A Taste of Magic (15 page)

“Well, I was wondering. Have you ever spoken with Miranda?”

“Miranda? She died long before I was born. What are you talking about? Something happen?”

“I mean, since whenever you got, you know, the magic?”

“What’s going on, Elizabeth? How in blazes could I talk with a dead woman?”

Yeah, that’s what I wanted to know.

“Never mind, Grandma. How are you doing?”

“I’m good, dear. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well … you know, the 911 stuff and leaving the stove on when you fell asleep.”

“Not you too! Your mother calls me every blasted night to make sure I haven’t burned the place down. I’m thinking of screaming ‘FIRE’ into the phone next time she calls. I’m fine, Lizzie. My show is on. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, Grandma. Enjoy Judge Judy.”

I hung up the phone and grinned. Grandma Verda was crazy, but I loved her. I changed out of my work clothes into a pair of sweats and sneakers. After seeing Marc that afternoon, I’d stopped by Alice’s with her cake before returning to A Taste of Magic. Jon’s remained on my counter. I’d give it to him tonight when we went to see the Willis flick.

Which meant the only delivery I had left to make was Maddie’s. No time like the present, right?

I grabbed my keys and the cake and headed to the hallway. My eyes automatically went to Nate’s door, and without fully realizing it I went there instead. Mentally shaking myself, I backed up to go to Maddie’s as originally planned.

The door from the outside opened, cold wind pouring into the hallway before it slammed back shut. “Hi, Elizabeth, looking for me?” Nate asked, brushing the snow off his jacket as he walked. Sam trailed behind, his small frame covered in white.

I grinned. “Making snowmen?”

“How’d ya guess? We actually made three. You should go check them out.”

“I will.” Sam’s cheeks were pink from the cold. “You look like a snowman, Sam,” I said to him. “Go inside and have your uncle make you some hot chocolate.”

“We’re going to see a movie and then I have to go to my grandparents’,” Sam said. “But Grandma has PlayStation, so it’ll be fun.”

Nate lifted a brow. “When did she buy that?”

“Last time I stayed with her.”

With a chuckle, Nate pulled his key out of his pocket. “Does she play it?”

Sam nodded. “But she’s not very good. She keeps forgetting what button does what.”

“Wanna come in, Liz? We’re going to get Sam’s stuff together and head out, but I have a few minutes.”

Gee, did I want to? Rhetorical question. “Sure, sounds good.”

Once in the apartment, Nate helped Sam out of his winter gear. “Go change, kiddo, and get your stuff together.”

Sam took off down the hallway.

“I have to work in the morning, and my sister isn’t back from Ohio until tomorrow afternoon, so the folks are watching him.”

“Your family must be close. Where … um, where is Sam’s dad?”

“He lives in Colorado. Sam only sees him a couple of times a year.”

“That’s rough. It’s cool he has you as a father figure.” Ouch, should I have said that?

“Well, a male figure, anyway.” His eyes dropped to Maddie’s cake. “Hey! You didn’t forget. What did you bake?” He removed his coat and reached for the box. Being completely lost in the green of his eyes, I handed it over without thought.

“It’s a cake. Just a small one.” His shirt was plastered to his chest from the outside exertion, and his hair was damp around the edges. I wanted to pull him down to the ground, rip his shirt off, and proceed with some serious indoor exertion.

“What kind?”

Dear God, what kind?
Any kind
. I could think of several types of indoor fun to be had. It wasn’t until he set the cake down on the table and lifted the lid that my brain clicked in. Damn, he meant the cake. More’s the pity.

“This looks great. Thanks!”

“No problem,” I murmured, watching his hands. Strong, capable hands, able to bring a woman to immense pleasure… as they removed the cake from the box.

Shit! He was going to eat it. Maddie’s cake! “Wait!” I said, just as his mouth closed around it in a bite.

Now, I was going to have to start over and bake her something new. At least the magic wouldn’t do anything to Nate. I was very specific that it was meant for Maddie.

“Hmm?” Replacing the cake, Nate said, “You don’t want me to eat it?”

