Jordan joined Luna, her boss, behind the long table full of pastries and hors d’oeuvres. “Don’t worry about it, Tori,” Jordan said. “Icarus likes you, and if he does, his master does.”
Knowing that Jordan telepathically communicated with animals, Tori felt sure that her friend was being honest with her, and not just saying what Tori wanted to hear. “Mind if I leave my purse behind the table? I’m sure I’m going to set it down somewhere and forget about it. Too much going through my brain to remember the small stuff.”
Jordan held out her hand for it. “I’ll stash it with mine.”
“Thanks, Jordan.” Tori went to the bar to make sure everything was going smoothly there.
“Hi, Emerald,” Tori said to the black-haired bartender who owned Nine Lives nightclub.
Emerald gave Tori a quick wave. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Just making sure that you have everything you need.”
“I think we’re good.” Emerald handed one of the other bartenders a liquor bottle. “Measure your shots,” she told the man. “We’re going to get slammed soon, and over-pours will kill our costs.”
Next Tori checked with the DJ. “We’re all set with the balloons, right?”
The young man removed his headphones. “No worries, Tori. They’ll drop at the stroke of midnight.”
“Perfect.” She crossed the room to the other catering table, that one run by Medici, the fancy Italian restaurant next to the salon where Tori occasionally splurged on a pedicure and a tarot card reading. The smells of Medici’s delicious homemade sauces filled the air. “Thanks so much for doing all of this, Lily. I really appreciate it. Sorry for the short notice. It couldn’t be helped.”
Lily Wilshire adjusted her black bowtie. “Only for you, girlfriend.” She lowered her voice. “Someday, I’ll owe you my happiness, after all.”
Tori threw a wink at Lily.
As Tori worked the room—welcoming the guests, making polite conversation with friends and acquaintances, she reflected upon all the successful matches she’d arranged, all the people she’d been able to make happy thanks to her gift. Would she ever find a local guy for herself? One with whom she’d feel as comfortable as she did with Heath?
Glancing at him at the photo area, where the line of folks waiting to take pictures with him was now at least twenty deep. Vivi Craig took her turn with Heath, pawing him with her diamond and gold covered fingers.
Tori flared her nostrils. But she couldn’t really blame Vivi for being attracted to a guy like Heath. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. Heck, he looked great in anything—and in nothing. Especially in nothing.
Her cheeks heated at the memory of making love with him. What had changed between yesterday and today? At first, he’d apologized for it and made it clear that he didn’t want to continue their fling. Now he seemed a hundred percent on board with it.
Too bad that it couldn’t continue after this week. Darn it, why did Heath have to live so far away? She’d never go for a real relationship with a man who didn’t live in town. Even if that man was Heath. She couldn’t bear it if he broke her heart. That would be even worse than the heartache she’d experienced with William.
“Where should we set up the cake?”
Tori turned around to find a man and woman from Sugarland bakery. “There’s a table to the left of the photo area. Need help?”
The woman shrugged. “Sure. If you could just hold open the doors, that would be a big help. We wouldn’t want you to get your pretty dress dirty. Our van’s parked out back.”
Tori followed the couple out of the room, down the hallway to the service entrance. Outside, Tori finally got a respite from the blaring music. The back lot was full of service vehicles. Aside from Sugarland’s van, there was a Prius with the Cove Cat Café logo, and minivans from Catnip Florals, and Medici restaurant. In the back corner, she spotted the limousine Heath had hired.
“What do you think?” The bakery guy slid the cake toward the back of the vehicle, so Tori could see it.
It was better than she’d imagined. The fondant covered cake was a map of the town, complete with the harbor, the boardwalk, and the five small islands that looked like a cat’s paw. The largest island had the resort on it, and one of the smaller had the red and black-striped lighthouse. A half-submerged ship stuck halfway out of the inlet, and they’d even made a dozen or so Sherwood cats with the telltale masks over their eyes. “That’s fantastic. You guys are the best.” She moved closer to get a better look. The detail work was amazing. Moving away from the blue fondant seashore, there was a great replica of the historic Sherwood House with its maze and cat sanctuary, Coquina Castles, and Wilshire Park with its famous clock tower.
