The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane (Life in Icicle Falls) (18 page)

“That would be Sam,” said Blake. She stuck out her tongue at him, and he grinned at her.

“Aha.” Luke slipped Samantha the Queen of Spades that hand, giving her thirteen points. He also managed to give Blake, who had the highest score, enough hearts to put him out and end the game with Cecily the winner.

“Oh, fine,” Samantha muttered to him. “Turn on your boss.”

Luke shrugged. “What can I say? I guess my loyalties are elsewhere.”

The smile he gave Cecily felt too intimate. It was time to go home.

“It’s Friday night. What’s your hurry?” Samantha said, stifling a yawn. Even though she refused to admit it, pregnancy was slowing her down.

Luke rose from his seat the minute Cecily did. “Moms-to-be need their sleep. And you’d better enjoy it now while you can. Both of you,” he said.

“You’re scaring me,” Blake joked.

The sisters hugged, and the men shook hands. Then Luke exited right along with Cecily.

Now things really felt awkward. “Well, see you Monday,” she said and started toward her car.

His hand on her arm stopped her.

Oh, no. What’s he going to do?

Chapter Fifteen

F
rom the look in his eyes, Cecily could have sworn Luke was going to kiss her. Instead he asked, “Whose idea was that little dinner party, yours or your sister’s?”

“Samantha’s.”
Thanks, sis, for getting his hopes up so I could hurt him all over again.
Feeling she needed to say something, she added, “I had a good time. I hope you did, too.”

“Of course I did. I just hoped you’d changed your mind about us.”

“I’m sorry, Luke,” she said gently. “The chemistry’s not there.”

“It could be if you gave me half a chance.” He must have seen the dread in her face, because he ended the awkward moment, saying, “But I guess you’re solid with Black these days.”

She nodded.

“Okay, but if he ever doesn’t treat you right...”

“You’ll be the first man I call,” she quipped. And maybe she would. Luke Goodman was the sort of guy a woman could tell her troubles to.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, surprisingly setting off butterflies in her stomach. “Good night, Cec,” he said, then walked away.

She stood watching him until he turned the corner to his street. What was that she’d just felt?

Nothing compared to what she felt with Todd—
that
was what. She got in her car and drove home, irritation riding shotgun.

The next morning it was time for another little talk—with a different sister.

“Please don’t do that again,” she said when Samantha answered the phone.

Her sister didn’t insult her intelligence by pretending she didn’t know what Cecily was talking about. “Why, because you had such a lousy time?”

“No, because it’s not fair to Luke. I don’t want to be anything more than friends, and your cozy little dinner party only raised false expectations. He’s a nice man, and I hated having to shoot him down.”

“Yeah, I saw you shooting him down out there on the sidewalk.”

“You were watching?” Bad enough that Samantha was interfering but then to spy on her as if...as if she and Luke were lab rats in an experiment! Cecily ground her teeth.

“Of course,” Samantha admitted breezily. “Look, I know relationships are your specialty. Your instincts for who should be together are legendary. But you don’t seem to be able to apply them to yourself, so why not let the people who care about you help?”

“Because you have no idea what you’re doing,” Cecily said hotly. “So, stop trying to ‘help’ me.”

“Well, I would if you weren’t making such a mess of your love life,” Samantha said. “You can’t see what’s right in front of your face. You’re blowing it with Luke, and you’re way off the mark with Todd.”

“Listen to you! Here you are, talking like Dr. Phil, and you don’t have a clue what’s going on between Todd and me.”

“I’m not sure you do, either,” Samantha said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be so insecure. And you’d still be talking to Bailey.”

Cecily wanted to protest that she was perfectly secure. Todd had wanted her ever since she’d come back to Icicle Falls. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was Bailey and what she was trying to do.

But any protest would be halfhearted. She
was
insecure. There had to be something men found lacking in her and went looking for in other women. And, deep down, she was afraid Todd would spot that missing something.

“I’m sorry I poked my nose in your business,” Samantha said. “God knows I shouldn’t talk—it took me long enough to see what was right in front of me.”

“That’s about the most condescending apology I’ve ever heard,” Cecily muttered.

“Well, it’s the best I can do on short notice. I’m sorry I made you mad. Really. I think you’re nuts to pass up a man like Luke, but I promise I’ll butt out. Okay?”

“Okay,” Cecily said, somewhat mollified. Although Sam could have left that observation regarding her sanity out of the apology.

