Love Potion Number 10
Jennifer Conner
Excerpt from Love Potion Number 10
She was going to kiss him.
Everett pulled his head down. Her lips moved sensuous and warm against his. He brought his hand up from her back to slide beneath her hair and cup the nape of her neck. This woman had such an effect on him that he was on fire from the inside out.
When she didn’t make a move to end the kiss, Royce drew her even closer and softened it. He trailed kisses over her cheek and down her neck, as he fought back something hot and carnal growing inside.
His breath was uneven in her ear. “I have a confession to make. I’ve had a crush on you for months.”
She stepped back. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? Ask me out?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“Felix…” Her words trailed. “What I’m wondering now is, where have you been all my life?” She grinned.
“I’ve always wanted to be someone’s cliché.” Royce chuckled. “I’ve been in the copy room, where I always am.”
Love Potion Number 10
A Books to Go Now Publication
Copyright © Jennifer Conner 2015
Books to Go Now
For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]
First eBook Edition January 2015
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
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Novels
Shot in the Dark
Kilt by Love
Coming Soon - Sleep Fall
Please look for Jennifer Conner’s other short stories
Sweet Romances
Love on the Airwaves
Love Uncorked
Christmas Dog Tails
Christmas at Central Bark
Christmas Gift that Keeps Wagging
Dog Tags for Christmas
Love Comes for Valentine’s Day
Love Comes for Saint Patrick’s Day
Love Comes for the 4th of July
Love Comes for Halloween
I Hear Angels
Brewing up Some Love
Valentine Surprise
Cupcakes and Cupids
Christmas Chaos
The Christmas Horse
All I Want for Christmas is You
All I Want for Christmas is You
Weddings First Chance
Sexy Romances
Ten Minutes for Christmas
In Love With Santa
The Music of Christmas
Make Me Burn
Winner Takes All
Valentine Encounter
New Year Resolution
Christmas with Carol
Auld Lang Sigh
Rush of Love
Fields of Gold
The Music of Christmas
Historical
The Duke and the Lost Night
The Wounded Nobleman
The Reluctant Heir
Redemption for a Rogue
Time Travel
I’ll be Seeing You Through Time
Walk with me Through Time
Anthologies
Handmade for Christmas Series
The Love List Series
The Pancake Club Collection
A Christmas Kiss is on the List Anthology
Love in TIme for Christmas Anthology
Christmas Romance (Best of Christmas Romances 2013) Anthology
Love Under the Christmas Tree Anthology
The Mobile Mistletoe Boxed Set
The Regimental Heroes Boxed Set
Yours for Christmas Anthology
Valentine’s Say I Love You
Chapter One
“I need a love potion,” Everett asked, as she tried not to breathe. The room smelled heavily of Patchouli. Not one of her favorite scents.
“You?” Madame Anaosov raised a bushy eyebrow. In a thick Eastern European accent she continued, “You are such a pretty young thing. I cannot believe you need a love potion. This boyfriend, he does not feel the same for you, as you do for him?”
“No…and he’s not my boyfriend.” She couldn’t hold her breath any longer and had to inhale. The small apartment smelled like sock soup.
“Ahhh, I see. A love from afar.”
“Something like that. I’ve tried, but nothing I do gets his attention.” Everett looked around at the red silk drapes and framed photos of Madame Anaosov’s younger days and tried not to frown. “I’ve never been in a place like this.”
“A place like what?” It was Madame Anaosov’s turn to frown. “This is my home and my place of business.”
“I didn’t mean any disrespect. It’s a lovely home. I’ve just never been to a mystic…or a fortune teller…or anyone like you. Though I’m sure that you are very good at what you do.”
“I am,” Madame said curtly. “How did you find out about me? I assume it wasn’t a referral.”
“I saw a sign at the bus stop. I ride number 246 every day, and there you are saying that you can contact the dead and help people with all kinds of potions or spells for their problems. I assume that you can make a love potion.”
“I do need to warn you that no potion will work unless you first believe in it.”
“I do.”
She got another raised eyebrow which told her there was no way Madame believed her story. This time, if the eyebrow went any higher, it would be in the woman’s hairline. “If you do not believe this will work, then why are you here?”
“Okay, maybe it will take a bit of time for me to be a true believer, but I am willing to try and convince myself that it can work. If that means believing in some… unusual means, then I believe.”
