Love Charm for Carlotta (A Short Story in the Love Charm Series) (3 page)

"Amy." Jace stepped forward, partially blocking
Carlotta. "Let's leave high school behind us. I'm not here to hurt
Carlotta."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Save that for your gullible
women, Jace. I don't intend to stand by and watch you destroy her again."

"Amy." Carlotta glanced at the clock. "We
still have an hour until the party starts. I'll be there on time. And don't
worry. There is nothing going on here."

"Yes, I can see you're immune to him." Amy's gaze
dropped for a moment. "I hope you remember to put your shirt on before you
come over to the party."

"There's no need for that kind of talk," Jace
snapped. "Carlotta is a grown woman who can make her own decisions."

Another shadow darkened the doorway. Carlotta groaned
mentally when Amy's husband, Tom, stepped into the kitchen.

"Jace!"
Tom thrust out a
hand in welcome, and Jace strode forward to clasp it.

"Hey,
Netboy
!"
Jace used the nickname from their hockey days, when Tom had been the goalie.
"Still as ugly as ever, I see."

The two men grinned at each other.

"You haven't changed either," Tom said.
"Still mooching cupcakes and—" Tom's glance flicked over Carlotta.
"—other treats from Carlotta."

The grin was wiped from
Jace's
face. "Knock it off,
Netboy
. Carlotta is
important to me."

"Hey, sorry
man,
didn't know
it was that way. That's cool." Tom shrugged. "Did Amy invite you to
the party yet?"

"Not yet," Jace answered. "I think she was
just leading up to it." His lips twitched.

Amy glared at him, but it was too late.

"I won't take no for an answer," Tom said.
"Now that you're back, you
gotta
meet my
sons."

"Love to." Jace carefully avoided looking at the
women.

Tom wrapped his arm around his wife. "We've still got a
couple things to do to get ready for the barbecue, honey." He herded Amy
out of the kitchen.

Carlotta and Jace were left staring at each other.

"You don't want to go to a little boy's birthday
party," Carlotta finally said.

Jace shrugged. "I do if it means I can be with
you."

"Amy doesn't like you. She's the hostess."

Jace dropped his hands onto her shoulders. "I don't
care about that. I'm too busy working on my fantasy about you and this
apron." He tweaked the strap by her shoulders. "Your shirt's gone.
We're halfway there."

She took a step back. "Not happening."

He groaned dramatically. "Just one little pair of pants
between me and a dream come true."

"I have
work
to do." She
pulled away and fled to the other side of the small kitchen. Not far enough
away, but at least she'd removed the temptation of his touch.

"Okay." He heaved a big, mock sigh. "Guess
I'll help."

"No." Her voice was sharp enough to chop the
pecans sitting on her cutting board. "It's time for you to leave."

"Don't be silly. In less than an hour, we'll both be
going over to the party next door. Let me help you finish up whatever you're
working on."

She could use help. She needed to get this bread rising,
frost the cupcakes, and change into some nicer clothes.

"Fine."
She handed him a
knife. "Chop up these pecans."

"So gracious," he huffed. But his mouth had a grin
lurking on it. "What are the pecans for?"

She waved to the dough. "Pecan rolls."

"Yum."
He licked his lips
with an exaggerated motion, and Carlotta's eyes locked on the movement. Those
lips had just been kissing her, kneading her into delight just as she'd kneaded
the bread.

"Stop looking at me like that," he
said,
his voice low.
"Unless you want
me to do what I want to do."

Carlotta tried to ignore the way her body fluttered in
response to the look in his eyes. "You can keep your ideas to yourself.
There is no chance that you'll be hitting my house for a good-time reunion and
then leaving town on the next ferry."

Jace gave her a speculative look that she understood
perfectly. He wasn't listening to her words. No, he was thinking of ways to get
around what she'd just said. Like a hockey player
zigging
and
zagging
to get to the net, Jace understood all
too well that an indirect approach could often be best.

"You weren't wearing a bra," he said.

"I wasn't expecting visitors," she snapped.

