The Break-Up Psychic (24 page)

“That girl, I’ll tell you. She just needs some encouragement is all,” Brook says, smiling widely at the vendors setting up their tents. “Have you spoken to Carly yet?”

“No, but she’s been shooting nasty looks at the tent since I got here.”

“Just ignore her,” Brook says, waving a hand in the treat tent’s direction. “She’s just jealous is all. We were in high school together, you know. She thought she was ‘all that,’ captain of the
cheerleadin
’ squad and
datin
’ Jimmy Husbands. Of course, now she looks like a
bowlin
’ pin with a mustache.”

“I take it the two of you still aren’t friends?”

“Oh,
darlin
’, our role as enemies was cemented the day I let Jimmy feel me up in the back of his dad’s Oldsmobile.”

I look over toward Carly’s tent and, sure enough, she’s shooting a venomous stare at Brook. “And Jimmy Husbands?”

“She married the fool, if you can believe it. I see him time to time down at the VFW. He’s lost some hair and he’s carrying a spare-tire around the middle, but every time he sees me, he gives me a big
ol
’ grin. Drive’s Carly crazy.” Brook smiles widely at me and winks one heavily-shadowed eye.

Brook and I make short work of setting up the rest of the display while Amber continues to linger at the back of the tent in a silent protest.

“Now, when people come up to the booth, offer them a taste test of these powders here in the front,” says Brook.

“No way. I’m not letting some pervert lick me so I can sell a nine-dollar container of body powder, Brook.” Amber stalks up to the front of the tent, her expression wild and dangerous.

“No one said anything about licking you, Amber. They’re going to be using their own wrists for the taste tests, not ours.”

“Maybe an exception can be made.” Tim’s long shadow falls over me, the sound of his voice startling the three of us.

“Tim, you scared me,” I say, holding my hand to my chest.

Amber makes a disgusted noise and turns away from the table. Brook, on the other hand, lights up like a Christmas tree and looks Tim up and down in open appreciation. He’s wearing a crisp white polo shirt and neatly pressed khaki pants. Gorgeous, as always.

“Well, hey there, Tim. How you
doin
’?” Brook asks, leaning over the table so her leathery breasts are on full display.

“Brook, Amber,” Tim acknowledges with a nod to each. “I was just setting up our tent and I couldn’t help but notice Ellie here in this…delectable outfit.”

I blush under Tim’s flattery and resist the urge to cover myself in his presence. His eyes linger on my exposed stomach and I feel a mixture of repulsion and excitement. Why can’t anything ever be black and white when it comes to him?

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment,” says Brook. “These two have been belly-aching about these uniforms for weeks, so it’s good to hear they’re being appreciated.”

“Well, I definitely appreciate them.” Tim gives Brook a raunchy smile and fingers the honey-flavored powder open in front of him. “What’re these?”

“They’re flavored body powders, our newest hot item. That honey flavor’s Ellie’s favorite. Would you like to have yourself a little taste test?”

“No need,” says Tim, looking fixedly at me with blue eyes made heavy by lust. “I’ve already tasted this particular flavor, and I have to say, I’m a fan.”

I’m stricken with embarrassment and stand, unmoving, under the heat of his gaze.

“But maybe Ellie would like to help me test another flavor. I’ve always had a weakness for chocolate.”

“She can’t.” Amber’s voice rings loud and unnatural and we all look, startled, to the back of the tent. “I mean, she can’t help you with that flavor because I’m in charge of the chocolate.”

Amber’s hands go to the collar of the trench coat and hesitate just a moment before grabbing the heavy material and heaving it off her shoulders. The coat lands in a puddle at her feet and for a few seconds we’re all too stunned to say a word. Amber’s porcelain skin is everywhere. The snug midriff baring t-shirt reveals perky, ample breasts. Her arms are long and graceful, but it’s her legs that I can’t take stop looking at. I’ve never seen Amber’s legs. They’re always incased in thick black fabric. The sight of her well-defined thighs just below the tight pink shorts is mesmerizing.

