by Wendy Knight
She nodded, baffled at her own disappointment. “Yeah.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Crew drummed his fingers on his desk, staring at the project that had seemed so important an hour ago. Azura, Holly, Kat and Garrett had left to go bowling because Brett didn’t get to work until eleven and they had nothing else to do. And all he could do was stare at his computer screen and wonder why he wasn’t there.
His parents had both worked so much. Long hours, and while they loved what they did, they had missed out on so much of his life. Of Kat’s life. Both his parents had said more than once that it was their biggest regret—working so much. They’d drilled into him that family came first, always. They were a tight-knit family despite his parents’ absence when he was younger, but he’d always sworn work wouldn’t be his priority.
Yet here he was, working. And he could have sworn that Azura had been disappointed to see him go.
He’d left anyway.
Crew checked the clock on his desk. He was a half hour away and it was just after ten. He could work for twenty minutes, make it to the bowling alley before Mr. Mystery Man, and then come back for the afternoon and finish the project before they left for home.
A little more stress than he’d been hoping for, but it would work. Kat could drive them all to Crew’s work, and hopefully, Azura would think it was more fun to ride with him than his sister, and they could spend the two-hour ride to Essex alone.
Otherwise, he’d be stuck with Garrett. He loved his cousin, but Garrett liked to sing in the car and the man could not sing.
Not even a little.
But if someone convinced Garrett to sing in Katrina’s car...Azura would be more excited to ride in the truck with Crew.
Perfect.
Once he had a plan, it was easier to focus. The numbers that had been evading him all morning miraculously decided to cooperate and he flew through the next several stages before it was time to go.
Crew stretched and stood up, shrugging on his coat, already anticipating the look on Azura’s face when he showed up. She had been disappointed when he said he wasn’t coming.
He was pretty sure anyway.
That was progress. It meant she was letting him in, at least a little. She hadn’t snapped at him for calling her Butterfly for several hours now.
Progress.
“Mr. Bacall, I thought you’d left for the holidays.” Mr. Ibarra, the owner of the company and a friend of Crew’s father, stopped him just before he hit the elevators. “How’s the family?”
“They’re good. Excited for Christmas. How is yours?” Crew buttoned his coat, hoping the old man would get the hint that he was on his way out.
He did not.
Instead, he launched into a diatribe that started with his ungrateful daughter and somehow veered to sheepdogs and armored cars. Crew gave up trying to follow when model trains made their appearance. He glanced at his watch and suppressed a groan. Even if he was able to escape now and make it to the parking lot at the speed of light, he’d still be ten minutes late.
Maybe Brett Tell would be late as well.
Mr. Ibarra was still talking, and as far as Crew could tell, this was not the story they’d started with. He had no idea how to escape.
His phone rang.
It surprised them both, but probably Crew more than Mr. Ibarra because who knew prayers could be answered so quickly? “I’m so sorry, sir. I really have to take this. I’ll be back later this afternoon to finish that project.”
“Crew,” Mr. Ibarra put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s almost Christmas and you’re a barely-paid intern. Go home. Enjoy your vacation. Your work this semester speaks for itself.”
Crew raised his phone to his ear, oddly touched. “Thank you, sir. But I’d really rather not leave work hanging like that.” He waved and escaped toward the stairs, lest Mr. Ibarra started another story before the elevator could get there. “Hello?”
“Crew, we might have a problem...”
Garrett’s voice was unreadable. “What problem?”
“Well, Azura’s ex, Jake, is here, and he’s not taking this curse thing very seriously. He and Azura have been fighting ever since we got here.”
“Azura’s tough. She doesn’t need help fighting with her ex. Does she?”
“No, but he said some things...Kat may or may not have dumped a whole pitcher of ice water on his head and we got kicked out of the bowling alley.”
“What?” Crew didn’t know why he was surprised. His sister had always been the impulsive, protective type. “Can you just catch Brett before he goes inside?”
“Well, we’re hoping to, but Jake followed us out.”
Crew swore under his breath, taking the stairs two at a time. “You guys need to leave.” That’s all they’d need, to get arrested right before Christmas. Then Azura would never break the curse.
“If we leave, we’ll miss Brett.”
Crew hit the ground floor and sprinted to his truck, barely dodging a car that came around the corner too fast. Holding up a hand—like that could stop the two-thousand pound vehicle hurtling toward him—he spun away and hit the unlock button.
“It doesn’t matter. A fight is just going to make things worse. Get out of there and we’ll try for Brett later today.”
“Girls, let’s go,” he heard Garrett call to the others. “I need some non-bowling alley food.”
Trust Garrett to bring food into it. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’m just coming into town. Where are you?” Although Crew was grateful for the hands-free speaker in his truck, he felt ridiculous talking away with no phone in his hand.
Life is hard.
That sarcastic little voice in his head was distinctly Azura’s. And he didn’t mind one bit.
“We’re back at the bowling alley. Kat has her binoculars out. She’s spying.” Garrett heaved a long-suffering sigh. Kat and her binoculars were legendary—she was a journalism major, and in her opinion, all journalism majors should have binoculars. But it went back way further than that. She’d gotten them when she was twelve to help keep Crew and Garrett in line—her exact words. She spied on them relentlessly, and every time they got themselves into trouble—
She never told.
