“Oh, nobody. I mean, I drew the picture with no one in particular in mind. Kyle who?”
“Ackers. You probably don’t know him. We dated for about a year, and then he introduced me to Grant.” She shrugged. “Love at first sight. We’ve been together ever since.”
Her forgetfulness annoyed me. Big time. “We went to school together, Shelby. Remember? Of course I know who Kyle is. I’m surprised you don’t remember why I know who Kyle is.” Now I was more than annoyed; I was a little peeved. Sure, the incident between her and Chloe had happened forever ago, but—to me—if you’re going to be classless enough to steal a girl’s guy, you should at least remember it!
The terseness of my voice must have tipped her off that she’d trodden into a danger zone. Her blue eyes clouded for a second, as if she were searching back in her memory, trying to find whatever piece of information to which I’d alluded. Then they widened, and she looked a little like a deer caught in oncoming headlights. “Oh. That’s right. I’d forgotten. It was a long time ago.”
Leaning over, I picked up the sucker I’d dropped. “When someone’s feelings are hurt, they don’t forget. Especially when your heart is involved.” My anger increased. How could she not remember? Of course, she wasn’t the one who’d held Chloe while Chloe cried her eyes out, day after day, for nearly a year. Shelby wasn’t the one who’d helped Chloe dispose of all the little mementos she’d collected throughout her relationship with Kyle. That had been me. Because that was what friends did for each other.
Afraid I was about to say something I’d later regret, I stood. “I’ll be right back.” I strode to the kitchen, tossed the lollipop in the garbage and leaned against the wall, waiting for my temper to lessen. Part of me wanted to order Shelby out of my home, to never contact me again. But that reaction was based on the past, and how fair was that? Everything I knew about her now suggested a nice woman in a good marriage, happy about beginning her family. People change. And while I’d never forget the misery Chloe had gone through, it wasn’t all Shelby’s fault. A large portion of the blame went to Kyle. Which, oddly, Chloe had never admitted. Not verbally, anyway.
Suddenly, what Shelby had said hit me again and I almost doubled over. No way was that picture of Kyle. That would be far too cruel a joke. But I couldn’t blow it off. I couldn’t ignore it. Especially because the information had seemingly come out of nowhere, not long after I’d begged Miranda to help me. So, like it or not—and I didn’t, by the way—I had to look into it. But I truly didn’t believe my soul mate was the same man who’d devastated my best friend.
I left the kitchen, only to find Shelby yakking on her cell phone. When she saw me, she said her good-byes and disconnected quickly, tucking her phone into her purse. Apprehension skittered over her expression, and again I reminded myself that she wasn’t the same person she had been in high school.
“You’re right, Shelby. It was a long time ago. Let’s just leave it alone.”
She smiled in relief. “Thank you. Things change, and now that I remember what I did, I feel horrible. But I can fix it!”
Oh, no. “Fix it?”
“That was Kyle on the phone. Once I realized how much you must still be hung up on him—I mean, you drew his picture—I decided to fix you two up again. Just like the old days.”
“Um. Shelby? I never dated Kyle. It was my friend Chloe. Chloe Nichols. You remember her, right? You guys were really good friends for a long time.”
“Kyle dated Chloe? Are you sure? I thought you dated him.”
An exasperated sigh slipped out. “Yes. I’m positive.”
She tilted her head to the side, and her gaze took in the drawing again. “Why’d you draw him then? Does Chloe know how you feel?”
“Shelby! I didn’t draw Kyle. I just drew a man. I don’t know who he is.”
“Wow. That’s bizarre, huh?”
“I guess.” I laughed at the ludicrousness of me being hung up on Kyle Ackers. “He’s not exactly my type, you know,” I said.
“What do you mean?” She looked truly perplexed.
“He’s just a little”—I searched for the right word—“callous.”
Shelby’s blue eyes filled with sadness. “He actually has a great deal of compassion; he just doesn’t let many people see it.”
I shrugged, ready to bring the subject back to the drawing. “It’s been years since I’ve seen him, so I can believe he’s changed.”
