“Can you believe how many of these gingerbread house construction kits we’ve sold?” Eliza asked Cat as they cleaned up the kids’ section of the store the following Friday. They’d hosted a rowdy but fun group of kindergartners for Shiver Me Timbers Story Time that morning—temporarily renamed Shiver Me Gingers in honor of the season. Now they endeavored to get a big juice stain out of the area rug.
“I know, who knew they’d be a hit? I’m so glad you thought to order more of them while I was in Ohio.”
“Actually, it was Ben’s suggestion to get more. He noted that we sold six on Black Friday alone. He said a number of moms commented how nice it was to find a sturdy set that wasn’t made out of candy and sugar. Especially since they’re reusable.”
“Not sure the kids will have the same reaction. But I guess I’ll have to thank him ... again.” Cat’s thoughts flew back to the near-kiss from a few days ago. Had it been a near-kiss? It’d seemed so to her, but perhaps she’d misread the situation.
“Yes, you do. He was so great.” Eliza gave her a pointed look. “He asked me lots of questions about you.”
Cat stopped scrubbing. “What kinds of questions?”
“Questions that told me I was right on the money about his feelings about you. He tried to be discreet, but...”
“He’s with Mei.”
“Yeah.” Eliza frowned. “Yeah, he is.”
“He came in last week and bought her a Christmas present.”
Eliza held up her hands in mock surrender. “You’re right. You’re right. Clearly one can never have feelings for two people at once.”
Cat’s shoulders tensed. “Are you mocking me?”
“Of course not.” Eliza bit her lip. “Just ... no, never mind. Let’s drop it.”
Cat resumed scrubbing. Irritation brought a scowl to her face. Because obviously, one could have feelings for two people at once. She herself had feelings for three, if she counted the physical desire Grayson sparked in her. Acknowledging that made her feel sick. She was different from her duplicitous ex-fiancé. Wasn’t she? Having feelings was one thing; acting on them quite another. She snuck a glance at the sofa. Except she had acted on them. At least one of them.
But she hadn’t actually cheated on anyone, she reminded herself. She’d gone out with Grayson after deciding Derrick wasn’t for her. And she’d already put Grayson in the ‘not again’ category before going out with William, in spite of her stupid body reacting whenever he was near. Plus, she and William had only gone on one date; hardly enough time to consider being exclusive.
Although she’d finally acknowledged her silly attraction to Ben Cooper—to herself, at least—she hadn’t pursued it. And he hadn’t pursued her. She was in the clear, right? So why did she feel so guilty?
“Too bad,” Eliza continued after a moment, oblivious to her friend’s inner torment. Her mouth quirked up as she shot Cat a grin. “Because he’s rather awesome. So funny. Kind. Helpful. And have you ever noticed his eyes? They remind me of hot chocolate. I’d date him if I could.”
Cat sat back on her heels again and blew her hair out of her eyes with an exasperated harrumph. Yes. Yes, I have noticed those eyes. “Maybe you should tell him that. Don’t let him having a girlfriend stop you.”
Eliza raised an innocent eyebrow, obviously delighting in needling her friend. “I’m not his type.”
“Good to know. Can we get back to cleaning?”
“Sure,” Eliza said, spraying a juice spot with carpet cleaner.
“You know what else he suggested?”
“No, what?” Cat bit out.
“That we should have a Facebook page for the store. I can’t believe we didn’t think of that ourselves. You know I’m on there all the time.”
“I’m not,” Cat said. “It’s all cat pictures and playing weird, fake farm games, and people hooking up with their exes.”
“No, it’s not. Besides, Ben’s right; I see more and more businesses with Facebook pages. Seems to me like a good way to advertise for free.”
“It’s free to have a business page?”
“Oh, now you’re interested?”
“If you’re willing to set it up, sure. I’m so not techie.”
“No problem, Luddy,” Eliza said. “I’ll work on it this evening.”
