"There"s something I wanted to ask you, but you go first. What did you need to talk about?" he said.
All at once, it came back to me: The e-mail. The invitation. Awesome. Better to just get it over with, you know? "Well...I sort of sent you an e-mail this morning. See, I meant to send it only to you, but somehow I clicked wrong, and it went out to several other people."
"Is this a problem?"
"Not really, but I thought you should know. Because...well, I sort of...Not sort of. I did. And..." c.r.a.p. This was hard. Really, really hard.
Then he did something completely unexpected. He wrapped his hand around mine. His touch set off little tiny explosions in my brain, making it even more difficult to think. And to breathe. "You did what?"
I still couldn"t think. Probably I needed oxygen, so I sucked in a large mouthful of air. Only, instead of helping, it made me a little dizzy. My mouth went dry. "Um."
"What is it, Alice? It can"t be that bad."
"I asked you out on a date. In the e-mail. And by now, probably everyone knows about it, so, well...I needed to tell you." I hoped he understood me, because no way would I be able to say it all again.
He didn"t reply, but he didn"t let go of my hand, either. A light of interest-and humor?-gleamed in his eyes. "Let me make sure I have this right. You asked me out on a date via an e-mail, which you accidentally sent to several other people here at Enchanted Expressions. Is that correct?"
"Um. Yes." He didn"t appear taken aback by the idea. At all. That propelled me forward. "On Sat.u.r.day. To a cookout," I blurted.
The gleam in his eye grew brighter. "Ah, yes. The American tradition of broiling meat over a grill in the great outdoors. And you"d like me to escort you?"
"Should be fun," I offered. "And you"ll be able to meet my friends."
He didn"t respond right away, which worried me. Maybe I"d gone too far? Maybe I"d misinterpreted everything? Or, even worse, maybe I was delusional. I should have known better than to listen to Grandma Verda. But then he squeezed my hand, sending another thousand volts through my brain. "I"d love to go. I"m just sorry I didn"t ask you out first. I was planning on it."
"Really? You were?"
"Yes, I really was. But you beat me to it."
Wow. Warmth centered into me, flowing through my body like water. "So...you"re not upset about the e-mail?"
"Not at all. Are you?"
Hmm. How much to say? "Not upset, but worried, maybe. You are the boss. I don"t want people thinking bad things about you. Or me."
"We"re allowed to have a personal life, Alice. And as long as we don"t let it affect what happens at the office, then I don"t see any issues." He grinned. "Besides, I think you"ll find most people here won"t even care."
Well, okay. He had a point. There were already several couples, a few of them even married, employed at Enchanted Expressions. And, as he"d said before, it was a laid-back office. But it still worried me.
Even so, that worry didn"t stop the tingle of excitement from knowing he was interested. In me. "Maybe you"re right."
"I am. I"m not saying there might not be some teasing here and there, but I"ve worked hard to create an environment that respects personal s.p.a.ce. Give the people here a little credit. They"re not going to care what we do in our off time."
All at once, his shoulders stiffened. "Unless you"re not comfortable with this. That"s an entirely different matter. I"d like to date you, Alice. And seeing as you sent me that e-mail, I"m a.s.suming you feel the same. But what"s most important is your comfort level. You can take the invitation back if you"re having second thoughts."
"No! I"m not. I definitely am not doing that," I murmured.
"Then don"t worry about the e-mail. I"ll take care of it," he promised.
This thing happened then; I"m not sure exactly how to explain it. But the air became charged, and all I wanted to do was lean forward, stroke his cheek with my hand, and kiss him like he"d never been kissed before. As if he could hear my thoughts, he blinked. His eyes darkened from their normal light gray to a smoky black.
The yearning grew stronger. I stuck my lollipop back in my mouth and willed my body to chill out. My skin flushed, and I knew, without even looking in a mirror, I was likely red all over. I tried to find control, I really did. But as he leaned forward, I knew if his lips touched mine, I"d lose any and all control-and dear G.o.d, what a pleasant thought that was.
