A Captivating Conundrum (27 page)

He chuckled, as Bobby leaned over and—in the loudest voice possible—announced his beloved team would destroy mine before the day was out.

I raised a finger to his lips. "Shhhh."

He patted my head. "Nope. Not my fault you drank like a sailor." He glanced over at Matt. "You must hold your liquor better, aye?"

Matt grinned. "We didn't even finish a bottle of wine between us."

Bobby's eyebrows rose up his forehead and then he turned back to me.

Ah…sweet revenge
. I took the sunglasses off and felt the smile slowly spread across my face; a prelude to the total destruction that I was about to unleash on Bobby's happy Sunday. "This is a completely different kind of hangover, my love. Guess who's here?"

His eyes grew wide as he looked back and forth between me and a now chuckling Matt. His voice grew to a cold, frightened whisper, "No."

"Yup.".

"She is NOT here."

"I beg to differ."

His voice immediately turned into a high-pitched whine. "But it's game day. Why is she here on game day?"

Chris leaned in. "I told you there was a strange car in your driveway last night."

Bobby's head sunk into the crook of his elbow.

"So, buddy," I continued, feeling suddenly very awake and alive. "Even if your shit-ass, pathetic little team does win today, and I DO have to give you a check because you win the bet, I have a feeling your day will be far worse than mine. And, honestly, it's worth it to lose just to see your face right now." An evil giggle erupted from my throat that I was extremely proud of, as I watched Chris and Matt laugh and pat the back of the suddenly poor young man in their midst.

I noticed how close Matt's tone was to Bobby's. "She came in last night.
During
dinner." 

Bobby raised his head.

"At a very
nice
point during dinner."

Bobby squinted as if he'd suddenly received a sharp pain in his side. "Oh, man."

"Yeah."

I maintained my smile so that Bobby knew I had won this particular round, and went to the counter.

Getting out various things from the cabinets, Chris was the first one to speak, as the other two seemed to be commiserating over some tragic accident.

"Whatcha doin?" Chris sidled up behind me and whispered in my ear, "You're evil, you know."

"I know," I whispered back. "But I also feel like whistling a happy tune."

He put his arms around me and squeezed. "I really love you."

"Right back at ya, kid." I took out the spoons and bowls, setting up my space like I always did. 

"What are you making?"

"Your chocolate chip cookies."

His eyes grew wide and he clapped his hands. "Seriously? I thought you were kidding."

I turned around and grinned. "I have a feeling that sports day is not exactly your favorite thing."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Not really, no."

"But I know that you'll be hanging here because it's a 'Bobby' thing to do." I leaned back. "Call me crazy, but for some reason I think you two are already dealing with the differences…and enjoying them."

"Crazy," Chris said, blushing a bit as he sent a glance to the handsome man who was now practically crying in his coffee as he explained to Matt how loud this day was about to become. "I suppose we are. Besides, it's just a basketball game." Chris smiled. "How bad could it be?"

"BETH!" Nicole's high-voltage voice carried from upstairs. "Is Bobby down there?! I NEED to ask him a question."

Bobby's groan was loud as he looked longingly at the front door.

"He's down here, Nic!" I replied quickly.

Watching his face turn into something that resembled a killer on
CSI
, I smiled cheerfully. "I got her last night. Today, she's all yours." 

"I despise you."

I turned back to the cookie dough. "By the way, she's in love."

"
What
?"

Chris clapped again. "Yay! Cookies and romance."  He kissed me on the cheek. "This might be better than I thought."

~ His ~

Even with a 'Nicole' hangover—which had to be far tougher than anything
Jack Daniels
could supply—the woman couldn't look bad.

When Beth walked around the corner, shades on, hair disheveled, as if she'd just gotten done with a six-hour love fest (no, wait, get that part out of your head!) I still caught my breath when she walked in. Her tan, smooth legs were uncovered; Beth was adorned only by a pair of running shorts and a matching t-shirt that bore her team's colors, which was a bit too big and fell down one shoulder, letting me know that the shirt was the only thing that stood between me and a picture of paradise.

Her movements were fluid, even though she looked so tired that I wanted to wrap her in my arms and go lay down on the couch; the perfect game day of cheering for my team (the opposite of hers; I was on Bobby's side), and then—during the lulls in the action—spooning up beside her on the couch and taking a warm, much needed nap while I was surrounded by the scent of lavender. I was practically giddy. I wanted to start a new Sunday tradition…with her.

I almost laughed at Bobby's response to Nicole's presence, seeing as that she'd burst my bubble less than twelve hours ago. I wasn't sure yet why Nicole was such a close friend with Beth; they seemed so different, but there was a friendship there that ran far deeper than an author/agent relationship based on swapping notes and royalty checks.