The door jingled. Cat stood up to see Grayson removing a scarf from his neck, while the stunning woman next to him glanced around the store, a bored expression on her face. Cat took an immediate dislike to her, although she didn’t fully understand why. Except maybe that this woman was tall and lean and absolutely gorgeous. And she had hooked her arm through Gray’s in a possessive manner. A small spark of jealousy caught Cat off guard. She might not want Grayson, but apparently, she didn’t want anyone else to have him yet.
“Hi, Grayson,” Eliza called out as she walked forward to greet them.
Oh, sure, Eliza, betray me by being friendly to this model-like creature. Cat crossed her arms. Wait, model-like? Cat studied her again. Could it be? Was that a sisterly rather than a lover-like grasp?
She followed after Eliza, pasting a smile on her face.
“Hi, Eliza. Hi, Cat.” Grayson gestured to the woman at his side. “I’d like you to meet my sister, Amy. Amy, this is Eliza James and Catherine Schreiber. They own this great bookstore.”
Eliza’s eyes whipped to Cat’s. Amy?
Amy gave them the barest of nods before turning back to her brother. “Since when are you Grayson, Nick?”
The room started to spin. Nick? His name was Nick? As is Nicholas? She grabbed Eliza’s elbow to steady herself, though Eliza didn’t seem too stable at the moment, either.
Grayson glared at his sister.
Amy rolled her eyes. “I take it Nick didn’t sound intellectual enough for a guy into poetry, so you’re using Mom’s maiden name?” She sneered at Cat. “I guess it would impress some women.”
Cat bristled even as she fought not to throw up.
“Amy?” Eliza broke in. “You’re Gray’s—Nick’s—Gray’s sister?”
Amy’s face was like ice. “Um, yes. That’s what he just said. Although I prefer to go by my full name, Amaryllis. Only Nick—I mean Grayson—calls me Amy.”
Gray ruffled her hair. “That’s what big brothers are for. I am older by seventeen minutes, don’t forget.”
“I thought—I thought you told me you were an only child?” Cat stammered, the blood draining from her face.
“What? No, I never said that.” Giving her a confused look, he continued. “I’m sure I’ve told you about Amy—oh, pardon me, Amaryllis.” He elbowed his sister.
Cat gulped in big breaths of air and clutched her arms around her belly. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Gross. That’s a sign we need to be going, Nick.” Amaryllis edged away from Cat.
“Sorry, Cat. Hope it’s not that stomach flu going around,” Gray said, concern in his voice even as he, too, moved a few steps away. “We’ll let you go. I wanted to show Amy your store before I take her over to my department. She’s only in town for a few days. There’s some sort of bug conference—”
“—Entomology conference!” Amy interjected.
“—over in Gilmer Hall that she wanted to attend.”
Cat said nothing, but turned and fled to the back of the store, shutting herself in the storeroom. Eliza burst through the door a minute later, where she found Cat leaning over a bucket, dry-heaving.
“Cat, are you okay?”
Cat sat back on her knees, eyes red and hair wild. “I guess it’s good I didn’t eat breakfast,” she gasped, fighting to catch her breath. “Are they still out there?”
“No. Amy was dragging Grayson out the door as I came back here. He did say to let him know if you needed anything.”
The door jingled again. “No! I can’t go out there right now, Eliza. I can’t. I can’t!” Cat whispered, utter panic in her voice.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Eliza said. She left for the fron
t room. Cat could hear her greet someone—it sounded like a grandmotherly-type lady—enthusiastically.
At least it wasn’t Grayson returning. Thank God for Eliza.
She sat on the floor of the storage room, struggling to control her racing thoughts. It’s real. It’s all real. Or maybe what I should say is, it’s fiction! All of it! She heaved over the bucket again. I made them up. A maniacal giggle rose in her throat. How was that even possible?
She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “God, I’m not sure I believe in you half the time, but isn’t creating people your arena, not mine? What is this? What is this?”
At that moment, Eliza hurried back into the storage room. “This calls for emergency coffee,” she exclaimed. “Can you do coffee?”
Cat shook her head weakly as Eliza paced back and forth. “It’s two in the afternoon. We can’t close now.”
“We certainly can.” She grabbed Cat’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “And we are. Because I can’t face this without coffee. And cheesecake. Definitely cheesecake.”
