She puts her glass in the sink. “Fine. But when are we going to talk about the plans?”
I hold up my hand. “Uh-uh . . . I did my part. I found a location. You said you would do everything else.”
There is no way I’m letting her rope me into doing any party planning. Especially because now I have to get Alexander’s house ready.
“I know, and I will take care of the party details. But, we still need to talk about our costumes.”
The mention of costumes reminds me of Alexander and the Pink Ladies/T-Bird theme. I’m trying not to overreact to what he said, but I did enjoy hanging out with him and I have no doubt that he’s usually the life of the party.
On our way out, we meet Mrs. Rothera in the hallway. I haven’t seen her since her whole “I’m a psychic” reveal.
“Hello, ladies.”
“Hi, Mrs. Rothera,” we say politely.
“Summer, have you thought any more about coming to see me for the reading?” she asks. Wow, she’s not wasting any time. I wish she wouldn’t have said anything in front of Angie.
“You’re welcome to come as well,” she says, pointing at Angie.
“What are you reading?” Angie asks.
Ugh. I don’t want to talk about this.
“I do psychic readings,” Mrs. Rothera says proudly.
Angie looks back and forth between Mrs. Rothera and me. She’s probably wondering why I didn’t tell her sooner. This is exactly the kind of information that Angie loves.
“You do,” she says excitedly. “Oh my gosh, you have to come to our Halloween party.”
My mouth drops open. She can’t be serious. Actually, I know Angie and she’s totally serious. They start talking and I feel like I’m dreaming.
“I really have to go,” I interrupt. “I will let you two work this out.” They stop talking long enough to say good-bye and Mrs. Rothera reminds me to stop by to visit her.
When I get in my car, I think about everything that’s happened over the last few days (and weeks). Maybe Mrs. Rothera can give me some insight into Alexander. And what about Jake? The last time I spoke to her she mentioned him coming back. I don’t know what I would do if Jake came back or if I could get past the pain he caused me. Hmmm . . . maybe I don’t want to know if he’s coming back.
~*~*~
I haven’t spoken to Alexander (other than a few texts) since I left his place last week. Not that it’s any of my business, but I know he’s been working some really long hours. At least, that’s what Melanie has told me. I have no doubt that she knows about the Halloween party because the tone of her emails has gotten worse. Emotion is usually harder to read in emails and texts but definitely not in hers. On a good note, I’m making great progress with the house. I was able to order quite a bit of the furniture, lighting, and wall décor. And, of course, Melanie has been right behind me to double-check and make sure every detail is perfect. I’m sure the girl is praying that I will mess something up.
Today is the day that Alexander is joining Angie and me for lunch. Normally I would be worried but for some reason I’m not. I’ve already made Angie promise that she wouldn’t tell any embarrassing stories about me, and I’ve got so much dirt on her that I know she will keep her word.
As far as the Halloween party, her planning is in full swing, and much to my dismay, she has invited Mrs. Rothera to come, not as a guest but as a psychic. I know it’s not a big deal but something about this whole thing makes me nervous. Maybe it’s the possibility of hearing something I’m not going to like.
When I arrive at the café, Angie is already there and she’s talking loudly on her phone. She waves at me as soon as I sit down.
“YES,” she shouts. “That’s right, about a hundred people. Perfect.”
One hundred people for what? There’s no way she could be talking about the party . . . right?
I don’t give her a chance to say hi before asking her about the guest list.
“You weren’t talking about the party, were you?” I demand.
She gives me a blank look. “Um, yeah. Why?”
Holy crap.
“One hundred people,” I shout. “We can’t invite that many to Alexander’s house.”
She looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
“Of course we can.”
I place my face in my hands. Maybe he won’t care, but I’m embarrassed. She hasn’t even met him yet and she’s ready to invite the whole tri-state area to his house.
“Summer, relax. I’ll ask him when he gets here,” she says calmly. “I promised you I would handle everything and I will. You just sit there and look pretty.”
I giggle despite being completely annoyed with her. “Very funny. Remember, we are just friends. And speaking of friends, have you spoken to Mrs. Rothera?”
Before she has a chance to respond, Alexander shows up.
“Is this seat taken?” he asks playfully.
Angie raises her eyebrows, and I can read her expression. I can tell that she’s already impressed with him. And I don’t blame her a bit. He looks very dashing today with his glasses and tailored shirt. His tie is loosened, and for some reason, I think that is so sexy.
