Sticks and Stones (2 page)
Authors: Kerrie Dubrock
Max
frowned, “But you just got here!”
“Yeah,
I know, but I have a ton of sketches to work on and I didn’t think about that
when I promised Blake I’d meet you two for a drink.”
“All
work and no play makes Gracie a boring girl,” Blake teased.
She
hugged them both briefly and meandered her way through the crowd. She got
caught up in a group of people and when she turned to go around them, she ran
smack dab into a brick shithouse.
* * *
Rick
had to grab her shoulders to keep her from falling. When he looked down, a
lovely shade of red covered her cheeks.
“Why
hello,” he murmured.
Grace
tried to form words, but couldn’t.
Holy shit! The guy’s tall! And
good-looking to boot!
Hazel eyes bore into her brown eyes waiting for her
response.
“Hi,”
she replied breathily. “Um, thanks for catching me.”
A
slow grin formed on his lips. “My pleasure.” He glanced around and brought his
mouth to her ear. “Would you like to dance?”
His
warm breath against her ear made her feel things that she ought not to feel
with a stranger. She pulled away quickly. “Thank you, but I was just leaving.”
He
rubbed his jaw and frowned. Grace rolled her eyes. “Okay, one dance.”
* * *
Rick
took her hand and led her to the dance floor. He laughed when he saw Freddie
Waters, Emily’s cousin, on stage. They nodded at each other as the band, Double
Exposure, began the song
Wicked Game
. Rick was grateful it was a slow
song.
Grace’s
eyes were everywhere but on her dance partner. Her stomach flipped when she
caught him staring at her. When she turned her head to watch the other dancers
he gently tugged her chin to face him.
“I
like to look at my dance partner, if ya don’t mind,” he said silkily.
A
slow grin slid across her face. It’d been a long time since someone flirted
with her and well, dammit, she liked it.
Rick
pulled her so that her head rested against his chest. She snuggled closer and
inhaled his cologne as they moved slowly around the dance floor.
They
were still dancing long after the song ended.
“Um,
couple number one on the dance floor?” Freddie Waters said into the microphone.
Rick
stopped dancing and spun Grace towards the bandstand.
“Yeah,
you,” Freddie laughed. “We’re going to take a break, but we’ll put some music
on so you can continue dancing.”
Grace
blushed and pulled away from Rick. “How embarrassing!”
“We’re
not the only ones on the dance floor,” he grinned.
“Yeah,
but we were the only ones still dancing.”
Rick
lifted a shoulder. An up tempo song began and he took her hand. “How about
another dance?”
Grace
cocked her head, shot him a wicked grin and began rolling her shoulders.
Rick
grabbed her by the hips and moved seductively against her. Not one to be
outdone, she gave as well as she got.
The
dance floor suddenly got crowded, forcing them closer together.
A
few people danced by them and said their hellos to the hunk of man dancing with
her.
Must be a regular here,
Grace mused.
Rick
nodded hastily to the fans. Usually he’d stop and talk, but there was something
unique about the woman in his arms and he didn’t want to risk her running off.
Grace
eyed him thoughtfully. His sandy blonde hair was wavy and rested against the
top of his shoulders. He had incredible dimples on either side of his smile and
warm, flirtatious hazel eyes. Damn, she could easily go home with him and not
feel a bit guilty about doing it.
* * *
A
ballad began and Rick lifted his eyebrows to her. She giggled and placed her
head against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her.
They
moved slowly around the crowded dance floor, pausing occasionally to look at
each other.
Grace
smiled at him. It was a pleasure dancing with someone who seemed to truly enjoy
it as much as she did. Ben wasn’t much of a dancer and only did it under
duress. The tight-ass prick.
* * *
Rick
couldn’t understand it. Usually by now, he’d be carting the chick back to his
condo.
She
was different then the others. She was classy and damn! She could dance!
A
fast paced song began to play and she turned her back on him and shook her
fanny.
He
grinned and came up behind her, placing his palm on her stomach, gyrating his
hips against the small of her back. She reached for his right hand and placed
it on her hip.
Grace
leaned the back of her head against his chest and moved against him.
He
spun her around, wanting to see her face.