“Give me your hand.” Madame Anaosov took Everett’s hand and turned it palm up. The old woman’s hands were wrinkled and worn. Arthritis twisted her fingers. She reminded Everett of her Grandma, so she relaxed a bit. “This line here.” She ran an index finger up her palm. “This is your love and relationship line. Yours is long and strong. You will find love and it will last a lifetime.”
“Well, I’m almost thirty, so sooner would be better than later.”
“You think that if you have a love potion, this man will fall in love with you?”
“Yes.” Everett pulled her hand out of the woman’s grasp. “That’s - the plan for all this, right?”
“I will mix up the potion you need.” The old woman patted her arm and stood. “Wait here.”
After several minutes Madame Anaosov returned with a bottle in her hand. She took out the dropper and pulled the serum into it to demonstrate the proper amount. “Use about f
ive drops.” She demonstrated. “Ten, if you think that he will be more difficult to persuade.”
“How am I supposed to give it to him?”
“Coffee?”
Everett shook her head. “He doesn’t drink coffee, only power drinks that he brings from home.”
“You can bake it into cookies. Valentine’s Day is only a week away. Everyone has candy and cookies around. But, make sure that no one else gets any, the potion is very powerful.”
“Thank you, Madame Anaosov.” She tipped the bottle and stared at its contents before she dropped it into her purse. “It says number 10 on the label. Is this what comes after Love Potion Number 9?”
“I do not understand.”
“Never mind. It was a bad joke.”
“I guarantee that you will have love in your life by Valentine’s Day.”
“Or my money back?”
“No. No refunds. Let’s not get too crazy here.” The old woman laughed with a hoarse smoker cough. “That will be forty-five sixty. I take credit, debit, and PayPal.”
My, the mystic world has come into the twenty-first century. Everett smiled as she fished her debit card from her wallet. It was worth the moon and the stars if Felix felt the same as she did for him. Life was too short to spend in the shadows and as Madame Anaosov said, she had a long life of love ahead of her.
****
“You need a checkup from the neck up,” Everett’s best friend, Lynne, said, as she fed the stack of papers through the copier. “We talked about this over multiple glasses of wine last week, but I can’t believe that you followed through with it. A love potion?”
Everett’s eyes widened as her gaze slid around the copy room. The only one in ear’s reach was Royce, and he was harmless. “Would you be quiet?” she asked in a hushed tone. “If your mouth was any bigger you could drive a bus into it.”
Lynne looked at Royce and rolled her eyes. “This is by far the craziest thing you’ve ever done and that’s saying a lot.”
“Would you stop, or I swear, I will never tell you anything ever again.”
“You know that’s baloney. I’m your best friend and your wing man. Your head would explode if you didn’t tell me every little detail of your life. Including your love life.”
Even though she felt sure Lynne talked loud enough for the people at the other end of the hall to hear, she assumed Royce - turned his back to give them the ‘girl’ privacy they needed. He ignored them, and went on with his work tasks.
“I don’t have a love life, so I guess you’re safe there. I have nothing to talk about. You seem to have all the good guys.” Everett couldn’t help but smile as she fake punched Lynne’s arm.
“Not all of them…just a few.” Lynne chuckled as she rubbed her arm. “What’s your big plan? Are you going to slip him a mickey in his coffee?”
Everett shook her head. “He doesn’t drink coffee. So”―she dropped her voice to a whisper―“I baked it into cookies.”
“Cookies?”
“Hush!” she cried again. “They’re on my desk and I’ll take them in as soon as I get these files copied.”
“Ohhh, cookies,” Lynne said in a loud whisper.” Good plan. I didn’t know you baked.”
“There are many secrets you don’t know about me.”
“I doubt that. You’re pretty Miss Straight-and-Narrow, but you can make me cookies anytime.”
“I’ll leave the love potion drops out. I don’t think you need them.”
Lynne batted her eyes at her, “You’re right about that.”
A few minutes later, Everett returned to her cubicle. Her hands felt damp from nerves and she wiped them off on the skirt of her sweater dress. Fishing under her desk for her purse, she slid out her mirror and applied a fresh coat of lipstick. She ran a hand through her blonde hair to give it a little life and sighed. She’d only - seen Felix with brunettes. Maybe she should change her hair color.
She picked up the copies and a red tray filled with cookies and then headed off for Felix’s corner office.
Everett rapped her knuckles on the doorjamb, waited until he looked up and pasted on what she hoped was her sexiest smile. “Hi, Felix. Here are those copies you asked for.”
“Thanks for working through your lunch to get these finished. I forgot about needing the reports for my one o’clock meeting.” Felix smiled and winked, and Everett felt her step waver. He was so handsome, it made her teeth hurt. How could any man be so perfect?