A quick grin wiped away the sadness. “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. He still doesn’t have the greatest social skills, but trust me…he really isn’t as bad as he comes off.”
Her eyes drifted to the drawing again, so I switched gears. “How sure are you that it looks like Kyle?”
Amusement flitted over her. “Oh, pretty sure. I’ve seen his back a zillion times.” I must have looked puzzled, because she laughed. “Not like that! Not for a long time, anyway. We have a pool, and Kyle likes to swim, so he’s over a lot. Did I mention he’s really good friends with my husband?”
“Yes, you mentioned that.” My head hurt from taking in so much information at once. How could anyone be so dang chipper all the time?
“So, anyway, Kyle remembered you. And we’re having a cookout on Saturday. If it’s warm enough, we’ll be opening the pool. Want to come? You can bring Chloe, if you’d like.”
No, I didn’t want to go. No, I didn’t want to see Kyle. And no, I didn’t want Kyle to be the man I’d drawn. But for some reason, what I said was, “Sure. Sounds like fun. I’ll check with Chloe.”
Shelby hung around for another hour or so, and while I tried to be sociable, I probably wasn’t that successful. After she left, I picked up the sketchpad again. Turning to the beach scene, I stared at the man. “Who are you?” I whispered. “And why is it so important I find you?”
“You’re going to Shelby’s house. For a barbeque. And Kyle will be there.” Chloe’s voice had that monotone thing going on. That, combined with the stiff way she held herself, worried me. Because when Chloe isn’t animated, something is very wrong. “How exactly did all of this take place?”
We were sitting in the living room of her minuscule one-bedroom apartment. Rather than give her the chance to come to my place, I’d been waiting for her when she got home from work. I’d already explained how Shelby had stopped by, but I’d sort of zoomed ahead to the cookout invitation, thinking Chloe would be so excited at the chance to see Kyle again that the rest wouldn’t matter. Wrong.
“Well. It’s kind of funny, actually.”
Her light green eyes darkened a shade. “I could use a laugh. Go on.”
“Shelby…ah…you see…” Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all. Chloe is tiny, just hitting five feet tall in her stocking feet, but she’s tough. Even with my eight extra inches of height and God only knew how many pounds, if she wanted to flatten me, she probably could. But more than that, I worried about her feelings. Possibly, it would have been a better idea to have gone to the stupid cookout, ascertained Kyle was not the man in my drawing, and never breathed a word of it. But yeah, like I said before, we didn’t keep secrets from each other.
“Just tell me.”
“She saw my sketchbook and wanted to look through it. I told her sure, because it didn’t occur to me to say no. Besides, that would have been weird, don’t you think? And kind of rude.” I looked to Chloe for affirmation, somehow wanting her approval of my actions before I explained any further.
“I’m still trying to comprehend how Shelby ‘Manstealing’ Whitaker ended up in your home, and how that turned into a get-together at her place with Kyle.”
“Um. So. She flipped through the pages. When she came across the picture I drew last night, she stopped. She thought she recognized the man, Chloe! My soul mate! So, I kind of have to go to this thing. Just to be sure.”
A spark of interest darted over my friend. “Really? Well, I guess if anyone in this world could recognize a man by nothing but his bare back, it’d be her.”
<
br /> “Stop that. She’s not the same girl we knew back then. She’s pregnant, she’s happily married, and she’s been with the same guy for a long time. Seriously, Chloe. You might even like her now.”
Chloe scowled. “What did she do to you? Suddenly you’re all chummy with the enemy.” When I didn’t say anything, she heaved a breath. “Fine. Who does Shelby think this guy is?”
“Well.” I cleared my throat. “The thing is, it’s nearly impossible to identify someone by just his back. Even with that scar and all. The most we can really do is rule out men. If they don’t have a scar…or a birthmark…or whatever that mark is, or if it looks different…”
Comprehension dawned and, as it did, Chloe’s entire body slumped forward. As if the weight of the understanding was greater than she could bear. “It’s Kyle, isn’t it? Shelby thinks the man you’re destined to be with is Kyle.”
