“Absolutely not. In fact, if you so much as blink an eye at him I’ll have to take you down.”
Her startled expression quickly gave way to humor. “It’s like that, is it? Well, good for you. I’m happy to see you’re playing the field a little.” Another bite of chocolate disappeared into her mouth. “Dangerous, though.”
“Dangerous how?”
“Dating two men at once when one of them lives right down the hallway. Most men, no matter what they say, don’t like to share.”
Leave it to Maddie. With virtually no knowledge of my experience the prior evening, she’d hit it right on the head.
“That’s why I’m nervous. He saw me coming in with Kevin last night. Plus, he saw me with Jon on Friday night. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but Jon seems to think Nate will take it the wrong way.”
“He probably will.” Her eyes flickered over me curiously. “Why haven’t you mentioned Nate before?”
“There wasn’t much to mention. We haven’t dated yet. There’s just this . . . I don’t know, thing, between us.”
“Things are good. Maybe he’s uncomfortable about coming over after seeing you with two different men on the weekend. Go get him. I’ll help you clean things up. At least as far as Jon goes.” Clearing off her plate, she pushed it aside. “That was terrific, thanks for making it.”
She’d hardly eaten any. I wanted her to eat more. Just to be sure. Not that long ago, she’d told me she missed the old Elizabeth. I missed the old Maddie. I wanted her back. “Have another slice and I’ll go grab Nate.”
“You talked me into it. Heck, it’s Sunday. If I can’t pig out on the weekend, when can I?”
“Exactly. Be right back.” In less than a minute, I was rapping on Nate’s door. When it swung open, I had my smile ready to go.
Only, it wasn’t Nate on the other side. It wasn’t Sam, either. Instead, a red-haired woman with large, bottle-green eyes stared at me. “Yes?” she asked.
“Hi. I’m Nate’s neighbor. Is he here?”
“Yes. Wait one minute, please.” The door closed in my face, only to be opened by Nate a scant few seconds later.
“Elizabeth, what’s going on?” Exasperation colored his tone. Something I hadn’t heard from him since the window night. I stepped backward before replying.
“Is this a bad time? I just wanted to see if you were still planning on coming over.” At his blank expression, I continued, “To meet Maddie?”
“That’s right. Sorry. I can’t now. Something unexpected came up, so I’ll have to take a rain check.”
“Is anything wrong?” I scooted to the side, trying to see in past him. I wanted to know who the red-haired beauty was, but I couldn’t come right out and ask, now could I?
“I’m fine. Sorry about today. We’ll get together soon.”
“Oh. Sure.” Now I wanted to ask when he had in mind, but I couldn’t do that, either.
“Have fun with your friend,” Nate said before closing the door. I felt as if I’d been dismissed. It reminded me of Marc, and that made me feel worse.
I stared at the closed door for a few seconds, wondering what was going on behind it. Wishing that Miranda’s magic came with a few of Superman’s abilities, I turned on my heel and went back to my apartment.
“Well?” Maddie asked, wiping the chocolate away from her lips. I was pleased to see a much larger chunk of the brownie had disappeared from the pan.
“He’s busy, I guess.” Who knew I’d be this disappointed? Not me, that’s for sure.
“You guess?”
“I don’t know. Let’s not talk about it. Tell me about your parents. Did they get off to Hawaii okay?”
I pretended to be involved in small talk with Maddie, but my focus remained firmly on Nate. And the mystery woman. And what was happening between them in Nate’s apartment. To think I’d felt bad about his seeing me with Kevin. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
“Are you listening to me at all?”
“What? Oh. Of course I am.”
“You’re off in another world. Want to share why?”
“A woman answered the door at Nate’s. I’ve never seen him around another woman, so it’s bugging me,” I blurted. “I don’t know why.”
Maddie’s mouth split in a grin. “You’re kidding, right? You know damn well why it’s bothering you. The same exact reason it bothered Nate to see you with Jon and Kevin.”
“Which is why it shouldn’t mean anything to me. I’m not sitting here pining over him or anything.”
