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“Her flight doesn’t arrive until 4:30. I’ll still get some work in. Anyway, want to ride shotgun?”
“Of course. You knew I would.”
She could hear the smile in her sister’s voice when she said, “Yes, I did. I’m glad she’s coming back.” Samantha added, “She belongs here.”
As far as Samantha was concerned, Icicle Falls was the center of the universe. She wasn’t a big-city kind of girl, and she’d never understood when Cecily moved away to start her business.
But she’d had to get out from under the shadow of Samantha Sterling, Super Achiever, and establish her own identity. Maybe it had been the same for Bailey.
Or it could have had something to do with Bailey’s best friends, the twins Mitsy and Bitsy, moving down there. They’d filled her head with dreams of riches and success and her eyes full of stars. Literally.
Cecily felt bad for her little sister. Bailey had hit L.A. with such high hopes, and they’d all been stomped to pieces.
It was a shame because Bailey was a kitchen queen. She’d always loved puttering in the kitchen with their mother, and Cecily could still remember her sister at the age of five, up on a stool, wearing an apron that was way too big for her and rolling out the leftover bits of piecrust Mom had given her. Not content to simply sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar, she’d experimented with everything from jam to taco seasoning. By the time she was in high school she was dreaming up her own cake and cookie recipes. Yes, when it came to creating in the kitchen, her sister was truly talented.
So were a lot of people in L.A., and many of them never made it. Bailey wouldn’t either now. At least not down there. But there was no reason she couldn’t come home and start a catering business in Icicle Falls. With Samantha and Blake close by to advise her on the business end of things, it was bound to be a success. Cecily decided to suggest that to her once she was done mourning the death of her caterer-to-the-stars dream.
Meanwhile, Cecily needed to choose what to wear. She finally settled on a short-sleeved black top and a black skirt with white polka dots. She put on heels and a pink pearl bracelet—a gift from her first fiancé—and was ready to go.
Her sensible self asked why she was bothering. She shouldn’t be making a habit of going out with Todd Black. She decided to ignore her sensible self, especially when Todd showed up at her door, handsome in Dockers and a blue polo shirt. Good Lord, if there was a more handsome man than this one, she didn’t know where he was.
“You look great,” he said, checking her out. “But then, you always do.”
She ignored that blatant flattery and stepped out the door. As they started down the building’s stairs to the parking lot, something occurred to her and she stopped. “I should change.”
“Don’t ever change. I like you just the way you are,” he teased.
“I can’t ride on a motorcycle in a skirt.”
“You won’t have to. Mom let me use the car tonight,” he joked as he nudged her to begin moving again.
“You have a car?”
“Well, okay, my truck. You okay with that?”
“Of course,” she said. What did he think she was, some sort of car snob?
“So,” he said as he climbed behind the wheel. “I hope you like action films. That’s what’s playing at the Falls Cinema.”
She preferred romantic comedies but said, “That’s fine.”
“That’s fine,” he repeated as he turned the key in the ignition. “Hmm. Chick speak for, ‘It’ll have to do.’”
“You sure know a lot about women,” she said.
He shot her a grin. “I know a few things.” Then he added, “But no man knows everything about women. That’s why we’re all so fascinated by you. You’re a never-ending mystery.”
Why did practically everything he said, every look he gave her, make her tingle? It was ridiculous, really, like being in middle school all over again. But the darn tingle was there, and thinking about the trouble it could cause made her nervous.
To cover her nerves, she gave a snort. “Has anyone ever told you you’re full of it?”
“A few people.”
“Were they all women?” she asked sweetly.
He didn’t say anything to that. Instead, he nodded at the radio, where some hip-hop singer was reciting lyrics to the underlying hypnotic pulse of a bass. “Feel free to find something you like.”
“I’m surprised you’re not listening to country music,” she said, searching for a pop station.
“I listen to that, too. I like just about everything.”
“Well, that makes you easy to please.” The words were barely out of her mouth before she realized she’d handed him yet another opening for a double entendre.
His smile was positively sly. “I am.”
“I thought you said you had a serious side.”
“I do.”
“I’m not convinced. Tell me one thing you can be serious about.”
“Taxes. How’s that?”
“Impressive. That’s it?”
“Death and taxes.”
“How about relationships?”
“Those are pretty serious things, too.” He pulled up in front of Zelda’s, shut off the engine and turned to her. “You think I’m just looking for a hookup, don’t you?”
“That did cross my mind.”
“I don’t know where this is going, but I want to find out. Don’t you?”
