Mythe: A Fairy Tale (26 page)

R
elaxed and exhausted, Manda slept soundly for the first time in weeks. She wasn’t sure how long the pounding on her front door lasted before it finally roused her. She sat up, bleary-eyed and disoriented. Bright sunlight peaked around the edges of her bedroom curtains. The urgent knocking on the door continued and Manda wrapped a blanket around herself and hurried down the stairs.

“Manda?” she heard Richard’s muffled voice call through the door, followed by more knocking. Manda quickly unlocked the door and flung it open.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, alarmed.

Richard gripped her by her shoulders and examined her anxiously. “Are you all right? Is everything okay?”

“Yes! I’m fine. What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

“I’ve been calling you all morning. Why didn’t you answer?” he asked, wrapping her in a relieved embrace.

“I didn’t hear the phone,” she answered, confused. “Your knocking just woke me up. What time is it?”

“It’s almost ten o’clock. You were supposed to meet me at eight. I got worried. You’re never late.

“Ten o’clock!” Manda exclaimed. “How could I have overslept that long?”

Richard reached inside the door and flipped the entry light switch up and down to no effect. “You don’t have any power. I think it’s out on the whole block. Are all your phones cordless?”

“Yes,” Manda confirmed, “and I left my cell phone in my purse.” She sighed. “The backup battery in my alarm clock must be dead. But still, how could I have slept for over twelve hours?”

“Can I come in?” Richard asked, fingering a corner of the blanket Manda had wrapped around herself. “You’re not really dressed for the cold.”

“Of course. Come on in.” Manda backed up to give him room to enter. “You scared me to death. I couldn’t imagine who would be beating on my door like that first thing in the morning.”

“Then we’re even. When you were late, I was a little concerned; when you wouldn’t answer the phone I was worried; but when you didn’t answer the door...” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You were really worried, weren’t you?” she asked in wide-eyed wonder as she gestured toward the living room. “Come in and sit down.” Manda perched on the edge of her favorite over-sized armchair, pulling the blanket tightly around herself. Richard sat across from her on the matching ottoman.

“Of course I was worried. There are much worse things that could happen to you than just having your picture splashed all over the internet.”

“Like what?” Manda muttered ironically, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Richard.

“You’re a beautiful young woman living alone. I can imagine enough worse things to keep me awake for a year...without even trying! I should get you a dog—a
big
dog! If you still want to go out and grab something to eat, why don’t you go get ready while I let Josh know you’re okay.”

Manda agreed readily. “What are we going to do today? What should I wear?”

“Would you enjoy a drive in the mountains?” he suggested. “We could go exploring. You could show me some of your favorite places.”

“Definitely. I’ll only be a minute.” Manda hopped up from the chair and hurried upstairs, the blanket trailing on the floor behind her. Within fifteen minutes she was ready to go, dressed in jeans and a thick, soft, sapphire colored sweater, with her hair pulled back in a loose French braid. As she emerged from her closet with her favorite pair of worn leather hiking boots, she noticed the alarm clock on her nightstand flashing twelve o’clock. She skipped down the stairs in her socks with her boots in hand.

“The power’s back on!” She beamed at Richard, who was sitting in her favorite chair.

“I saw a power company truck down the street.” He looked her over and smiled appreciatively. “That was quick, and you look amazing. Of course, you looked amazing right out of bed and wrapped in a blanket, too.”

“Thank you! I’m ready to go as soon as I get my shoes on. We’ll need to stop and fill my car up with gas. I don’t think there’s much in there.” Manda sat down on the edge of the sofa and quickly donned her boots.

“Actually, I was hoping we could take my new car,” Richard stated nonchalantly.

“You bought a new car? Since last night?” Manda asked incredulously.

“It’s a lease and Josh picked it out. That’s what he and Mikey did yesterday—got us all cars, since we’re going to be here for a while.”

“What is it?” Manda asked eagerly, standing and retrieving her coat from the closet. So, they were planning on staying for a while. She could almost sing with happiness—except that she couldn’t carry a tune.

“A Porsche,” he sighed. “Josh has a weakness for flashy cars. I have more traditional tastes.”

Manda stopped in her tracks. “Maybe we should take mine then. It’s been snowing in the mountains and I’ve got four-wheel drive.”

“Oh, I think we’ll be okay,” Richard assured her with a playful glint in his eyes. “Come on. You’ll see.” He helped her with her coat, and then followed her out the door, locking it behind them.

The car at the curb was not at all what Manda had expected. Instead of a sleek, low-slung sports car, there stood a sleek, midnight blue SUV.

“That’s a Porsche?” Manda asked dubiously. Richard led her around to the front of the car and pointed to the distinctive Porsche emblem. Manda laughed. “I didn’t even know Porsche made a four-wheel drive.”

“Well, it seems they do, and when I asked Josh to get me something that would be good in the snow, this is what he came home with. What do you think?”

“Well, I love the color,” Manda hedged. The car seemed perfectly nice, but she was sure the finer points were wasted on her. Cars just weren’t something she was that interested in.

Richard laughed loudly as he walked Manda around the car and opened the passenger door for her. “I’ll tell Josh you like the blue. He picked it out especially for you. He said it would go well with your eyes!”

“He did not! You’re making that up!” Manda challenged.

“No, I’m not. That’s what he said. Scout’s honor!” He closed her door and quickly circled the car to slide into the driver’s seat. He leaned across and kissed her slowly before settling back into his seat with a contented sigh. “Where to, my lady? Where shall we dine?”

Manda sat dazed for a few breathless and giddy moments before she could answer. It was, she decided, going to be a very good day.

