“Grace, I don’t have time to talk right now. Can I call you tomorrow?” Alyssa said without even a greeting.
“Why? What’s going on?”
Alyssa let out an exasperated sigh. “Charlie is having a fit about dinner. I need to get something in the oven before it turns into world war three.”
Grace wasn’t sure if she wanted to throttle Charlie or her sister. “Why doesn’t he make his own dinner?”
“Grace… don’t. It’s just easier if I do it.” There it was, that warning in her sister’s tone that was always there when they discussed Charlie.
“Right.” Even though Grace knew she should keep her mouth shut, after her talk with Lex, there was no way she’d be biting her tongue. “Because being the one who cooks for him seven days a week, pays the bulk of the bills, and maintains the home is totally easier than fighting about it. You know what would make all of that easier?”
“This again?” Alyssa asked. “You know what? Never mind. I can’t do this right now. Lex didn’t make dinner, and now I have to throw something together. I’ve gotta go.”
“Lex is making dinner,” Grace said. “She’s just doing it here.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Alyssa?”
“Why is she there?”
“To see her aunt?” Grace said incredulously. She was well aware that Alyssa could get weird about her relationship with Lex, but Grace couldn’t help that. She wasn’t going to push Lex away because Alyssa didn’t like that they were close. “That’s why I called. To let you know she’s here and that I offered her my second bedroom for as long as she wants it.”
Alyssa scoffed. “So, Lex is moving in with you now? And what? You called to rub it in?”
“I called so you wouldn’t worry. Especially after the fight she had with Charlie today.”
“They were fighting again?” Alyssa let out an exasperated sigh. “Figures. Fine. It’ll probably be less stressful with Lex there than here. Now, I have to go, or I’ll burn the burgers.”
“Alyssa?”
“What?”
“Can we talk tomorrow? Maybe get lunch?” Grace asked, suddenly worried about her sister. Alyssa had always made excuses for her live-in boyfriend, but this seemed different. Like she was drowning in that relationship instead of just choosing to stay.
“I can’t tomorrow.” Charlie bellowed something in the background, making Grace wince. “I’ll call you later. I really have to go now.” The call ended.
Grace stared at her phone for a minute, contemplating if she should head over to Alyssa’s house.
“Grace?” Lex called from the other room. “Dinner’s ready.”
Sighing, Grace tucked her phone into her pocket and headed out to the kitchen. “Lex?”
“Yeah?” She looked up from where she’d just placed the manicotti dish on the table.
“Is Charlie dangerous?” She hated asking her niece, but what else was she going to do?
Lex pressed her lips together and hesitated for a moment. Then she shrugged one shoulder and shook her head slightly. “No. Not really. I mean, he’s a dick and he treats Mom like shit, but he’s never gotten physical if that’s what you mean.”
“It is.” She flopped down into her chair and propped her elbows on the table. “I hate that my mind went there, but your mom sounds so… defeated. I just needed to know if I should get in the car and go rescue her.”
Lex snorted. “The only person she needs to be rescued from is herself.”
“Lex,” Grace admonished. “Let’s not do that, okay? I know you’re upset with her, and you have every reason to be, but she’s still my sister and I love her.”
“I know. Sorry.” Lex averted her eyes and sat stock-still in her seat.
Grace reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thank you for making dinner. It looks and smells amazing.”
“Of course.” Lex still didn’t look at her, but she did reach for the spatula to start serving the manicotti.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
This time Lex did look at her and forced a small smile. “I do. Let’s just not talk about Mom, okay?”
“You got it. I did tell her you’re moving in for the foreseeable future so that she wouldn’t worry when you didn’t show up.”
“What did she say?” Lex asked.
“Not much. She knows you need your space.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Grace was certain her sister would agree that they all needed their space, but that’s not what she’d said when Grace had told her Lex was moving in. She’d only spoken about what Charlie might want. Lex didn’t need to know that.
Lex rolled her eyes. “I bet she was upset I didn’t make dinner.”