“I’m not sure,” she said honestly. Did she really want to risk a third heartbreak?
“Don’t worry. We’ll take it one kiss at a time,” he said and opened his door. She started to open hers. “Uh-uh,” he cautioned, reaching across the seat and stopping her. “My mama raised me to be a gentleman.”
“What happened?” Cecily retorted, but she waited for him to walk around and open the door for her.
“See,” he said, “I’m not a total Philistine.”
“How do you even know what a Philistine is?”
“Hey, I told you. My mama raised me right. I went to Sunday school.”
Cecily rolled her eyes and slipped out of the car.
Zelda’s was one of the most popular restaurants in Icicle Falls, specializing in Northwest cuisine. As with all the shops and restaurants in town, it boasted hanging baskets overflowing with petunias and geraniums. The glass door had the restaurant’s name scrawled across it in gold script and featured the image of a flapper.
Inside, the place was packed with people in town for the weekend to celebrate the Maifest festival, as well as locals. At one table she caught sight of Gerhardt Geissel, who owned Gerhardt’s Gasthaus, out with his wife and another couple. The women were dressed in dirndls and the men in lederhosen, an obvious sign that they’d taken part in the late-afternoon performance by their folk-dancing troupe in the town square. Pat Wilder and Ed York occupied another table. It was only a matter of time before those two made their relationship official, and Cecily had a feeling that by Christmas Pat would be sporting a diamond on her left hand. And there, by the window... Her heart rate picked up, and she looked away quickly, trying to pretend she hadn’t seen Luke Goodman with his mother and his daughter.
There was no need to feel self-conscious. She’d made it clear to both Luke and herself that she wanted to be only friends.
Still, whenever she ran into him, at the office or anywhere else, she was aware of something between them. She knew it was attraction on his part. What was it for her? Luke didn’t hit her zing-o-meter the way Todd did. But she still felt a pull, and that was what bothered her because it wasn’t strong enough to encourage him.
It wouldn’t be fair. Not when Todd had the effect on her that he had. What she felt for Luke was like the pull of the tide. What she felt when she was with Todd was more like a tidal wave. And she wanted that. She wanted romance with a capital R. She wanted to be crazy in love with a man who was crazy in love with her.
But she also wanted someone she could trust. Could she trust Todd Black?
The smile he was giving her as they waited for their table certainly looked genuine.
Still, looks could be deceiving. She’d learned that the hard way, and she had two diamond rings to prove it.
Reg, Fiancé Number One, had pursued her with everything from flowers to wine-country jaunts, but six months into their engagement she’d learned that his old girlfriend had come back on the scene. It would have been nice if he’d shared that information with her instead of seeing the other woman on the side. She’d set Reg free to continue stoking the fires with his old flame and dedicated herself to her business.
Then along came Fiancé Number Two, a charming insurance salesman who liked to salsa dance and was an amazingly good listener. This time she was sure she’d made a wise choice. But her insurance salesman, who’d seemed so stable on the outside, turned out to be as stable as a three-legged chair. Marcus had money problems. He was constantly borrowing from Cecily, promising that he’d pay her back and then conveniently forgetting the entire conversation. Marcus finally declared bankruptcy and left for greener pastures, where he found a rich cougar who wanted to buy more than a whole-life policy.
Her matchmaking business hadn’t done much for her faith in men, either. It sure would have been refreshing (no, make that a shock) to meet just one man who didn’t have specific requests regarding his dream woman’s appearance. One man who, instead of asking her to introduce him to a woman with boobs the size of watermelons or a nice, tight ass, had said, “Find me my soul mate.”
No wonder that when she returned to Icicle Falls she’d had it with men, lost her confidence in Cupid. But with her sister Samantha a living testimonial for happily-ever-after and Todd Black chipping away at her defenses, here she was, caving and giving the brat with the bow and arrow one last chance. And hoping her famous matchmaking instincts finally kicked in on her own behalf.
Charlene Masters (Charley to her friends), who owned Zelda’s, was at her regular post at the reservation podium, greeting her customers. She was another ambassador for true love. After divorcing her cheating husband, who’d then returned, just to bring her more misery, she’d met her Mr. Perfect and was now enjoying newlywed bliss. It could be done.
The question for Cecily was who to do it with. If only she could put Todd Black and Luke Goodman in some giant machine and meld them into one. Todd’s sexiness coupled with Luke’s dependability—now that would be her perfect man.