“Oh, no. Not that. You should have it with coffee—or milk—that’s all,” I stumbled over the words. It’s not like I could blast him for eating Maddie’s magical cake. “Is it good?”

“Terrific. Thanks again.” He closed the distance between us in a breath. “Come here.”

He didn’t have to say it twice. I stepped to him, his arms closed around me, and his lips touched mine. An entirely different type of magic eased into me.

Prodding my mouth open with his tongue, it slipped inside, and I tasted the sweetness of the cake and the hotness of Nate all at once. My body reacted immediately, and I leaned into the embrace, into the kiss.

“Eww. That is SO gross!” Sam’s voice cut into the moment. Nate pulled back and tossed me a grin. You know the type: the “Oops, we’ve been caught,” sort of grin. Completely endearing, that grin. I smiled back and wrapped my arms around myself. When I was with Nate, all thought of Marc evaporated. Instantly.

“You ready to go?” Nate asked Sam.

“Yeah. Can’t we see the new Bruce Willis movie instead of Disney? Please?”

“It’s rated R, so no. Grab your coat, Sam. I want to feed you before the movie.” Turning to me, he said, “Hey, do you want to go? We’re probably just going to hit McDonald’s for fast food, but I’d love it if you joined us.”

I so wanted to say yes. “Thanks for asking. I’d love to, but I can’t. I have plans tonight with a friend.”

He nodded as disappointment flashed over his expression. “I really would love to, Nate, but I promised.”

“That’s cool. Maybe another time.”

“Definitely another time.” Yay! He wanted to go out with me!

“I get off work tomorrow at six. How about dinner?”

Wow, he moved fast. “Oh. I have plans tomorrow night, too.” What kind of luck was that? Every weekend I sat at home with nothing to do but watch
Buffy
and play with latch-hook rugs, but the one weekend I was booked Nate asked me out. Not once, but twice.

“Oh, well, okay then.” Shrugging, he said to Sam, “Let me go change and we’ll get going.”

“’Kay, I still want to see the Bruce Willis movie instead of Disney.”

“Not happening. Get over it.”

Sam frowned but went into the living room, picked up the remote, and crashed on the couch.

Nate’s eyes returned to me. “We need to take off. Thanks for the cake. It’s terrific.”

“No problem. You guys have fun tonight.” At the door, I turned back, only to find he’d followed me. “I’ll see you later.”

Bending over slightly, his lips touched mine in a quick kiss. “Enjoy yourself tonight.” I felt his eyes on me as I walked to my apartment.

This totally stunk. Two possible nights out with Nate, and I had to say no.

I really hoped he’d ask me again. And what the hell was I going to do about Maddie now?

“The movie rocked, don’t you think?” Jon asked as we pulled into my parking lot.

“It had a lot of action,” I replied. Not that I really knew. I’d barely been able to pay attention. There was too much going on for me to lose myself in a movie. Jon didn’t need to know that, though.

“How do you think I’d look if I shaved my head?” “Nothing like Bruce Willis.”

“Yeah. That’s what I figured. Mind if I come in?”

“Of course not. I’d planned on it.” I wanted him to eat the cake I’d made, and I wanted to talk to him about Marc. We needed to come up with a plan to keep my ex from throwing his weight around in our business. In case my spell didn’t take hold.

In the hallway, I’d just unlocked my door when Nate exited his apartment. And, as always, I was happy to see him. When he reached us, I said, “Hi, Nate. This is Jon, the friend I told you about earlier.”

After the introductions were complete, I asked, “Did Sam end up liking the Disney movie?”

Nate smiled, but his eyes were on Jon. “If you ask him, he’ll say no. But he seemed pretty into it. Heck, even I liked it.”

A cop who liked Disney. How cool was that? “Where are you off to?” I knew he wasn’t going to work, as he wasn’t in uniform.

“My sister got an early flight in. Just going to get her from the airport and run her to pick up Sam from my parents’ house.” He glanced at his watch. “In fact, if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late. Nice meeting you, Jon.”

