No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells (Mystic Cafe Series) (29 page)

She scowled and gave me a stern look.

“
You didn’t think of one thing, and this is going to throw a monkey wrench in your little love scheme….”

“
Oh yeah?” She smirked. “What’s that?”

“
I don’t have the spices. I can only perform magic while cooking. What do you want me to do out here? Roast a marshmallow? And remember, Rory has to eat the food.”

“
Do you think I’m that stupid?” She scoffed.

Did she really want me to answer that?

She brushed away my words with a flick of her wrist.
“I thought of that. I’m not as dumb as I look.”

She said it not me, but I had thought it.

“
We’re going to have a little picnic. When you’re finished with the magic, you’ll call Rory. He’ll come and we’ll have a picnic.”

“
You need me to call him because he won’t come if you call.” I smirked.

She frowned.

“
I’m right, aren’t I?” I asked.

“
No, of course he’d come. He loves me.” She looked away.

“
Apparently, he doesn’t or you wouldn’t need me right now.”

“
You think you’re so smart. Why don’t you shut your mouth and get on with the magic before I get really pissed and lay a beat down on you.”

Hmm. She was probably all talk. I bet I could take her if I had to. But I needed to keep her calm until I had the book and the spices back in my possession. At any minute, she could go off and destroy the book. I’m guessing Tom, not to mention the higher-ups at the organization, would definitely frown upon that.

“
Fine.” I threw my hands up in disgust. “Where’s the rest of the stuff?”

“
It’s in the trunk of my car.”

“
So why don’t you go get it. I’ll start getting ready.”

“
Oh no. I’m not leaving you here with the book. You’ll take off as soon as I get my back turned.”

Damn. She had me on that one. “I wouldn’t do that to you. You can probably outrun me anyway. Your legs are a lot longer.”

She looked down at her legs. “That’s true,” she said. “Regardless, I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second. You come with me. I need help carrying the stuff, anyway.”

I trudged along beside her. Leaving the book back on the picnic table made me nervous. What if someone else came along and took it? Although, as I glanced around, it didn’t appear that anyone was in sight. The swings were devoid of children, the basketball court empty of players and the tennis courts were deserted, too.

We reached her car and she clicked her key fob with a swift punch from her long finger, unlocking the trunk. Inside there was a wicker picnic basket, along with several other bags.

“
You went all out for this, huh?”

“
Grab that blanket and the other bag,” she ordered.

I hated being bossed around by Miss Priss. I grabbed the red and white checkered blanket and the bag. She set her bags and basket down and closed the trunk before retrieving her items from the ground.

“
Hurry up, we don’t have all day.”

If she didn’t stop bossing me around soon, I was going to wring her neck. I fell into step beside her again.

“
You do have very short legs,” she said, glancing over at me. “It’s hard to keep up with someone tall like me. It must suck being so short. How short are you?”

“
I’m five-two. I hardly consider it an impairment.” I rolled my eyes.

I let out a sigh of relief when we reached the park bench again and the book was still there. Kim placed the basket on the ground and reached for the tablecloth. “Here give me that.”

I let go of the tablecloth and watched as she whipped it out in front of her, letting it cascade across the table, then smoothing it down with her hands. She grabbed the basket and placed it in the middle of the table.

“
What’s in there?” I asked.

“
I’m getting ready to show you, don’t be so impatient.”

“
I’m just curious what I have to work with, that’s all,” I said.

She opened the lid and pulled out sandwiches with artisan bread, green grapes, various cheeses, chicken, and a bottle of wine. “There are glasses in the bag.” She pointed to the canvas tote bag I still clutched in my hand. “I also put flatware and napkins in there.” She pointed at another bag. “That one has all those spices you use for the spells.”

The scent of the sandwiches, cheese, and fruit climbed upward, assaulting my nostrils and causing my stomach to churn. Normally, the food wouldn’t have had this effect, but with the current situation, the aroma made me want to heave.

“
Well, there isn’t exactly a lot of cooking for me to do,” I said.

“
Don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be, okay? All you need to do is sprinkle the magic on top of the food I’ve brought. He’ll eat it just the same; what difference does it make?” She snorted.

A lot. You couldn’t just throw slop at people and expect them to gobble it up. But I wouldn’t tell her that. She didn’t need to know. In order for the magic to work, I needed to prepare the food. That was part of the magical deal. If everything went as planned, I would cast the spell and Kim would think it had worked. And I’d be off the hook. I’d get the book and spices back, and Tom could handle Kim. Whatever punishment they handed down was none of my business as long as I got the café back. What would Rory think if he found out I was playing around with his life like this?

I prayed I wouldn’t cast a spell that would leave Rory with this awful woman for the rest of his life. He was lucky he got away from her when he did. I placed the bag on the table and removed the contents, setting the napkins and forks next to the food. Kim grabbed the bag with the spices and began pulling them out, one by one. I was never so happy to see little bottles of spices in my whole life.

“
Now, do you have everything you need?” She placed her hands on her hips, waiting for my response.

By the glare in her eyes, I knew my answer had better be ‘yes.’ “Uh-huh, everything looks hunky-dory.”

“
Good. Now get to work. I’m so excited, I’m ready to pee my pants.”

Oh, goody gumdrops. My magic had not only gone awry, it had created a monster. A clingy, looking-for-love-in-all-the-wrong-places monster.

Chapter Forty

“
Don’t do that, please. Peeing in your pants isn’t allowed. Mind if I have a seat?” I asked.

She waved her hands. “Yes, yes, whatever. Just do the magic.”

“
Now who’s being an impatient little thing?”

She stuck her hands on her hips and frowned.

I took a couple deep steadying breaths. “Okay, here goes.”