You don’t know that Todd’s undependable, she reminded herself. Heck, he owned a business and a house. That required a certain level of dependability. But there was no getting around those bad-boy vibes he gave off. Todd Black, the pirate. Pirates didn’t settle down and raise families. And she was ready to get married, wanted to start a family. So, what the heck was she doing going out with him?
Charley greeted her with a surprised “Cec?” then recovered enough to greet Todd. “We’ve got a nice corner table for you,” she told him and led the way to the far end of the dining area.
Which meant they had to pass Luke’s table. Cecily was very aware of Todd’s hand on her back as they approached, and of Luke’s assessing and not-so-happy gaze. She felt an uncomfortable warmth creeping over her cheeks and tried to cool it by telling herself she had nothing to feel awkward about. To prove it, she stopped to say a quick hello and introduced her date. The men shook hands, but it was far from a hearty handshake. They reminded her of boxers touching gloves before a match.
“Todd owns The Man Cave,” Cecily said to Luke.
He gave Todd a brief nod. “I’ve seen it.”
With the giant Neanderthal in lederhosen painted on the outside, it was hard to miss. “Luke’s our production manager at Sweet Dreams,” she said to Todd.
“Great place to work,” Todd said, giving Cecily one of his killer smiles.
“Yeah, it is,” Luke agreed. “The Sterling family means a lot to me.” It was said pleasantly enough but, judging by Luke’s stiff posture and narrowed eyes, it was a warning of sorts.
Luke’s family was already on dessert, wild huckleberry pie for him, coffee for his mom and a strawberry sundae for his daughter. “I was really good today, so I got to go out with Daddy and have ice cream,” Serena told Cecily.
“Aren’t you glad you were good?” Cecily asked.
Serena nodded vigorously. “Were you good, too?”
“Something like that,” Cecily said. She could imagine what Todd would do with that remark.
Before he could even try, Cecily said, “Well, enjoy your evening,” and she hurried after Charley.
* * *
Luke wasn’t hungry anymore. He pushed away his plate.
“Daddy, aren’t you going to eat your pie?” Serena asked, obviously shocked by such waste.
“Daddy’s had enough,” he said.
He’d been trying to convince Cecily Sterling to give him a chance ever since she’d returned to Icicle Falls. And she would have by now if it wasn’t for that damn Todd Black. Luke had seen him in Bavarian Brews, putting the moves on her. The guy was slick and good-looking. How did an average man compete with that?
“He who hesitates,” his mother said softly.
He could pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about, but she wouldn’t buy it. “She doesn’t think we’re a match.”
“Well, for heaven’s sake, don’t take her word for it. From what Muriel has let slip over the last couple of years, the girl wouldn’t recognize Prince Charming if he slayed a dragon right in front of her.”
“I know who Prince Charming is,” Serena piped up. “He dances with the princess at the ball.”
Luke had tried that at the Sweet Dreams chocolate ball a couple of years back. He’d probably do better slaying a dragon. “Come on, girls. Let’s go home.” Zelda’s had lost its appeal for him.
* * *
Once Cecily and Todd were seated, Charley wished them bon appétit. The look she gave Cecily added, “I expect to hear all about this later.” Then she left them alone with their menus.
“Just so you know, you don’t have to be good on my account,” Todd teased.
Cecily made a face at him. “I figured you wouldn’t be able to resist saying something. At least you didn’t do it in front of Luke.”
“Is he my competition?”
“I don’t know.” Where had that come from? Of course she knew. She wasn’t interested in Luke that way. “Not really.”
Todd slung an arm over the back of his chair and regarded her. “So, our heroine is conflicted.”
There went her cheeks, warming up again.
“It’s okay,” Todd said. “I’m not afraid of a little competition. I think I can convince you who the better man is.”
And later that night, as they sat in front of her place in his truck, he set about showing her just how superior he was. When she finally got out, her clothes were mussed and her brain was foggy. And she had another date with Todd Black.
* * *
Todd drove home wearing a confident smile. Cecily Sterling had kept him dangling like a string of Christmas lights long enough. Now he was done playing games. She was going to be his. Too bad for the Sweet Dreams dude. But in the battle for the babe, that was how it always went, how it had always gone. One guy got the girl and the other one walked away with a big L for loser on his forehead.
Todd hadn’t become the pro ball player his dad had wanted him to be, but there was one sport he’d excelled at and that was getting girls. (He and his brother both had charm in spades and they’d made good use of it.) And for a teenage boy that kind of success was a lot more gratifying than what his dad had wanted for him.