She did, however, come to their rescue and then mock them relentlessly for the rest of their days.
“Any sign of Brett?” Crew turned left, eyeing the dark clouds closing around them. The skies looked ominous, and driving the two hours it took to get home in a blizzard wasn’t his idea of fun. That was all he needed, to drive Azura into another ditch.
She would never forgive him.
“Yeah, he’s inside. But thanks to Kat, we can’t go in.”
“Then call him out. I’ll be there in five.” Crew hung up as his sister exploded in the background. Only she could manage to get them kicked out of a bowling alley at eleven in the morning.
He pressed down on the gas and the big truck roared beneath him, devouring the last remaining mile. He could see them in the parking lot before he pulled in, and it looked like Brett Tell had decided to join them.
Nice of him, really.
He pulled to a stop and got out, half praying he wasn’t too late and half praying he was. Watching her kiss other guys—it tore his heart to shreds every time.
Just one more. We’re almost done.
“Really, Azura?”
Crew hadn’t seen Azura’s ex until he was standing directly behind him. He froze in his steps.
Jake’s fists were balled at his sides, and the back of his neck was flushed red. “This is what you are now? You just—you just go around kissing whatever guy happens to be standing in front of you?”
“She can kiss me anytime,” Brett drawled. Crew wrinkled his nose. The guy was a creep. But Jake had him beat.
“It’s none of your business, Jake.” Azura wiped her mouth on her sleeve and shuddered. So, Crew had missed it. And it looked like a juicy one.
Ick.
“The Azura I knew at least waited until the second date. You weren’t a whore.”
Everyone gasped as Jake spun on his heel and stalked away.
Right into Crew.
Crew didn’t hesitate. If he had, Azura would have gotten to Jake, and if she hadn’t, Holly or Katrina would have, and he really, really wanted to feel his fist connect with Jake’s face.
It was far more satisfying than he’d been expecting.
Jake stumbled back, hands covering his nose. “What the hell—?”
“Apologize to Azura. And then rethink your use of that word. Clearly, you don’t understand what it means.” Crew crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
Jake straightened, still probing at his nose. Crew didn’t dare look at Azura because she was probably furious that she hadn’t gotten to Jake first. Or she was furious that Crew had punched her ex-boyfriend. Or she was furious that he had defended her honor because that was so last century.
He didn’t care.
“Apologize,” Crew hissed, taking a step closer. “Now.”
He was taller than Jake by at least four inches and outweighed him by fifty pounds. Jake was lanky, Crew had been playing football and baseball since he was a toddler.
Jake glared back at him for several long seconds before he spun away. “Azura, I’m sorry. That was out of line. I told you I’m still in love with you. It hurts to see you acting like this—”
Crew cleared his throat.
“—But your actions do not make you a whore.”
Crew finally looked at Azura. Her eyes weren’t even on Jake, she was watching Crew with an amused smile playing around the corners of her lips. “Thank you, Jake.”
“You should go now,” Katrina spoke abruptly. “My purse is full of quarters and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Jake sighed and stalked away, slamming the door to his Accord and spinning out of the parking lot.
“What was he doing here by himself?” Crew asked. “Who goes to a bowling alley by themselves?”
Azura left Brett’s side and wandered toward him, picking her way carefully over the half-frozen puddles. “I think he was following me. Thanks for the rescue, Galahad.”
Crew grinned down at her, his heart thundering in his chest. “I was really doing Jake a favor. Who knows what would have happened if one of them had gotten to him.” He nodded toward his sister and Holly, who both still looked ready to kill.
“Saving everybody. So noble of you.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “I’m ready to get out of here. Anyone else?”
“Are you sure?” Brett asked. “I could hook you up with some free fries inside. Maybe we could talk a little more.”
Azura tensed before she plastered on a smile that Crew could see right through and turned toward Mr. Mystery Man. “Brett, you have been a lifesaver. But I’m actually on my way out of town for Christma—for the holiday,” she said through clenched teeth. “But thank you for the kiss and your help in breaking the curse. That was super sweet of you.”
She waved and took Crew’s arm. “Get me out of here?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Azura is leaving a string of broken hearts behind, isn’t she? I think Brett took it the hardest.” Katrina leaned back in her chair, her stilettos clicking against the laminate floor as she stretched her legs out in front of her. “Of course, I missed Abe’s. Someone didn’t alert me that we had found him.” She glared daggers at Crew, but he ignored her.
Azura sat next to him in the booth and kept sneaking his fries when she knew he was looking and damn if it wasn’t adorable. Especially when she nudged her fry sauce closer to him so he could share.
Jake was still in love with her. Crew had no idea how Azura felt about Jake, but the fear that she might change her mind and go back to the guy haunted him.
She stole another fry, peeking through the dark, dark hair at him and giggling when he raised an eyebrow back at her.
“I hear Abe took it pretty hard, but yeah, they were all devastated. Azura the heartbreaker. Who woulda thunk.” Holly propped her chin on her hand and swirled her Pepsi, watching the ice clink and tumble through the dark bubbles.
