Enchanted (10 page)

“Here you go,” Kramer spoke from behind her.

She pivoted. The angry glower in his eyes forced her to take step back, her body stiffened in defense. He had every right to be upset at her for not being ready, but the look on his face along with the glare in his eyes sent stronger, threatening messages.

“Thanks.” She held out the DVDs with one hand while she took the coffee in her other. “Would you put these in my carry-on? I’ll watch them on the flight over.”

“Sure. I turned the pot off and rinsed it. Finish and let’s go.” He turned away and headed to the door.

Caitlyn studied him for a second, confounded with his abrupt actions and words. She shook her head. A sip from the cup perked her up a little. She had to stop this sudden paranoia. Kramer was Kramer. He was as abrupt as always.

After one last check around the apartment, she drained the cup and hurried to the door, her laptop case hanging from its strap over her shoulder. She breezed past Kramer and waited for him to step out. She inserted and turned her key in the lock.

No looking back. This interview provided her ticket to the big time, and she wouldn’t allow her insecurities to stand in her way. She followed Kramer to the elevator, determined to fight the new and sudden emotions flooding her.

On the way to the airport, she stared at the scenery flying by with blind eyes. A road leading to the private planes veered to the right past the main entrance. Kramer accelerated on the stretch from the gate to the hanger with a huge E stenciled on the door. He screeched to a halt just past the open doors. The internal lights reflected off the chrome and white paint on the plane.

“There it is. Not bad, huh?” He threw the shift into park and opened his door. “You’re traveling first class, Reiley.”

She stared at the sleek jet. Hanger lights cast illuminating shades across the plane’s sides, giving it the appearance of silvery flames shooting away from the wings and sides.

She sat still, hand gripping the car’s door handle. This was it. All she had to do was pull the handle. The door would open. She’d get out, go to the plane. Get in. The skin on her forehead and her palms dampened. Shay Evers waited at the end of this flight. He caused her uneasiness, and yet, he was her chance for advancement. Her chin lifted. She wanted this.

A quick tap on the window jerked her from her thoughts. Blake Myers, her photographer, opened the door and squatted in the opening.

“Moving too fast? We’ll be in Wales in no time on that baby.”

His familiar grin brought her a measure of calmness. She didn’t try to hide the slight tremble in her voice. “Much too fast. I think I’m losing it.”

“No. Just nerves. That’s all. Don’t worry, sugar, I’ll be with you the whole way. I won’t let the boogie man eat you.”

Caitlyn smiled. Blake thought in terms of Shay Evers, but what would he say if she told him about what happened during the night?

“I’ll hold you to that promise.” She let him help her out of the car and followed him to the stairs leading into the jet.

“This is it, Reiley,” Kramer said from behind her. “Call me when you arrive. Here, take this.” He handed her a white plastic bag containing a cellphone and accessories. Reaching inside, she removed the phone while he continued. “It has full coverage. Don’t worry about the charges.”

“Right,” Caitlyn said. The phone was solid in her hand, a firm reminder of what she needed to accomplish. “Well, guess we’d better go. The plane won’t wait.”

She climbed the steps and entered the open hatch. A low gasp escaped from her as she stared around at the rich interior. With Shay’s wealth, she shouldn’t have been surprised, but she’d never flown on such luxurious plane. Was that a wet bar over there? Yes, the bar seats matched the passenger ones. The natural hue of the beige leather seats, positioned on cream colored carpet, eased her rattled nerves. Two occupants sitting close to the cockpit turned to face her. Caitlyn’s eyes widened when she looked at one of them.

Marcy stood and met her in the aisle. With a confused expression on her face, she asked. “What are you doing here?”

Caitlyn stared, speechless.

“Catey. Hey, are you home or what?” Marcy waved a hand in front of her eyes.

She blinked. “The interview. Remember? I told you I had an important interview.”

Her friend’s eyes rounded, and her mouth fell open. “The interview is with Evers?”

Caitlyn fidgeted.

“You never said a word last night. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to become all excited. Something might have happened to cause the deal to fall through.” Caitlyn brushed past and set her small bag on the floor near one of the other seats. “What are you doing here?”

“Dafydd asked me to go with him.”

Caitlyn frowned.

“Shay’s music tech. Hello–the one I went home with last night. I thought, what the heck? I called my boss, woke him and told him I quit,” Marcy said with a wicked grin.

“Why did you quit? You liked that job.” Caitlyn wasn’t really surprised by her friend’s actions. She flitted from one position to the next like a butterfly among flowers. The woman didn’t know the meaning of job security.

“Waitress jobs are a dime a dozen. I’m not worried,” Marcy said. “I’ll find something else when I get back.”

“When are you going to settle down? You can’t keep going through life without a solid purpose.” At times, she felt older and more mature than her friend even though they were the same age.

Marcy’s expression froze. After a second, she grinned. “I don’t have any intention of growing up. It’s what keeps me young. Come on, Catey, lighten up. You must be really stressed over this interview. Is that what you and Evers were talking about last night?”

Caitlyn sighed. Marcy was impossible. She saw only what she wanted to see. Good times were important to her and to heck with the future. “Yes, among other things.”

A restless movement from the front caught her attention. “Uh, your guy seems impatient. Go keep him company. I need to start taking notes on the interview. We’ll talk about all this later.”

Marcy glanced over her shoulder. Caitlyn followed her gaze to look at the good-looking blond stretched out in his seat with a foot tapping the seat back. Marcy squeezed her forearm. “Sure. Don’t get too weighed down by this assignment. I’d hate to lose my best friend because she can’t handle a man like Shay Evers.”

Caitlyn’s brows shot up. “What’s that supposed to mean? You make it sound like I’m going to die or something.”