Chapter 18

T
he week that followed felt like a dream to Manda. Richard seemed determined to make up for the time he’d lost while he’d been away, and they were practically inseparable. He devoted himself to her entertainment and amusement. For the first time Manda was able to fully appreciate the meaning of the expression “swept her off her feet,” because he quite thoroughly did just that. They went to movies, museums, concerts, and restaurants. Richard refused to let her cook at all, and they ate out most of the time. Sometimes they had take-out, and a few times they ordered in and watched movies, curled up on Manda’s sofa. Even then, he refused to let her lift a finger to make popcorn, sending her back to the sofa with an accusing look and then doing it himself. That’s not to say, however, that her kitchen went unused. On Friday night he declared that he was going to make dinner. He invaded her kitchen enthusiastically and turned out to be an excellent cook. Manda’s poorly disguised surprise amused him.

“I was taking care of myself long before I got dragged into this life of hotels and room service, you know,” he informed her.

They existed in their own private world, and Manda didn’t see her family or her other friends all week. She tried to work up a shred of guilt for neglecting everyone so thoroughly, but the attempt was frail and fleeting. She didn’t know when she would awake from this dream, and she couldn’t make herself regret a minute of it while it lasted.

When she returned to work on the following Monday, Manda was relaxed, rested, happy…and looking forward to the upcoming long Thanksgiving weekend.

“Back for three days and then a four-day weekend? You’re really turning into a slacker, M,” David had complained, but his welcoming smile had belied his criticism. A short time later, when Richard and Josh arrived, she overheard his comment to the former. “Your company obviously agrees with our little Manni.”

“Her company most definitely agrees with me as well,” Richard replied with a wink for Manda as she came out of her office to greet him. David just chuckled.

“Before I forget, M, do you mind if I leave at noon on Wednesday? Stacey and I are flying out to her parents’ and we have an early flight.”

“That’s fine. You know it’ll be completely dead around here anyway,” Manda assured him.

“Are you going to Emily and Andy’s for Thanksgiving again this year?” David probed. He knew she usually did, but a telling glance toward Richard explained his question. Would her new relationship with Richard alter her plans?

“Of course,” she replied. “Richard and Josh are coming too.” She’d been a little nervous about inviting them at first, sure they must already have other plans. When she finally brought it up, Richard had confirmed that they did traditionally spend the holidays with their cousins, Sarah and Daniel, but this year the two were out of the country. He and Josh would be in Denver for Thanksgiving and planned to eat in their hotel room. Manda immediately insisted that they join her at Emily’s and Richard had gladly accepted the invitation.

Manda had invited Mikey to join them as well, but he was going to spend Thanksgiving with his own family and had, in fact, left Saturday morning for an extended holiday.

Manda was prepared to play catch-up during the few days they would be in the office this week, but it turned out that David had coped quite well without her during her absence. He’d managed to wrap up almost all of their projects and so Thanksgiving week was slow and quiet. There was typically a lull over the holidays, with not many new projects coming in between Thanksgiving and New Years, so, with Curt’s blessing, Manda, Richard, Josh, and David indulged in late breakfasts and long lunches during the abbreviated week. Curt closed the office early on Wednesday as well, so Manda ended the week feeling as if she hadn’t done any work at all.

Thanksgiving Day was festive, and Richard and Josh’s presence seemed natural among Emily and Andy’s extended family. Katie, of course, had been thrilled when Manda called to make sure Emily didn’t mind the two additions to the guest list. Emily had taken it in stride.

“Of course it’s okay. You know your friends are always welcome.”

Manda hadn’t yet filled her family in on developments between Richard and herself—it was all so new and unreal, and she superstitiously didn’t want to jinx it. They figured it out quickly enough though, especially after Emily and Katie walked in to discover Manda and Richard sneaking a kiss in the kitchen.

Emily cleared her throat when she entered, causing Manda to jump guiltily.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the older woman announced with a grin, “but it’s time to eat. Could one of you bring those dinner rolls?” She picked up a bowl of mashed potatoes and left again, followed by the widely smiling Katie. When they were gone, Richard smiled down at Manda’s pink cheeks.

“Will you get the third degree later?”

“Probably not. Emily tries to respect my privacy. They’re both probably dying for details though. I suppose I should fill them in.” Manda grinned impishly. “Eventually.” She picked up the requested rolls and led the way to the dining room.

Manda didn’t have a chance to leave her sister hanging for long. The next morning she was up shopping with her at an indecent hour of the morning. Emily always tried to shop as many of the Black Friday sales as she could, and Manda was her shopping companion of choice...mostly because she couldn’t convince anyone else to go with her.

“Why do I let you talk me into this every year?” Manda complained good-naturedly as she carried two over-sized shopping bags to Emily’s car.

“Oh, you love it,” her sister insisted as she struggled to find her keys in her purse while fumbling with two more huge shopping bags. All four bags were hers—Manda was convinced that Emily didn’t want her company on these shopping expeditions as much as she wanted her services as a porter.

“Well, at least I’m getting my workout for the week,” Manda groaned as she hefted her load into the back of the car and wiggled her numb fingers, trying to restore circulation.

“Have you finished your shopping already?” Emily asked as they slid into the car after stowing her purchases.

“Almost,” Manda answered casually, concentrating much more than necessary on buckling her seatbelt. “I still need to get something for Richard. I just don’t know what yet.”

Emily’s eyebrows rose fractionally and one corner of her mouth twitched up the tiniest bit, but she started the car and pulled out of the parking spot before speaking again.

“Should I be expecting Richard and Josh for Christmas?”

Manda searched through the stations on the radio until she found one playing Christmas music. She adjusted the volume and then sat back with a sigh.

“I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it yet. I’d like to invite them if it’s okay with you. They might already have plans with their family though.”