Second Hearts (The Wishes Series) (43 page)

“Has your mother come to her senses yet?” Nellie asked, directing her question at her grandsons.

They both answered in unison. “No.”

She lowered the pup to the floor and he scurried up onto the couch and sat beside me.

“I didn’t know you had a dog, Nellie,” I said, patting the furry mutt.

“I don’t, dear,” she replied. “I borrowed him.”

I frowned, confused. Ryan started laughing, which set his father off. Adam shook his head, showing no sign of catching the joke I’d missed.

“His name is Chester,” explained Nellie. “My neighbour Bruce said he likes scraps. I imagine there will be a lot of scraps tonight.”

I thought they were all being most unfair, but even I couldn’t help giggling when they all erupted. The only thing that killed the humour was Fiona walking into the room. “Darlings,” she crooned, walking toward us all with her arms outstretched. I stood up first.

She hugged me much too tightly, made an insincere comment about my hair looking pretty and turned her attention to Ryan, who stood up and hugged her as if he had no choice. “Happy birthday, son.”

“Thank you Mom,” he replied. “Dinner smells wonderful.”

He was clearly lying. I could smell something rather acrid, reminding me of the time Mitchell set fire to the handle of a frying pan.

“It’s roast beef,” she said proudly. “Cooked entirely by my own fair hand.”

“Great,” he replied, drawing out the word.

In what looked like an attempt to rescue his brother, Adam stood and approached her. “I’m sure it will be amazing,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.

“Thank you darling,” she purred, pinching his cheek. “You’re such a good boy.”

“Why is he the good one?” complained Ryan. “I said it smelled wonderful. All you got out of him was a half-hearted amazing.”

Nellie’s chortle had a strange effect on Chester. He let out a gravelly little bark which made Fiona jump. “What on earth is that?” she asked, horrified by the little brown fur ball that had set up home on her couch.

“Moral support,” replied Adam, setting off the laughter again.

***

Chester’s talents as a garbage disposal were almost wasted. The Décarie men managed to down most of their meal without too much of a performance. Nellie flat-out refused to eat what she didn’t like and settled for an endless glass of whiskey and a few roasted potatoes before calling it quits and going home. I wondered how upset her neighbour Bruce was going to be when he found out she’d forgotten to take Chester with her.

I thought it was the best meal I’d had since I’d left home. The stodgy, hearty roast dinner threw me right back to my childhood when I’d gatecrashed family dinners at my best friend Nicole’s house. It left me feeling a little nostalgic and wishing I’d worn looser fitting clothes. The queen wasn’t a bad cook. She was a homely English cook whose talents were entirely wasted on her too French-American family.

“We have dessert,” announced Fiona, standing up. “I made that too.”

Adam let out a low groan and I ground my foot on top of his. Everyone else sitting at the table looked as unimpressed as he sounded.

Chester and I were the only ones looking forward to dessert. Adam didn’t have a sweet tooth. A man who hates chocolate is no authority when it comes to judging desserts. I was practically an expert, which is why disappointment pinned me to my chair the minute Fiona re-entered the room with Ryan’s homemade birthday cake.

It was so lopsided that everyone tilted their heads to look at it. Worse than that, it was covered in a thick, lumpy layer of marzipan icing. I detest marzipan.

“Not stomping on my foot now are you, Coccinelle?” whispered Adam. I shook my head but said nothing.

“It’s a pound cake with almond icing,” announced Fiona. She drove a candle into the top of the cake, which seemed to require the same effort as hammering a nail into concrete.

“
Fabuleux, mon chéri
,” praised Jean-Luc in a convincing tone that only an attorney could accomplish. I secretly hoped the whole cake would combust when she lit the candle. Ryan didn’t exactly jump to his feet to blow it out. I imagine he was hoping for the same thing.

“
Faites un désir
!” Fiona said urgently.

I leaned across to whisper to Adam. “Did she just tell him not to eat it because it’s poisonous?”

“No. She told him to make a wish.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

I was surprised to see Ryan’s thoughtful expression when he stood up. He was actually debating how to spend his wish.

“Don’t over-think it, Ryan. Just believe it
. À cœur vaillant rien d'impossible
,” I told him. Every person at the table glared at me as if I’d just cursed them. Fearing I’d botched the pronunciation, I translated quickly. “Nothing is impossible for a willing heart.”

“Charli! You’ve been holding out on us,” Fiona accused, beaming. “We thought you didn’t speak French.”

I shook my head, feeling embarrassment burn my cheeks. “I don’t.”

Adam gave my hand a secret squeeze under the table. “She only knows the important words.”

“Make your wish, Ryan,” I mumbled, chagrined by my big mouth.

“I did. But the cake is still here.”

Adam laughed. The only thing that saved him from the queen’s wrath was the fact that everyone else cackled too.

“You will eat it. And you will enjoy it,” she commanded, waving a knife at us, instantly proving why she was the queen.

The evening didn’t last much past dessert. There was a fair chance that everyone was feeling as ill as I was. Once I could feel the sticky lump of cake I’d hidden in my napkin and stuffed in my pocket seeping onto my leg, I knew it was time to get out of there. Adam suggested that we escort Chester back to Nellie’s apartment. No one protested, least of all Chester, who seemed grateful to get into the cool night air.

“He suits you, Charlotte,” teased Adam. I stopped for the umpteenth time so Chester could sniff at an invisible spot on the pavement. “Maybe we should get a dog.”

“We have enough trouble looking after ourselves, don’t you think?”

“I think we’d do fine. We should definitely get a dog.”

“Adam, no dog,” I said seriously. The last thing I wanted was to lay down roots. Getting attached to a dog that we weren’t going to be able to take with us when we left was a dumb idea.

