15 Shades Of Pink (17 page)

“I told you it would be hard for him to get the night off.” I sighed and figured I’d throw her a bone. “But maybe you’re right.”

She perked up at that. “About what?” That’s not a phrase she heard very often from me.

“About Charles. I don’t think it’s going to work out. I hardly ever see him. Sometimes it feels like we’re not even dating.”
Ain’t that the truth
…

She patted my hand. “Yesterday, I was asking the technician giving me my mammogram if she knew any single men.”

I dropped my head in my hands and squeezed my eyes tight, like she might disappear. “No, you didn’t.”

She nodded, quite proud of herself. “I did. And her next-door neighbor’s sister has a fabulous son who just got divorced. He’s a lawyer.”

“Yes, that sounds really, really fabulous. I’ll be fine mom. Just trust me.”

To humor her, I danced with several men who only reaffirmed for me what a catch Zach would be.

I brought a picnic basket to his shop on Tuesday and joined him behind the counter for lunch. He loved sweets as much as I did and didn’t touch red meat, I learned. I got a seriously hot kiss before leaving, and we made plans to go out Friday night. I was liking this guy more and more each day.

Surprising Zach with an unexpected visit right before closing the next night seemed like a perfect, flirty thing to do. I bought a big slice of praline cheesecake from a bakery a few shops down from his, grabbed two forks, and headed for his store. I couldn’t turn down my smile, thinking about seeing him again.

I walked past the Moon Child shop and froze; Zach was inside with Sherry. His back was to me, but her head was on his shoulder and her arms were wrapped around his neck. They looked very much like he and I had looked the other night. Then he dipped his mouth to her ear.  Clearly, he’d figured out Sherry was into him.

My chest tightened and I swore. I tossed the cheesecake in a nearby garbage can. I stalked back to my car, trying to remember if I’d ever thrown out dessert before.

I went home and shoved all the heart-shaped pillows in my closet. This whole idea had been stupid. Not only was I not finding love, I was managing to get my heart broken by the first interesting guy I’d met in a long time.
Maybe Sherry did give me some bad love charms,
I thought.
No she didn’t, because none of this nonsense is real
.  It was stupid and I never should have tried it.

The next day, I gathered up the candleholders and candles I hadn’t really used. Maybe Zach would give me some cash back for them. I wasn’t wasting my time or money on this—or him—anymore.

He greeted me with his killer smile, but I didn’t return the favor. “Everything alright?” he asked.

“You win. You were right. This nonsense doesn’t work, and I was wondering if I could return some of this stuff for partial credit. Or just take it back. I don’t care. I don’t want to see it in my house. And cancel the order for the pillows.” I’d asked for two more heart pillows to scatter around the apartment, that’s how desperate I’d become. Stupid, is more like it.

He stepped from behind the counter and folded his hand around my elbow. “Brianna, you can’t get discouraged like this. I know you’ve met some winners the past few weeks, but I thought we had a nice time the other night. Don’t I count? I really like spending time with you.”

And how many other women?
I didn’t play that game. “It seemed like it, but it’s just not right for me.” I couldn’t have meant that much to him if he was hooking up with Sherry a few days later.

He crossed his arms. “I’m sorry to hear that. I thought maybe…”

I shook my head. “Thanks for your help, Zach.” I left his store with no intention of ever coming back to Interior Inspirations.

I called Virginia to cancel her follow-up appointment that weekend, but she insisted on coming. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I agreed to let her come.

“This isn’t working,” I told her when she showed up on Saturday. I wasn’t going to tell her what had happened with Zach. It was too mortifying.

“It’s not like ordering takeout, dear. Give it time.” She bent down to look under my bed. “And clear out under here. You shouldn’t have anything under your bed. It’s the most important piece of furniture in your life and the energy needs to flow all around it.” She waved her hands in a swooping motion to make her point, but I wasn’t buying it.

I frowned, but followed along as she inspected the rest of my place.

“You’ve done good work. Now just get on with the business of living your life and see the changes that come to you.”

I crossed my arms. I didn’t want to insult her and tell her I didn’t believe in this anymore.

