The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane (Life in Icicle Falls) (22 page)

She darted to the bathroom, did a five-second tooth brushing, applied lip gloss and then spritzed on perfume. She was still wearing her work clothes, a black skirt and cream-colored sleeveless blouse, coupled with a pink cardigan. Not very sexy. She shed the sweater and undid the top couple of buttons on the blouse. There, that was better. Anyway, it was all she had time for. He was knocking on the door.

As she went to answer it, she rethought her dinner menu. Okay, forget leftovers. She’d broil some chicken, serve it with wild rice and a Caesar salad. She could make brownies for dessert.

The tavern was closed on Mondays. They’d have all evening together. She smiled as she opened the door. “Perfect timing. I was just trying to decide what to make for dinner.”

He didn’t return her
all is forgiven
smile. Something she’d sensed for one dangerous moment when she first saw her sister with Todd poked its ugly head out from the cubbyhole in her mind where she’d stuffed it. She pushed it back.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“You’re right.” She led the way to the couch where he’d kissed her so passionately. “I need to apologize for my behavior this weekend.” He was about to speak but she hurried on, hoping that if she talked fast enough and long enough he wouldn’t say what she knew he was going to say. “I was being insecure and bitchy. That’s not me, really.”

“I understand that,” he said.

She motioned for him to sit on the couch and joined him, sitting close, as if her physical nearness would keep him emotionally tied to her.

“Cec, this isn’t about anything you’ve done.”

She pulled away. “It’s my sister.” Bitterness was bleeding into her voice, making her sound small and petty.

He let out his breath in a hiss. “Yeah, it is. But this isn’t working between us. You know that.”

No, she didn’t. “It was working fine,” she insisted.

He shook his head “It just looked like it. Hell, I wanted it to work. But there’s something happening with Bailey, something different from what was going on with us. She and I are alike in a lot of ways. I think...” He hesitated as if afraid to continue.

“Go on,” Cecily said.
Don’t stop now. You’re on a roll.

“I think she could end up being my best friend.”

And
she
couldn’t? Cecily pressed her lips together and blinked back tears. Her throat was suddenly too tight for words to squeeze through. All she could do was nod. Rejected again.
The third time’s the charm? Three strikes and you’re out?

“I hate like hell to hurt you.” He let out his breath. “But I’d hurt you more in the long run if I kept trying to make this work. I want to stop the direction we’re going in while there’s still time to come out of this as friends.”

Friends, but not best friends. Certainly not friends with benefits. She’d had her chance for benefits, and she hadn’t taken it. If she had, they’d be solidly together now. Wouldn’t they?

She looked out her living room window, not seeing the pine and fir trees or the silhouette of Sleeping Lady Mountain. Instead, she saw herself alone again, still searching for her perfect man.

“I’m sorry, Cec. I really am,” Todd said, and she heard something in his voice she’d rarely heard—sincerity. Then he kissed her on the cheek and walked out the door.

So, just as her mother had predicted, the situation had resolved itself.

They should have left Bailey in L.A.

* * *

Todd had really stepped in it, falling for one sister and hurting another.

How had this happened? He’d wanted Cecily; he was crazy about Cecily.

But he had the terrifying suspicion that he was falling in love with Bailey. There was a connection building there that he couldn’t deny and an attraction that he was finding increasingly impossible to resist.

Yeah, Cecily had turned his crank, and he enjoyed being with her, liked letting his sarcastic side run rampant. But it was different with Bailey. Somehow, with her, he found himself being so much more genuine.

Whoa, there was a revelation. But it was true. Bailey admired his business acumen, appreciated the fact that he wanted to succeed. She didn’t look down on his seedy little tavern. In fact, when she was there, she fit with the place, the people. Whenever Cecily had come in, she’d always given the subtle impression that she was slumming—underestimating Henry’s financial worth, thinking the place sad when there weren’t any people in it. Okay, it wasn’t Zelda’s, but it wasn’t supposed to be. It was a guy hangout, no frills, no fuss. Just beer and pool, a game or two of darts—a place for locals. For guys who couldn’t afford an addition to their houses but still wanted a man cave to retreat to. He supposed he could have explained that to her, and yet, even if he had, he wasn’t sure she would’ve understood.