Eliza raced to the front of the store, dragging Cat along behind her. Cat’s insides still churned. She barely noticed as Eliza flipped the sign to Closed, and herded her out the door and across the street.
Entering the coffee shop, Eliza said, “You need to eat something. Now.”
Cat shook her head. “I don’t think I can. I’ll just have a drink.”
“Fine, but I’m having cheesecake. Maybe even two slices.” Retrieving their orders, they slid into their usual booth.
Cat stared blankly around her, holding the coffee with both hands without drinking it. “I’m going insane. That can’t have happened.” Her eyes fixed on Eliza with desperation. “Tell me that can’t just have happened.”
“If you’re insane, then I am, too, Cat. Because we were both there and it did happen. You changed the story, and it changed reality.”
“But, but ... maybe he did tell me he had a sister and I forgot.”
“Really? You’re going to try to dismiss this again? How much proof do you need?”
Cat sank her head down onto her hands, gripping her hair tightly. She stared at the table. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Eliza softened her voice. “I know you don’t. I don’t, either.”
“Hey, Cat, Eliza. What are you guys doing here at this time in the afternoon? Is there a problem at the store?”
Oh, God. Ben’s voice. Not now. She closed her eyes. Not now.
“No, no, everything’s fine,” Eliza said. “We needed a breather for a few minutes. We’ll go back over soon. Can’t stay away long in the middle of Christmas season.”
A hysterical giggle escaped Cat.
“Is she all right?” she heard Ben say. Then he addressed her directly, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder and asking again, “Are you okay?”
She glanced up at him, her eyes rimmed with tears. “I’m fine, really. Just ... just a tough day. I’ll be fine.”
Ben’s eyes radiated concern. She could feel the warmth of his hand through her shirt. “Anything I can do?” he asked.
“No.” She shrugged his hand away. His gentleness was making her eyes well up again, and she was afraid she was going to burst into tears right here in the middle of the coffee shop.
He looked stung but gave her a small smile. “I guess you know how to find me if you need me. Take care.”
He nodded at Eliza before walking to the other side of the room, where he sat down and opened his laptop. He was alone today. He didn’t look her way.
Turning back to Eliza, she said, “Do you think you could cover the rest of the afternoon? I—I need to sleep. To sleep, and perhaps wake up where all of this makes sense, and where I know what is real and what isn’t. Because I sure don’t know right now.”
“Of course.” Eliza squeezed her friend’s hand.
“Thanks, Eliza.” She closed her eyes again. The manuscript. Derrick. Grayson. William. She couldn’t take it all in. Ben? She opened her eyes and watched him across the room. Where did he fit in to all of this? Did he?
“Let’s go,” she said to Eliza, who was shoveling cheesecake into her mouth.
Eliza licked her fork before hopping up. “That’ll prepare me for whatever might walk in the door this afternoon, right?”
Cat just stared ahead, unseeing, as they walked out the door arm in arm. Right. Sure. Unless it was Fitzwilliam Darcy. Or Jane Austen herself.
Which, frankly, at this point wouldn’t surprise Cat a bit.
Chapter 20
“Holy cow. I zonked out for more than sixteen hours,” Cat mumbled as she wandered out of her bedroom the next morning, clad in her fuzzy PJs. She yawned and walked over to grab a banana.
“Feel better?” Eliza asked from her perch at the breakfast table. She leafed through a magazine while munching on a bowl of milkless Cap’n Crunch.
“Ugh. How can you eat that stuff?”
“Are you kidding? Nothing better than breakfast with the Cap’n!”
“If you say so. And I feel much better, thanks. Still more than a bit mind-blown about all of this, and wondering if even right now, here with you, I’m dreaming or something, but yeah, better.”
“Not a dream.” Eliza set the magazine aside and concentrated fully on Cat. Mischief sparkled in her eyes. “Now that you’ve discovered your secret magical powers, what are you going to do with them?”