His eyes found mine again, still dark, searching. I needed to cool down. Fast. Before I did something I shouldn"t be doing-at least not here, and not now. I wished for an icy cold shower, because honestly, being doused with frigid water was about the only thing that would stop this moment that was about to happen. Tickles of antic.i.p.ation dotted my skin. And then a long, slow series of shivers began.
Oh-so-gently, he removed the lollipop from my hand and pulled it from my mouth. Dear G.o.d, he was really going to kiss me.
"Alice," he sighed, "I find you in my thoughts constantly. Even when I"m supposed to be focusing on other things, you"re there, making it quite difficult to concentrate on anything." His head bent down. I gave up the fight, closed my eyes, and waited for our lips to touch.
My stomach swirled, the shivers grew stronger and, right or wrong, too fast or not, I couldn"t wait for his kiss. His hand grasped my chin, tipped my face upward, and another tremble whisked over and through me.
Just as our lips should have met, a blast of icy cold water poured down on my head, slicing through my clothes to my skin. I gasped. Pulling back, I opened my eyes. "It"s raining!" I choked, wrapping my arms around me.
"Not rain!" he called over the downpour. "The sprinklers have gone off. Come on, we need to get out of here. There must be a fire in the building."
He pulled me from the chair. Before we even made it to the door, however, we realized the rain had stopped. Just like that. And that"s when it hit: I"d wished for an icy cold shower, and that was what I"d gotten. Maybe this was good, maybe bad, but at least I had time to think about the kiss that had almost happened.
"Hmm, that"s a little strange," Ethan remarked. We turned back to appraise the room, and what we saw was even stranger. Because the only wet spots were the chairs we"d just sat in; everything on Ethan"s desk remained dry, and the rest of the office was untouched. "I"m going to make sure everything"s okay," he said, heading for his phone.
Another thought occurred: Not all of my wishes came true. But this particular wish had. Was that because Ethan wasn"t my soul mate, or was it just because it was too much, too soon? Or perhaps it was the wrong place? I didn"t know. But, somehow, whether with magic or without, it needed to be figured out.
I tugged at my wet clothes and then pushed a strand of sopping hair behind my ear, waiting for Ethan to finish his call. When he hung up, he said, "Everything"s fine. But the sprinkler company is sending a technician over to see if they can figure out what happened."
"At least your computer and everything is okay," I pointed out. I felt kind of bad, because I knew the technician wasn"t going to find anything wrong.
"Thank goodness." He took in my wet appearance, and then glanced down at his own soaked clothes. "Go home and change. I"m going to do the same. If it weren"t for that staff meeting today, I"d suggest we play hooky. Go take in a movie or something."
Honestly? I was kind of glad for the staff meeting. Because I kind of thought a little distance before spending any more alone time with Ethan would be a good plan. You know, just to get things straightened out in my head.
I remembered that feeling right before the kiss that didn"t happen-how much I"d wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to taste him. I shook my head to push the sensation away.
"That would have been nice," I mumbled.
"Another time," he promised.
"I"m...um...going to go do that now-go home and change," I said. And with that, I swiveled on my heel and attempted to walk naturally out of his office. I was pretty pleased I didn"t fall on my face.
Later that afternoon, dressed in dry clothing and after the staff meeting, I gathered my belongings and headed for my desk. Other than a few snickers from my coworkers regarding the ma.s.s-delivered e-mail, not to mention my soaking wet departure from Ethan"s office that morning, the meeting had gone well.
True to his word, Ethan had put a halt to the giggling. He"d made a quick announcement about how we were a team, and that every person within the team also had a private life that sometimes bled into the workplace. He reminded us to respect each other, and to keep the focus on work. His message did the trick, because the sidelong glances ended.
Beyond that, we were going to move ahead with my design ideas for the Frosty"s account as well as Missy"s, and present both to the client in a few weeks. So, points for me.
Missy had glared at me throughout the entire meeting, however. I didn"t know if it was over the account or the date e-mail, or maybe both, but Ethan was right. I needed to confront the issue and deal with it. Her att.i.tude bugged me. A lot. Don"t get me wrong, I"m not one of those women who needs everyone to like her, but if someone"s going to dislike me, it"d be nice to know why. I was pretty sure it wasn"t just because we had divergent views on the ad campaign.