She poked a finger in my chest. “And change your attitude. You need to be open to the idea of love. It’s not just going to break down the door and find you.”

I opened the door to let her out, and there was Zach, holding a package for me.

She looked back and forth between us and shrugged. “Or maybe it will,” she said slyly.

“Hello, Virginia,” Zach said

“I wasn’t aware you made deliveries, Zach,” she said.

“Yes, well…” he mumbled.

“Brianna, I’ll see you in two weeks.” She winked at me and left.

Zach turned to me. “Your pillows came in. I thought I’d drop them off.”

I turned from him and led him inside. “I canceled the order, remember?”

“But I want you to have them. They’re on me. I don’t want you to give up on love. Just give it a chance.”

I crossed my arms and blinked back the sadness creeping over me. “You were right. It was a silly idea. I’m just humoring Virginia because I like her.”

“Beautiful and considerate. Quite the catch. That’s why I’m not willing to give up.”

I ignored him. “Been busy this week?” I shouldn’t have sounded so jealous. It’s not like we were officially dating. But I could’ve sworn there had been real passion behind his kisses.

“Yeah, I have been busy. It’s been a horrible week. Sherry’s shop got flooded. A water pipe burst and I’ve been helping her clean up. She’s close to losing everything.” He shook his head. “She was despondent. I tried my best to comfort her, but she just hung on to me and cried. I didn’t know what the hell to do.”

“When was this?”

“Tuesday.”

“Oh.” The lump in my stomach was going away. Most Likely to Jump To Conclusions had blown it again. I felt bad for her loss, but I hated how much she must have loved being in his arms. She was probably going to strike while the sympathy iron was hot and try to leverage his kindness into something more.

My heart clenched. I knew Sherry wanted Zach; and that’s when I realized I did, too. I really did. And I had more weapons to use in this fight than just my new feng shui adjustments. I pointed to the pillows he was holding. “Can you bring those into my bedroom for me?”

“Oh, of course.” He followed me with the bag and set it down on my bed.

Luckily, Virginia had lit candles in my room and showed me how to stage my bed with pillows on both sides, so it suggested two people shared it. I’m glad I hadn’t told her not to bother. “What do you think?” I asked him.

He ran his hand down the back of his head. “It’s really nice. Very inviting. I think it’s going to definitely bring love to your life.”

I sighed. I hoped I hadn’t blown it with him. I took his hand to make myself clear.

He looked down at our hands, and then into my eyes. “I’m confused. I thought you weren’t interested. I guess my flirting radar really doesn’t work.”

I took a deep breath and confessed. “I saw you with Sherry the other day, hugging her. I thought you two had hooked up, and I got jealous.”

He smiled. “You’re right. She’s interested. But like I said, I’m not.”

My heart lodged in my throat and I swallowed hard. I needed a drink. “Can I get you some wine?”

He gazed at our hands intertwined and smiled for a long minute. “No,” he said. “I’ve already had wine with you. I want more of this.” He placed a finger under my chin and raised my lips to his. He kissed me in the softest, most passionate way I’d ever been kissed.

I pushed the pillows off the bed and pulled him toward me.

“We’re messing up all this feng shui stuff,” he whispered in my ear.

I kissed him back. “No, we’re just proving it works.”

“Confession time,” he said.

“Uh oh. That’s never good, right?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes it is. Here goes. I’ve got two pink candles sitting on my dresser.” His lips left a trail of kisses across my cheek and over to my ear.

“What? You tried feng shui? At home?”

“Once I saw what those purple things did in the shop I thought it was worth a shot. I figured maybe you weren’t getting together with the right guy—like me—because
his
love bagua was off.”

“Handsome and open-minded. What more could I want?” I laughed.

“What are you doing the rest of the night?” he asked.

I looked over at the evening dress hanging on my closet door. “I was supposed to be going to a wedding, but something suddenly came up.”

“And then what happened?” Mildred asked, her forkful of quiche quivering in the air.

I crossed my arms. “Ladies, ladies. I don’t kiss and tell.” I laughed. “Well, at least not everything.”