“
Rory will be mine forever.” She giggled.

She was scaring me. Kim had taken this too far. She was acting like the Wicked Witch of the West. Next thing I knew, her skin would turn green. I climbed over the bench and sat at the little wooden picnic table. Avoiding Kim’s stare, I lugged the book over beside me. The familiar spicy scent tickled my nose as I opened the cover. My fingers fidgeted as I looked up the spell in the index, then turned to the correct page. I’d put on a good show for Kim. My face felt flush as I scanned the page, then I grabbed the spices listed.

“
I think I’ll use the sandwich, okay?”

She nodded and waved her hand. “Whatever.”

“
But don’t forget which sandwich is his. I’d hate for you to get them mixed up. He may fall in love with me or, worse yet, you may eat it and fall in love with me.” I snickered.

How she trusted me not to perform a bad spell on her, I had no idea. The thought had probably never occurred to her that anyone would have the audacity to do something bad to her.

“
As if.” She snorted. “Don’t worry. I have everything under control. I think I can manage to give him the correct sandwich. Unlike some people I know.” She rolled her eyes.

I gaped at her. She knew. Somehow, she knew about the magic spell and had never said a word until now. How long had she known?

“
How do you know that?” I snapped.

“
I overheard. I was stalking you, remember?” She smirked.

I stared for a beat, then returned my focus to the magic that wouldn’t work. I wondered if I could get in trouble for practicing magic that I knew wouldn’t work? Oh well, I was willing to take that chance. I mean, could it get any worse than it already was? I sprinkled the rosemary on top, then the oregano.

“
May Rory Covington set eyes on his true love and never doubt his feelings again. So mote it be.” I placed the bread back on top of the sandwich and onto the plate. “There, all done.”

“
That’s it?” She frowned. “Are you sure it’s done? Aren’t there supposed to be sparks? I saw sparks when you did the magic before.”

“
Oh no, there aren’t always sparks, just sometimes. This particular spell doesn’t have sparks.” I tapped the page for emphasis.

She raised a brow and I wondered if my acting skills were good enough for her to fall for my little fib.

“
Okay, but if this doesn’t work, you’ll be sorry.”

I forced a smile, but it was stretched so tightly across my face, my cheeks ached. “I’m sure I will,” I muttered through gritted teeth.

“
Now we have to call Rory.” She clapped her hands, not noticing my forced enthusiasm.

“
We
have to call him?” My eyebrows rose.

She shrugged. “Okay, you have to call Rory. Tell him to meet you in the park for a picnic.”

“
Yeah, but don’t mention that you’re here, right?” I smirked.

“
Just do it.” She scowled and shoved the phone toward me.

“
Won’t he recognize your cell phone number?”

She grunted and grabbed the phone back from me, punching a few keys. “Here.” She shoved it back at me. “He won’t recognize it now.”

I held the phone to my ear and listened as it rang. My stomach turned with each beep, waiting for him to answer.
I
was about to hang up when his sexy southern drawl came through the other end. His voice made my legs quiver. Never had I imagined a voice was capable of causing such a reaction in me. I hoped Kim couldn’t read the expression of lust on my face.

“
Hi, Rory,” I said.

“
I didn’t know it was you. The phone didn’t show your number.”

Did he have my number memorized? Did he know whom he was talking to? Maybe he thought it was Kim?

My voice lowered. “It’s Elly Blair.”

Kim frowned and gave me a look as if she wanted to stab my eyes out with her nail file. I knew I’d better give my name or she’d throw a hissy fit if Rory really had recognized my voice.

“
I know who you are.” He chuckled. “I’d recognize your sweet voice anywhere.”

I shifted on the bench. “Um, I wondered if you weren’t busy if you’d like to come over to the park for a little breakfast picnic?”

I knew this sounded really weird. He’d think I’d lost my mind for sure. Kim tapped the table with her finger.

He paused, his soft breathing drifting through the line. I pictured what it would be like to feel his breath on my neck.

“
Sure, I can do that, but is everything okay? You don’t sound good. Is something bothering you?”

Not something bothering me, but someone. I couldn’t answer him. What could I say? Your nutty girlfriend has kidnapped me, forcing me to perform magic so you’ll love her? Kim frowned and poked me in the side.

“
Great. So I’ll see you soon?”

He paused again. “Um, sure, I’ll be there in a few minutes. It’ll just take me a few seconds to finish up what I was doing and get over there. What are we having, by the way?”

I looked at Kim as she stood guard over me, then at the table.

“
Sandwiches, fruit, and that sort of thing.” Why had she picked these foods for morning? Not much of a meal planner, was she?

“
Sounds delicious, you know I love your cooking.”

Kim’s face grew redder by the minute. She was pissed.

Even with Kim hovering over me with a death glare, his words still make me giddy. I held back my massive smile. “Okay, see you soon.”

Rory had to know I was acting weird. Maybe he just assumed I was weird. After all, we hadn’t met under the best circumstances. I shut the phone and handed it back to her.

“
He’s on his way, are you happy now?”

“
Delighted.” She pulled out a mirror and began layering gloss on her lips.

“
I can’t believe you want to deceive someone you claim to care so much about.”

“
It’s not deceiving. And I didn’t ask for your opinion anyway. So why don’t you shut your pie trap and help me lay out the food so it looks nice. And don’t you dare pretend you made this food when he gets here.”

I looked down at the stale, sad sandwich, its contents oozing over the sides. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“
My cooking is way better than yours,” she scoffed.

Talking to Mary Jane’s three-year-old niece was easier than this. Mine is better than yours. Something must have snapped in her weird world to make her this crazy. Wonder if it had anything to do with my magic or if she’d always been this looney. I stood beside her and placed three plates around the table.