“Hi, Alexander,” I say cheerfully. “This is my friend Angie.”
“Oh, stop the formality,” Angie exclaims. “We’re old friends.” She stands up and holds her arms out to give him a hug. And of course, being the nice guy he is, he hugs her back.
Formality or not, he’s still my client but I know she doesn’t care about that.
“Great to finally meet you in person, Angie,” he says with a big grin on his face. He turns toward me and rubs my shoulder. “And it’s good to see you, Summer.”
I try not to overreact to his hand on my shoulder. Especially since Angie is already doing that as she’s watching our interaction very closely. I give her a look that clearly says, “Keep your mouth shut and we will talk about it later.”
“Okay, so let’s get down to business,” Angie says, following my lead. “Here are our plans so far.”
For the next hour, we talk about the party, or rather, Angie and Alexander talk about it. I mostly listen and give a few suggestions. I have to admit it sounds like it’s going to be a blast.
“Wait a second,” Alexander interrupts, looking at Angie’s notes. “You hired a fortune teller?” He starts laughing after Angie tells him about Mrs. Rothera.
“She’s actually a psychic,” I tell him. “At least she is now.” I explain to them about how I just thought she was really nosy and that I just found out about her little secret.
“Well, I’m interested to hear what she has to say about my future,” he says, giving me an innocent look.
Luckily, Angie chimes in at just the right time to break up what could have been a very awkward moment. She wants Mrs. Rothera to have a good spot so the guests can visit her if they want to. I begin to daydream as we continue to discuss the party. I can’t believe I’m letting this happen. I never thought I would be interested in a client. I know it could be a total rebound thing or that he’s just a really great guy. Either way, this is very unprofessional. Not only that, there’s still so much I don’t know about him, like how long was he married? Why did he get divorced? These are important questions. Of course, I’m totally jumping to conclusions here—just because I have a crush on him doesn’t mean he has one on me.
“Jake?”
My daydream is interrupted when I hear Angie say Jake’s name. My heart sinks. What the . . . ?
I turn around to see Jake standing behind me. He looks right at me and immediately a rush of different emotions comes over me.
“Hi, Angie. Hi, Summer,” he says awkwardly.
“Hello, Jake,” I reply. It came out colder than I intended, but after the way he hauled butt out of my life, I guess I’m entitled to that reaction. We’re all quiet for a few seconds until I remember that Alexander is sitting with us. He’s watching our interaction carefully.
“Alexander, this
is Jake.”
Alexander, being the nice guy he is, gets up to shake his hand.
“Alexander just moved to Connecticut from the city,” I say. “He’s hired me to decorate his house.”
“And she’s doing a great job already,” he says proudly. I can feel myself start to blush.
Jake gives a sheepish grin. “I have no doubt. I’ve always said Summer has decorating magic.”
I cringe as memories begin flooding back. Angie is watching the whole scene. I know she’s holding back from going off on Jake.
“We’re in the middle of planning a big Halloween party,” Angie interrupts. She obviously noticed my discomfort. “Alexander was nice enough to offer to host the party at his new home.”
Alexander shrugs his shoulders. “I’m happy to. It’s a great way to meet people in a new town. You should come, Jake.”
Angie and I look at each other in horror. I know it’s not Alexander’s fault, being that he doesn’t know our history, but the thought of Jake crashing this party makes me nauseous.
“Um . . . maybe,” Jake replies as looks at his watch. “I’m sorry, but I have to get to a meeting. It was nice seeing you two and great meeting you, Alex.”
“Alexander,” he corrects him.
“Uh . . . yeah, sorry. Good-bye.”
Jake practically runs away. I rub my temples vigorously because that pretty much sucked. I knew I was bound to run into Jake at some point but I never imagined it would be that torturous. Alexander is eyeing me curiously.
“Okay, so do one of you want to tell me what that was about?” he asks. “I’m really sorry if I overstepped by inviting him. I figured you all were friends.”
Yeah, friends, I think to myself.
“It’s okay,” I assure him. “We’re not exactly friends . . . Jake is my ex-boyfriend.”
Poor Alexander cringes.
“Oh man, I’m sorry,” he exclaims. “And I just invited him to the party.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Angie interrupts. “He won’t show his face at this party, and if he does, he won’t be there for long.”