She was right, but Grace wasn’t going to confirm Alyssa had mentioned it. “Who wouldn’t be? This manicotti is to die for.” Grace made a show of taking a big bite. As soon as the cheesy pasta hit her tongue, her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she let out a moan of pure pleasure. “This is better than sex.”
Lex raised one eyebrow. “You sure about that? I think you might be misremembering. Or maybe uncle Bill just wasn’t all that good in the bedroom.”
Grace let out a bark of laughter. “You know, you could be right on both counts.”
“We need to get you a date,” Lex said, eyeing Grace with a knowing look. “Someone who can show you a good time in the bedroom.”
“Oh, no. I’m not interested in getting involved with another man. No thanks. I just ditched the last one.” Grace took a gulp of her wine, flustered and feeling flushed when Owen’s face flashed in her mind. She suddenly imagined him in her bedroom, kissing her neck and sliding his hands under her skirt, finding her high waisted panties that doubled as a tummy shaper. She groaned. Mood instantly killed.
Lex laughed. “What the heck was that all about?”
“What?” Grace asked innocently, even though she knew exactly what Lex was asking.
“Come on, Grace. Who put that look on your face just now?” She gave her aunt a mischievous look. “Have you been browsing Tinder?”
“Tinder? What the heck is that?” Grace asked.
Lex threw her head back and laughed. “It’s a hookup app.”
Grace’s eyebrows rose. “Hookup? You mean like Netflix and chill is actually code for sex?”
“You knew Netflix and chill but not Tinder?” Lex shook her head. “You have weird gaps in your knowledge. We need to fix that before you enter the dating scene.”
“I’m not entering the dating scene.” She wrinkled her nose, thinking about Owen again. “Except, I think I do kinda have a date tomorrow.”
“Oh, so now it comes out. Who is it? That hottie at Bird’s Eye Bakery?”
“Carl?” Grace stared at her niece like she’d lost her mind. “Why would I go on a date with Carl? He’s like seventy years old.”
She laughed, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “He’s a silver fox. That’s what he is. Like Sam Elliott. You could do worse.”
She had a point. Carl was a very good-looking older man. But Grace was only forty-five. If she ever did decide to seriously date someone, she much preferred a man she could grow old with, not someone who was miles ahead of her in the race. “Fine. Carl’s definitely good looking. But no. I have a date with my new colleague at Landers Realty.”
“You’re going out with Kevin Landers?” she asked, her brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Not Kevin. His name is Owen. He recently moved to Premonition Pointe and works at Landers. He asked me out for dinner tomorrow night so we could get to know each other a little bit.”
Lex let out a gasp. “Owen Taylor? Tall, dark hair, knows how to wear a suit?”
“Sounds right.” Grace’s cheeks warmed. “How do you know him?”
“He’s been into the deli almost every day since he’s been in town,” Lex said, referring to Bronwyn’s family deli, Earthly Spirits, where she’d been helping out until she found a full-time job. “He’s hawt, G
race. Well done.”
Grace’s entire body heated and sweat broke out on her neck. Son of a witch. Was she having a hot flash just thinking about the man? She grabbed her glass and then took a long sip of water. “Stop. We’re meeting as friends.”
“Where and what time?” Lex insisted.
“He’s picking me up here at seven.” Grace averted her eyes, knowing Lex was about to call her out.
“You do realize that’s a date, right?” Lex said. “You can call it what you want, but a hot man asked you to dinner and he’s going through the trouble of picking you up instead of meeting you there. Face it, Auntie, you need to get your roots done tomorrow and maybe your eyelashes and brows tinted. Want me to go with you?”
Grace turned to look at her niece and nodded. “I could use all the help I can get.”
Chapter Five
“Thank you for meeting me, Mr. Saint,” Grace said, rising to greet the older gentleman as he joined her at Bird’s Eye, Premonition Pointe’s prized bakery.