Maddie snorted. “Baby, you most certainly are pining.”
I opened my mouth in denial, saw her pointed look, and sighed. “Maybe a little. I didn’t know he was seeing anyone else. It was weird, that’s all.”
“Was she dressed?”
“What?”
“This woman. Did she have clothes on?”
“She didn’t answer the door naked, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What about her hair?”
“It was perfect.” Long, red, and beautiful. Maybe I should dye my hair red?
“Makeup? Did she have lipstick on?”
“What’s with all these questions?”
Maddie stood and shook her head, amusement glittering in her voice. “Answer. Did she have lipstick on?”
“Yes.”
“Was it smudged?”
“No. Everything about her was perfect. She could have stepped off the cover of a magazine. If this is your way of helping me feel better, you’re failing. Miserably.”
“Dork,” she said, laughing.
“What is so funny?”
“If she was dressed, if her lipstick and hair were perfect, then it stands to reason that no hanky-panky was going on behind closed doors.”
“You can’t know that.”
“For sure? No. But think about it. If mystery woman and Nate were rolling around in bed together, you’d have seen the signs of it. Smudged lipstick, mussed hair, shirt unbuttoned.”
“Good point, but it doesn’t prove anything.” It made me feel better, though.
“Nope, but it gives you something to hang on to.” Using her fork, Maddie cut off a chunk of brownie. “Here,” she said, lifting it to my mouth. “You need this more than I do.”
Tasting the explosion of sweet chocolate on my tongue, I nodded. I certainly did. Unfortunately, the spell wasn’t going to affect me.
But hey, the sugar couldn’t hurt.
Jon’s face creased in a grin. “We just got the Henderson gig. The entire thing! Shower, rehearsal, and wedding.”
I looked up from the next month’s planning calendar. “Really? No way.” The Henderson wedding was huge. They were Chicago’s own version of the Kennedys, and if I’d understood Jon correctly, they’d just chosen A Taste of Magic for their nuptial baking needs. All my worries about paying off Marc evaporated. With a client like that, we’d be the hit of Chicago as soon as word got out. Business would be booming.“Seriously, Liz. I just got the call from the consultant team. We’re it. Mrs. Henderson and her daughter are coming next week to meet with us.”
“You know what this means to us, Jon?”
He grabbed my hands and twirled me toward him. “It means we’ve made it. We can pay Marc off, and then, after we pull this off, we’ll be the elite bakery in Chicago. Bigger store, higher-paying clientele, and the ability to create spectacular cakes without the worry of cost. You can be the artist you’ve always dreamed about! This is it!”
Pulling out of the dance, I smiled, but at the same time focused on the realities. I didn’t want to burst his bubble, but this was not the time to get overexcited. “Yeah, and if we screw it up, we’ll probably be out of business.”
“Hush, you. Don’t ruin this moment. We haven’t screwed up one job yet. This will be no different. This is it! This is what we’ve been working toward.”
“Jon, stop. What did the consultant say, exactly? Has Mrs. Henderson already hired us, or is this an interview?”
“Interview. But it’s as good as in the bag.”
I shook my head. “This is why I’m the practical one. It’s not in the bag. Not yet. I know you’re excited, and it’s great news, but we have a lot to do.”
“Aw, Lizzie, don’t ruin this,” he implored.
His tone got to me, just like a little boy pouting when his favorite toy was taken away would get to me. “I’m not. I’m going to do everything possible to ensure they do hire us. But you need to calm down.”
Crossing his arms, Jon inhaled deeply. “You’re absolutely right. This is why we’re the perfect team. What do you need from me?”
I felt like crap, deflating his enthusiasm. “Can you finish up on the Walker cake? I’ll start on some research so we can decide what we want to show Mrs. Henderson and her daughter. What day are they coming?”
“Next week. Wednesday, ten in the morning.”
“Good. Plenty of time to work this out then. Do you mind dealing with the Walker cake?”
“No. Work your magic, and I’ll handle the kitchen.”