“But you and Bailey better resolve things between you before this baby comes. I want both of my sisters at the christening.”

Cecily made some noncommittal remark that was enough to satisfy her sister. Samantha ended the call to go look at cribs with Blake. Cecily set her phone on the kitchen counter and tapped her teeth with her fingernail, mulling over what her sister had said.

Still mulling, she toasted an English muffin, then spread it with some jam and took a thoughtful bite. If Bailey had been there, they would’ve been having something like eggs Benedict for breakfast. Bailey did like to cook and bake for everyone, not just men with whom she was infatuated. Cecily knew her accusation had been an unfair one. Still, she wasn’t ready to call Bailey and make up. She needed to think about it some more.

Which she did as she walked to Bavarian Brews for a latte. By the time she’d purchased her hazelnut mocha, she’d realized Sam was right. She needed to trust her sister, give her the benefit of the doubt. Men might come and go, she told herself, but sisters were forever.

Bailey didn’t work at the lodge on Saturdays, so that meant she was probably puttering around at the future home of Tea Time. Cecily decided the best way to extend an olive branch would be to stop over and see how everything was coming along. She purchased another latte and went around the corner to Lavender Lane.

* * *

The tea shop’s hardwood floors were now refinished, the old oak glowing warm and inviting. The vinyl in the kitchen had cleaned up fine, and the necessary kitchen equipment had been delivered and installed the day before.

“It’s perfect,” Bailey said to Todd as they surveyed their new commercial kitchen. “All we need now are tables and chairs, a cash register and shelves for our merchandise. Well, and merchandise.”

“What about dishes?”

“I have almost all the dishes. And the linens and glasses and cutlery have been ordered. I’ll put up the lace curtains next week.”

“I still don’t know how you got those for thirty percent off.”

“I’m a good negotiator,” she said, opting not to tell him about her klutziness or Tina’s gossip fest. She was in control of her career again, and she would not be breaking any of her inventory.

“We’re making fast progress,” Todd said. “We should have no problem being ready for a grand opening in August.”

“I can hardly wait.” Bailey gave the ice machine a loving pat.

“Do we have ice yet?” he asked.

“We should have.”

“Let’s see.” He reached in and pulled out a handful of cubes. “Well, look at that. We do.” He popped one in his mouth. “Want one?”

She smiled and nodded, then opened her mouth. But instead of popping an ice cube in it, he slipped a couple down the back of her blouse, making her squeal from the shock of the cold against her skin.

“This means war,” she said and dipped her hand in for some ammunition.

He dodged away from her, and she chased him out of the kitchen into the main part of the house, giggling as she went. She tried unsuccessfully twice to get the ice down his shirt, with him grinning at each failed attempt and goading her to try again. On her third try, she dropped her cubes on the floor. He got to them first, and now it was her turn to run.

But he was quick and caught her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him. She laughed and squirmed to escape, but the ice went down her back anyway.

“I guess I’m interrupting something,” said a voice from the doorway, and Bailey whirled around to see Cecily, holding a latte to-go cup. The cold of that ice cube was nothing compared to the expression on her face. “I stopped by to say hi and see how things were going,” Cecily said, her voice frosty.

Bailey swallowed hard. How to explain this to her sister? “The ice machine came in.”

“Hey, Cec, we were just fooling around,” Todd added. He came over, put an arm around her and kissed her.

She stood there like an ice sculpture.

“You want to see the kitchen?” Bailey offered.

“No. I can see you’re both busy,” Cecily said, stepping away from Todd. She set the cup on the floor, then turned and left, Todd following her out the door.

His words echoed back to Bailey. “Come on, Cec. We were just goofing around—that’s all.”

The screen door banged shut behind them.

Oh, this was not good.

* * *

“I’m not sure right now is the time to talk about this,” Cecily said stiffly.

The pleading look on Todd’s face changed to one of irritation. As if
he
had a right to be irritated? “Okay, fine. I need to get over to The Man Cave and do some paperwork. I’ll talk to you later.” His tone of voice said he’d rather not.

Who was the injured party here? Cecily shrugged her shoulders as if she couldn’t care less where he went. “Fine.”

Looking exasperated now, he stepped off the porch and went down the front walk at a brisk clip.

“Cec,” Bailey said in a small voice.

Cecily turned to her sister, the traitor, who was standing on the porch. “So, nothing’s going on.”