“This is a masterpiece!” Tori wished she had her cell on her to take pictures, but. She’d have to ask the photographer she’d hired for the event to do it. “It’ll kill me when Mr. Quincy slices up this beauty.”
“Tell me about it,” the woman from the bakery said.
Tori held open the back door for them then decided to visit the restroom in the rear part of the building, which would be less crowded than the main one.
Councilman Reynolds passed her on his way to the men’s room. This time, Tori resisted speaking to him for fear of saying something inappropriate again.
Shutting herself in the ladies’ room, she drew a calming breath. She’d have to tell the DJ to lower the volume on the music. She washed her hands, then checked her lipstick.
A clicking noise drew her attention to the door, but when no one came inside, she figured it must have been down the hall. She straightened her dress, she glanced in the mirror at herself. Her mother was wrong. She looked just fine.
A black dress, my ass.
Why did her mother have to always be so mean? Was it Tori’s fault that she hadn’t inherited her mama’s skinny genes? She was built like her father had been—sturdy, he used to say. In fact, she was so much more like her dad. The most important thing she’d inherited from him was his supernatural power. In truth, though, she was a better earthly Cupid—and not because her matchmaking skills surpassed his. Her dad was good at that. But he did a disservice to the gift by his example.
After his death, Tori and her mother had learned of the many affairs he’d engaged in. His job as a regional sales manager had meant he’d traveled all over the south. Which had allowed him to keep his philandering secret—until the other women had come forward after the funeral. Seven of them had insisted that he’d made them the beneficiary of his life insurance. In fact, he’d cashed in the only policy he’d ever bought, much to Tori’s mother’s surprise.
She thought about Heath. He was so unlike her dad in every way—except one. Heath also traveled for his career, just as William had. And that was a deal-breaker for her. Wasn’t it?
She thought about his comment to the reporter earlier.
“There’s no place like home. It feels as if I’ve won the best jackpot of my life.”
He’d looked straight into Tori’s eyes when he’d said it. Had he been talking about her? Was she his jackpot?
She swallowed hard.
The man could get any woman he wanted. Why on earth would he choose her? She must have been imagining his interest in more than their fling. He was probably just being extra nice to her because he knew how important tonight was to her career.
She should talk to him, clarify things. Because deep inside, something told her that Heath could be the one person who wouldn’t let her down.
Yes, she had to find him. Heart pounding, she strode to the door and reached for the knob, gasping when it came off in her hand. How odd. She shoved at the heavy steel door. It didn’t give even a fraction of an inch. Squatting down to get a better look at the broken handle, all she could see was a hole with pieces of metal inside. She tried sticking the knob back into place, but that didn’t work.
“For heaven’s sake!” She banged on the door. “Hello? Can someone
help me? I’m locked in here.” Pressing her ear to the cool steel, she listened. All she heard was the steady beat of the music.
Tori pounded on the door again, this time harder. “Help! Someone, please help me!”
No one came. Her heart sank. She racked her brain to figure out a way to free herself. Why had she left her purse with Jordan? If only she had her phone, she could have called Heath.
Frantically, she searched the room for a window, but there wasn’t one. What kind of bathroom didn’t have a window? Wasn’t that a fire hazard?
Why was everything going wrong all the time? Had she somehow committed a terrible offense against the universe? Why did Karma hate her lately?
Fisting her hands, she slid to the floor and gave in to her tears.
Chapter Ten
“Let’s take a break,” the photographer told Heath.
Finally. “Thanks, buddy.” Heath stretched his jaw to alleviate his sore smile muscles. He prayed he wouldn’t be kicked off the team and be forced to do events like this one on a regular basis.