“No, not that. He just seems like someone who isn’t showing his true face. I don’t know, call it a gut instinct. Be careful around him. There’s more to him than he’s letting on.” Dafydd called to her. Marcy groaned. “Come over in a little while and I’ll introduce you, but hands off. This one is all mine,” she said, twirling around and grinning at the music tech.

Her remarks concerning Evers swirled in her mind. The truth rang out in Marcy’s comments. There was more to him than what everyone knew, and Caitlyn intended to find out what that something was.

Chapter 11

An hour after arriving in Wales, Marcy’s perfume still clung to Caitlyn’s clothes. Each time she moved, the lingering odor would come to life and remind her of her friend. She smiled. Marcy’s face had been radiant as she and Dafydd whizzed away from the airport in his compact car.

Now Caitlyn sat on the back seat of the sedan Evers sent to bring her to his home. The Welsh countryside sped by in a whirl of green, rolling hills gradually rising to rugged, towering ridges. Mountains, carpeted with fir and hardwood trees, loomed on either side of the road. Caitlyn swung her gaze from the scenery to glance at Blake. Slumped next to her, he worked readying a camera.

“Hey, what do you think about Evers?” Her voice sounded loud but steady in the silent vehicle.

Blake glanced at her. “What about him?”

“Is he real? Can he actually perform magical feats or are all his acts just that–acts?” She shifted in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position. Her body ached, exhausted from the late night, long flight and now the drive to Evers’s home.

“Don’t know. Won’t know until we finish with the interview.”

Blake shot a look in the driver’s direction. He slid his gaze back to Caitlyn. She realized what he implied. They weren’t alone. No use in talking about Evers in front of his employee. The driver was, no doubt, instructed to report to Shay. This obligated him to tell his employer what had happened on the drive to the castle. She gave a slight nod to acknowledge Blake’s silent message.

He grinned and continued. “You wanna know the first thing I’m gonna do when we get to his place? Soak in a hot bath, then catch some zees. I’m bushed.”

She agreed with a slight smile. Blake focused on his equipment, and she turned to the window, sighing.

For the rest of the drive, she mulled over last night’s memories, trying to differentiate between what was real and what was her imagination. The incident with the sports car had to be coincidental. Any other explanation bordered on Evers possessing true magical powers and that was impossible.

The black sedan swung onto a paved driveway that followed the slope of the mountain. The car rounded a bend and the illusionist’s home came into view. Kramer was right. The tall multilayered building was a castle. Stone walls rose from the side of a ridge. Three turrets reached for the ocean-blue sky. The sight reminded her of a nursery rhyme from her childhood, about a princess trapped in a magical castle.

The vehicle sped up the drive, and Caitlyn noticed the abundance of thriving plants decorating the lawns and bordering the drive. Beds of bright blooms banded the base of the building. Despite the cold weather, verdant vines climbed the white stone walls of the three-story structure. The gables, a forest green, gleamed under the bright sunlight. She smiled at the beauty of the place.

Once the sedan pulled to a stop, two men exited the polished double-door entrance. The older of the two hurried to open her door. Dressed in dark slacks and matching jacket with a white shirt under, he nodded and murmured a greeting to her.

“Mr. Shay is awaiting your arrival, miss. I’ll see that your luggage is taken to your rooms, after which, I will lead you to him.” With another nod, he went to join the younger man at the trunk.

Caitlyn smiled and studied the front of the castle as she slid from the car. A large stained-glass oval centered above the passageway caught her attention. Chiseled glass sparkled in the early afternoon sunlight. Brilliant colors blurred and didn’t reveal the image in the glass from the outside of the building. Curious, she made a mental note to study the piece once she’d entered.

Her gaze wandered past the lacquered double-door entry to the flowering vines climbing the white stone façade and along the beds embracing the front of the castle. Pansies appeared to wave their colorful petals in welcome. A warm aura of happiness at her arrival reached out to her from the vibrant plants.

Unable to resist, she moved toward the nearest bed and murmured, “Hello, pretty ones. How are you today?”

Several buds opened in a wondrous splendor of purple and yellow. She’d never seen flowers bloom like that. The world she lived in consisted of mostly concrete and steel, she never paid much attention to the green stuff around the city and most of the ones she tried to grow ended up dying from over-watering. She smiled, a trill of excitement and joy beating in her heart. Realization of what happened struck her. She stiffened and leaned closer to study the plants. Had they responded to her voice? Maybe this was just a coincidence. She shook her head and hurried to the door where Blake waited.

She approached the entry and imagined a wonderful scene of Evers carrying her over the threshold. Her wedding dress and train, dazzling white amid the greenery flanking the door, brushed against the three steps leading inside. She blinked the picture away and moved up the steps. Her imagination ran wild today. That’s all there was to it. She was here to do a job, not fall in love.

The older man rejoined them and led the way inside. He continued past the open foyer, but Caitlyn stopped on the mosaic tile covering the floor to look up at the stained glass oval above the entrance. The image of leaves encircling a golden crown formed in green, blue, yellow, and purple sent slivers of color to shower the foyer with a rainbow of light. Such a glorious sight brought another smile to her face.

Unbidden, a sense of joy welled inside her from just looking at the window. Peace mingled with the happiness for the first time in as far as she could remember. The window was at least eight feet wide and four feet high–the beauty of the tints with the light shining through took her breath. Clearer from this side, the crown and the leaves entwined about it glinted in the light from the chandelier. Who had Shay hired to design and install the masterpiece of stained glass?

She glanced at the man, she assumed was the butler, and nodded toward the window. “Who did the work on that?”

He glanced at the cut glass for a second. “Locals, miss. They’re powerfully talented. Now, this way please. Master Shay is expecting you.”

She studied the man. The way he phrased the talent of the artisans struck her as odd. Maybe it was just the way the locals spoke. She nodded to him to lead the way.