Nick was gentleman enough not to mention she'd kissed him back—gentleman enough not to confess how much he had liked it. “I might have kissed you, but that doesn't mean I want to marry you. I'm not looking for happily-ever-afters. I'm not even looking for a happy-for-a-few-months. My life is full, and if I'm taking on this case it's just gotten even fuller. Nothing—absolutely nothing—ever-after-ish will develop between us."
Glory raised her hand and crossed her heart. “I have no interest in developing anything lasting with you. That much I can promise you."
"That's good enough for me. We're both clear on what we want, and more importantly, what we don't want. Set up an appointment with my secretary for tomorrow. We'll get started."
"Thanks, Nick. You won't regret this.” She raced out of his office and shut the door as if she was afraid he'd change his mind.
"I already regret it,” Nick whispered as his finger traced his lips, the same lips that had just kissed Glory Chambers. What had be been thinking?
* * * *
"What were you thinking?” Glory whispered as she gazed at her reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror. She wasn't sure why she whispered. She was alone in the kitchen. Myrtle, Fern and Blossom were all in the dining room, leaving her a few peaceful minutes to collect herself before facing them.
She stared at her reflection. She looked the same as she had countless other mornings. She didn't look crazy. But she must be, because only a crazy person would let herself be kissed by Nicholas Aaronson. He was far too good-looking, far too sure of himself, and far too much an attorney. Add to that the fact they had fairy godmothers trying to set them up ... well, there was no way her lips should be on his.
Lightly she trailed her finger across those lips that had so recently been attached to Nick Aaronson's.
No. She should keep her distance from Nick. And yet, she'd let him kiss her. Worse, she'd lied when she said he'd done all the kissing. The truth was she'd kissed him back. And a bigger truth was, it would have been very, very easy to continue kissing him.
"And I could have gone on kissing him for a long time,” she whispered again.
Hiring fairy godmothers, talking to her reflection and kissing attorneys. Glory shook her head in disgust. She had definitely lost her mind and should be locked up with her employees.
She'd sworn to Nick that she had no interest in him outside of his ability to defend the fairies. Though she had always thought of herself as honest to a fault, it was a lie.
A humdinger of a lie.
She could be interested in Nick if she gave herself half a chance. He might be an attorney, but there was something different about him, something Garth and their divorce attorneys had lacked.
Yes, it was possible that she could overlook Nick's attorney-ness, but she wasn't going to give herself a chance. He'd made it clear he wasn't interested in her, and she had already decided she was taking some time off from men. Her life had enough complications—she'd just walked away from a career and a marriage, and she was in the middle of re-creating herself.
If that wasn't enough, she'd hired three fairy godmothers who liked to blow things up. No, she didn't need a man muddling the mix, especially not a man like Nick.
He probably had a hundred women who were little more than notches on his briefcase. He wouldn't be seriously interested in a frizzy, red-haired restauranteur. She plucked at one of her runaway curls. No, Nick wouldn't be interested at all, which was just fine with her since she wasn't interested in him either.
"Sure you are,” Myrtle said.
Glory turned and realized she wasn't alone any longer. Her three employees stood in a row watching her, expectation written on all three faces.
"Sure I am what?” she hedged.
"Interested in Nick,” Blossom said, a hand clutched to her chest. “It's so romantic."
"And don't you worry, honey. He's interested, too. It's just he's as stubborn as you and doesn't want to admit it,” Fern added.
"I'm not stubborn."
"Oh? That's not what the people at Michaelson's said,” Myrtle said.
"I was vice-president. I was assertive and decisive and focused—not stubborn."
"And that's not what your husband said.” Fern grimaced as she mentioned Garth.
Glory's expression echoed Ferns. “Garth was a lying rat, so you can't believe anything he said."
"Neither can you,” Myrtle said softly.
"Neither can I what?” Talking to the three of them was like talking in a giant circle. They made Glory's head spin.
"You can't believe anything Garth said,” Myrtle assured her.