She was pissed at him now, but he’d done her a favor. He’d done them both a favor. They weren’t a fit. He should have realized it months ago, and if he hadn’t been so busy trying to prove to himself that he could get her, he would have seen that.

He remembered something his old man had once said.
Being with the wrong woman is like swallowing hot pepper sauce. It may taste good at first, but you’ll feel it later and it won’t be good coming out the other end.

He didn’t want that kind of misery for either of them.

And what if he’d been wrong about Bailey? What if he was misreading her? What if Cecily stayed pissed...at both of them? He had a sneaking suspicion that, even though he’d stepped away from the hot sauce, there was still misery in his future.

Chapter Eighteen

D
evon sat bolt upright in the futon bed where he’d been sleeping in his brother’s spare room. What time was it? He grabbed his cell phone and saw that he’d slept right through the clock alarm. This was his first day of work at Masters Construction, and he was due at seven. It was now ten to seven.
Shit, shit, shit!

He threw off the covers and dressed in under a minute. He brushed his teeth in record time, too, and pulled on his boots. Meanwhile, his brother was sleeping the sleep of the dead. Man, it had to be nice to set your own schedule.

He could have set his own schedule, had some sweet business investments, if he’d managed his money instead of burning through it. Not that he’d made a lot as an AAA player, but he’d made enough that he could have saved something. What a dumb shit. And now here he was, with a chance to start over, and he was friggin’ late. Double dumb. He raced out the door. Pedal to the metal and maybe he’d be only five minutes late to the construction site.

He put the address in his GPS and roared off down the street. He could make it. He hit Icicle Creek Road, a nice open stretch, and really floored it. And that was when the patrol car hidden behind a Willkommen in Icicle Falls sign came after him like the Batmobile and put on the flashing red light.

He swore and pulled over. Oh, yeah, this was what he needed, another run-in with the local cops.

He watched his rearview mirror and saw the same lady cop who’d hauled his ass off to jail after his fight with Todd get out of the patrol car and approach his truck. Oh, great.

He lowered the window and laid his head back against the headrest, awaiting his doom.

Now she was at his window. “Do you know how fast you were going?”

“Sixty.”

“And are you aware, sir, that the speed limit on this road is fifty?”

“I am now,” he said. “And can you please not call me ‘sir’? It’s not like we haven’t met. Or maybe you forgot.”

“I remember,” she said, stone-faced. “License and registration, please.”

He got both and passed them to her. “Fine. Just write me the ticket. Then maybe you can give me a police escort to work and tell Dan Masters that I tried to get to the site on time.”

“You’re working for Dan Masters?”

“This is my first day. My alarm didn’t go off.”

“You know that’s no excuse for speeding. You could have killed someone.”

“Yeah, there’s so many people on this road. Or I might have hit a squirrel.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you giving me lip?”

“I could think of a lot of things I’d like to give you, pretty lady, but lip isn’t one of them. Not when you’re in that uniform, anyway. Look, I deserve the ticket. Just hand it over.”

She nodded and went back to her patrol car, and Devon sat in his truck, seething. Of all the places to be patrolling, she had to pick this road. Why couldn’t she have been in town somewhere eating a doughnut?

Judging from that tight ass of hers, she didn’t eat doughnuts. Did she have a boyfriend? Probably. And he was probably even bigger and tougher than her.

Now she was back. “I’m giving you a warning this time, since you’re new in town. Don’t let me catch you speeding again.”

“No, ma’am,” he said. She started to walk away “Hey, Officer Friendly. You got a boyfriend?”

She frowned. “You been watching
Raising Arizona?
”

He grinned at her. “Nicolas Cage. I remember that movie.”

“This isn’t the movies,” she said and marched back to her patrol car.

Devon grinned.
She likes me.

Yeah, he thought later, once he was settled in at the building site and swinging a hammer. Maybe he’d stick around Icicle Falls for a while.

* * *

It was nearly noon, and Bailey was stocking shelves with exotic teas and jams when Todd walked in. “I see our merchandise made it,” he said.

“Yep.” All except the chocolate. The cash register and glass display case sat on the other side of the room. When they had their grand opening, that case would hold all manner of Sweet Dreams truffles, from their white chocolate rose truffle to the newest flavor, dark chocolate ginger.