Work my magic. Bless Jon. What an absolutely tremendous idea. The excitement I’d dampened out earlier began building. And for the first time, I realized how perfectly named our bakery was, considering the circumstances of my heritage. “You’re such a smart guy, Jon.”
“That’s a definite, but you’re only now noticing?” he teased.
“What consultant are they using?” My mind was already sifting through the possibilities.
“Social Niceties.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. Do you know who’s in charge?”
“Boss lady herself. You planning on calling her?”
“Yeah. I’ll try to get some inside info on Mrs. Henderson and her daughter, and then I’ll plan what we want to showcase.”
“We’ll plan on what we want to showcase.”
“That’s what I meant. We’re a team.”
“You’re my perfect partner. In more ways than one.”
“Have you talked to Andy? How’s he doing?” I asked, knowing full well Jon didn’t want to discuss Andy.
Jon frowned, but I saw the quick light of sadness hit his eyes. “I’m going to get started on the Walker cake. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Wait. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just don’t want you to forget that what you and Andy have is unique.”
“I used to think so. Now, I think it’s over. Don’t worry, you didn’t upset me.”
Jon closed his eyes. When he opened them, the sadness was gone or at least hidden well. I expected him to say something else, but he didn’t. He gave me a halfhearted smile and left the office.
I’d seen him eat the damn cake I made for him. Why did my magic work on some of the people but not all of the people? And why did the brownie spell seem to affect Jon, which was an accident, but the one meant for him hadn’t taken hold?
Not to mention Marc. What was going on with him? No apology yet.
It distressed me. Something else I’d have to discuss with Grandma Verda. Or maybe Miranda, if she talked to me again. Actually, Miranda would probably be best. Could I make her talk to me, or was I stuck waiting for her?
Hmm. I’d pretty much decided I was going to confide in Maddie. After she was back to normal, that is. I needed some help with all of this. And I missed confiding in her. Hopefully, I’d see a change in her soon.
On a whim, I went to the Google search page on my computer and typed in Miranda Ayres. I wanted to know more about her, because I couldn’t figure out why she was paying me visits. Sure, I was her great-great-great granddaughter, but there had to be another reason. It was obvious, thankfully, that she wasn’t trying to scare me. But what she wanted with me was a complete mystery.
Of course, there were no listings for her on Google. Chewing on my lip, I tried, Gypsy Magic. This garnered a couple of hits. Well, more like two million, so I scrolled through the first few. Unfortunately, nothing apropos to my situation popped up. A couple of stores, a website, and a psychic troupe for corporate entertaining (which might prove interesting, but was fairly useless to me) were the top three hits.
Clicking the X, I closed the Google page and flipped open my contact folder instead, as I might as well start the research for the Henderson job. Picking up the phone, I dialed the number for the Henderson wedding consultant. Time to get busy. The sooner we nabbed this client, the better.
Two hours later, I stretched the muscles in my shoulders. After speaking with Destiny of Social Niceties, I thought I had a handle on Mrs. Henderson and her daughter. It might not prove overly beneficial, as Destiny had said they were complete opposites and were butting heads on every step of the process.
Somehow, I’d have to find a way to make them both happy. I’d figure it out.
I’d have to, what with so much at stake.
“I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. It’s so close to A Taste of Magic, you’d think I’d have eaten here at least once,” I said to Kevin, pushing my plate back. “Thanks for asking me to join you.”
Kevin’s long wavy hair was pulled back tight, highlighting his high cheekbones and full lips. He’d phoned me earlier, asking me to dinner after I got off work. It had been a completely pleasant surprise. Even the healthiness of the vegetarian fare hadn’t bothered me.Come on, I’d choked down oatmeal for the guy—he was that luscious. Vegetables weren’t close to being an issue.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. They have great salads and amazing fruit smoothies chock full of vitamins and nutrients. You should check them out for lunch one day.”
Right. Over my normal burger and fries? Not likely, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’ll keep that in mind.” I glanced around the restaurant and noticed it had almost emptied out. “We’ve been talking awhile; I didn’t realize we’d been here so long.”