I reminded myself to proceed with caution. “She thinks there’s enough of a resemblance; it intrigued her. But she doesn’t know why I drew that picture. She doesn’t know about the magic or anything else. She just thinks it’s kind of funny I happened to draw a man who reminds her of someone she knows. It’s probably nothing, Chloe. Really. It’s a ludicrous idea, but think of the good side. You get to see Kyle again.”
“And have my heart broken for the second time when you discover he’s your soul mate? How much would that suck? No thanks.”
“Gee, there’s the pessimist Chloe I haven’t seen in years. Can’t say I’ve missed her much,” I teased.
A small smile appeared. “So I’m overreacting. I know I’m being stupid, but I’ll never forget what it felt like when he dumped me. I had so much invested in him. And I don’t know if I even want to see him again. So this time, my friend, you’re on your own.”
“I need your help. I need you to come.”
She stood and marched toward her kitchen. Well, it was more of a kitchenette. She didn’t even have a full-sized refrigerator, just one of those mini ones like college students get.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m getting a glass of wine. I need a drink.” No full-sized fridge. She did, however, have a nifty little wine cooler she’d had installed under her counter. Priorities, you know?
I followed her and waited while she poured herself a glass of Chardonnay. “Look, I know this seems horrible, but maybe it won’t be. It might even be fun. If nothing else, you can show him how amazing you are today, and rub his face in the fact that he lost out on someone as gorgeous, funny, smart, and spectacular as you are.”
Swallowing half of her glass of wine in one gulp, she shook her head. “I can’t do it. Besides, I don’t think I can be polite to Shelby.”
“Stop.”
Her eyebrow raised in question. “Stop what?”
“This. Kyle was a jerk back then. Shelby was too,” I admitted. “But I know she’s not the same, so maybe he isn’t either.”
“The way Kyle broke things off wasn’t cool. But he wasn’t always a jerk.” She sighed, as if trying to pull herself together.
“Put the past to rest, Chloe. Come on. Please come with me. Besides, aren’t you curious about what he looks like now?” I smirked. “Maybe he’s the one with the third eye and hairy mole.”
She laughed. A little bit of color returned to her complexion, and I was glad for it. “Fine. You win. So, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I need you. I’m terrible at making plans.”
“Well, obviously we’re going to need to see his back—so we can compare it to the drawing.” Her face lit up. “You need to invite Ethan to come too.”
“Why?”
“Because then, whatever plan we come up with we can use on him at the same time. In case your grandmother is right.”
“And then what? Let’s assume neither of them is the right man. Then what?”
She finished off her wine. “I don’t know. Let’s focus on this first.”
Suddenly, everything was okay between us again. I wasn’t truly worried about Kyle being a match to the drawing, because you’d think if he were my soul mate, I’d have clicked with him back in the day. That just the very thought of being with him now would fill me with anticipation. Want. Desire.
Yep, you got it. Pretty much the way I felt about Ethan.
Chapter Seven
I strolled into work on Tuesday morning feeling much more like myself. I’d barely made it on time, but hey, I was there, and I wasn’t late. Points for that.
On my way in, I’d stopped to pick up three more bags of the lollipops that made my nausea bearable. That—if nothing else—was one thing I could thank Shelby for. At my desk, I dumped one of the bags into my top drawer, for easy access, and another in my purse. The third I’d left in my car to take home with me.
The office buzzed with the morning sounds of chatter and people getting coffee. Kind of weird, maybe, but I’d noticed that as the workday went on, people became quieter, more fixated on their tasks. But mornings? That was gossip and chitchat time. I’m not a chatterer in the morning, so I kept to myself.
I turned on my computer and desk light, and then checked to see if I had any messages in my voice mail. Nope, not a one. To anyone else, this was a normal workday. For me? Not so much. For some reason, Grandma Verda’s insistence about Ethan being the man in my drawing refused to leave my mind. I mean, come on, she was right about so many things on such a regular basis, I couldn’t ignore it. And I’d be lying if I said I hated the idea. Because I didn’t. That was why I was so nervous. Today, I needed to ask Ethan out on a date. Because let’s face it, no matter how I worded it, it was a date. And seeing how smart Ethan was, there was no way he wouldn’t catch on. I’d thought about every word spoken between us, every little nuance, and I was pretty sure the sparks I felt weren’t one-sided. But who knew how he’d react to something a little less professional than what we’d previously shared?
