Tax Cut (22 page)

“I’m sorry
. I should have checked on you…were you hurt when you fell through the ceiling?”

“I have a lower back issue.
Nothing that won’t be fixed with some therapy. Are you okay?”

“I am going to be okay.
I wanted to thank you for looking out for me. You tried to save me, you called the vet for Snickers. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m lucky to know you.”

“How is Snickers doing?”

“He’s recovering. He’s all bandaged up and still limping a little, but he is getting stronger every day. The vet said he’ll be back to normal in a couple of weeks.”

“Your daughter’s sleeping?”

“Yeah, it’s past her bedtime.”

“I won’t keep you then.”
Nero turned to walk away. I felt kind of bad for some reason.

“Hey, Nero?”
He looked back at me with hope in his eyes. “I owe you coffee or something. How about tomorrow?”

Nero got excited.
“Yes, yes, okay, thanks. Should I pick you up?”

“Nah.
I’ll have to drop off Mandy at my parents’ house. I’ll meet you at Take Ten.”

“
Okay, great. Is nine in the morning good?”

I nodded.
Nero left and I unbuckled Mandy from her car seat. I carried her into the house, slumped over my shoulder in a deep sleep. I took off her jacket and shoes and put her to bed in her clothes. It wasn’t worth risking waking her.

Then I dialed Bonnie.

“So, did you find someone for Nero?”

“I did.
She’s adorable. She’s here on a work visa from another country, but she speaks perfect English. She might even be shorter than Nero. She has a cute body too.”

“Are you sure she’s going to like Nero?”

“My nanny described the type of guy she likes. I think she’s into that ‘Guido’ type.”

“Will she meet us for coffee at nine tomorrow?”

“I’ll call her and ask.”

“Thanks
, Bonnie.”

“Anytime.
Hey, how did your date with the hottie go?”

“Ah, I’m in la-la land!”

“Did you dance without your pants?”

“No!” I said, appalled. “He’s a
gentleman, unlike the men that you must know!”

“Oh, you are no fun.
You should have been a nun.”

“
What is with the rhymes?”

“It just came out that way.
I’m telling you now. I’m your best friend. I want details.”

“There aren’t any details.
We ate dinner, we talked, and we kissed a little. That was it.”

“Well, when you do decide to do the horizontal hula, I’d better be hearing all about it.”

“Or?”

“Or, I won’t help you out with your Nero problem.
”

“Okay, okay.
You win. You’ll get all the details, when or if anything happens.”

We disconnected and I went to bed, dreaming beautiful dreams of a happy life.

Chapter 22

It was a rainy day.
I hoped that wasn’t an indication of how my day was going to go. I got up early in order to allow enough time to drop off Mandy and get to Take Ten to meet Nero. I arrived at the coffee shop first. I ordered a skinny cinnamon latte and an egg and cheese croissant. A girl in her mid-twenties was sitting at a table, looking as if she was waiting for someone. I paid for my order, then walked over to her.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Cassandra, would you?” I asked her.

“Yes! Are you Chelsey?” Cassandra had a sexy European accent, long, brown hair, and a beautiful smile.

“It’s so great to meet you.
Thanks for coming! I hope you don’t mind this little set up.”

“I don’t mind at all.
I moved to the States a few months ago. I don’t have many friends. I like meeting new people.”

“His name is Mike Nero and he doesn’t know this is a blind date. If you don’t like him, feel free to make up an excuse and leave.”

I grabbed my order from the counter, then rejoined Cassandra at her table. We started to chat a little. She was adorable! And sweet! I started to feel bad about setting her up with Nero. She was too good for him. My hopes weren’t high that she would like him. I wasn’t sure if he’d like her either.
He’s a blind fool if he doesn’t like her,
I thought.

Cassandra told me she was twenty-five and college educated.
She took a job as a nanny in order to have the opportunity to come to the United States, where she felt there were more jobs available. She lived in a small apartment in Madisen, not far from my house. I took her phone number. Even if she and Nero didn’t hit it off as I had hoped, I had just made a new friend myself.

Nero finally arrived, out of breath
, wearing a hooded windbreaker. “Sorry I’m late,” he huffed as he dripped into the shop and squeaked over to our table in his wet clothing.

“Why are you out of breath
and all wet?” I asked. “Don’t you have an umbrella?”

“I ran here and I had forgotten my umbrella at home.
”

“Oh?”

“My car broke down this morning; that’s why I’m late. I had to jog all the way here in the rain.”

The bath that Nero took in his cologne this morning was making my eyes tear.

“Why didn’t you call? I could have picked you up.”