"You're not a bossy, demanding woman who doesn't know how to please a man,” Blossom said breathlessly. “Why, just that one little kiss pleased Nick a lot, and—"
"How did you know about the kiss?” Glory asked sharply.
"Why, it's written all over your face,” Myrtle assured her. “Knowing you kissed Nick doesn't take a fairy godmother's ability to read thoughts."
"Yeah, it's sort of blinking like a neon sign.” Blossom's hands framed her face. “I kissed Nick ... I kissed Nick ... I kissed Nick."
Fern chuckled. “And right after that, it blinks ... and I liked it ... and I liked it ... and I—"
"Cut that out. I don't know how you know we kissed, but it's none of your business. And for the record, he kissed me. I didn't kiss him back, and I most certainly didn't like it."
"Glory, people might say you're stubborn, and you are, but they've never said you're a liar. So why are you starting now?” Myrtle asked.
"You can't lie to us anyway,” Fern assured her.
"And you shouldn't lie to yourself,” Blossom added. “You liked kissing Nick."
"And, if it will make you feel better, he liked kissing you, too,” Myrtle said.
"Oh, he didn't like liking it any more than you do, but he did—like it, I mean,” Fern added.
"Could the three of you stop talking in circles? You're making my head hurt. And whether or not either of us liked it doesn't matter. What matters is there will be no more kissing between Nick and me."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Fern clicked. “There you go again, telling lies."
"There won't be any more kissing,” Glory promised herself more than the fairies.
Blossom looked worried. “There has to be."
"Why?"
"Because you and Nick are meant for each other. That's why you can't stay away from each other,” Fern said.
"We can't stay away from each other because three interfering women who think they're fairies got themselves sued. By the way, Nick agreed to represent you."
"We know.” One blonde, one brunette and one red head bobbed up and down in unison.
"How do you—never mind, I don't want to know. You've got a meeting with him tomorrow."
"We have a meeting.” Myrtle gestured to all four of them.
"No way. I got you an attorney, and now I'm done. Someone will have to stay and hold down the fort here. I can't afford to close the restaurant down after it just opened."
"Glory, we need you,” Blossom said.
"We thought you were our friend.” There was admonishment in Fern's voice.
"Even though you were thinking about firing us, we knew you never would. You might think we're nuts, but you like us,” Myrtle said, sure in that assessment.
Damned if they weren't right, but Glory wasn't about to admit it. “I can't close down the restaurant."
"You don't have to,” Myrtle promised.
"Then how—"
Fern cut off Glory's argument. “We arranged for help."
"What kind of help?” Glory couldn't help thinking of all the “help” her three employees had given the restaurant ... help that had required a lot of Band-Aids, plaster and even a fire extinguisher. She wasn't sure if the restaurant could survive more help.
Glory wasn't sure she could, either.
"Oh, the best kind of help. Friends are riding to the rescue even as we speak.�
�� Blossom looked rather swoony again. Swooning seemed to be a specialty of the small blonde's.
"What friends?"
Myrtle patted Glory's back. “Don't worry. The restaurant will be in good hands."
* * * *
The next morning at precisely nine-thirty, the fairies’ friends arrived.
"Aren't you—"
"Nick's sister, Joy,” said the small brunette. “Nice to meet you. This is my husband, Gabriel.” The tall man with auburn hair and a sweet smile nodded.
"And I'm Nick's sister-in-law, Grace,” said the blonde. “And this is his brother, Max.” Glory could see the resemblance between Max and Nick. Both had dark complexions and dark hair. They also had similar builds. Max was a good-looking enough man, but he didn't hold a candle to Nick.
Not that Glory was holding a candle for Nick, or holding anything else for him, either. She eyed the four. “Why are you here?"
"We're going to run things while you all meet with Nick, and we'll fill in for the trial, too,” said Grace.
"But—"
"No, buts, Glory. We might not be experts, but we'll handle things. And we'll probably do it with less property or bodily damage than your current employees,” Max said with a grin.