“You can joke about this?” How could Eliza be so calm when everything in Cat was a chaotic swirl of emotion? Her dreams had been a tangle of male faces interspersed with Latin words, all swirling about her in a tornado reminiscent of the one out of The Wizard of Oz. In truth, she wouldn’t have been surprised to wake up and find herself somewhere over the rainbow. That’s how bizarre this all felt. If she clicked her red Converse shoes together three times, could she go back to a time and place when the world made sense?
“What else should we do? Have you ever been in this situation before?” Eliza sipped her orange juice. “My mom always told me ‘Start as you mean to go on.’ Since there are no precedents for this kind of thing, I say starting out with humor might just be the best approach. Because otherwise, it’s terrifying and overwhelming. And I’m not the one with superhero abilities.”
“Superhero? More like black magic,” Cat griped, reaching for a second banana. She wished she knew about the manuscript’s origins. Had her ancestors been burned at the stake on account of this miraculous power? The thought was sobering.
“Do we need to add ‘Turned herself into a monkey’ to your list of professional accomplishments? ‘Creator of Amazingly Sexy Men’ isn’t enough?” Eliza teased, gesturing toward the banana.
Cat waved the fruit toward Eliza. “Abracadabra! I turn thee into ... Elizabeth Bennet!”
Eliza burst out laughing. “I wish.”
Cat slid to the floor and leaned back against the oven door. She fingered the fraying edge of her pajama shirt. “Seriously, Lizzie, what does this mean? What could it possibly mean? Why me? Why now? I wrote those stories years ago—if these men were going to appear, why not back then?”
Eliza rolled a Crunchberry between her fingers as she mulled that over. She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the universe was sad you’ve turned thirty-five and are no longer in the coveted nineteen-to-thirty-four marketing demographic, so it tossed you a bone?” She chucked the piece of cereal into her mouth.
Cat yanked a kitchen towel off the oven door and whipped it at her.
Ducking, Eliza went on. “Why was Greg in the Twin Towers that day? Why do some people win the Lottery and others don’t? Why hasn’t anyone ever invented the calorie-free donut?”
“Be serious, Eliza.”
“I am serious, Cat. I learned long ago to stop asking why. I lost my husband when I was eighteen, my parents a few years later. I spent years asking, ‘Why me?’ One night, I asked myself, ‘Why not me’? Life felt better after that, believe it or not.”
Cat reflected on that. “
But what could it possibly mean? Why would I—or anybody—be able to bring words on a page to life? What am I supposed to use that for?”
They both fell silent for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. A shrill meow broke the mood as Elvis stalked in, demanding his morning turkey.
As Cat hopped up to feed him, Eliza spoke again. “Maybe that fortune teller we saw over the summer was right. Maybe it’s to get you to open yourself up to love again.”
“Through a magic book?”
“Maybe. I’m choosing to believe it’s true.”
“You would.” Cat gave her a lopsided grin.
Eliza threw a piece of cereal at Cat, hitting her square on the nose. After chewing another bite, she sat up straight and looked at her friend. “Wait. The fortune teller talked about a book.”
“What?”
Eliza twirled her hair around a finger. “A book. Remember? She said, ‘A book will reveal all, and bring to you all that you want, all that you need.’”
Cat’s face froze. “Oh, my God. She did.”
“You figured it was because she knew you owned a bookstore. But what if she was talking about the manuscript?”
“I didn’t have the manuscript then.”
A chill came over her. That’s why these men were here now, and not before—she hadn’t had the manuscript before. It was the manuscript that made all of this possible. Duh. Oh, my God, if Dad could see me now, he’d say I was madder than the Mad Hatter.
Except her dad was the one who’d given her the manuscript. He’d promised to tell her about it in his note. But then he’d died. The idea that she’d never know its history tore at her.
Eliza stood up, folding her hands in front of her face, resting her thumbs on her chin and touching her nose with her index fingers. “All three of these men are love interests, right?” she said after a moment.
“Were potential interests, maybe. Not are.”
“Yeah, all right. Not Derrick anymore. And I take it not Grayson, either. But they all represented something you were looking for in love at one point, right? I mean, that’s why you wrote those particular stories at those particular times.”
The Magic of Love Series Page 18
