Love Charm for Carlotta (A Short Story in the Love Charm Series) (5 page)

"There's no need for trust between us, Jace." She
pulled away from him. "We've always been good together sexually." She
managed to huff out a small laugh. "We can see that hasn't changed. But we
don't need to make any more of it."

"I really hurt you, didn't I?" He spoke quietly,
the sound barely carrying through the silent night.

For a long moment, she couldn't speak. But she refused to be
cowed any more by her painful memories. She would conquer them, and move on
with her life. This episode had been a bad mistake, worse even than she'd
imagined. Having sex with Jace had bathed her in the emotional memories of
their shared past, memories she didn't want to revive.

But at least she could try to salvage her pride, even if
that was all she had left.

"Let's not dredge up the past, Jace." Her voice
was strong enough to strengthen her resolve. "We both need to live in the
present."

He peered into her face. "What about the future,
Carlotta?"

"The future will sort itself out." She met his
gaze. "Right now, you need to go."

He held her gaze for a long moment, then turned and picked
up his helmet and put it on. He swung his legs over his bike and then looked at
her as he sat there, his hands on the handlebars, his feet resting on the
driveway.

"You need some time to absorb what's happened
today," he said. "And I have some things to take care of."

He leaned forward. "But we're not done yet,
Carlotta."

He started up the bike, turned it in her driveway, and sped
off.

Carlotta closed her eyes, fighting the burning tears that
wanted to flow. She was done crying over that man.

But one fear refused to be ignored.

The love charm.

What if it had worked, and bound her to Jace?

Would she be forced to spend the rest of her life mourning him?

Carlotta woke up the next day with one fact beating in her
brain.

She had to figure out a way to reverse the love charm before
she saw Jace again. Of course, she'd sent him away, and he was probably gone
for good. But she had to be prepared, just in case he reappeared at some point.
She'd been through this whole scenario already.
Same guy.
Same heartache.
But – she would manage to achieve a
different outcome this time. It was time for her to be proactive with her life.

 She took advantage of a lull in the morning routine at
her little bakery in Vineyard Haven to call Ashley. The Blue Cupcake was in
good hands with her baker, Edith, crafting sweet pastries in the kitchen, and
Barbara handling the customers in the cafe.

After five or six rings, Ashley finally picked up.

"Hey, Carlotta," she said, "I hope you're
calling to tell me about your new love."

Carlotta groaned. "No, and why must you sound so
happy?"

Ashley giggled.
"Morning romp with
Army guy.
He just left for work."

"Ouch." Carlotta sighed. "But I'm happy for
you."

"So what's up with you? You sound down. Has anything
happened with the love charm?"

"It misfired."

Ashley laughed. "It's not a gun, you know."

"It's a lethal weapon, I'll tell you that."

"You have to give it time, Carlotta. Someone will come
along when you least expect it."

"No. You don't understand. A man has appeared in my
life, and
I
could fall in love with
him
. But
he
could never
fall in love with
me
."

"How do you know that?" Ashley sucked in a quick
breath. "Wait, is he married?"

"No."

"So what is the problem?" Ashley had her
schoolteacher voice on now.
Calm, controlled, the adult who
could fix anything.
"What's his name?"

"Jace Burton." Carlotta knew instantly she
shouldn't have answered that question. But the impulse was irresistible. She
wanted to say his name, to talk about him, to see him—everything. Oh, she was
in big trouble. She had to reverse the spell.

"The hockey player?"
Ashley whistled. "You know him?"

"Yeah," Carlotta said with a lady-like snort.
"The louse.
We grew up here on the Vineyard
together."

Ashley was silent for a moment. "You don't sound too
happy about that."

"Let's just say he was a love '
em
and leave '
em
type of guy and I'm not that type of
woman."

"How did he get back in your life?"

"He just showed up yesterday at my house."

Ashley laughed. "That sounds harmless enough. What
makes you think his appearance has anything to do with the love charm?"

