Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery) (12 page)

“Not too bad, eh, Karma?”

Karma eyed me from his position sprawled out on the bed. He didn’t seem impressed. Of course, he was pouting because I was leaving him alone.

“Don’t go giving me those big brown, sad eyes. This is for a good cause. For our friends.” I pulled the bobby pins carefully out of my hair. Sylvia had taught me how to tame my hair with them so it now rested in soft waves across my forehead. I pinned it back at my left temple with a diamond barrette; threw on some mascara and some pink cream blush; and removed my mala bead bracelets and replaced them with a dainty silver watch. Done. That’s about all the primping I could stand for one night. I checked the watch. I still had thirty minutes before Will would arrive to walk to the Vinoy together.

I descended the stairs and went to the kitchen counter, flipped open my laptop and typed in ‘Frat Boys Inc.’ Unspecified business, blab blah blah blah. Nothing. I had a sinking feeling I was going to have to step up my investigation to something more dangerous than internet searches. I had to get inside that townhouse.

***

As I stepped out into the balmy evening and closed the gate, Sylvia and Landon Stark walked toward me.

“Oh!” Sylvia—in a shimmery black dress, her hair in an elegant knot—hugged me tight. “Você olha como um anjo!” She held me at arm’s length and smiled her approval. “You look like an angel.”

“Thanks to you,” I said. “And you look gorgeous as always.” I adjusted the basket in my arm to shake Landon’s hand. “Thanks for donating the tickets, Landon.”

“Of course.” He kissed my hand. He looked as slick as ever in a black tux, his hair and skin scrubbed to a shine.

“Oh,” I turned to Sylvia, “I hope you don’t mind, I added a free grooming certificate to the items in here.” I patted the basket.

“No, no. It’s a good idea.”

“Wow.”

We turned around and my face flushed. Will stood there, looking polished and perfect in a black tux. His eyes were raking my body, sending waves of heat rushing over me. I wiggled my toes around in my strappy heels trying to dispel some of the energy.

“Hi.”

Sylvia gave a low laugh and whispered in my ear. “That is what we call smitten.”

Will shook Landon’s hand and said hello to Sylvia but his eyes quickly moved back to me. I wasn’t sure what to do, suddenly. I felt too exposed, too self-conscious. Luckily, Sylvia saved me from a decision when she looped her arm in Landon’s, threw one last grin my way and headed towards the Vinoy.

Will took the basket from me. “I’ll carry that for you.” Then offered me his arm. I slipped my arm through his; the contact sending a new ripple of energy up my arm that spidered out to the rest of my body. I sucked in a breath.

Will kept sneaking glances down at me. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.” I smiled up at him. I felt like I could float, just from being this close to him, touching him, smelling that peculiar mixture of coconut and fresh rain that I associated with him now. Along with the sticky, summer evening air; the moonlight and promise of the night to come, I felt like I had stepped into a fairytale. Is this what it felt like to fall in love?

Whoa. Full stop. At that thought I tensed up. Okay, Darwin, what are you doing? Setting yourself up to get hurt, that’s what. Stop it. Love means honesty. If you were honest with him about who you are, he’d leave. Don’t ruin everything. This had to stay casual. A dinner once in awhile. That’s all.

I blinked back warm tears. I had never felt this vulnerable before. I was on an emotional roller coaster that was threatening to derail. He seemed to sense my struggle.

“You okay?” He pulled me closer into him.

“Yeah.” I wiped beneath my eye, using my finger as a dam for the tears. “A bug flew in my eye is all.” I leaned into him, void of will power. His presence was like a wall, a shield between me and the world. I felt…safe. I was in serious trouble.

***

We made our way through the main hall of the renaissance styled Vinoy Resort, down a set of tiled stairs, then across an outdoor patio and up a second set of stairs. At the top, the pool sparkled beneath a row of palms. The lawn chairs had been removed. Positioned around the pool were small tables wrapped in white, silk cloth. Live orchids served as centerpieces. Servers in white balanced silver trays full of hors d'oeuvres and champagne flutes. A man in a white tux sat stroking a piano to our left. I spotted Frankie greeting the guests.

“Darwin!” She rushed over in her three inch gold heels, which matched her gold dress designed like a large bow. “Oh, isn’t it just a perfect evening!”

