The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine (9 page)

“Are you?” Amelia Rose's expression turned questioning.

“Yes, since we were one year old,” Chloe said. “We grew up next door to each other, and our families are very close.”

“I see,” Amelia Rose said and pointed to the card with the blindfolded woman. “Your blindness is your greatest obstacle. To find happiness, your fate, you must be willing to strip the blinders away.”

Chloe's brow furrowed. She had no idea what that meant. She glanced at Jack, but he just shrugged.

Amelia Rose continued, pointing at a card. “This is you, Chloe.” She pointed to another. “And this is the good doctor. You need to learn to see each other without the veil of the past in order to ensure your future.”

Okay, now Chloe was really confused. Who knew her better than Jack? Nobody. Her own mother didn't even know her as well as he did. “I don't know what that means.”

Amelia Rose smiled, serene and peaceful, her gray eyes filled with mystery. “That's for you to figure out.”

How cryptic. And frustrating.

Jack's expression turned sly. “What aren't you telling me, Chlo?”

“I have no idea.” She laughed. “Jack knows all my secrets.”

Amelia Rose pointed to another card. “Tonight, all will be revealed, by the light of the full moon.”

Okay, then. This had been most unhelpful. Chloe offered a polite smile. “Thank you, what a lovely notion.”

The woman was clearly off her rocker. Maybe she was a little disappointed not to learn anything profound, but it had still been fun.

Jack studied the cards. “Anything else we should know?”

Amelia Rose gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “Don't be afraid.”

Jack chuckled. “I'll do my best.” He shot a sideways glance at Chloe. “How about a walk down by the lake?”

What did the older woman mean by that? What could Jack possibly be afraid of? She peered at him, but he didn't appear the least bit distressed.

It was clearly nothing. Besides, the cards didn't hold any real answers, just a bunch of nonsensical messages that added up to a big fat nothing. Like opening a fortune cookie. Suddenly, the room felt a bit stifling. “I'd love a walk after the car ride.”

Aunt Iris clapped her hands. “Isn't this exciting?”

“Indeed,” Amelia Rose said.

Chloe couldn't see one exciting thing about what had been said, but Aunt Iris was happy so that was something.

“The lake is lovely this time of year,” Amelia Rose said. “But before you go, I insist you have a cookie.”

She rose, and walked out of the room, returning seconds later with two cookies.

Chloe blinked at them. “They're tarot cards.”

They were gorgeous. The pictures appeared embedded into the cookie. A picture of a couple waving to a rainbow of cups. Delighted, Chloe pointed at the scene. “Cups seem to be a theme.”

“Indeed.” With a napkin, Amelia Rose took one cookie and handed it to Jack. “This is for you.” Then she gave the remaining one to Chloe. “And this is for you.”

They moved to stand, but she shook her head. “Please. You must eat them right now.”

Chloe laughed. “Not that I'm going to turn down cookies, but why's that?”

“They are magic,” Aunt Iris whispered.

Okay, maybe her mom was right to be concerned. Aunt Iris was clearly getting a bit loopy.

Amelia Rose smiled, shaking her head. “Nonsense. They are sugar cookies. One of my specialties, I like to see the pleasure on people's faces when they eat them.”

Far be it from her to deny the woman who'd been so gracious. Chloe looked at Jack and they gave each other “oh my God, they're crazy” smiles, but each took a bite.

And they both moaned.

Crazy or not, this might be the best cookie she'd ever had in her life. It almost melted in her mouth, crumbled and dissolved like something magical over her tongue. She took another bite. “Wow. I hope you sell these.”

“Christ, that's good,” Jack said, and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “I could eat a truckload.”

Chloe took the last bite and mourned its loss as she swallowed.

Amelia Rose smiled. “I'm afraid that's the last of them. They were meant for you.”

Chloe had no idea what that meant, but she wanted more.

A feeling of well-being swept through her, stilling her for an instant, before it evaporated into the air.

“I'll have more later tonight for the party if you so desire,” Amelia Rose said, her voice light and musical.

“Call us as soon as they're out of the oven,” Jack said, the amusement clear in his tone.