Bailey shook her head, tears in her eyes. There she stood in tight jeans and a blouse that was like a billboard for her boobs and wearing full makeup.

“Don’t cry. Your makeup will run,” Cecily said, her voice as cold as the ice cube Todd had slipped down her sister’s back.

Bailey sniffed. “I’m not trying to steal him. I...”

You would if you could.
It was hard not to fall for Todd Black; Cecily got that. But her sister wasn’t even
trying
to keep their relationship professional. Who had started that ice-cube fight back in the kitchen? Cecily was willing to bet it had been Bailey.

“I would never have done this to you,” Cecily said.

“Cec, I didn’t mean... I didn’t think...”

Oh, she’d thought, all right, but only of her spoiled, baby-of-the-family self. There was no point in taking this conversation any further. Cecily began to walk away.

“Cec, please!” Bailey called.

Cecily kept on going. Even as she walked away, part of her said,
This is wrong, all wrong. She’s your sister.

Yeah, but sisters didn’t sabotage each other’s love lives.

“Cecily!”

Cecily went on walking, and the next thing she heard was the screen door slamming shut.

Just in time for Mom’s birthday party tomorrow, she scolded herself. This would make for a pleasant family get-together.

Well, there’d be lots of people in attendance. She could stay on the far side of the room.

But at some stage she’d have to talk to her sister.

She would—after she and Todd were engaged.

Or...after he and Bailey hooked up. Her steps slowed. Why was she blaming this all on her sister? There had been two people involved in that bit of fun and games she’d witnessed, and Bailey hadn’t grabbed Todd. It had been the other way around.

Todd was the one she needed to have that talk with. Cecily started for the edge of town. It wasn’t a short walk to The Man Cave, but the day was beautiful and the air fragrant with the scent of roses and peonies warming under the June sun. A couple of white puffy clouds lazed in an azure sky, and the mountains were glorious, the air fresh and clean. In other words, it was a perfect day in Icicle Falls. At least it should have been.

The Man Cave wasn’t open for business yet, and Cecily found the door locked when she arrived. She stood in front of it, wondering if she was being insecure and out of control. Maybe the problem wasn’t with everyone else but with her. If that was the case, she owed Todd an apology.

Okay, she’d pay up. But first she had to know what was going on with them. Were they together or weren’t they? That wasn’t being unreasonable; that was simply wanting to know.
You already know. You’ve known for a long time.

No, I don’t,
she told herself and knocked on the door.

A moment later it opened, and there he stood, looking devilishly handsome. But the sardonic smile was missing. “Don’t tell me—let me guess. You killed your sister, and now I’m next.”

“I decided to let her live another day,” Cecily said and stepped past him into the shadowy interior of the bar. The tables still had the chairs stacked upside down on top of them, and the neon beer signs were off, waiting to come to life when the outside world got dark. “This place always looks kind of sad without people in it,” she mused, putting off the conversation they needed to have.

“Most places do.”

“Not homes.”

“Those can be sad even with people in them,” he said.

His comment was a telling one and made her realize how much she still needed to learn about this man.

Before she could say anything, he added, “Not everybody grew up in a perfect family like you and your sister.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t try to make one,” she argued. And speaking of sisters... “So, what’s going on with you and Bailey?”

She half hoped he’d take her in his arms and say, “Nothing.” Instead he shoved his hands in his pants pockets and said, “You want an honest answer? I don’t know.”

Well, that was comforting. She tucked her hair behind her ears and tried to look as if her heart hadn’t cracked. “Wow, you really make a woman feel special.”

“You
are
special. You know that. In fact, you’re freakin’ amazing.”

If she was so amazing, why wasn’t he kissing her?

Now he clawed his fingers through his hair, a sure sign of male agitation. “I’ve wanted you ever since you hit town. I still do.”

She raised her eyebrows. If that was true, why wasn’t she feeling the love?

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “I can see that.”

He frowned. “I was just horsing around with your sister. It was something spontaneous, but I admit I was out of line. Sorry.” If he’d left it there, Cecily would have been happy. But he didn’t. “She’s easy to goof around with. She sends out these happy vibes.”

“And I don’t?” She was happy. See? She was even smiling. Sort of.

“You’ve always been a challenge, and I like that. But no man wants to climb the mountain forever. Sooner or later he wants to reach the summit.”

“I can guess what that’s code for.” And he’d come pretty darned close to the summit, closer than he deserved after the way he’d been flirting with Bailey.