“Perfect, yes. And you’re looking very festive.” We air kissed. “Where should I put the basket?”

“Hello, glad you all could make it.” She gave Sylvia, Will and Landon a quick hug, then pointed to the right side of the pool. “The auction table is over there. I’ll catch up with you in a bit. Grab a glass of champagne!”

We moved closer to the pool. Hundreds of tea lights burned, floating on the surface, a waterfall, like a glistening sheet of rain made up the back wall. It made me miss my youngest sister, Mallory. Fire was her thing. We were complete opposites, fire and water. Together, our magick was strong.

Will and Landon plucked two glasses each from a tray and we all held up the flutes.

“A toast,” Will said. “To a successful benefit and to a magical evening.”

His eyes held mine over the clinking glasses. Why did he use the word “magical”? Are my thoughts floating through the ether into his mind? I swallowed the champagne in two mouthfuls and grabbed another flute.

“And to good champagne,” Sylvia added, clinking my new glass with a wink. “Pôr-se.” Slipping her arm around my waist, she whispered, “Relax. Enjoy.” She smelled like cedar and cloves.

Relax. Enjoy. Okay, I could do that. I willed my shoulders to unknot and took a deep breath.

“Hello, gals!” Sarah Applebaum and company sauntered up to us in all their glittered, powdered, sprayed and painted glory.

“Alô, ladies.” Sylvia raised her glass to them.

“Hi, Mrs. Applebaum.” I introduced myself to her friends. “Nice to see you again.”

“And you, detective,” Sarah Applebaum poked Will’s chest with a long red nail, her eyes narrowing. “Back in the dating world and you didn’t call my niece. She’s not going to be happy to hear that.”

“My loss, I’m sure.”

I tried to keep the smile plastered on my face, but heavens that was rude. Glancing at Will, he didn’t seem too pleased with her little admonishment, either. He slipped his hand into mine.

“If you ladies will excuse me, I’m going to dance with my lovely date.”

He led me near the piano, took the glass from my hand and pulled me into his arms. “I’m so sorry you had to be there for that.”

“No biggie,” I managed to push out on breath that was becoming more and more precious. My whole body was pressed into his. I could feel the solidness of his chest under the crisp tux lapels; feel the heat warming my low back where his hand rested. I’d had dance lessons but this was my first time being in the arms of a man that lit me on fire from the inside out. I was starting to be a believer in spontaneous combustion.

As he rested his cheek on top of my head, and we swayed in slow motion under the stars, there were so many things I wanted to ask—to know—about him. But I had no right to ask. I had no right to try to enter this man’s world when I had no intention of being a part of it. An ache of loss and longing bloomed in my chest, and I hadn’t even lost anything yet.

“You smell like flowers,” he whispered into my hair, breathing me in like I was, in fact, a flower.

I squeezed my eyes closed and my resolve faltered. All right. One question. It would be all right to ask just one question.

“Will?”

“Hm?”

“What happened? I mean, why weren’t you dating?”

He cleared his throat. “I was married. We went to college together, married after graduation, made it about five years then…then she left me for a German plastic surgeon; left the country. Took our cat.”

I braced myself for the waves of anger, regret or sadness that usually accompany a confession like that. They came but were more like soft echoes from the past. That was a good thing. “How long has it been?”

“Six years this August.”

I stopped swaying and pulled away from him. “You haven’t dated in six years?”

“Wow.” He pressed his wrist against my forehead. “You’re burning up. Your face is flushed. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine.” Hot, yeah. His fault. “Are you changing the subject?”

“No,” he laughed. “Yes. It’s been six years. That surprises you?”

“Well, yeah.” It stunned me, actually. This town was packed with gorgeous, successful women with the money and drive to stay gorgeous and successful. “What’d you do, hide under a rock?”

“No.” He entangled our fingers. “I just hadn’t met anyone I was interested in.”

“Oh, and then I come along and spill tea all over you and you said, “Yep here’s the girl I’ve been waitin’ for.” I laughed…until I looked up and he had that intensity burning in his eyes again.