“Good Lord almighty. I wasn’t expecting that.” Brook reaches out a hand to Amber as though she wants to touch her and make certain she’s real.

Amber walks catlike toward us, her black boots a sexy contrast to the ultra-feminine uniform. I look at Tim who’s openly eyeballing Amber’s chest and utter a relieved sigh, glad for the distraction.

“So, how about it, Tim? You still want that taste test?” Amber brings up the chocolate powder’s puff, and shakes the shimmering substance across one wrist, never taking her eyes off Tim’s transfixed face.

“Uh…” Tim begins to smile but confusion quickly clouds his eyes. He blinks and looks stupidly in my direction then brings his hand up, wiping the smile from his face. “I’m flattered, really, but I think I’ll have to decline for now.”

Amber drags a finger across her wrist and slowly inserts it into her mouth, licking the chocolate powder from her skin. A short, high giggle escapes my mouth as I watch Amber’s ministrations with the powder. She’s saved me from Tim.

“Well, let me know if you change your mind,” she says, slinking to the back of the tent again.

The three of us remain silent, amazed by what we’ve just witnessed. Tim recovers first, taking a step backward and away from the temptress in the black boots. “I guess I better get back over to the boys at the bank,” he says to me and takes another backward step. “I’ll stop back by later, bring you one of the teddy bears we’re giving away to new customers.”

“Well, that’s sweet!” interrupts Brook. “Don’t forget to bring one for me too, handsome.”

“Anything for a sexy lady like you,” he says, his charm sliding neatly into place. “Bye, Ellie.”

“Bye.” I start to raise my hand but stop midway and bring it around my back instead. As I watch Tim return to his tent, I take a deep breath, releasing the anxiety that overtook me during his visit. Little by little that feeling of loss and hurt that erupts every time I see him is dwindling. Of course some of the credit for that must go to Sam. When I’m with Sam, Tim seems like a distant memory. Well,
when
I was with Sam.

I turn away from the oncoming line of fair-goers and see Amber looking at me. “Thank you,” I mouth softly to her.

Amber gives a barely perceptible nod and walks out of the side of the tent, a cigarette ready in one hand. I join Brook at the long table and watch as the families and young couples begin their perusal of the booths lining the interior of the fairground. I search the crowd for a sign of Sam and then immediately will him not to show up. I’ve made so many bad calls with love, it’s really better that things with Sam didn’t go further. I can get over an almost-love. It’s the head-over-heels kind that crushes me. The problem is, Sam was something in the middle.

The thick humidity of the day is quickly turning me into an unwitting participant in a wet t-shirt contest. Four hours into the fair and we’ve sold so much of the flavored body powders, Brook’s had to start taking orders to be filled at the shop next week. I look down to the far end of the table where Amber’s transfixed a group of high school boys by performing a very inappropriate taste test on herself. As a reward to the person who could sell the most marshmallow-flavored powder, our worst selling product, one of us will get to leave the festival an hour early tonight. Amber has seized on this opportunity with a vigor I’ve never seen before. When her pink tongue darts out to slowly lick away the sparkly-white powder from her wrist, I know I’m beaten.

“I’ll tell you what,” whispers Brook as she positions herself beside me at the makeshift cash register, “that girl is the best salesman I’ve ever seen. You just need to know how to motivate her.”

“And how do you motivate her at the shop?” I ask, watching as each of the pimply-faced boys digs into his pocket to hand over cash for the foul-tasting body powder.

“I let her use the storeroom for her occult book club every other Thursday night.”

“You do that?”

“Sure, and let me tell you what, those weirdoes love the pricey organic creams. I’ve made a fortune selling patchouli-scented bubble bath to them.”

Brook moves along the table to assist an elderly woman with some rose-scented bath talc, and I take a moment to step out of the stuffy tent and move into the throng of people. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I turn my head in the direction of Tim’s booth. He’s handing a small brown teddy bear to a young girl, his dazzling smile hypnotizing her parents. The father’s holding a clipboard in his hands and is nodding enthusiastically at something Tim’s just said. The poor man’s probably selling his soul and doesn’t even realize it.