“I didn’t think of that, but I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No problem. I was just catching up with a friend that I bumped into. Do you mind if she joins us? She’s new to the area and doesn’t know too many people.”

“Two beautiful
women having coffee with me? I doth not protest.”

Doth
?
His way of trying to be chivalrous?
At least he thought she was beautiful, if what he said was true.

“This is Cassandra,” I said.

He extended his hand to hers. I could tell she was checking him out. The thought of someone finding Nero attractive gave me the heebie jeebies, but I supposed there was someone for everyone. Cassandra didn’t make a sudden exit like I thought she might. In fact, she stayed for a whole hour. She laughed at his stupid jokes and touched him on the arm several times. Nero barely paid me any mind.

When the hour was up,
I took a hint and excused myself, leaving the two alone to get to know each other better. If he played his cards right, perhaps Cassandra would even give him a ride to the auto shop.

I went back to my car with the sudden realization that I had completely forgotten about my mother’s birthday, which was today.
Well, not completely. I had bought her a new Vera Bradley purse and already wrapped it last week. I decided I would go to the bakery to get a cake, head home to get the present, then go back to my parents’ house and see if I could take them to lunch or dinner. It was a little after ten in the morning, so I had plenty of time.

T
he rain had stopped. I was happy about this, because I hated running errands in the rain. I drove over to the party store and picked out some vibrantly colored balloons. Next stop was the bakery. There was a vanilla cake with butter cream icing in the display case, which I purchased after they embellished it with a few butter cream flowers and placed “Happy Birthday, Mom” on top of it. I loaded myself back into the car. The sun had come out of hiding and the air was warming up.

As I drove back to my house, I started thinking how happy I felt. My own luck in love and my skills as a matchmaker aside, I wasn’t sure if my elated feelings were from my life getting back to semi-normal, or that justice was served. I suspected it was the latter. Maybe Bonnie had been right all along. Maybe I did like investigating mysteries and seeing justice served. I wasn’t sure what my next move would be career-wise, but I thought I’d make a call to Bonnie’s Uncle Freddy. Ask him what it took to be a private investigator. I wondered if I could go back to school or how well it paid. I felt a little like being a municipal clerk again m
ight be a dream of the past. With the job openings occurring only when someone died or retired, and the fact that I wasn’t willing to take another job when the opening was from a death, my options in that field were limited.

I made it back to my house by eleven.
As I pulled up into my driveway, I saw a familiar person sitting on my stairs.

“Um, hi?” I asked more than stated.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“How long have you been waiting here?”

Bryce looked down at his watch. “Oh, almost two hours.”

I looked at him
, confused. “I guess you could have called first.”

“I suppose.”

“Why are you here?”

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

I thought about it for a quick second, but decided against it. Handsome, adorable Bryce. I didn’t trust myself not to do something I might regret later…like kissing him again.

“I’m so sorry
. I’m in a rush; now’s not a good time.”

“Off
to see your boyfriend?”

I wasn’t really sure if Kris was my boyfriend yet…but it sure seemed to be heading in that direction. “Um, no, it’s my mom’s birthday.”

“Hence the balloons.”

I looked back at my car, and could see all the balloons in the windows.

“Yes, I came home to pick up her present.”

“Well, then, I’ll be on my way.”

Bryce stood and walked past me.

“Wait,” I said. “Why would you come all the way here to wait for me for two hours, then leave without telling me why?”

He stood tall with his broad shoulders, looking me deep in my eyes.
His jeans fit in all the right spots. His unzipped jacket revealed a thin T-shirt covering his chiseled pecs. Okay, I shouldn’t have been checking him out. I had Kris after all; well, sort of.

After a long, dramatic pause, he said, “Chelsey, I know you
said you are seeing someone, but I really felt like there was a connection between us. When we kissed...” His voice trailed off.

I was speechless.

Bryce continued talking. “I’m attracted to you and I have a hunch you feel the same way. How long have you been with this guy?”

“A few months,” I replied. A few months was a small exaggeration, considering it took us a while to connect.

Bryce picked up my hand and kissed it. “
Well, since it’s a new relationship and you’re not engaged or married, if it doesn’t end up working out, then give me a call. I’d love to take you out on a date, but I’ll also be available if you just need a friend.” He sent sparks through my body with that kiss on the hand.

He let go of my hand and
I watched him as he walked down my driveway and got to his car. I continued to watch as he drove away.

If my life didn’t have one complication, it seemed to have another. Kris or Bryce?
I certainly had a lot to think about. I grabbed my mother’s present, and left the house doing all that thinking—about my life, my next career choice, and most of all, that kiss from Bryce on my hand.