“Exactly,” he whispered, lowering his mouth to mine. I froze. It was a soft brush of lips, an entanglement of emotions, expectations. His hand cupped the back of my neck and he touched his lips to mine, lightly at first and then—as the intensity and hunger of his kiss grew—I had to close my eyes and lean against him so I didn’t fall over. Stars burst behind my eyes. His mouth was hot and tasted like champagne. His energy was fierce and my own mouth felt like a furnace. He pulled back slowly from the kiss, his eyes closed. We were still only an inch away when we made eye contact again. I was burning up, wiggling my toes, feeling light headed and like I had just found the notorious “cloud nine.”

“So,” I whispered, “she took the cat?”

A smile. Heavens, I was growing fond of that smile.

“I can get another cat.” He leaned in and kissed me again.

“This is a hotel, you know. You two can get a room.” Sylvia and Landon had joined us in dancing, along with a few other couples. Her dark eyes were so full of humor as she swayed close by, they actually glowed.

I hid my face in Will’s tux and felt the deep rumble of his laughter.

He kissed the top of my head. “Let’s go get you a drink to cool off.” He took my hand. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Yeah.” I gave him a dopey smile. Couldn’t help it, it was a silly question. I hadn’t felt this good…well, ever.

We swiped two glasses of champagne off a tray and went to join Frankie, who was laughing with a small group of women, each holding plates full of tiny, rolled and decorated appetizers. I was surprised to see how crowded the space around the pool had become while I was…preoccupied. Was the whole city of St. Pete here?

“Oh, Darwin, come here, sugar,” Frankie said. I felt Will’s reluctance to let go of my hand and smiled to myself. “I want to introduce you to my friend and real estate agent, Betsy Mills.”

“Nice to meet you.” I shook her hand.

“Betsy has three standard poodles, one in each color! I told her she must come visit your new pet boutique.” Frankie winked at me and her eyelashes stuck together for a second. She pulled at them with her thumb and forefinger—a large ruby bracelet sliding down her freckled arm—then continued. “And when you’re ready to buy property here, Betsy’s your gal. She’s got the inside scoop on all the deals.”

I was quite happy in the Beach Drive townhouse, but I thanked her anyway. I glanced over at Will. He had gotten himself cornered by two women who kept touching his arms as they chatted. His eyes were still on me. I gave him a little wave and he mouthed “help.” I held my glass up with a grin and then took a sip of the bubbly.

“So, go on, Jo Anne,” the lady with spiky red hair and a black sequined gown said, as she popped an appetizer without messing up her perfectly lined and colored lips. How do women do that?

“So, they don’t want me to do cardio for another week, but I’m just a little sore now.”

“Can I feel ‘em?” the redhead asked.

“Sure.”

I about dropped my glass when she reached over and squeezed Jo Anne’s breast.

“They do feel natural.” She nodded. “I think it’s good you didn’t go too big.”

I snapped my mouth shut and nodded in agreement, trying not to act like the obviously sheltered-from-plastic-surgery-etiquette woman that I was. Mental note: it’s fine to ask someone to feel their new boobs.

Frankie moved closer to whisper to me. “We’ll wait about an hour to start the auction. Let everyone relax and drink first. Bids will be higher.”

“You did a really great job putting this together on such short notice, Frankie. How did you ever get them to close off the whole pool for us?”

She winked. “I called in a favor.”

“Well, I hope the auction will cover renting this place and the food. It must have cost a fortune.”

“Oh, believe me. These women will be generous. We get their money, they get to feel good about themselves. It’s a win win.”

Just then, gasps began around us. I whirled around to where some of the women were staring, clutching their necklines, chins dropped in stunned silence. The piano fell silent and a hush made its way toward us in a wave from the stairs.

“Ah, no,” Frankie groaned.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

He stumbled toward us, the dark kid from Pirate City, his arm wrapped around his stomach. A red bandana circled his forehead and he wore a pair of dirty jeans. No shoes, no shirt. As everyone else moved back, Frankie and I stepped out of the crowd. I looked from the kid to Frankie. She was frowning, her mouth working back and forth. Trying to figure out how to handle this, I’m sure. The kid’s breathing came in heavy gulps. As he fell toward us, I could see angry, fresh needle marks on his arms.

I looked around at the knots of people, staring and beginning to whisper. Will had moved closer to Frankie, his hands on his hips—waiting.

“Junior,” Frankie said, as he finally stood in front of her, wobbling and sweating. “I’m going to get Vick to take you out of here.”