My gaze is interrupted when a passerby nearly spins me sideways. I look around, ready to give the careless walker a piece of my mind, when my eyes land on Sam. He’s approaching the booth from the other direction and slows his pace when he sees me. I freeze, caught off-guard by his presence. He looks drool-worthy in his standard well-worn jeans and white t-shirt, but he’s added a black leather biker’s vest, and the combination of sexy and dangerous makes my mouth water.

“You got a minute?” he asks, his voice deep and his eyes serious.

A vision of Roxy and the shiny mane of hair hanging down her back as she stood between Sam’s legs floods my vision. I drop my eyes to the ground and try to control the feeling of nervous hurt churning in my stomach. “Sorry, but we’re actually pretty busy right now. I think I should stay and help Brook with the tent.”

Brook, her gossip sense as sharp as a third eye, shouts out, “Don’t you worry about a thing,
darlin
’! Go on and take a break. Amber and I can handle things here for a while.” Her smile looks sincere enough, but I’m not buying it for a minute. Brook lives for this kind of drama.

I look at Sam. His feet are firmly planted in the grass and he’s wearing a stern expression that makes me feel like I’m being summoned to the principal’s office.

“I tried calling you. Did you get my messages?”

I stub the toe of my sneaker into the dusty grass, squashing the angst building inside me. “Yeah, sorry. I guess I’ve been pretty busy lately.”

“Ellie,” Sam starts, his hand reaching for my arm.

I take a quick step back, away from him, and watch as hurt crosses his face. He retracts his hand and shoves it through his thick hair, dropping his chin. I rub the spot on my arm his hand was reaching for and try to will away the phantom tingling from his almost-touch.

“Sorry, I just…” I start.

“Listen, I’m not here to bother you. I just want a chance to explain some things.”

I look up at his handsome face, and the somberness there confuses me. Three days ago I caught him looking pretty cozy with his ex-fiancé, so why am I finding it so hard to just turn him away? A little girl runs into my leg, and I’m suddenly aware that we’re standing in the middle of the lane. I look around us and catch Tim staring at me. Unlike Sam’s quiet, thoughtful expression, Tim’s brow is creased and his concentrated stare is trained on me and the tall biker at my side.

I’ve got to get Sam out of Tim’s line of sight. “Why don’t we go over there?” I point to the small manmade alley between the Bath Shop’s booth and that of Carly’s Sweet Treats.

“Lead the way.” Sam motions for me to walk ahead of him, and I sidestep the pockmarked high-
schoolers
who’ve secured Amber’s early night off. I shoot Amber a furtive glance as we pass, and her eyes move skeptically between Sam and me.

“Well,” I say, turning to face Sam in the small space, “what did you come here to explain?”

He’s much closer to me than I’ve anticipated. The space between the tents is barely wider than Sam himself, and he’s standing so near me, his shadow covers me in shade. His proximity, the heat of the day, and the sheer weariness that has dogged me since seeing him at the bar with Roxy has me close to tears. I take a deep breath and wrap my arms around myself, waiting for him to explain how he could break my trust after promising me he would never break my heart.

“I should’ve told you about Roxy.”

“Yes, you should have.”

He shakes his head and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I knew when you saw me with her at the bar the other night that you’d gotten the wrong idea.”

I snap my head up and let my eyes meet his fully for the first time. “Gotten the wrong idea? I caught you and your ex-fiancé, the woman you were going to marry, practically snuggling in the back of a bar while you were ignoring my calls, by the way. What idea should I have gotten?” I’m not sure where all of this anger is coming from, but I’m so mad at him for disappointing me, I can’t help but spit the words at him.

“For a start, Roxy and I haven’t seen one another in well over a year now. I didn’t even know she was in town until she showed up at my house that morning.”

“She came to your house? The same morning you were trying to get me into the shower with you?”

“It’s not like that,” he cautions, raising his hands in surrender. “She stopped by after you left to let me know she’s back in town. I thought it was better to have our little catch up at The Cavern than at my place so I asked her to meet me there after work.”