Amelia Rose gave Jack a sly smile. “I'll make a believer out of you.”

Jack laughed. “I believe in those cookies.”

“Me too.” Chloe placed a hand on her stomach. “They were divine.”

“Thank you, Chloe. You two have fun,” Amelia Rose said.

Aunt Iris waved them toward the door. “Now, go take your walk.”

Jack and Chloe thanked them, and right before the door clicked shut, she heard her aunt say, “Do you think it worked?”

Chloe frowned. What on earth were they up to?

Chapter 4

W
ell, that was strange.

As he and Chloe walked down the path toward the lake, they were both silent, hands stuffed into their pockets.

Jack didn't want to admit it, but he was a bit unnerved over the reading they'd received from the strange Amelia Rose. He didn't know why, she hadn't really said anything significant, or even particularly revealing. Besides, he thought tarot cards were full of shit. He didn't believe in magic.

Although he did believe in the power of the full moon. Every doctor did. The ER was always packed. More women went into labor. There were more accidents. More drunks. More craziness.

It wasn't until Amelia Rose mentioned the full moon that Jack gave the reading any real thought. When she'd looked him dead in the eye and told him not to be afraid, he'd brushed it off, but his survival instincts still kicked in.

And then there was that cookie. Which might be the best thing he'd ever put in his mouth, and he didn't even have a sweet tooth. He'd wanted to beg for more. They were that good. After he'd swallowed the last bite, a strange sense of . . . something washed over him. It had made him dizzy for a second, and he'd wondered if the proprietor had spiked the cookies. But just as soon as he felt it, it was gone, making him wonder if he'd imagined it.

Something else niggled at him. Something he needed to ask Chloe.

When they got to the water's edge, they stopped.

Jack stared into the water, rippling and glittering in the autumn sun. The trees surrounding the lake were in their full fall glory, deep reds, vivid yellows, and bright oranges. It could be a postcard it was that perfect.

Chloe took a deep breath. “It's beautiful here.”

He looked at her, still watching the water, her honeyed hair blowing, her high cheekbones, and flawless skin. He visually traced the line of her jaw, the slope and curve of her neck.

She was beautiful. Too beautiful.

He blinked, startled by the thought. Where had that come from?

He shook his head and cleared his throat, returning his attention to the sparkling water. “Yeah, it is.”

“What did you think of our reading?”

He opened his mouth to say it was complete crap, but those weren't the words that came out of his mouth. “Chloe, why did Greg break up with you?”

She'd told him they'd decided to stop seeing each other. That it had been mutual. But she'd told her aunt the idiot had broken up with her.

Which just proved the guy's stupidity.

Jack hadn't particularly liked Greg. Sure, he was a nice guy, respectable. Most of all he'd treated Chloe awesome, as she deserved. None of that mattered. Jack still hadn't thought the guy was good enough for her.

Chloe needed someone different. Someone special. Someone who would feed her sense of adventure and keep her from getting bored.

Jack just didn't believe Greg was that guy.

Chloe's head snapped to him, then snapped away before she shrugged. “He didn't think we were compatible.”

It was a lie. She always hunched her shoulders when she lied. “What aren't you telling me?”

“Nothing,” She smiled at him and waved her hand. “We weren't even going out that long, it's not a big deal. I wasn't attached to him or anything. I didn't even watch a romantic comedy after he left.”

It sounded good. Jack believed she hadn't been attached. But there was something she wasn't telling him. He didn't want to ask, but did it anyway. “Was it because of that night?”

She looked away and didn't answer.

“Chloe?” he pressed, suddenly filled with a relentless desire to discover what happened. When she didn't answer him, he took her arm and spun her toward him. “Tell me.”

She swallowed. “It's not a big deal.”

The vague answer confirmed the suspicions he'd harbored for weeks. “It was because of me, wasn't it? I'm the reason he broke up with you.”

She took a little breath before releasing it. “Let's just say you didn't help.”

Jack ran a hand through his hair. He was such an asshole.