She
slid a sexy grin at him and looked away.
Rick
grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him.
When
he had her attention he brought his mouth to her ear. “Am I that ugly?”
She
flushed. “Not at all. In fact, some would say your looks are disarming.”
His
cheek lifted. “Back at ya, sweetheart.”
A
slow blush crept from her neck to her cheeks, causing Rick to frown. “Hasn’t
anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” he murmured.
She
patted his chest and sighed. “Okay, you’ve apparently had way too many drinks
fella. Thanks for dancing with me.”
When
she tried to pull away, his hand grasped hers tighter. “I’m not drunk and I’d
like to know your name.”
Grinning
sweetly while removing her hand from his, she pulled away and over her shoulder
replied, “My name’s Not Interested.”
* * *
After
Rick signed several autographs he walked woodenly to Blake and Max’s table.
Blake’s
eyebrows knitted together. “Ricky? Are you okay?”
Rick
pulled out the black lacquered chair and sat, a befuddled expression covered
his face. “I just met the most incredible woman.”
Blake’s
lips pursed and he rolled his eyes. “Again?”
“Whaddya
mean? I’ve never said that before,” Rick huffed.
Max
watched the brothers with unease and drank his beer quickly. He had a feeling
things were about to get ugly.
“Ricky,
you really need to settle down. Find yourself a nice girl instead of whoring
around.”
Rick
leaned over the table, close to Blake and growled. “Listen, ass hat, I just
told you that I met an incredible woman. I’ve not had that feeling since
Taylor, so back the fuck off!”
“Then
why are you sitting with us and not with her?” Blake snorted.
“Because
she wasn’t as charmed by me as I was of her,” Rick clucked sadly.
“Not Interested?” scolded
Jessica Robertson, proprietor of Magickal Botanicals.
Grace rubbed her temples with
her fingertips and groaned. “I’m not the type to pick-up guys in a bar.
Besides, he took me off guard.”
Jessica brushed
her blonde hair from her face. “Was it him that took you off guard or the
feelings he stirred in you?”
“I don’t know,”
she shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s not likely that I’ll ever run into
him again.”
While Jessica gathered the
herbs from Tilda’s list, Grace perused the selection of herb plants along the
wooden tables. “You’ve come a long way, Jessica.”
Jessica’s head cocked. “Huh?”
Grace waved a
hand. “From taking a semester of Herbology to this.” She smiled widely at her
friend. “I’m so happy at all you’ve accomplished in such a short time!”
“Well between
you and Michael encouraging me, there was no way I’d fail.”
“I think it was
clever of you to not only sell herb plants, but also the dried products as
well. Very handy for us witches,” Grace grinned.
Jessica
gathered several little muslin sacks of herbs and brought them to a highly
polished wooden counter near the register. “Did I tell you I was seeing a
hypnotherapist?”
Grace slipped
onto the wooden stool at the counter. “Yes, have you found out anything?”
“It’s all so
confusing sometimes,” Jessica replied with a scrunched face. “You’re already
aware that Michael and I knew each other in a past life.” Grace nodded and
Jessica continued, “Well, my doctor performs past-life regression and I’ve been
very receptive, or so he says. Anyway, in my previous life I had an herb garden
and sold herbs to doctors in the area. Children used to call me a witch because
of it,” Jessica frowned.
Grace’s face
paled. “What time period, Jessica?”
“It was the
mid-1800’s. Hey, you okay?”
“Phew! I thought
you were going to say the late 1600’s,” Grace shivered.
Jessica
laughed, “Sorry. Anyway, I think in some way I did practice Wicca then. In
fact, I’m beginning to wonder if I cast a spell on Caleb, I mean Michael, back
then.”
“What kind of
spell?”
“A love spell,”
Jessica replied ashamedly.
Grace placed a
hand on Jessica’s shoulder. “Jess, even if you did cast a spell back then, it
wouldn’t have been strong enough to carry through to this lifetime.”
Jessica’s brows
lifted. “Are you sure?”
“Definitely! So
quit worrying! Be happy with what you have with Michael. It’s rare to find such
a love.”
“I was so worried!”