"What do you know about restaurants?"
"Let's see, you've got a CEO, the head of a charitable organization, a psychiatrist, and a writer. There's not much we can't handle,” said Joy. “And lucky for you, I can cook. We'll all juggle our schedules and see to it there's always a couple of us here."
"Besides,” said Myrtle coming into the dining room through the kitchen door, “they know as much about running a restaurant as the vice-president of an international corporation."
"Myrtle?” the two men gasped in unison.
Max rushed forward and hugged the small redhead. “Finally, I get to see you. You don't know how many times I tried to imagine how you look."
"And what do you think?” the redhead asked with laughter in her voice.
"You look better than I imagined.” He hugged her again, then held her at arm's length and said, “We need you to explain this change in the rules."
"Let her explain later,” said Gabriel, pushing Max out of the way. He hugged Myrtle as well. “I know I didn't hear about your help until after the fact, but I owe the three of you a huge thanks."
Myrtle chuckled. “You're welcome, Gabriel. And Max, changing the rules was tough. We'll tell you the whole story later, I swear. But right now we have an appointment."
Fern and Blossom rushed from the kitchen and into Max's and Gabriel's arms. The two couples and the three fairies babbled away. Glory had a hard time keeping up with what was being said. Not that she cared. She'd done her duty. She'd found the fairies legal representation. She didn't need to go to this meeting.
And listening to the two couples go on and on about the way the fairies had helped them find love, Glory was certain she didn't want to see Nick any time soon. She'd admitted to herself that she might be attracted to him. And yesterday, seeing how he took on a case he didn't want—a case that might make him a laughing stock in the legal community—she'd found that he was a man whose principles she admired as well. But even if she lusted after him and was discovering he was an attorney with a conscience, she didn't love him and she didn't want to love him.
"Max, Grace, Gabriel and Joy, I want to thank you all for coming,” she said. “But, I'm not the one being sued. And I don't need to be at this meeting."
"Listen, we all did our time with the girls. It's your turn,” said Grace. Before Glory could ask what she meant, she went on, “They need you. Are you going to just walk away from that?"
"Why are you doing this?” Glory asked, confused. “You've all got careers, things you should be seeing to. Running a small diner doesn't make sense. I don't understand."
Joy reached out and squeezed Glory's hand. “You're almost family, and this is what family does ... they step in and help when it's needed. Even if it's not especially wanted."
"We're staying,” both men said together.
Glory knew when to admit defeat. Three fairies and four of Nick's relatives were more than any one person could face. “Fine. I'm going."
"Good,” came seven voices.
Glory gathered her things and loaded the three fairies into her car. How on earth had she gotten herself into this situation? Last year her life had been perfectly normal. She'd been married and working at a job she understood, even if she didn't always like it. Now she was running a restaurant, working with fairy godmothers and kissing attorneys.
Glory had no idea how she had ended up here. She was surrounded by crazy old ladies who had even crazier friends. If she wasn't careful, Glory would end up joining the sanity-challenged ranks.
Chapter Five
Nick stared at the four women and wondered for the hundredth time how he had gotten himself into this position.
He was crazy. That was the only explanation.
But crazy or not, he was a professional. And professional was exactly how he planned to run this meeting and the entire case.
"Ladies, please have a seat. We have an informal meeting with Ms. Fayette and her attorney later this week. Bill and I both agree that avoiding the courtroom is to both our clients’ benefit, so we're hoping to hammer things out ourselves and avoid the publicity."
Myrtle looked nervous. “But, Nick—"
"Stop,” he said sharply, sensing an argument brewing.
The three fairies’ faces fell at his harsh tone. Nick felt a spurt of guilt, but he didn't feel guilty enough to be more gentle. “I think we had better start by laying down some rules. I didn't want this case, but I took it. Now I'm running things. That's the first thing all of you have to remember. Don't talk unless you're spoken to, don't offer any information, and don't try to throw Glory and me together. We are both adults, and we don't need your help getting together if we want to, which we don't."