He'd had a rough night. A kid had died on his table. The six-year-old little boy had been in a terrible car accident and Jack had done everything in his power to save him, but it hadn't been enough. Jack had to tell the parents their lives had changed forever. As a doctor he was used to delivering bad news, and there was a certain level of detachedness he'd had to adopt to deal with it. But kids always got to him.

After his shift, instead of going home, he'd gone to Chloe's. She was the only person who could make him feel better. As soon as she'd opened the front door she'd known he was upset, and she'd done all the things that were special to Chloe.

That he loved about her.

They'd ordered pizza, drank beer, watched bad movies, and she made him laugh. After a while they'd grown tired. He'd stretched out on her couch, and she'd lain down next to him. Eventually, into the second bad movie they'd fallen asleep, his arm thrown over her waist, her hand on top of his.

This wasn't an uncommon occurrence. They'd done it hundreds of times before.

Only Greg had come over, unexpectedly, to surprise Chloe with breakfast. Jack had seen the look on his face when he'd spotted them on the couch together.

It hadn't been happiness. Not that Jack blamed him.

How many times had he ruined relationships for Chloe? How many times had Chloe ruined relationships for him? It was never intentional. Never deliberate. He wanted nothing but the best for her. Yet it had happened too many times to count.

He sighed and pulled her close. “I'm sorry.”

She looked up at him, her green eyes enormous, a piercing vivid green that seemed to reach right into him. “It's not your fault.”

He curled one hand around her neck and stroked his thumb over her jaw. “I'm not so sure about that.”

She bit her lower lip, calling attention to her full, lush mouth. “The thing is, I would have chosen you over him. So that means it wasn't right.”

Jack knew what she meant. He often judged women by Chloe's very long ruler. Asked himself if he'd rather spend time with the woman, or with Chloe, to gauge his interest.

Guess who was always the winner?

He continued to rub the line of her jaw. “This is a problem.”

He had no idea why he'd said that. He hadn't meant to say it. Actually, he didn't want to talk about it. What he really wanted was to pretend that they could go on like this forever. Even though it was a lie.

She shook her head. “No, it's okay. When we meet the right people, we'll choose them. We just haven't met the right people.”

It was a good, logical, sound reason he wanted to latch on to. But he couldn't, something stopped him, but he didn't know what or why. “The thing is, Chlo, do we ever really let it get that far?”

An array of emotions—worry, concern, and finally fear—flashed over her features. “What are you saying?”

He needed to stop this. Pull away from her. Change the subject and forget the strangeness that suddenly had sprung up around them. “Nothing. I don't know.” He tightened his hold on the back of her neck and he thought he detected the slightest of tremors. “I don't want to be the cause of your unhappiness.”

She rose to tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his cheek, twining herself around him like a cat, before whispering in his ear, “You're not. You are my happiness.”

Out of nowhere, rushing through him like a speeding train, desire crashed into him, so strong and fierce it almost brought him to his knees.

What the fuck?

He did not think about Chloe this way.

That was off-limits. Had always been off-limits.

She slid back down his body and he gritted his teeth to keep his spontaneous lust in check. She leaned back and he looked down into her face. His attention settled on her mouth and stayed.

Her lips parted on a little gasp.

He had the overwhelming need to kiss her. To know what that goddamn mouth would feel like under his.

The moment caught. Held. Suspended.

A tension he'd never allowed to take root permeated the air between them.

Her fingers tightened on his arm, her chin tilted.

He grasped her waist. “Chloe.”

Her breathing kicked up. She blinked. Then blinked again, confusion etching in the knit of her brow. “Jack.”

Sanity rushed over him.

What in the hell did he think he was doing?

The tension cleared from the air, and with silent agreement they pulled away.

Both of them kind of laughed. A strained, uneasy sound.

She waved her hand. “Anyway, it's no big deal. I'm over him.”

He nodded. “He wasn't good enough for you anyway.”

She grinned. “We'll do better next time.”

“That we will.” He looked back over the water. “What time does the party start?”

“Five, but it's an open house–type deal, so we can go whenever we want.” She raised her hand against her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sun. “We should probably get back and relax before we get ready.”

“Good idea.”

He needed to get out of this fresh air so he could clear his fucking head.