Stepping away from the background screen, he scanned the room for Tori. Where could she be? He hadn’t seen her since their dance shortly after they’d arrived. Maybe now that her big event was almost over, it was the right time to have a talk with her, to lay his feelings for her on the table. He was in love with her, and he prayed she felt the same way about him.
When he didn’t find Tori, he headed for one of the food stations on the perimeter of the room and helped himself to a few mini quiches and a chocolate croissant.
One of the women behind the table spoke to him. “Excuse me, have you seen Tori? She was supposed to let me know when I could stop serving.” Tucking her long blue braids behind her ear, she stifled a yawn. “Sorry. I have to be at my coffee shop at five in the morning to start baking. I’m not used to being up this late.”
Heath checked his watch. Almost midnight. “I don’t know where she is, but as soon as I find her, I’ll send her over.”
“Thanks so much.”
At the next food station, he asked the server if Tori had been by there recently.
The woman shook her head. “Not for a couple of hours.”
An uneasy feeling dried up his appetite. When someone touched his shoulder, he hoped it was Tori, but he turned around to find the deputy mayor. “Ready to cut the cake?”
“Yeah, sure.” With one last look around the room, he followed Mr. Quincy to a huge replica of the town.
A middle-aged couple wearing white uniforms handed Heath a knife.
He really wished Tori was there since she’d singlehandedly put this whole event together. Quincy elbowed him. “Any time you’re ready, Heath.”
Heath cut into the cake as the crowd applauded. Then thousands of balloons with cat faces on them dropped from the ceiling. He stepped away a second before the throngs of guests surrounded the cake table for a slice.
“I suppose you’ll be leaving tomorrow after the picnic, hmm?” Charlotte Sutherland asked him.
“We’ll see.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What does that mean?”
He couldn’t resist the opportunity to irritate her. Shrugging, he said, “My plans are still up in the air.”
Charlotte’s fist tightened around her long strand of pearls. Tiny muscles around her mouth ticked. “Whatever your agenda, it better not have anything to do with my Tori.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t realize that she was your property.”
Her necklace snapped, sending dozens of pearls bouncing to the floor before scattering. “Now look what you’ve done.”
What he’d done? Despite how much he disliked her, she was Tori’s only family. And if he and Tori were going to have a relationship—which he prayed they were—he’d have to learn to deal with Charlotte. He crouched and started picking up pearls.
Charlotte backed away and must have stepped on some of her beads. Before Heath could catch her, her feet went out from under her. She went down hard on the floor, shrieking in pain.
Wincing, she rubbed her calf. “Tori!” she shouted. “Where’s my daughter?”
Heath yanked off his jacket and knelt next to Charlotte. “Try to stay still. You might have broken something.”
“I’ll call the paramedics.” The deputy mayor took out his phone and started pressing buttons.
Between the balloons and the pearls on the floor, people began falling left and right. The DJ spoke over the PA system and asked everyone to stay where they were, which only raised the level of panic in the room.
Heath spotted several EMTs coming through the doors. He waved them over. “Over here.” The man and woman made their way through the frightened hoards.
Charlotte cried out again. “Tori, help me.”
Quincy held her hand. “I’m here, Charlotte.”
Heath scooped the middle-aged woman into his arms and carefully made his way to the EMTs with her.
“Don’t think this means that anything’s changed,” Charlotte ground out. “I’ll never let you take Tori away from me. She’ll never leave Cat’s Paw Cove.”
He couldn’t think about that now. One of the paramedics helped him put Charlotte onto a gurney. “I’m going to find Tori,” Heath told her mother.
Charlotte squeezed his hand. “Please. And…thank you.”
That was more courtesy than he’d ever gotten from her before. He had more pressing things on his mind, though. Like where the hell was Tori?
“Heath!” The female voice drew his attention to the back of the room. He spotted a familiar-looking blonde waving him over. She was Tori’s friend, but he couldn’t remember her name. Maybe she knew where Tori had gone. Carefully, he crossed the room to her. “Have you seen Tori?”