I would. I woulda thunk.
Garrett sat forward, head bent over his phone. “It looks like that storm is coming in pretty fast. How do you guys feel about leaving sooner than we’d planned? Holly, we can drop you at the airport on our way.”
Holly popped a pickle slice in her mouth and nodded enthusiastically. “That would be great. Azura was supposed to take me in my car but I’m really not sure that’s safe. I really like my car.”
Azura scowled. “I can still drive, you know.”
“Girl, you can barely walk.”
Sighing, Azura hung her head. “Good point. But Crew, you have to go back to work, right?”
Work. Crap. Why had he felt the need to give Mr. Ibarra that little speech about not leaving work hanging? Crew pushed the rest of his fries toward her and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, we can go now, get Azura safely off the roads before the storm hits, and you can follow when you get off tonight.” Garrett waved his spoon around, flinging drops of the hot chocolate he’d been stirring.
Katrina kicked him under the table, and he swore, grabbing his shin. Crew pretended it was because he’d almost splattered her with chocolate.
“You work in the city, right? Maybe you could just drop me off at the mall or something and I can wander around until you’re done.” Azura pushed his fries back toward him as she stole another and dunked it in her sauce.
Crew looked at Katrina, hardly daring to hope, and she beamed back at him. Azura was choosing to ride with him even though it would put off finding Carter and ending the curse.
She was choosing Crew.
“It’s safer,” she was saying. “You are usually the one saving the day. This will save you some time because I’ll already be there.”
Katrina gave him a discreet thumbs up and Garrett nodded wisely. “Makes sense.”
“You hate shopping,” Holly said, seemingly without thinking as she caught Katrina’s frustrated glare. Holly slapped a hand over her mouth.
Not discreetly.
“Actually, everyone on my floor is gone for the holiday already. I was mostly alone earlier. If you want, you can come hang out with me—do you have a book or something?”
“Everyone’s gone? What kind of company do you work for?” Holly asked. “I want to work there if I get to start my Christmas break December 22nd.”
“College town.” Crew shrugged. “All the interns go home for the holidays.”
“I just downloaded the new Stephen King book! I haven’t had a chance to start it with all the kissing fun I’ve been having.” Azura grabbed her phone and opened the Kindle app, showing everyone at the table that she had indeed downloaded the king of horror three days before Christmas.
“Perfect. We’ll go grab your stuff and head that way. It should only take me an hour or two and then we’ll head home.” For some reason, every time he said anything about we and home, his stomach flipped and his mouth went dry.
She nodded, pushing herself to her feet. “Lead on, Galahad.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Crew set her up at the desk next to his. He was a paid intern, and although he came from one of the wealthiest families in the country, his desk was the same size as everyone else’s. It had a picture of his family on it, and a picture of a dog, a great big completely black German Shepherd. A pen, a pencil, lots of blueprints. That was it.
“That dog matches your truck.” She pointed to the picture and Crew smiled.
“That is Teeny Tiny.”
Azura raised an eyebrow. “That dog is not teeny tiny.”
Laughing, Crew sank into his own chair and pulled the picture closer. “No, but she was. She was the runt. We found her and her brother B
ravo abandoned in a field near home. He was double her size and we honestly didn’t expect her to make it. Spoiler alert, she did, and she grew up to be freaking huge.”
“She’s yours?”
Crew’s face positively glowed as he spoke about his dog.
“Yeah. Kat wanted Bravo because she was afraid Teeny wasn’t going to make it. By the time they were adults, my dog trounced her dog and she probably wished she would have chosen differently.” Crew grinned over at her as he set the picture back in its place. “Too late.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“She was.” Crew nodded. “They both died a year ago. Cancer. We did everything we could but there was no saving either of them.”
“Oh,” Azura gasped. Her heart broke in her chest and she laid a hand on Crew’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
He nodded again, not quite meeting her eyes. “Thanks. We had them for fourteen years. I try to be grateful for that time instead of dwelling on the fact that they’re gone now.” Crew turned his computer on and dug out a stack of blueprints. “Did you have any pets growing up?”
Azura shook her head. “I used to sneak food for the shelter dogs, and when I got old enough, I’d go walk them, but my mom didn’t want the mess.” Oh, but she’d wanted one. One day, when she had stability and a good job and a reliable doggie daycare, she would have a dog. She would have all the dogs.
Okay, maybe just two dogs. They were pack animals, after all.
He nodded. “They’re a lot of work, that’s for sure. I bet those shelter dogs loved you to pieces. I know I would have. Lost and alone, Azura comes in like a ray of sunshine.” He nodded. “Lucky dogs.”
She laughed. “Get to work, Galahad. I have a book to read.”
“Yes, m’lady,” Crew murmured. He flipped on his computer and she opened her app, but she couldn’t concentrate on her book, which was weird. She’d been waiting months for a chance to read.
Now she had the chance and, instead, she kept watching Crew.
His brow furrowed when he concentrated. When he made a mistake and had to erase things, he stuck his tongue through his lips. He worked in CAD but transferred the data onto a notebook in front of him. “I thought you had a book to read.”