"The way my heart is acting."

"Uh, oh.
That doesn't sound
good. Where is this heartthrob now?"

"In the wind."
The words
didn't come out with the careless vibe she'd hoped for.

"Carlotta! You slept with him."

Gee, had she been that obvious? "How can you say that,
Ashley? I just saw him yesterday for the first time in twelve years!"

"What does that have to do with anything? You know what
happened with me and Glen."

"That was different. He was a stranger to you."

"What kind of logic is that?" Ashley giggled.
"It's okay to sleep with a stranger the first time you see him, but not
with a friend?"

"Don't give me logic, Ashley. I need help."

"I guess so. I noticed you didn't deny sleeping with
him."

Carlotta hesitated. She wasn't a good liar and Ashley was
one of her best friends. More importantly, Ashley might be willing to help if
she knew how desperate Carlotta was.

"Okay," she said, on a long sigh. "I did
sleep with him, and he is gone. Happy?"

"
Oooh
, I'm sorry. Of course
I'm not happy. Are you sure he isn't coming back?"

"Replay my earlier statement about the 'love '
em
and leave '
em
guy'."
Carlotta's hand tightened on the phone. "Can you help me, Ashley?"

"Where'd you toss your love charm?"

"Into the moat at the deCordova
Carnevale."

"Hey! Glen's sister, Brenna, was at the Carnevale. Did
you see her?"

"I don't know her, remember? She was away for the weekend
when I stayed at your apartment." Carlotta and Ashley were friends from
their summer camp days as children and teenagers.  When Ashley had moved
to Boston, they'd re-connected immediately, but Carlotta didn't leave the
island much, and she'd never met Brenna.

"Well, Brenna found the love of her life after casting
her love charm spell there at the Carnevale. Cupid must have been busy that
night."

"It's not funny, Ashley." Carlotta pressed a hand
to her head, but the headache didn't budge. "I'm miserable right now. I
don't want to complain about your spell, but I think it landed on the wrong
man."

"I don't think Zara guarantees that your own true love
will be the person you intended it to be."

"Who's Zara?"

"She's the woman who cultivates the silver beans that
activate the spell."

"She must have an antidote." Carlotta could
scarcely breathe as she waited for an answer. "All spells have cures. It's
in the fairy godmother book or something."

"Look, you only cast the spell last weekend,"
Ashley pointed out. Ashley and her husband, Glen, had been in Massachusetts for
the weekend, visiting friends. Carlotta had gone to Boston to see them, and
stayed in the same hotel. That's when Carlotta and Ashley had hatched the plot.

"How can you already know," Ashley asked, "if
you've got a commitment-
phobe
on your hands? Why
don't you wait a couple weeks and see what happens?"

"I know this man is exactly the wrong person for
me," Carlotta said bitterly. "If your own true love is a jerk, you
can end up with a life full of heartache. What's the use of falling in love
with a man who can't love you back?"

"Okay, listen." Ashley heaved a big sigh that
echoed through the phone. "It's odd, but you're the second person who's
called today about reversing the spell."

"The second?
How many people
have you given the charm to, anyway?"

"This was one of Glen's Army buddies. I made him a
charm because he's head over heels for some woman who's ignoring him."

"So why does he want to reverse the spell?"
Carlotta listened to her own words,
then
shook her
head. Why was she worrying about some stranger?

"He didn't tell me why.
Said he
couldn't have mumbo jumbo messing up his plans."

"Never mind, Ashley.
The
question is
,
could you help him?"

"I called Zara for him." Ashley paused, and
Carlotta knew whatever Ashley had learned wasn't good. "Zara told me she
had an antidote, but only a small
amount,
and it was
extremely valuable."

"And?"

"And she wouldn't sell it for less than a million
dollars."

"A million dollars!
That's
absurd!"

"She said the love spell always works accurately, and
people shouldn't mess with it."