They started booing, and people at other tables turned to look at the ruckus seven old ladies were causing.

“Fine, fine. We kissed some more.” I could still feel the softness of his lips on mine the next morning as I sat there at brunch.

“I told you,” Virginia said. “I told you you’d find love. I just didn’t think it would work so quickly.”

Ettie frowned. “I think she just met a cute guy cause she was at his store so often. How do you know it was feng shui?”

I popped a grape in my mouth. “I don’t care what it was. I like him a lot. I’m keeping those crystals in my bedroom. And I won’t dare ever put a single candle in my apartment again. Only pairs for this girl.”

Two weeks later, Virginia bustled up to me in the reception hall. “Thanks for your help. So, everything is set? Each guest has two rose quartz crystals as a favor?”

I nodded. “I set them out just like you asked.” Along with the meaning of the stones printed on the back of her business card. She was quite the businesswoman. “I think Mildred will be thrilled.” I said. She and the silver-haired gentlemen she’d met at Carly’s wedding were getting hitched. I glanced around the ballroom. “It’s perfect.”

Zach came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Everything’s been perfect since I met you.”

I turned to look at him. “Was it the feng shui or fate?” I asked, brushing my lips against his.

He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe it does matter where you line up your bed and what you’ve got underneath it, but I think it mostly matters that you find the right place for your heart.” He smiled at me. “I know I did.”

We kissed, forgetting Virginia and the girls still setting up the tables, and the staff members at the Parkside Bistro milling around, assembling the reception room.

Finally, I had a date to bring to a wedding. I had a feeling we’d be throwing a reception of our own soon enough.

I rested my head against his chest, and felt his heart thud against my cheek. “The perfect place for my heart is right next to yours.”

* * *

It’s a relationship with an expiration date…and it’s going to go bad
.

Never Been Dumped

By Lisa Scott

Her excuse was the same for each guy because it was true: “I’m waiting for a friend.” But that didn’t stop the parade of men from wandering over to the table in the corner and asking Rachel Miller to dance. Sitting alone listening to the band was an open invitation she didn’t realize she was sending. These guys possessed the same radar as an obnoxious dog that always sniffs out the one person in the room who doesn’t want to be licked.

She looked down at the long, black, wrap-around skirt exposing her thigh and frowned.
That certainly doesn’t help
. She tried holding it closed with one hand. Her friends teased her for having zero instincts about men. She never knew when they were really interested, and when she did go out with someone, she always ended up with first-date remorse.

The wedding she’d attended the weekend before was the perfect example. Her Great Aunt Mildred had tied the knot, and Rachel had been asked to dance a dozen times at the reception. Her best friend Lindsey brought her buddy, Luke, and he’d asked her three times. Her friend Brianna had been there, and she’d been sending a line of guys her way, too.
Maybe I should bring an ankle brace and fake an injury next time.

Great Aunt Mildred gave out shiny nuggets of rose quartz crystals as favors. The stones were supposed to bring the guests love; some crazy new age thing. Rachel left those puppies sitting on the table. She didn’t want to attract any more love in her life. Right now, she was trying to repel it.

She looked up and spotted another guy smiling at her, under a thick red mustache. She snapped away her gaze. Not everyone comes to a bar looking to hook up, she grumbled to herself.

The guys hadn’t taken it well.
Am I sitting in a must-dance zone?
She’d been sworn at more than once. But she didn’t care. While she was single, she truly wasn’t interested. Not even in the George Clooney look-alike who had asked if she was certain she didn’t want to dance with
him
.

Although she had pondered his offer for a moment, before gathering up her wits again.

She settled her hand on her chin, watching the country-western group that Lindsey had wanted to see. It was Friday night, and she’d bet a bundle that Lindsey was still at work with her boss, because being alone in his office—sometimes on the couch, sometimes on his desk—made it all that more exciting.

She was so killing Lindsey.

Half-drunk couples with busy hands cluttered the dance floor, and she pulled out her cell to check the time. Nine forty-five. If Lindsey didn’t show by ten, she was leaving.