach the bar, she inched past a tall man blocking her way and tried to get the attention of one of the cocktail servers who’d just disappeared from sight. She looked around. Where had that server gone?
Her gaze slammed to a halt on a cozy couple at the far end of the bar. Chagrin numbed the air in her lungs. What she saw confirmed what she’d been thinking.
Coming to Sedona had been a very bad decision.
Chapter Thirteen
“Clarissa, please try to understand. You and I are on two different paths. It just isn’t meant to be.” Kelly shoved a hand through his hair and wished he’d used the book to conjure up a recipe for “go away and leave me alone” cookies. The woman clung tighter than stink to a skunk.
“But Kelly,” she simpered, her big blue eyes threatening tears, “I thought we had something special.” She wrung her hands together, squeezing her already exposed cleavage into a deeper vee. “Something real.”
Damn it. He hated that line. “It was...really special, but now it’s over. I think it’s time we both move on.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re a beautiful girl, Clarissa. You’ll have a new guy faster than you know it.”
“But I don’t want a new guy,” she sniffed, taking a step closer so they were almost embracing. “I want you.” She gave him a naughty little smile. “Why don’t we go up to your office and I’ll show you just how much?”
He glanced up to see if they were drawing a crowd but no one seemed to be paying them much mind except for—
Mery. His heart skipped hard, then settled down. He didn’t know what she was doing here but it didn’t matter. She was here and she looked hotter than a two-dollar pistol. He grinned. “Excuse me, Clarissa. My date is here.”
“Your date?” Sudden anger filled her voice.
He ignored her question and pushed through the crowd toward the one woman he did want to see. Ahead of him, Mery turned and started for the exit. He caught up with her just as she made it into the hall. “Hey, gorgeous, what are you doing here?�
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“Leaving. This was stupid idea.” She kept walking toward the door and didn’t meet his eyes.
“I think it was a great idea.” He snagged her hand and tugged her back around the corner by the elevator. “I didn’t know you were going to drop in.”
“Obviously,” she said, ice coating her voice.
“Hey now, what’s that about?” He tried to tip her chin up with his knuckle but she pulled away.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt. You look busy.” She caught his gaze then and he saw the chill extended beyond her voice.
She’d seen Clarissa and she was jealous. He tried not to smile but failed. He grabbed her other hand and pulled her against him. “You didn’t interrupt anything.”
Her eyes flashed. “I’m not blind. I saw that little blonde you were talking to.” She put her hands on his chest and pushed away. “I need to go before I make a bigger fool of myself than I already have.”
The woman was as headstrong as a mule. He scooped her up in his arms so he could carry her back to the elevator. Her whole body went tense. “What the hell are you—”
“You need to stay right here.”
“Put me down. Now.”
He grinned. Fire melted the ice in her voice. “Sorry. Can’t.”
“Why not?” She ground the words out like she was chewing nails.
“Because if I put you down, you’re going to leave and I don’t want you to.” One handed, he slid his card through the scanner and called the elevator.
She relaxed a little bit. “Put me down. I won’t leave. Yet.”
“And if I don’t put you down?” He liked holding her. She was soft in all the right places and smelled like peaches.
“I’ll—”
“Her?” Clarissa screech echoed through the hall. “You’re dumping me for her?” With her face screwed up in a mask of anger, she pointed at Mery.
The elevator opened. Kelly eased Mery to her feet, reached in to hit the hold button then stepped between her and Clarissa. Who ever said blondes were more fun had never dated this woman. “Go home, Clarissa. It’s over. It’s been over.”
The Perfect Dish Page 11