"Easy for her to say," Carlotta snapped.

"True," Ashley said, her tone meditative. "I
don't know anything about her love life, except she lives alone near the Cape
Cod National Seashore."

"If she hasn't been able to charm herself a happy love
life, how's she going to help me?"

"Carlotta, give it some time. Okay?"

Yeah. Carlotta sighed.
Time to grieve.
She'd have plenty of that.

Two weeks of misery convinced Carlotta that she was the world's
biggest fool. She'd spent fewer than 24 hours with Jace Burton, but she'd
managed to fall in love again, to be left again, and to plunge into sadness and
misery again. Every time the phone rang, she jumped. A new email made her
fingers tremble with eagerness. And, of course, she spent as much time as
possible at home, waiting to hear his motorcycle come roaring up.

When her alarm rang at 4 AM, Carlotta resolved that this
Saturday would have to be different. Memorial Day weekend was the start of the
summer tourist season, and the bakery would be busy. Busy enough to keep
Carlotta's mind occupied, especially because her usual waitress, Barbara, was
away at her son's wedding. Although she'd hired a college student to fill in,
Carlotta would have to work in the front of the shop. No more skulking in back,
burying her frustrations in pounding dough or beating butter and sugar into
sweetness.

Starting today, she had to be positive and upbeat, no matter
what.

She opened the back door of her shop, determined to greet
the day, and her customers, with a happy face. Her phone buzzed, and she fished
it out of her purse even as alarm flashed through her. No one would call at
this hour to chat.

"Carlotta!" The southern drawl that wailed through
the phone belonged to her baker, Edith. "
Dougie
fell out of bed in the middle of the night," Edith said. "He hit the
wooden rocking horse at the end of his bed, and we're at the Emergency Room
waiting for stitches."

"Oh, my God.
Is he all
right?"

"I think so.
Except for the blood
everywhere."

"Where's Edward?" Edith's husband was a rock.

"He's here. But he fainted when he saw all the blood.
He's not much use, I'm afraid. I need to stay at the hospital."

"Of course you do! I didn't mean that you should come
in to work. We'll be fine. You take care of
Dougie
."

Carlotta hung up and dropped the phone in her pocket.
So much for a new, positive outlook.
She was facing one of
the busiest days of the year with both of her valued employees absent.

For a dreadful moment, she wanted to burst into tears. What
had ever made her think she could be a successful business owner? She didn't
have enough capital, enough backup, or enough entrepreneurial spirit. Her
shoulders sagged.

The back door opened. Her new college employee, Maria Cruz,
slipped through the door. "I heard about
Dougie
Smithson."

Carlotta gaped at her. "You did?"

"My mom is a doctor at the ER. She was on call last
night."

"Is
Dougie
okay?"

Maria nodded. "Mom wasn't worried about him. But she
called to say you might need me early."

Carlotta stepped forward, hugged Maria, and said,
"Bless you and your mom. I think you've saved my life."

Maria smiled shyly. "I know I can't take Barbara's
place. But I'm a hard worker."

"Let's get started." Carlotta surveyed her kitchen
with new heart. The ovens gleamed, her implements were all lined up neatly,
her
pre-mixed
doughs
were waiting
in the fridge. She'd accomplished all of this, planned everything to the last
detail, invested carefully with her inheritance, and she already had a loyal
clientele.

She had every reason to be proud of herself, and she refused
to be defeated.

Two hours later, when the first customer walked through the
front door, they were somewhat ready to do business. Carlotta sent Maria out to
man the counter. Someone had to be in the back, baking all morning to keep up
with the crowd.

But by 8 o'clock, the situation was spinning out of control.
This was Maria's first day on the job. She simply couldn't process orders fast
enough. Carlotta hustled in to load a counter tray with her
fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns. But the line was out the door, and
stretching down the block for as far as she could see. On the one hand, that
was good. On the other, a
dissatisfied
customer was a
sign of failure.