Plopping down in my chair, I grabbed a hand wipe and cleaned the surface of my desk. Not because it needed it, but because I was in heavy procrastination mode. Next, I clicked on my e-mail box and read all of my e-mails—even those I’d read before. Nothing needed my attention, but as I stared at my little file with its thirteen e-mails, I wondered if it would be appropriate, in any way whatsoever, to just invite Ethan to the cookout electronically.
Yeah. I know. Not. But still, I gave it some more thought. This way, if he said no, it would be easier to take. Plus, it had one huge advantage: distance. It saved me from the face-to-face; I wouldn’t be able to smell his melt-my-knees cologne, and I wouldn’t be distracted by the cleft in his chin or his dimples.
Deciding to type out an invite and see how it looked, I opened up an e-mail he’d sent me the prior week, clicked Reply, deleted the old subject line, and typed:
Morning, Ethan!
A friend of mine is having a cookout this weekend. Want to come?
There will be food, fun, and games.
Oh! And if you get hot enough—swimming!
Anyway, let me know,
Alice
P.S. Thanks for Sunday. I enjoyed it!
I stared at the e-mail, read it again and then again. My cursor hovered over Send, but I couldn’t make up my mind. But when I considered walking into his office instead and verbally asking him, the decision seemed simple. I sent a quick prayer upward and did what I had to. The screen flashed and it was gone. Almost instantaneously, a new e-mail appeared in my in-box. It was an Out of the Office reply to the e-mail I’d just sent, but not from Ethan.
What? I blinked. I blinked again. I really hoped I’d read it wrong, but no. I broke out in a cold sweat. My stomach dipped. I checked my Sent file. Opening the e-mail I’d just typed, I scanned the recipient list. Leaning forward, elbows on desk and chin in hands, I tried very hard not to freak out. Because yeah, apparently I’d clicked Reply all, which meant every person who had something to do with the Frosty’s account was getting my carefully thought-out note to Et
han. And that meant I was about to become water cooler topic number one. Again.
The whole freaking point of the freaking e-mail was so I wouldn’t have to invite Ethan in person! Now, I had no choice. Because in case he hadn’t yet seen the e-mail, I needed to warn him. So if anyone cracked a joke or made a comment, he’d at least know what the deal was.
Grabbing a lollipop from my drawer, I shoved it into my pocket, just in case. Walking to Ethan’s office felt like it took forever, instead of the less than a minute it actually did. Luckily, most everyone still stood around gabbing over coffee, so I doubted anyone on the reply-all list had actually seen my e-mail yet. But it wouldn’t be long.
I stopped outside of Ethan’s door. It was closed, and his assistant wasn’t at her desk. Knock or come back later? I debated for a couple of minutes. Even though walking away sounded like a great plan, that would only put off the inevitable. So I shored up my courage, forced a smile, and knocked.
His voice came through the door. “Come in.”
Twisting the knob, I pushed open the door and stuck my head in. “Do you have a few—?” I broke off at the totally unexpected vision that met my eyes. Normally, just being in Ethan’s office calmed me. The room, from the chocolate brown painted walls to the big, comfy leather chairs and sofa, to the splashes of green throughout, resonated warmth and comfort.
Not this time. Ethan sat behind his desk, looking a little rumpled. His hair was mussed, as if he’d just run his hands through it, and his suit jacket was draped around the back of his chair. Another chair was pulled up next to his, and in it sat my grandmother in a bright purple and green paisley dress. Seriously. Grandma Verda. At my place of employment. Behind closed doors with Ethan, the man she thought was my soul mate. I reminded myself to stay calm.
“What’s going on?” I managed to ask.
Grandma Verda’s lips twitched. “Ethan’s showing me how to go through the mail.” A stack of mail in front of them, plus the fact my grandmother wielded a letter opener, verified her statement.
A Stroke Of Magic Page 10