Mr. Saint was wearing an expensive suit and a scowl on his face. His white hair was styled with product, giving him a youthful appearance despite the pronounced winkles around his eyes. “You have five minutes, and then I have to leave for another meeting.”
Five minutes? Grace bit back her own scowl and waved Carl, the manager, over. “Then let’s get right to it.” Grace flipped open her notebook and waved a hand for the man to sit across from her. “I want to talk about how we can improve your properties in a way that will help us finally move them.”
He hadn’t sat as she’d suggested, but instead, gripped the back of the chair as he loomed over her. “There is no way I’m pouring even more money into those properties. I’ve already spent more than is reasonable on them.”
Carl appeared holding a silver carafe and a ceramic mug. His royal blue polo shirt complemented his sun-kissed brown skin. He had a dragon tattoo wrapped around his left arm, and Grace was forced to admit that Lex had been right. He was hot for an older man. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” Grace said, desperation clear in her tone. She’d woken up late and hadn’t had time to make any at home. If she didn’t get a shot of caffeine soon, she was going to climb over the counter, put her lips to the coffee dispenser, and suck it right out of the commercial pot.
“I don’t have time,” Saint said, wrinkling his nose at Carl as if the man reeked of a foul scent.
“Muffin? Cupcake? Lemon bar?” Carl asked pleasantly, ignoring Saint’s rudeness as he poured Grace a cup of pure heaven.
“Um… coffee cake?” Saint asked.
“Coming right up. Grace? The usual?”
She nodded. “Thanks, Carl.”
“Always my pleasure, Ms. Valentine.” Carl winked at her and slipped back behind the counter.
Grace poured a bit of cream into her mug and then took a sip of her coffee.
“Four minutes, Ms. Valentine,” Saint said, tapping his bare wrist where a watch would normally be.
Grace gritted her teeth. He was being a condescending ass, and after the past three months of dealing with an ex who’d tried to get her to sign a divorce agreement that would’ve given her less than a quarter of what she was entitled to, she was completely done with men who underestimated her. “I toured your homes yesterday, and here are my suggestions.” She slid a report over to him. “The Victorian on Seaside needs the outside painted and some entryway rot taken care of. The cottage overlooking the ocean is gorgeous, but there’s something there that needs to be eradicated. You should call in a professional ghost hunting team. And the craftsman—”
“Needs the floors done,” he interrupted, narrowing his eyes at her. “I already know all of this. You’re wasting my time.” He turned to go, paused, and strode up to the counter, no doubt not wanting to leave his coffee cake behind.
Grace jumped out of her chair and ran over to him. “So you’ve already been advised that your places need work in order for us to move them, but you don’t want to put more money into them. I get it. If that’s the case, then we should talk about lowering the prices because—”
“Ms. Valentine,” Saint ground out. “I don’t have time for this. Talk to Kevin Landers. Once you’ve done that, give me another call.”
Carl handed Saint a wax paper bag and a cup of coffee to go. “On the house,” Carl said to him. “Hope your day is a pleasant one.”
Saint eyed Carl and then chuckled as he shook his head. “I intend it to be.” He shoved a tip into the jar, raised his cup and pastry bag in a mock salute, and then took off.
Grace eyed the tip and was surprised to see he’d left twice as much as what his bill would’ve been. So he wasn’t a cheap bastard. At least not when it came to tipping kind bakery managers. But houses that needed work in order to find a buyer? That was apparently an entirely different story. She sighed and slipped a few bills over to the register. “Carl, let me pay for his order.”
“Nope.” He slid the money back. “No charge today. You look like you could use a break.”
“You have no idea.” She ran a hand through her hair and groaned when she remembered she was supposed to meet Lex at the spa. She needed to talk to Kevin, but she wasn’t sure she had time to get to the office, find out what information Kevin had kept from her, and get back across town before her noon appointment.
It didn’t matter. She had a short period of time to sell those properties. She couldn’t afford to put off the chat with Kevin. After sucking down the rest of her coffee and ordering another blueberry scone, she waved at Carl, hurried out to her SUV, and took off down a side street, hoping to avoid the summer traffic on the main drag.