Jessica beamed and gave her friend a hug. “So, what about you? Can you cast a
spell to find this hot guy again?”
“I’m sure I could, but
I’d rather let fate handle this,” Grace smiled.
* * *
“Ugh! I can’t
believe I let her walk out on me!” Rick chastised himself the next day.
He stomped
around his high-rise condo, agitated at the lack of sleep he received because
all his dreams centered around her. He ran a hand through his thick,
unruly hair. Suddenly, a smile formed on his lips.
“Brice? Hey,
let’s hang out tonight,” Rick murmured into the phone. “Yeah, I know a great
place.”
Rick had a gut
feeling she’d be there tonight.
* * *
“Aw! C’mon
Blake! Go with me to the bar!” Grace whined into the phone.
“Jeesh! What is it with you
and my brother?”
“Huh?”
“Well last night after you
left, my brother showed up and prattled on about some brunette that he danced
with.”
Grace giggled.
“So what’s wrong with that?”
Blake pursed
his lips. “Well, for one thing, he wouldn’t shut up about her. Kept going on
about how sexy she was and could move on the dance floor.”
Grace doodled
on her sketch pad. “I still don’t understand what the problem is.”
“Gracie, my brother’s a pig.
He meets women, screws their brains out and never sees them again. Anyway, she
left without giving him her number and now he wants to go there again tonight,”
he snorted and continued. “He’s hoping she’ll be there.”
“She must know a player when
she sees one. Good for her! So-o-o, ya wanna go to Gatsby’s with me?”
“I’d love to
Grace, but Max and I have a dinner party to attend,” Blake muttered.
“Really? You
didn’t mention that the other day when we talked about weekend plans.”
Blake sighed.
“I didn’t think you’d want to know.”
Grace gasped.
She’d pulled the Ehwaz stone from her Rune bag last week, in the reverse
position. It meant unexpected change. Then it struck her. “Ben’s getting
married, isn’t he?”
“I’m so sorry
Grace,” Blake whispered.
“I spent four
years with that bastard and we briefly talked about marriage. He wanted to get
his career off the ground first. He’s only been with Janice for three
months,” she choked out.
“I wouldn’t be
going to the reception, but since Max works in the same law office...”
She sobbed
softly before disconnecting the call. “It’s okay, Blake. I understand.”
But really, she
didn’t.
* * *
“Why the hell
do you want to sit by the front door, Ricochet?” complained Seth Brice, captain
of the Chicago Wind hockey team.
Rick glanced
around the bar and frowned. “Best seat in the house. We can check out all the
chicks when they enter.” But, there was only one woman he was interested in and
so far, he hadn’t seen her.
Seth rolled his
brown eyes. “Yeah. It’s also a good place for all the fans to spot us!”
“What are you
squawking for? This town loves us even if we didn’t bring home the cup last
season!” Rick laughed.
A long-haired
brunette stepped inside the bar. Rick nearly toppled the bar stool as he moved
towards her. When he was within inches of her, she turned and smiled.
* * *
“Oh Aunt
Tilda!” Grace sobbed, opening the front door.
“There, there,
Poppet,” Tilda crooned, consoling her niece.
Grace wiped her
tears onto a wadded up tissue. “Did Blake call you?”
Tilda closed
the door and ushered Grace into the living room. “No dear. I felt something
wasn’t right.”
Grace plopped
down onto the blue sofa and drew her knees up to her chin. “Ben’s marrying
Janice today,” she sniffled, chewing on a chocolate bar.
Tilda growled.
“Good riddance!”
Fresh tears
formed on Grace’s face and Tilda brushed them away. “Why are you crying child?
I thought you were over him.”
“It’s a shock,
ya know? What was wrong with me? One minute he loved me and the next, he
didn’t.” She polished off the remainder of the candy bar and licked her
chocolate fingers.
“He wasn’t the
right one,” Tilda said soothingly as she rubbed Grace’s leg. “Sometimes,
Poppet, when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into
place.”
Grace lifted
her face from her knees and brushed the remaining tears away. “Gosh, what I
wouldn’t give to make the man impotent on his wedding night!”
Tilda stifled a
giggle. “Remember our creed, Poppet. ‘Harm none’.”