After I dropped my stuff at my desk, I made my way to Missy"s office. She"d moved up the ranks enough to have her own s.p.a.ce, which was convenient. I really didn"t want to have this conversation with other people in hearing distance.
When I reached her office, I knocked on the door, even though it hung open. She looked up from the file on her desk. Her lips turned down in a frown. "Do you need something, Alice?"
"I"d like a few minutes of your time. Can I come in?"
Even though she nodded, it was clear she wasn"t happy with the idea. But hey, too bad. I stepped in and closed the door. "We should talk."
"You heard Ethan. We"re working on both of our ideas for Mr. Kendall, so I can"t see what you need to talk to me about," she snapped.
"This isn"t about the account. Or maybe it is. I don"t know." I crossed my arms. "Look, it"s been fairly obvious since day one that you have an issue with me. Seeing as I"d never met you before I began working here, I"d like to know why."
She laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them, her hazel eyes centered on me. "I"m not sure we should be having this conversation." But she wanted to. I could tell by the anger that sizzled off of her in waves.
"Well, I"m not leaving until you tell me what the deal is, so just say it." I plopped down in a chair to punctuate my statement. "Besides, Ethan"s noticed and he"s concerned. So unless you want to talk to him about it, you"ll talk to me."
That p.i.s.sed her off more. "Yeah, well, you"re already the teacher"s pet, aren"t you? Are you trying to get me fired?"
The venom in her voice shocked me. "No, Missy. He came to me and asked me what the issue was. I told him the truth-that I don"t know. He then suggested he should talk to you, and I asked him not to."
Somehow, and I"m not sure how, my words calmed her a little. Not enough to remove all of the fire blazing in her eyes, but at least she didn"t appear ready to strangle me. Clobber me, maybe. "Trust me. You don"t want to get into this," she said.
"I"ve worked here for a little over a month. Somehow, in that minuscule time frame, I"ve done something, said something, acted in a way that irritated you. My preference would be to get along, but I don"t see how I can do that unless you tell me what needs to be fixed."
She brushed a flyaway strand of brunette hair off her cheek. "What you did has nothing to do with Enchanted Expressions. I dislike you as a person. You can"t fix it."
What the h.e.l.l? I kept my voice calm. "How can you dislike someone you don"t even know?"
She leaned back in her chair and studied me. "Maybe that came out incorrectly. You"re absolutely right: I don"t know you. But I know what you represent, and I know you"re missing something that all decent people have."
Whoa! I felt a little like I had when Miranda had sucked me away into her time, but at least that had made some sense. "And what would that be?"
"A conscience, Miss Raymond."
Whoa, again. I reeled in my temper and tried to remind myself that this woman didn"t know me. That her opinion of me didn"t matter in the slightest. "That"s not something you say to a person without a very good reason to back it up."
"Oh, I can back it up." In one quick motion, she grabbed a photo frame that sat on her desk facing her, and turned it toward me. "This picture should answer your questions."
I glanced at the photo and the blood drained from my face. I looked from the picture to Missy and then back. "Oh, G.o.d," I muttered.
"I figured that would bring it all in line."
I shook my head in an attempt to think clearly. Picking up the photo, I looked at it closer, hoping, somehow, it wasn"t what I thought. But of course it was. The picture was of two couples sitting at a picnic table in a park somewhere. One of the couples was Missy and a man I a.s.sumed to be her husband. Even in my distress, I noticed they appeared happy. Good for them. But as my eyes took in the other couple, my heart sank.
"You"re friends with Troy and his wife," I said.
"Used to be. Now I"m just friends with his wife. She has a name. Do you know what it is?"
I shook my head again.
"Of course not. Why bother learning her name, right? You were far more interested in Troy. His wife and children were of no consequence to you."
"I get why you dislike me now, but it"s not what you think. I didn"t know Troy was married. He never told me, and he didn"t wear a ring. The day I found out was the same day I ended things."
"You were with him for a year," she pointed out, her words dripping disdain. "I cannot fathom how in those twelve long months you never deduced he was lying to you."