* * *
“Listen, Nina, I appreciate that Mr. Landers is working on contracts, but it’s important that I speak to him,” Grace said, trying desperately to not throttle her boss’s assistant. “Can you just let him know I’m here and need to talk about the Saint properties?”
“Sorry, Ms. Valentine,” she said with a saccharine smile. “He said he wasn’t to be disturbed this morning.”
Grace glanced at the wall clock in the office and groaned. If she didn’t get in to see him in the next ten minutes, she was either going to have to wait until the next day or skip her appointment.
“Problem?” Owen said, appearing beside her out of nowhere.
His voice sent a shock down Grace’s spine, making her startle. “Jeez, Owen. What are you, part cat?”
His dark eyes gleamed. “I did have someone who used to call me tiger, but I’m not sure that’s what she meant.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Was that flirting? Because if so, I think your technique might need a little work.”
He chuckled. “That was pretty bad, wasn’t it? I was actually referring to the hot teenager who used to watch me after school before my mom got home from work. She starred in many of my preteen dreams. That was probably TMI, right?”
“Definitely TMI,” Grace confirmed. But his easy smile, combined with his one dimple, just made him that much more charming, and she couldn’t help being slightly amused.
“Sorry.” He winked at her and then turned to Nina. “Is he ready to see me now?”
“Sure, Owen.” Nina smiled brightly at him.
Grace was certain she could see emoji hearts in the young woman’s eyes. Although she could hardly blame her. Owen had brought his A game today. He was wearing a blue silk shirt, black slacks, and stylish black boots. The look would’ve been too polished if it wasn’t for his artfully messed up hair. Grace knew it was intentional, but that didn’t matter. His look was definitely working for him.
“Go on in.” Nina waved at Kevin’s door.
“Wait!” Grace demanded. “I thought you said he was too busy to be interrupted.”
“He’s working on a contract for Owen,” Nina said, narrowing her eyes at Grace. “You know, the kind that brings money in.”
Grace ignored the condescending woman and turned to Owen. “Could you please tell Kevin—you know
what? Never mind. I’ll handle it.”
“Are you sure?” Owen asked, furrowing his brow. “I can relay a message if you want.”
“No thanks. I’d rather talk to him myself.” The last thing she wanted to do was enlist Owen to fight her battles. Landers clearly withheld information from her about the Saint properties, and she’d be damned if she’d give him the satisfaction of knowing he got under her skin. “Nina, I need to make an appointment with Mr. Landers. Preferably today.”
Owen squeezed her arm gently and then disappeared into the boss’s office.
Nina tapped her fingernail against her lips as she checked Landers’ schedule. “I don’t know about today. He’s awfully busy. But Friday morning is free.”
It was only Tuesday. Friday was completely unacceptable. Grace shook her head. “I really need about twenty minutes either today or tomorrow morning.”
Nina let out a put-upon sigh, and Grace couldn’t help but wish an acne breakout on the childish assistant. “I can only give you fifteen minutes at the end of the day, assuming he isn’t planning on leaving early.”
“I’ll be here. What time?”
“Six-fifteen. Again, no guarantees,” she said with that sickly-sweet smile.
Grace rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you can call me if anything changes, right, Nina?”
“Of course, Grace.” Nina turned her attention back to her computer. “Good luck.”
Fuming, Grace left the office and headed across town to the spa.
* * *
“Grace! There you are,” Lex said, meeting her at the door of the day spa and shuffling her to one of the salon chairs. “Lance is waiting for you.” She plopped down in a nearby chair, looking perfect in her skinny jeans, formfitting T-shirt, and light makeup that highlighted her pale blue eyes. Grace remembered the days in her early twenties when it took her ten minutes to get ready instead of an entire afternoon with a handful of beauty experts.
Witching For Grace: Premonition Pointe, Book 1 Page 4