A slow, cunning
smile slid across Grace’s face. “It actually wouldn’t be harming him. Just
hampering him.”
Tilda nodded
solemnly with a grin. “So mote it be!”
* * *
“Ricochet!”
the brunette grinned. “I’m one of your biggest fans!”
“Thanks
sweetheart,” Rick mumbled, backing away.
Damn!
“Hey! Can I have your
autograph?”
Before he could
answer she held out a black marker and pulled her shirt down to reveal the
fleshy part of her breast. Fellow patrons whistled and threw out catcalls as
Rick carefully scrawled his signature.
Afterwards she
breathily asked him if she could buy him a drink. He politely declined and said
his goodbyes to Brice.
* * *
August
Grace eyed the woman in the waiting
area thoughtfully. She looked Bohemian with the red wrap around her head, along
with the red t-shirt and the long flowery skirt. She shook her hand. “Hi Miss
Winston, I’m Grace Ryan. Let’s go to my office.”
She waved a
hand at the hunter green chair. “Please sit down, won’t you?”
Grace sat on
the other side of the teak desk and folded her hands together. “On the phone
you talked about redecorating your bedroom, correct?”
The woman nodded
as she glanced around the room. Her nose wrinkled at the glass walls. “Girl,
don’t you have any privacy at all?”
“Not really,
huh?” Grace blushed. “We didn’t really have a choice in the matter. The company
that leased this office went out of business. We were lucky to snatch it up.”
The dark blue
phone rang on her desk. “Excuse me for a second,” Grace mumbled.
Miss Winston
glanced around the outer office and spotted a meeting room, also with glass
walls, but the room looked like it had a spectacular view of the city.
“I’m sorry, but
I have an appointment at that time. Perhaps you’d like to meet with Blake
O’Shea, my partner?” Grace paused and flipped a page in an appointment book.
“The soonest I can meet with you is next Thursday at ten.” She glanced up at
Miss Winston and rolled her eyes. “Yes, ten in the morning.” She scribbled on
the book and replied to the caller. “Great, I’ll see you then. Goodbye.”
“I’m sorry
about that, Miss Winston.”
“Zee, short for
Maisie. Miss Winston’s too formal. Anyway, I’d like to make my room a haven, if
you will. Something romantic, but also a little naughty, if ya know what I
mean,” she giggled.
A slow smile
slid across Grace’s face. “Can you be more specific?”
The phone rang,
interrupting their conversation. Grace held up her index finger. “So sorry.
Hold that thought, Zee.”
“Bewitching
Designs, how can I help you?”
Zee stood and
crossed the room to a teak bookcase. She picked up a small painting and studied
it.
Grace appeared
next to her. “That’s Hecate.” Zee cocked her head. “She’s the Greek goddess of
magic,” Grace explained.
Zee waved a
hand in front of the shelves. “Gargoyles, candles and incense? Are you Wiccan?”
Grace nodded
slowly, unsure of what Zee’s next reaction would be.
Zee produced a
toothy grin and hugged her. “This could be the start of a great relationship!
Now, back to my boudoir! Have you ever read the book
Fifty Shades
?”
Grace nodded with a blush. “Good! I want my room to look like the red room of
pain! Can you do that?”
Grace giggled
and led Zee back to her chair. “I think I can come up with something.” She
grabbed her pen and began jotting down notes. Suddenly she looked up from the
paper and swallowed. “Um, do you want the shackles, too?”
Zee cackled,
“I’m kinky, but not
that
kinky!”
The phone rang
again and Zee twisted in her seat. “Girl, where the hell is your receptionist?”
“Don’t have one
yet,” Grace said apologetically, reaching for the phone.
Zee sat back in
the chair with a harrumph. When Grace hung up Zee leaned her forearms on the
desk.
“Why don’t you
have a receptionist?”
Grace shrugged,
“Not enough money to hire one yet.”
Zee tapped her
finger against her chin. “Okay, let’s barter. I’ll be your receptionist in
exchange for my room redesign.”
Gratitude
washed over Grace’s face and she extended her hand. “Welcome to Bewitching
Designs Miss Winston!”