"And now I can see some naked tit," he added, as
if she hadn't spoken. "It's not fair to tempt a man like that."

"You're the one who took off my shirt," she
countered. "You deserve—"

"Carlotta." He stepped closer. "Are you
really indifferent to me?"

She shoved her hand out to hold him at bay. "I'm not
the pushover I once was, Jace. Those days are gone."

She grabbed a bowl of frosting and the spreader.
"You going to help or not?"

After a long hesitation, he picked up a cupcake. "Let's
do it."

An hour later, they'd finished frosting the cupcakes, set
the bread to rise, and Carlotta had changed into a pink sundress that set off
her black hair and lightly tanned skin.

Jace had whistled when she came out of her bedroom, but he
hadn't made any other moves. Carlotta told herself she was relieved.

They walked next door carrying the cupcakes and a bottle of
wine. People were just gathering for the barbecue. Of course, everyone made a
big deal out of Jace, treating him like a conquering hero just because he
played hockey.

To avoid the high fives and back-slapping, Carlotta looked
around for Tommy. She was thrilled to see that he'd achieved his goal of
sitting on a regular chair, rather than the wheel chair he'd been forced to use
due to weakness from a bad case of the chicken pox.

She swooped down to give him a big hug, and, when she stood
up, Jace was standing beside them. She introduced the man to the boy.

Jace glanced at the child-sized wheelchair sitting nearby,
but didn't say anything about it. He squatted down so he was at eye level with
the child. "I hear you're going to start playing hockey this fall,"
he said. "Your dad is pretty excited."

Tommy beamed. "I'm gonna be a goalie, just like
dad."

"Your dad was the best."

"Yeah."
Fear flickered in
Tommy's eyes.

"Good genes, Tommy." Jace thumped him on the back,
lightly. "You'll do fine."

"You think so?" Tommy looked up at him anxiously.

"Tell you what. I'll come to one of your games and
cheer you on."

Tommy's brow wrinkled. "You know how to play
hockey?"

Jace's
lips twitched. "I know
a little bit about it. I'll get a schedule from your dad."

He excused himself to help Tom cook up the hot dogs and
hamburgers. Carlotta helped Amy move food from the kitchen, grateful that Amy
was too busy to argue about Jace.

Carlotta already knew she had to get rid of Jace, and it
would be hard enough to do so without being badgered by anyone else.

When the meal was finished, the kids began running around
the yard, screaming and hollering. Tommy watched from his chair, and Carlotta
couldn't bear the look of yearning on his face.

She pulled her chair up next to his.
"You
going to come over and help me cook something tomorrow, Tommy?"

"Yeah."
He tried to
smile, but his blue eyes were fastened on the other kids.

"What do you want to make?
Whoopie
pies?"

A shadow blocked the long rays of the setting sun. Tommy
looked up and Carlotta followed his gaze. Jace was standing over them.

"Hope you'll save me one of those
whoopie
pies, Tommy," Jace said.

"Yeah, sure."
His voice
was uncertain. "They're not really pies, you know."

"No problem. I want any kind of
whoopie
that Carlotta makes."

"Jace!"
She wanted to
wipe that smug grin right off his face. Although not as much as she wanted to
be immune to it.

"Don't worry, Aunt Carlotta," Tommy said. "He's
just teasing you '
cuz
he thinks you're pretty."

Jace roared with laughter. "Bingo, Tommy."

He squatted next to the boy. "But, since we can't do
the
whoopie
thing right now, what do you say to a
motorcycle ride?"

Tommy's eyes popped. "You have a motorcycle?"

"A Harley."

"For real?"

"Why don't you come with me and check it out?"
Jace tapped his own shoulders. "Climb on if you dare."

Tommy stood slowly, his face stiff with concentration.
"I'm not a
scaredy
-cat."

"Course not. I wouldn't give a ride to a
scaredy
-cat." Jace bent a little lower, and Tommy
scrambled up onto his shoulders.

Carlotta watched anxiously, not wanting to threaten Tommy's
fragile self-esteem with a helping hand. But she had to say something. Amy was
not in the back yard. "I don't know if a ride would be safe—"

"I asked Tom," Jace said flatly.