"I tend to believe people when they tell me things," I snapped. She had a point, though. I"d asked myself that same question repeatedly, and kept coming up blank. "I thought I loved him. I truly didn"t know until the day I came home and found him and his wife screaming at each other in my apartment."
Missy"s mouth tightened. "She told me about that. She"d hired a private investigator. He came back with your name. Pictures." Her eyes narrowed. "That"s how I recognized you. Anyway, she followed Troy that day because she wanted to see for herself. But she didn"t expect that...confrontation."
All my energy evaporated. My body went limp. "I didn"t expect it, either." I didn"t bother filling Missy in on the other details: my trashed apartment; the stolen money; or even how Troy had showed up at my sister"s bakery. It wouldn"t have mattered to her. Just as, if our situations were reversed and Chloe was the woman wronged, it wouldn"t have mattered to me.
Missy rubbed her hand over her eyes. A little more of her anger slipped away. "Terri and I have been friends forever. I didn"t like Troy from the beginning, but she loved him so much, I accepted him as family. She still loves him. She"s forgiven him."
"So, they"re back together?" I don"t know why I asked. Probably because I"d watched my sister deal with the fact that her husband had cheated. I hoped Terri had found happiness, with or without Troy.
Missy"s face closed down. "I shouldn"t be talking about her. Not with you. Because even if what you say is the truth, she wouldn"t like that we"re having this conversation."
"G.o.d. This entire situation bites." Too many things happening in such a short time frame had left me a little off balance. Okay, a lot off balance. "I"m sorry for my part in all of this. But I need you to believe I didn"t know, if for no other reason than that we can work together without friction."
She laughed, but it wasn"t a happy, merry sound. "I"ve tried to set my personal feelings aside. I"ll try harder."
Probably, for now anyway, that was the best I"d get. "Okay. Fair enough." Another thought drifted in, and while I should have known better than to ask, I couldn"t stop myself. "Missy? Do you know how to contact Troy?"
She paled to a deathly white. "You"re a piece of work. I was almost ready to believe you, and then you ask for Troy"s phone number. What? You want to start things up again?"
"No! Not at all!" I sighed. "There"s something I need to talk to him about."
"If, as you say, he lied to you and you didn"t know, what subject is important enough to talk to him about now?" Her hands closed into tight fists. "I"d think you"d never want to see him again."
"It is. Important. I wouldn"t ask otherwise." Without thinking about it, my hands went to my stomach.
My movement caught her attention. Her eyes drifted down, saw my hands cradled over my abdomen, and her eyes widened. Blotchy pink spots appeared on her cheeks. "You"re pregnant."
I didn"t deny it, but I didn"t speak either. I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders, and returned her gaze without flinching.
"Oh my G.o.d, this is going to kill Terri." Shaking her head, she pointed to the door. "Please leave. I...I"ll have to talk to you about this later. I just can"t right now."
"I really do need to speak with him," I said softly.
"Whatever I tell you or don"t tell you will be up to Terri." Her voice softened. "We don"t keep secrets from one another, so I need to figure out how I"m going to handle this."
I got that-the no-secrets thing-so I nodded and slipped out of her office, closing the door behind me. As if things hadn"t been complicated, confusing, and freaky enough as it was. Now Troy was back in the picture, and I didn"t really know how I felt about it.
I mean, it wasn"t that I wanted to tell Troy about the baby, because honestly I"d have preferred never to see the man again. But someday my daughter would be old enough to ask questions, and I wanted to be able to look into her eyes when she did and tell her I"d acted responsibly.
Tears burned my eyes. I"d barely made it to the restroom and ensconced myself in a stall before they erupted. Leaning my forehead against the door, I let everything out. I"d cried plenty over the past few months, but this? This eruption of tears chewed right through me, leaving me empty and drained when it finally stopped.
I washed my face and pulled myself together the best I could. Returning to my desk, I buried myself in work until, thankfully, the end of the day arrived. As I left the office building, the only thing I had on my mind was curling up in bed and going to sleep. That way, for a little while, I could flat-out forget about everything.