He draped his arm around my shoulder and we began walking again, giving Chester no choice but to follow or be choked. “Alright, no dog.”

“Promise me,” I demanded, tugging on the side of his shirt. “No surprise puppies.”

Adam laughed blackly. “Okay, Charli. No puppies.”

35. Proof

Dim Whit and Kinsey obviously didn’t need much time to mull over Seraphina’s offer of modelling for her. She called me just a few days after first mentioning it to let me know they’d accepted.

“Great,” I told her. “Just work out the details and get back to me.”

I abruptly ended the call, something I was getting quite good at. Ryan taught me the skill, but it was Adam who had mastered the art. He could do it without coming across as a total jerk. Ryan couldn’t order coffee without sounding like a jerk.

Some New York perks were awesome, like fresh baked pretzels, cannoli and cutting boring phone calls short. Others took some getting used to. I didn’t consider acquiring the ability to run in high heels particularly awesome, but somewhere along the line I’d learned how to do it. The fact that I actually owned a dozen pair of heels to run in crushed the bohemianism right out of me.

It was a frightening transition to make. Every single day, at least once, I’d try to send Charlotte Décarie and her Louboutin heels packing and bring Charli Blake to the forefront. My plans for that day included Adam, but I knew it would be a hard sell. Convincing him to ditch classes and hang out with me was a feat I’d never once accomplished.

I cornered him in the kitchen while he was going through his morning routine of packing his bag. “Adam, I have a proposition for you,” I began, trying to pique his curiosity.

He glanced at me but didn’t stop shoving books into his bag. “Charlotte, I’m listening.”

“I have a fairy high tea today. I think you should come.”

Adam had never seen a fairy tea in action. In fact, I couldn’t think of a single time that he’d been to Billet-doux in the six months since he’d signed it over to me.

“I don’t think I can make it.” He didn’t even sound regretful.

“What if I told you I absolutely needed you there? Life or death, needed you there?”

He clipped his bag shut and looked straight at me, deliberating for a few seconds before answering. “A life or death fairy emergency?”

I replied in a deadly seriously tone. “Exactly.”

He took the few steps needed to reach me, took my face in his hands and softly kissed my lips. “Okay, I’ll come.”

His hold on my face didn’t waver as I leaned back to look at him.

“Promise?”

“I promise.” The smile that ghosted across his face was only half believable. “I should be there by three.”

I nodded and his hands moved with me. “Don’t let me down.” He smiled more sincerely and leaned forward to kiss me again. That was as close to a guarantee as I was going to get. He was out the door five minutes later and I was left with a terrible sinking feeling his promise was already as good as broken.

***

Summer had brought on a whole new wave of fairy toddlers with mothers who were looking for any excuse to down champagne at two in the afternoon. I still loved seeing Billet-doux all gussied up like a fairy den, but it was an exhausting process. I always staggered home at the end of the day feeling like I’d spent the afternoon hanging out at a childcare centre.

That day was no different, and my exhaustion was compounded by the fact that Boy Wonder blew off our three o’clock rendezvous. I wasn’t surprised, so I shouldn’t have been upset about it; but walking into the empty apartment highlighted the fact that I seemed to be coming a distant second to everything else he had going on.

I didn’t hear Adam eventually walk in. I was in the shower scrubbing the glitter out of my hair, thanks to an overzealous four year old who’d whacked me over the head with her wand while casting a spell.

He slunk into the bathroom. The foggy shower screen did nothing to diminish his guilty expression. “I know you’re probably furious with me right now,” he began. “But I have a good reason for missing the high tea.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear it.” His excuses were usually perfectly legitimate and study related. And somehow, they always left me feeling as if I was being punished.

“I’m not going to explain it to you,” he told me. The fogged-up screen didn’t hide his bright smile either. “If you give me a chance, I’ll show it to you.”

“Please tell me it’s not a puppy,” I pleaded. “I said no dog.”

His laugh echoed around the bathroom. “It’s not a puppy. I promised I wouldn’t get a puppy.”

I turned off the taps and stepped out of the shower. He handed me a towel, but in a childish move, I dragged my own towel off the rail and left him hanging.

“You also promised you’d show up today,” I reminded him, wrapping myself in the towel. A sheepish grin swept his perfect face and I felt compelled to chastise him for it. “That sexy little smile thing you have going on isn’t always going to work for you, Adam.”

He grabbed a fistful of my towel and pulled me in close. “Is it working now?”

“Sadly, yes,” I conceded, linking my arms around his neck.

***

As hard as I tried to appear indifferent, I was intrigued by whatever it was that he had planned. It was obviously going to be an overnight jaunt. He’d packed a bag while I was getting dressed.

“What kind of hotel makes you bring your own pillows?” I asked, watching him stuff our pillows into the now bulging bag.

“I never said we were going to a hotel.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Are we hanging out in La La land tonight, Adam?”

He kissed my forehead. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

It had been a long time since we’d had some quality time alone together.

Both our phones were intentionally left on the kitchen bench, which was another reason to be feeling blissful. I was back in the Adam-and-Charli headspace – right until he ordered the cab we were in to stop outside his parents’ building.

“We’re going to your parents’?” I asked, crushed.

“Technically, I suppose,” he replied vaguely, thrusting some money at the driver.

I slid out of the cab and thanked the driver, because Adam didn’t. He took my hand and kept a tight grip as we walked into the foyer.

“I’m sure your mum has pillows, Adam,” I grumbled, dragging my feet as he led us to the elevator.

“We’re not going there, Charlotte. We’re going to the roof.”

“Why? What’s up there?”

“Proof.”

“Proof of what?”

He smiled so brilliantly that I folded my arms to stop myself reaching out to grab him. “If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?”