“No,” she said. “But I think something might be wrong. Well, aside from all this nonsense.” She swept her hand through the air.
Gulping, he read the name badge pinned to her black Cove Cat Café T-shirt—Jordan. “Why do you think so?”
She pursed her lips and held up a small gold purse that he recognized. “She left this with me hours ago. Icarus said he saw her in the back hallway.”
“Icarus?”
“A service dog.” Jordan shook her head. “Never mind. He said someone followed her.”
Should he put any stock in what she had to say? After all, she’d just matter-of-factly told him that a dog had given her information about Tori. Was she delusional? “Followed her where?”
“I don’t know. I just…I have a bad feeling.”
A stabbing pain took root at his temples. He scratched his head. All he knew was that he was worried, and he had to find her. “I’ll go check it out.”
She pointed to a set of double doors on the back wall. “Through there.”
Without taking the time to respond, he raced to the hallway and found it empty. Could someone have kidnapped Tori? Who would want to hurt her? Everyone loved her.
Except for that awful Vivi woman. He spotted an exit at the end of the hall. If anyone had forced Tori to leave, that would have been the only way to get her out without being seen. He hurried down the hall. But he stopped when he heard banging. And it was coming from the ladies’ room.
“Help!”
“Tori?”
“Heath? I’m locked in here.”
He raced to the door and tried to shove it open. “I’m here. I promise I’ll get you out of there.”
“Thank goodness.” Was she crying?
His insides twisted. “Get away from the door.”
“Okay,” she called.
He charged the door. It didn’t budge. Next, he tried kicking it. Again and again. Finally, it gave. Another shove and he was inside.
Tori practically flew into his arms. “I’m so glad you found me. I’ve been in here for hours.” She sniffled and wiped her cheeks. “I missed the whole night. Some Cinderella.”
Heath held her at arms’ length. �
��Tell me what happened.”
“Let’s get out of here first.” She shuddered. “The walls are closing in on me.”
Out in the hallway, Tori sighed. “Someone locked me in there, and I have no clue why.”
Heath crouched to take a closer look at the broken doorknob and found fresh scratch marks in the paint. “I saw the sheriff inside. We should tell him about this.”
She nodded. “Good idea. Sheriff Higgins will get to the bottom of it.”
Tori hooked Heath’s arm. “I’m so exhausted.”
Cupping her cheek, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and offered up a silent thank you that she was all right. He needed to tell her about her mother’s fall, but he wanted to give her a moment to recover before weighing her down with more worries.
Jordan burst through the doors into the hallway. “There you are. Thank goodness.”
An older man with a service dog came through behind her.
“Are you okay, Tori?”
Tori leaned against Heath’s shoulder. “I am now. Someone locked me in the ladies’ room.”
Jordan handed Tori her evening bag. “That’s what Icarus was telling me.”
Tori stiffened as she glanced at the dog then at Jordan. “Maybe we should discuss that later.”
What the hell was going on? “I’m getting you out of here.” He texted the limo driver to come to get them.
Tori squeezed his arm. “I’m okay now.”
He couldn’t put off telling her about her mother any longer. “We need to get to the emergency room.”
The driver came into the building and headed toward them.
“What? Why do—” Tori stopped speaking when the dog suddenly started barking and growling at the driver.
Jordan kneeled next to the dog. “What is it, Icarus?” She nodded as if the animal was speaking to her. Then she pointed at the driver. “It was him,” Jordan said quietly. “He locked Tori in the bathroom.”
Heath looked at the man. Why hadn’t he noticed those beady eyes before, the cocky sneer on his lips? He had no idea how Jordan knew the man was the culprit, but he was sure that she was right. Heat stormed through his entire body. Releasing Tori, he closed the distance to the driver and pinned him against the wall. “Why’d you do it? Are you some kind of pervert?”
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