When I finally forced myself to exhale, I watched Beth with Chris, as if he was the adoptive son and she was Mom—patting him on the head, making him cookies. She was trying to give him a good day, and I was so in love with that trait. The checklist that I'd never noticed inside my head before was now filled with every attribute Beth possessed.

When Nicole's voice resounded, Bobby actually reached out and grabbed my shoulder, as if I could somehow save him from what was about to come. Chris and Beth remained at the counter, whispering like kids, laughing at the men folk who were about to receive far more than they ever wanted.

Nicole swept down the stairs in what, I suppose, was her own version of Sunday 'casual' clothing. Her black pantsuit was pressed, her heels were beyond high and the black hair was perfectly placed in barrettes that were struggling to hold on tight. For a woman who'd stayed up at least half the night, Nicole looked like she'd just stepped off an elevator coming from a business meeting where she'd mopped the floor with everyone.

Her eyes grew wide. "Bobby! I CALLED you!"

He groaned. "I thought those were your dulcet tones coming from above. It really is like having an angel in the house, you know."

She smirked. "Very funny. Did Beth TELL you?"

Studying the chair before sitting, Nicole looked for any stray spot of dust that would mar the pristine black outfit. Finally sitting, she smiled at Bobby.

"You're in love, I hear?" Bobby said.

The blush was quick. "I am, thank you very much, and you HAVE to meet him."

"Why me?"

"Well, you and Beth BOTH have to meet him."

Bobby's eyes grew wide and suddenly sparkled with happiness. "Is he on his way here now? Is he coming to pick you up and bring you back to the city?"

I tried to hide my laugher at the hopeful tone.

She patted him on the hand. "No. I'm going back to meet him."

"Now?"

"No," she said, her lip curling just a bit. "Later."

Bobby looked crestfallen. "Oh."

She grinned. "You all yap about this Sunday game crap, I figured I'd hang out and see what all the fuss was about."

Chris walked over and touched Nicole's shoulder making her jump, and kissed her cheek. "Hello. Nice to see you again."

Nicole's smile was immediate. I really wished I could figure out what magical potion Chris used to get women to just fall in love with him automatically. 

"Hello, back. How are you, Christopher?"

He grinned. "A lovely, well-dressed woman—another beautiful lady making ME cookies—this is a banner day."

Nicole looked past him at Beth's back. "You were SUPPOSED to wait for me to make the cookies," she huffed. "I told you I wanted to learn."

Beth turned around and looked her up and down. "You can't wear that outfit."

"Why not?"

Beth raised her flour-covered hands.

"What is THAT?"

"Cookies are made out of dough, dear."

"Oh." Nicole looked down at her shiny pants. "Well…I'll just watch from here. I'm sure I can learn the same amount. Besides," she continued, with a slightly teasing grin. "I think everyone can agree that you look really good in a kitchen. I wouldn't want to spoil the view."

"She looks good in every room." The mumble came out before I could stop it.

Nicole glanced at me and offered me one of the kindest smiles I'd ever seen from the lady, as if she were suddenly on 'Team Matt.' 

"Yes, she does, doesn't she? Beth can dress in absolute rags and still look like a shiny present under the Christmas tree."

I watched Beth study her. I could almost see a little demon appear in those deep, brown eyes as she reached for a handful of flour. Nicole continued to gaze at me, as Beth slowly moved forward. Just as she raised her hand above Nicole's jet black hair, the woman turned and received a fistful of flour directly in the face.

Jumping up, Nicole yelled, "Oh, my God. Do you KNOW how much this cost?"

"Just wanted you to be able to look good in the kitchen, too." Beth smiled wide, as Nicole turned and raced back upstairs.

Bobby put his hand in the air for the high five. "Okay, that was an upside to the day."

"Wasn't it?" Beth laughed. "Oh, she brought a keg with her—it's in her trunk."

The tirade continued from above as Bobby walked to Nicole's handbag resting on the counter, took out her huge keychain—one that would've made the warden of Alcatraz envious—and walked to the door. "I say the sooner we tap it the less I'll remember when she speaks."

Beth chuckled. "Alcohol makes her louder."

I had to interrupt. "That's impossible."

Holding one hand in the air, Beth crossed her chest with the other. "I swear to God."

Twenty-One

~ Hers ~

"Your team blows!"

I used the best glare I had in my repertoire as I shouted at Matt and Bobby as they sat preening like peacocks on MY furniture. "He hasn't even hit a three-pointer! How can you say he's the best from the floor? Are you
high
?" 

Matt sat up straighter and proceeded to run down all of the stats for the entire season when it came to his superstar's excellent aim. "They're up by ten. Where are you? Your team is down, they're gone, and it's over." He pointed at the screen just as my weapon—who'd already won the Rookie of the Year Award—raced down the court with ball in hand and a look of sheer determination in his eyes.