I nod in agreement. “No, he won’t. But don’t feel bad, it’s fine . . . and I’m fine.”
I really am fine . . . I think. In my defense, it was the first time I’ve seen him since he left the beach. It was bound to bring up some emotion. If anything, I think it was better having Angie and Alexander with me so I didn’t have to face him on my own.
Shortly after we finish lunch, Angie leaves to run some errands. Alexander and I walk out together.
“So, I’m not trying to pry into your life and you don’t have to tell me anything. I’m just curious about what happened with you and that Jake guy.”
I stare at the sidewalk before making eye contact with him.
“We broke up over the summer,” I say as nonchalantly as I can. He chews on his bottom lip as I continue. “Or rather, he broke up with me over the summer . . . at the beach . . . while we were on vacation. No explanation, just that he wasn’t ready for anything serious—even though we had been serious for quite some time.”
I hate to make it seem like I’m still bothered by this, but I would be lying if I acted like I wasn’t.
He lets out a slow whistle. “Oh . . . that’s harsh.”
“Sorry to unload like that,” I tell him. “I usually don’t share my personal life with clients, but since you asked.”
He nervously shifts from one foot to another. I get the feeling he wants to say something.
“Is everything okay?” I ask him.
He nods slowly. “Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I think of you as a friend.” He pauses. “I mean, other than you just decorating my house, so don’t feel bad about giving me the scoop. And I’m the one who asked. I could sense something was off, and then I open my big mouth and invite him to the party.” He shakes his head.
I put my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. And I appreciate you saying that we’re friends. I feel the same way.” We’re standing, facing each other in the middle of the sidewalk. Just then his phone starts to ring and he quickly grabs it.
“Excuse me for one second,” he says as he answers.
“Yes, Melanie,” he answers. I turn my face away from him and scowl. That Melanie sure has impeccable timing.
“Okay, I will call him now,” he insists.
When he hangs up, he’s scrolling through his phone. “I hate to cut this short but I need to take care of something.”
“I understand. I actually have to run by your house and check on a delivery,” I say. He holds out his hand to shake mine. Well, nothing says just friends like shaking hands.
Chapter Five
I’m exhausted. I’ve been working long hours at Alexander’s for the last few days. I’ve only seen him for a few minutes as he’s been in the city working a lot, which is probably for the best, but I admit I’ve missed him being around. He’s definitely more fun than Melanie.
Unfortunately, Melanie has been around and she has been civil for the most part, with the exception of a snide comment about the Halloween party. She said something about all the “strangers” who were going to be in the house and how Alexander is too nice and that sometimes people take advantage of him. I wanted so badly to put her in her place, but I bit my tongue—again.
When I get home, I’m starving. I’m heating one of those gross Lean Cuisine meals (because I’m too tired to prepare anything else) when there’s a knock at my door. I open it to find Mrs. Rothera with a saucepan in her hands.
“Hi,” I say, forcing a smile. I really don’t want to get into any conversations about my life tonight.
“I hope I’m not bothering you. I made this vegetable soup, and I thought you might be hungry. I have plenty.”
Wow. Either she heard me complaining about the frozen meal or she is psychic.
“That’s very kind of you,” I say. I know I can’t avoid this woman forever, so I decide to invite her in. “Would you like to come in?” She actually looks surprised but accepts my invite.
When she comes in, she sits down on my couch and I offer her something to drink. Even though I’m not into this psychic thing, I’m curious about what she said about Jake.
After I hand her a glass of water, I ask her the burning question. “I’ve been wanting to ask you about what you said about Jake. And please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not really interested in a reading, at least not right now.”
She gives me a tight-lipped simile. I hope that didn’t come across the wrong way. I’m not trying to piss her off.
“Would any of this have to do with the new man you’re spending time with?”
What? How does she know this stuff?
“Well . . . not exactly. You mentioned that Jake would be back, and I wanted to know if you could explain.”
She looks around my apartment but doesn’t respond for a few seconds. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Now she’s staring at me but it feels more like she’s staring through me. I don’t want to make her feel bad because, honestly, I don’t know what I think. She has mentioned things that she wouldn’t know unless she has some kind of other sense. Things she couldn’t possibly know about.
Fall Into Magic- A Novella Page 4