She stepped back to admire her handiwork. Yes, it was starting to look like a real business. “Wait till I get my teapots and china mugs set out.”

“Then there’ll be way too much estrogen in the air for me,” he joked.

Today he was wearing jeans and a brown T-shirt decorated with a likeness of the Neanderthal that lurched across the outside of his tavern. Proud to Be a Neanderthal the shirt bragged. Todd could drag her back to his cave anytime and do whatever he wanted.

Stop that,
she scolded herself.
He’s not yours, and you’re going to be nothing but professional from now on.

She smiled a professional smile without an ounce of flirting in it. “It’ll work for our customers, though.”

“You’re doing a great job of pulling this together,” he said.

“I can hardly wait to see it filled with people.” She could already envision shoppers browsing through the fancy food items and picking out the perfect teapot, could see mothers and their little girls at those tables, enjoying a tea party, imagine girlfriends indulging in the chocolate tea she planned to serve or sisters meeting to sample her white chocolate–lavender scones.

Sisters. The pleasant vision curdled. Cec was still mad at her.

She’d get over it once she and Todd were engaged, but Bailey wasn’t sure how
she’d
feel. Her sister’s animosity still stung like a bad burn, and even though she wanted to patch things up, she didn’t know if they’d ever be able to regain what they’d lost.

And the idea of Todd with another woman was painful. She was so drawn to him, more strongly than she’d ever been drawn to Brandon. (Who would have thought that was possible?) How was she going to run a business with this man, go through the years watching him build a life with someone else, especially when that someone was her own sister? Pretty hard to avoid the happy couple when they’d all be sharing a table during the holidays.

She’d have to find a way, though. If Todd and her sister were meant to be, then that was that. She’d simply have to deal with it.

“So, you going to the street dance?” he asked casually.

The Fourth of July was only a few days away. The residents of Icicle Falls celebrated with parades and picnics and fireworks on the Wenatchee River at night. But the festivities started on the third with the street dance. People of all ages turned out to visit with each other, show off their dance moves and eat everything from hamburgers and corn on the cob to cotton candy. There’d been a lot Bailey had missed when she moved to L.A., and the street dance was right near the top of that list.

“I don’t know.” The last thing she wanted to do was hang around on the edge of the crowd and watch Todd and Cec swaying together to some romantic love song. “Are you and Cec going?”

His easy smile was replaced by the serious expression he wore when they were talking about budgets and profit margins. “Cec and I aren’t together anymore.”

Oh, no. Oh, yes! Oh, crud.
A tin of jasmine tea slipped from her hands and landed on the floor. She knelt to pick it up. “You’re not?”

He knelt, too. And the look he gave her was hot enough to boil a tea bag. “I think you can guess why.”

She wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him. No, she wanted to throw up. “I thought you might want to go,” he said, bringing them back to the subject of the dance.

She stood and took a step back. “You just broke up with my sister.” How could she go to the street dance with Todd when he’d just dumped Cecily?

This is what you’ve wanted,
she reminded herself. Except now that she had it, she didn’t want it so much. Guilt had erected an enormous wall between her and him.

He stood, too, and pulled her toward him. “I like your sister, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”

They’d been moving toward this like a leaf on the Wenatchee River being pulled along by the current. She’d felt drawn to him from the first time she saw him at Pancake Haus. Yet all she could say was “Poor Cec.”

“Poor all of us if I’d kept seeing her when I could feel the situation changing between you and me,” Todd said. “I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a hypocrite. I wanted Cec, but I’m not the right man for her. I can see that now. And I’m not going to ruin our lives by being with the wrong person. Growing up, I saw firsthand what happens when you do that. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, especially her.”

Everything he said made sense. Still, she hesitated.

“You think seeing us together is going to come as some big surprise to her?”

But Bailey continued to hesitate.

“Come on, Bailey,” he said gently. “I know this is awkward.”

Awkward? This was more than awkward. It was grand theft boyfriend. Cec would kill her.

“I really think something’s happening between us,” he said. “Let’s not screw it up.”

She looked into his eyes and thought,
Soul mate,
and the walls of resistance crumbled. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.” Fear of an ugly sisterly encounter encouraged her to add, “But can we wait until dark?”