“Anytime. You know you can always ask me for anything.” She paused and waited for another compliment, but when it didn’t come, she continued, “When I got home last night I had a craving for some fresh-baked cookies. I had some extras and since you are such a great boss, I thought I’d bring you a plate.” Everett stepped forward and placed the cookies on his desk.
Felix peeled back the plastic wrap. “Wow, they look great!”
“They taste even better.” Everett held her breath as she waited for Felix to take a bite. He picked up one of her cookies and sniffed it, but placed it back on the tray. “I’ll have one as soon as I get back from my meeting. You don’t want me to get greasy fingers all over the reports do you?”
“Of course not.” She tried not to let her disappointment show. “But don’t forget about them, they’re best fresh.”
“I bet.” Felix took a fake ‘air’ bite. “I’ll eat ʼ em all. Every last crumb. I promise. Yum.”
Everett turned and walked back into the corridor. She stopped and banged her head against the wall in frustration. If Felix would just take a bite, then she would know if Madame Anaosov’s potion really worked, and that blond Adonis would be hers.
Chapter Two
Royce sighed as he leaned along the edge of his cubicle and watched the sway of Everett Benedet’s hips as she walked back from their boss’s office. There was a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. She just came out of Felix’s office. Again, he wondered what she saw in that guy. Royce could guess. Felix was always perfect―on the outside. He was the kind of guy who spent more time every day picking out his tie than Royce spent in a year. Felix was Photoshopped perfection. Royce ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. The only reason the guy got promoted to manager was because his aunt worked in HR. He was about as sharp as a marble.
He’d never know if he even had a chance with Everett until he got up his damn nerve, strode over there, and ask if she’d go out with him on a date.
How simple was that? But he also saw how she stared, mooney-eyed, at Felix all the time. It was kind of a deal breaker.
Royce looked down at the stain on his tie…that didn’t even match his shirt. He was a lost cause. He could never be that perfect.
Everett’s using a love potion? To get Felix to fall for her…ugh.
When he’d overheard the women talking earlier in the copy room, he’d almost swallowed his tongue. Everett was the last person who should think she needed to resort to something like that. She was sweet, smart, and knockout gorgeous. She shouldn’t have to work so hard to get someone to notice her. He sure had.
Royce would have thrown in the towel after his eavesdropping earlier, if he’d found Everett had someone other than Felix in her thoughts. But he doubted Felix was a good gamble for any kind of a relationship with or without a potion. From his conversations with the man, Felix’s idea of a long-term relationship’ was if he and his date had dinner before sex.
Felix would come into the copy room and tell Royce all about this week’s “conquests” as Felix called them. The guy thought of himself as a damn Marco Polo, conquering more “women” territory.
Sooner or later, she’d have to find out the truth about Felix. Hopefully-before she slept with him. The guy was a jerk.
Royce had never been into one night flings. He wanted someone he could come ho
me to, curl up by the fire with and would be there day after day.
If he could just come up with a magic potion for courage, he’d ask Everett out.
****
Royce looked at the clock in the corner of his computer screen and yawned. He’d worked on spreadsheets for the last three hours and his eyes were crossing.
“Man, it’s been a long day,” a voice said.
He looked up to find Felix standing in his cubicle. “I’m ready to call it a day too,” Royce said, and stifled another yawn. He wanted to add that he’d never seen the man work a full eight hours in the past year they’d been together at the office.
“Corporate had a few free tickets to the symphony tonight. I took them so I wouldn’t look unappreciative―which I’m not. Why don’t they get anything good like sports tickets? Anywho, I got a call from Imani. Do you remember when I told you about her?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yeah, who could forget her?” Royce said. He had no idea who Imani was, but if he said no, Felix would go into a ten minute description about all of Imani’s ‘assets’ from her neck down. “What does this have to do with the symphony?”
“Do you have plans tonight?” Felix eyed him.
“You want me to go out with Imani?” Royce asked.
Felix let out a short, loud bark of a laugh. “Nope, sorry buddy, she’d be out of your league.”
“I figured it was the concert tickets.” Royce really didn’t like this man. “You have tickets you don’t want. Are you giving me the tickets, or do I have to buy them?”
“Free as the wind.” Felix took the tickets out of his inside jacket pocket and waved the envelope in the air. “I thought maybe you’d go, and then tell me the highlights.”
“You having lunch with the brass tomorrow?”
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