Jon nodded, and Nate took off. Once we were in my apartment, Jon whistled. “Where have you been hiding him? Methinks you have some ‘splaining to do, Lucy.’”

“He’s my neighbor. Your Desi Arnaz imitation is horrible.” I hung our coats up in the closet. “I have coffee and cake. You want some?”

“Yes on the coffee, but I had too much popcorn at the movies for cake. Maybe later. But I want to know more about your neighbor. You’re not telling me something, Lizzie,” he said with a grin.

“There’s nothing to say.” Well, nothing substantial, anyway. I didn’t know what was happening between me and Nate, and until I did, I was keeping my mouth shut.

“Pretty sure there’s more to it than that, but I’ll let it go. He didn’t look happy to see me, that’s for sure.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He was giving me the eye.”

Laughing, I said, “He’s not into guys, Jon. No matter how cute you are.”

“Dork. Not
that
kind of eye. The green eye of jealousy.”

“Nah, I told him we were friends. There’s nothing for him to be jealous of.”

“Maybe you did, but it didn’t sink in. Your Nate was definitely distressed to see you with me.” Jon tucked his thumbs into his jean pockets. “And what do you mean there’s nothing to be jealous of?”

“Well, let’s see. We’re business partners. We’re best friends. And we’ve never been anything else. So there’s nothing for Nate to be envious about.”

“Maybe we could change that.”

Before I could make sense of his statement, he walked over and put his hands on my shoulders. “Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about you. About us. We’ve always been close, we never fight, and whenever we’re together, we have a lot of fun. I think it’s time to see if we can be more than just friends.” With that, he tipped my chin up with his hand, lowered his head, and kissed me like he never had before. Not a simple kiss. Not a friendly kiss. A tongue in my mouth, halfway down my throat, kiss.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, my body didn’t respond. It was nice, but it wasn’t right. Not quite like kissing my brother, but more like, “No, this just isn’t how it should feel.”

As soon as that thought hit my brain, I disengaged myself from his arms. Fast. I wiped my hand over my lips. Jon just stood there, frozen.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I mean, don’t get me wrong, over the years, I’d definitely fantasized about Jon. It was kind of hard not to. He was sexy, sweet, and always made me laugh. But those were just fantasies. They were never meant to come true.

He shook his head, as if trying to clear a haze I couldn’t see. “I don’t know. You were standing there, and suddenly, I just wanted to kiss you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry. Lately, I’ve been feeling things that don’t make any sense. Maybe I’m going through my mid-life crisis early.”

And if I’d had any doubts before, I didn’t any longer. Side effect number two was a reality. Thank God I’d baked that cake for him. “You don’t have to apologize, but let’s not go down that road again. You and Andy are terrific together. You don’t want to harm that, do you?”

I figured if I got him talking about Andy, what ever he was feeling would disappear—at least for now. And then, later, I could get a few bites of cake into him. Once again, I had to hope that my magic would fix this. I was beginning to wish I’d never baked those damn brownies.

“Maybe I should leave,” Jon said, moving toward the door.

“No! Don’t be silly. Go have a seat in the living room and find something on TV to watch. I’ll make some coffee.” When he hesitated, I said, “Jon, I want you to stay.”

He smiled and, thankfully, it reached his eyes. “Okay. Thanks, Lizzie.”

After I made the coffee, I joined him in the living room. I’d brought the cake and a couple of plates with me. One way or another, he was going to eat some before he left.

A few hours later, I was yawning, but Jon wasn’t. At some point in that time frame, the cake had mostly disappeared— thank God. Now I had to hope it would work. We hadn’t gotten around to talking about Marc, but I figured that would have to wait. I was more concerned about what ever the problems were between Jon and Andy.

In thinking about Jon’s kiss, I realized that he’d seemed as uncomfortable as I was. And, when I thought about was happening with Maddie, the same truth existed there. It was like the magic worked, but because it wasn’t right for them, they weren’t able to be happy. This concept both relieved me and worried me.