* * *

“Are you doing the seven-layer dip for the Fourth again?” Samantha asked Cecily as they left Sweet Dreams Chocolates for lunch at Zelda’s.

The Sterling family gathered together for a barbecue to celebrate Independence Day every year. Since their mother had downsized, the location had been switched to Samantha and Blake’s house. The family would go to the parade in the morning, then explore the arts and crafts booths, returning midafternoon for a big meal and croquet on the lawn. This would be followed in the evening with snacks on the riverbank as they watched their fellow residents set off fireworks. Cecily had always been part of this family event. Even when she lived in L.A., she’d come home to spend the Fourth in Icicle Falls.

This year she had no desire to do that. Todd had dumped her and was probably making plans with Bailey. No way was she going to stay around for that. She’d already booked a flight to L.A.

“Actually, I’m not going to be here,” she said.

Samantha looked at her in shock. “You’re kidding.”

“A friend in L.A. invited me to come down there.” The truth was, she’d invited herself, but she preferred not to share that information.

Samantha frowned.

Cecily cut her off before she could say anything. “Right now I need some time away.” She could feel her sister’s assessing gaze. Humiliation infused her skin, heating her face.

“You and Todd broke up,” Samantha guessed.

“You could say that,” Cecily said, trying to keep her tone light. Darkness crept in, and she added, “Or you could say he dumped me.”

Samantha let out a long breath. “I think we need to start lunch with a Chocolate Kiss.”

Two Chocolate Kisses and a few bites of salad later, Cecily didn’t feel any better. Samantha had tried to keep the conversation on business, the latest book Cecily’s book club was reading, what she thought of the movie Cass had picked for their next girls’ movie night, anything but the subject of Cecily’s love life. It didn’t help.

“Tell me again why I came back here?” Cecily asked miserably.

“Because your life in L.A. sucked.”

“Oh, yeah. Now it sucks here, too. How special.”

At that moment Luke walked in with his mom and daughter.

“Cecily!” cried Serena, even as her grandmother admonished her to use her inside voice.

“I’m betting it doesn’t have to,” Samantha said in a low voice, and Cecily made a face at her.

Serena was the first to reach the table. “Miss Cecily, you know what? Grandma took me over to where Daddy works, but we didn’t get chocolate.”

“Well, we’ll have to fix that,” Cecily said.

Luke and his mother had arrived at the table now. “I think she likes coming to see you as much as she does getting chocolate samples,” Bernadette Goodman said to Cecily.

“When I grow up I’m going to work for you,” Serena informed her.

“What are you going to do?” Cecily asked.

“Sell chocolate.”

“You might want to run the company, like Samantha does,” Cecily said.

Serena cocked her head and studied Samantha, considering.

“Then you can eat all the chocolate you want,” Samantha told her.

“Okay,” Serena said, nodding. “I’ll do that.”

“Well, that settles that,” Samantha said. “Now we know who to leave the company to.”

“I get ice cream for dessert,” Serena confided. “And if I’m really good, Daddy’s going to take me to the street dance. Are you going to the street dance?”

“Not this time,” Cecily said, keeping her voice neutral.

“Other plans?” Luke asked casually.

“I’m going to see some friends in L.A.,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

“Oh,” he said, taking that in. It probably wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

Now Serena was tugging on her father’s arm. “Come on, Daddy. Let’s go eat.”

“Always lovely to see you,” Bernadette said to the sisters and led Serena away.

Luke lingered a moment longer. “So, you’re not going to be around for the Fourth,” he said, as if still trying to wrap his mind around this bit of information.

She shook her head.

“I need to...talk to Charley,” Samantha improvised, and she, too, scrammed, leaving Luke and Cecily on their own.

“Are things over with you and Black?” Luke asked.

She nodded. “It didn’t work out.”

“Cec,” he began.

“Don’t. Let’s not go there. Okay?”

He released a long, frustrated breath. “Fine. See you when you get back.”

She felt sure she wouldn’t see him around the office now that she’d shot him down again. But all she could think about was how much she still wanted Todd. God only knew why. And God only knew why she kept pushing away a man who cared about her. A man who was more than willing to give her that family she wanted.

“You’re an idiot,” she told herself. Why, oh, why couldn’t she feel the same electricity with Luke that she felt with Todd?