He and Tommy walked in the direction of Carlotta's house.
The last thing she saw before they disappeared behind a hedge of forsythia
bushes was Tommy turning around to give her a beaming smile and a big wave.

Fifteen minutes later, long after Carlotta had heard the
roar of the departing motorcycle, Amy came out to the back yard.

"Where's Tommy?"

"Tom gave Jace permission to take Tommy for a
ride."

"Carlotta!" Amy braced her hands on her hips.
"Has that man come back to the island just to torment us?"

Perversely, Carlotta felt the need to defend Jace.
"Tommy needed a distraction once the other kids started running
around."

Amy sighed sharply. "Well, looks like the ride is
over." She pointed to the returning duo. Tommy was bouncing happily on his
new hero's shoulders.

"Mom!" he shouted. "I'm going to be
Jace's
pilot fish!"

"Pilot fish?"
Amy shook
her head. "If you mean some kind of navigator, motorcycles are too
dangerous, honey. One ride was enough."

"We're talking boat navigator." Jace stopped by
the table to let Tommy slide off his shoulders. "He's going to show me all
the tricks of the shoreline."

Amy narrowed her eyes at him. "You grew up on this
island. You know every hidden cove, and every spit of sand on it."

"I did, at one time," Jace said cheerfully.
"But I've been away for twelve years. A man can forget even important
things." His gaze slid over Carlotta.

Amy snorted. But then she glanced at her son, and she
suddenly seemed to realize who might be hurt most in this skirmish.

"I guess Tommy is the perfect guy to show you what you
might have forgotten then." She swallowed. "Thanks, Jace."

"My pleasure."
He gave
her a wide grin.

Carlotta sucked in a breath of alarm as she watched even Amy
melt a little under the force of
Jace's
charm.

She needed to speak with Ashley, and find an antidote to
this love charm before it was too late.

Jace slung an arm over Carlotta's shoulders as they walked
back to her house after the barbecue. For the moment, he was content merely to
be with her. "Nice night, huh?" he said.

"You're not invited in."

He bit back a laugh. When had she become so prickly?

But he sobered quickly. He had a feeling he might be the
cause. The time had gone by so quickly, he could scarcely believe it had been
twelve years.

"No problem." He squeezed her shoulder. "I
was thinking we could go for a ride. I haven't been to
Menemsha
Beach in years."

Carlotta stopped at the hydrangea bush by her front walk.
"A ride?
Have you listened to a word I've said?"

"Come on, Carlotta." He edged her around so she
faced him. "Look at the stars. Remember how we used to lie on the beach
and watch them?"

"When I was young and foolish."
There was more than a trace of bitterness in her voice.

"You were young and lovely." The waning moon cast
a soft light on her face and she looked exactly as she had twelve years ago,
when he'd been too dumb to know what he was throwing away. Jace swallowed the
sorrow in his throat over all they'd lost. "You're still lovely,
Carlotta."

She sighed. "I grew up, Jace. This is the woman I am
now. I own a home. I own a business. I go to work every day."

"Take a break for some fun." He gestured to the
bike.
"A quick ride to the beach.
What's the
harm?"

If only he could get her there, the ocean would soothe her.
She'd always loved the scent of the sea and the breeze blowing against her. He
could see that she'd changed a lot. She'd become more sober and responsible.
But he was betting that the spontaneous girl he'd known back in high school was
still buried somewhere inside her.

"I don't know," she said.

 But she stared at the bike and he knew he'd won. She'd
always loved riding with him.

"Come on." He grabbed her hand and led her over to
his Harley. "You remember what to do, right?"

He tossed his helmet off the handlebars, lifted her, and
deposited her on the back of the seat. He climbed on in front of her, and
turned his head to say, "You don't mind riding without a helmet?"

"Does it matter if I do?" But she smiled, and her
eyes were beginning to sparkle.

"It's a short trip," he answered. "But you
have to wrap your arms around me, so you don't fall off."

Tentatively, she placed her hands on his waist.