“Ready to go?” Did he sound disappointed?
On a whim, I said, “Why don’t you follow me back to my place? I can make coffee, tea, or what ever you want and we can hang out.” I gulped down a sip of my iced green tea to hide my nervous ness. Why I was anxious about it, I had no clue.
When he smiled, I relaxed. He really was a nice guy.
“I’d love to. Actually, I need to make a quick stop, but I’ll be right behind you.”
“Oh. Okay.” I didn’t ask where or why. It was none of my business, but I was curious. “About an hour?”
“Probably less, but no more than that.”
We walked out together, and he gave me a kiss on my cheek before waving. “See you soon,” he said. Nodding, I got in my car, watched him leave, and headed home.
Back at my place, I ran through my apartment trying to straighten it up as much as possible. When everything was as close to presentable as I could make it, I filled a pitcher with water and ice. I sliced up a lemon and tossed those into the water.
I kind of wished I had time to bake something. And, because I had no clue what I would wish for, it was probably best that I didn’t have the time. The ringing phone startled me. Half-worried it was Kevin calling to cancel, I glanced at the Caller ID, something I rarely did.
It read: MARC STEVENS.
Oh. Was this actually it? My hand trembled as I picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Betty. I’m calling to set up lunch, as we discussed. What day is good for you?”
And he didn’t sound miserable at all, so likely the magic (once again) hadn’t taken hold. Now it was even more important that we nailed the Henderson account. “This isn’t a good time, Marc. I’m waiting for my date.” Ooh, that felt good.
“Date? I didn’t know you were dating.”
The buzzer sounded. “He’s here. I have to go.”
“Wait, what about lunch?”
“What is it with you and lunch? Normal guys do not ask their ex-wives out for lunch all the time.” When he didn’t respond, I hung up without even a morsel of guilt. I knew he didn’t want to meet for lunch to talk about the bakery. He�
��d just show up unannounced when he was ready for that.
I pushed him out of my thoughts. I couldn’t deal with Marc. Not right now. But, I have to admit, I loved telling him I had a date. Pathetic? Probably. But also very, very cool.
When I let Kevin in, it was immediately obvious where he’d gone. Before, at dinner, he’d come straight from the gym. Now his hair was damp from the shower, and I could smell the clean scent of his shampoo when he walked past me.
“You didn’t have to change,” I said. Instead of the worn T-shirt and stretchy gym pants of earlier, now he wore tight denim and an orangey-red button-down shirt. On anyone else, the color would have been ludicrous and overly bright. But on Kevin the trainer? Absolutely gorgeous.
“I wanted to,” he said. “So this is your place.” His eyes roamed the small confines of my apartment, and a little frown appeared on his face. Yet again, I wished I’d taken the time to decorate. And unpack.
“It’s a mess,” I said.
“Just moved in?”
Yeah, definitely time to make some changes. “No. Just lazy.”
“You should make the time to get it done. Where we live reflects a lot about who we are. Your home is also your sanctuary,” he said, as if he were a teacher at some Zen spa. “You’ll have to come by my condo sometime and see what I’ve done. If you like it, I’d love to help you out here.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.” I hadn’t lied; it was thoughtful of Kevin to offer his help. But that other stuff he said? It sort of rubbed me the wrong way. I’d get to decorating. When I was ready.
Anxious again, but not entirely sure why, I nodded toward the living room. “You can come completely in. I won’t bite.”
“You can if you want,” he teased.
That little tiny statement made me quiver, and the annoyance I’d felt seconds ago vanished. Another emotion hit me full force. Anticipation? Want? Nah, straight out needy desire. I called it like I saw it, and let me tell you—it had been way too long since I’d had sex. Come to think of it, even my toys hadn’t seen the light of day for a while. They’d remained tucked away in my nightstand drawer ever since the last time Nate was over. Images of Nate kissing me, touching me, whipped into my thoughts. And then, a pain of longing hit me so quick I almost doubled over.
A Taste of Magic Page 17