"Oh, you want to. That kiss proved that. And yes, you do need our help,” Blossom said. “We've had some tough cases in the past, but you two take the cake. You're both stubborn, bossy and convinced you'll never find true love. You're real tough."
"Well, not as hard as Fiona,” Fern pointed out.
"You can say that again,” Blossom said. “You'd think she'd appreciate all we've done for her. But does she?"
"No, and you know Ber—"
"Fern!” Myrtle squawked. “You almost gave it away. You know better than that. I expect more from you. Blossom's the one who usually can't keep her mouth shut."
"Hey!” Blossom yelled. “I resent that."
"No, dear, you resemble that,” Myrtle grumbled.
"Sorry, Myrtle,” Fern mumbled, obviously contrite.
Nick sat next to Glory, both of them listening to the fairies’ circular conversation.
"Ladies,” he warned. Most people would have heard it and been worried, but these three just laughed at him.
"You can't intimidate us with that tone, young man.” Myrtle waggled a finger in his direction.
"It would take something more than that to scare us,” Blossom said. “Like the first time we met Rocky. We didn't know what to make of her when June got dumped in the same cell with her. I'll admit, I was more than just a little afraid then.” Blossom paused then added, “And I'll confess I was afraid of what June was going to do to us when she got out."
"I wasn't afraid of June or Rocky,” Fern said. “It would take Ber—"
"Fern!” Myrtle shouted.
"Sorry.” The brunette looked woebegone. “I don't know what's come over me. I guess it's this entire trial business. I'm not used to being sued."
"Now, about the case. We're going to settle this thing as quickly as possible.” Nick was going to get control of this situation, even if it killed him. He was an attorney. He should be capable of controlling three old ladies.
Myrtle frowned. “We're not old."
"And we don't want to settle out of court,” Fern added.
"What do you mean you don't want to settle out of court?” Nick asked, desperately trying to keep up with the twists and turns that conversing with his three clients seemed to take.
"Nick, are you having problems with your hearing?” Blossom looked concerned. “We said, we want a trial."
"We don't just want a trial,” Myrtle corrected her. “We have to have a trial."
"Myrtle, that's ridiculous.” Nick knew taking this particular case to trial wasn't just ill-advised, it was suicide. Myrtle, Fern and Blossom wouldn't just lose the case, they'd probably find themselves committed. “If you take this to trial, you're exposing yourself to the press."
"We need to take this to court,” Myrtle stubbornly maintained.
"But if we don't settle out of court, you could lose everything,” he argued.
"Honey, we don't have anything.” Fern laughed. “Fairies aren't materialistic. We know that there are more important things in life than things. Losing everything when you own nothing isn't much of a risk."
"And we'll lose a lot more if we don't take this to court,” Blossom added.
Nick was their attorney and, by God, they were going to listen to his advice. “But—"
"We want a judge to decide our case.” Myrtle waited for his next volley.
"No you don't.” Nick folded his arms. They wanted to draw the battle lines, well so be it. If he was stuck representing them, he wasn't about to lose the case. He hated losing. “No. You absolutely do not want to take this in front of a judge."
"Yes we do,” the three said in unison. All three fairy faces were stubbornly set.
Blossom's was the first to soften. “He's worried about us,” she whispered to Glory.
"Of course he is,” Glory said. “He's your attorney. We're paying him to be worried about you."
Nick shot her an appreciative look. He had a feeling he was going to need her as an ally if he was going to win this case.
He echoed Glory's assurances. “Of course I'm worried.. You're clients. That's my job, to worry and look out for you."
"That's sweet.” Blossom elbowed Glory. “Isn't that sweet, Glory?"
"Nick's not being sweet. He's just doing what he's paid to do.” There was no softness in Glory's expression when she looked at him. “And if Nick says your best interests will be served by dealing with Fiona out of court, then I'd listen."
Miracles for Nick Page 7
