The Good Luck Potion (The Good Luck Series) (6 page)

Sue rolled her eyes and picked up the menu again. “So why did you choose this place?”

“It’s where I met Phil. I thought it might bring you some luck.”

Without thinking, Sue reached up and touched the gris-gris.
A little more luck couldn’t hurt.
“Okay. So since you’ve been here before, what do you recommend on the menu?”

Kimberly
winked. “Leave that to me.”

The waitress came by
a few moments later and she gave their order. “We’ll start with two Tennessee Raspberry Mojitos and an order of Mozzarella Croquettes.”

When the waitress left, Kimberly turned back to Sue. “So how was work?”

“Fine.”

“Just fine?”

Sue shrugged. “Yeah. Everything is going good. Wright and Associates is strong again, not as unstable as when Keely and I joined the firm.”

“
That’s great. How is Keely? Didn’t you tell me she’s expecting?”

“Yeah. She’s g
etting bigger as the days go by. Our boss Jama is due soon so we’re anxiously awaiting the birth of her twins.”

“
Gosh. Babies seem to be popping up all around me. I can’t wait to have one of my own.”

“Really?
” Sue tilted her head and stared at her sister for a minute before speaking again. “You never wanted kids before.”

“I know.” Kimberly
grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Phil kinda freaks when I bring it up so I know we won’t be starting a family anytime soon, but just thinking about holding one of our own makes me feel all warm inside. Who would have thought me, the one who wouldn’t even play with a baby doll as a kid, would be itching to have a baby of her own.”

Sue slowly nodded feeling as if her little sister had been abducted by an alien and replaced with someone she didn’t know.
First she gets engaged and now this? If things didn’t pick up in the romance department Sue was really going to start feeling like an old maid.

Luckily before she could get too depressed by Kimberly’s revelation t
he waitress returned with their drinks and appetizer.

Still smiling, Kimberly
picked up her glass in a toast. “Here’s to getting what we both want.”

Sue raised her own glass
and touched the rim to Kimberly’s then took a sip. But before she could fully swallow, she caught a glimpse of the last person she expected to see tonight. And he wasn’t alone. Phil was with him. Choking on the drink, she set the glass down and reached for a napkin, covering her mouth as she coughed.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded and pointed toward the door as her coughing slowly subsided.

Kimberly swiveled in her seat. “I don’t believe it.”

“You didn’t tell him we were coming here?” Sue heard the accusation in her tone and winced.

“No.” Kimberly
turned back around, frowning. “I told Phil we were going out and he should go out with his friends instead of staying home. Does it really matter that they picked here?”

“
Yes. It matters. I can’t seem to get away from that guy. He keeps showing up everywhere I go.”

“I don’t understand
. I think this is kinda perfect. You need another opportunity of a chance meeting for him to ask you out.”

“
I found out today that he’s Keely’s brother. Did you know that?”

“No. I didn’t.
How would I? Is that really a problem?”

Sue nodded. “I
t could be. Though Keely did say she didn’t have a problem with me dating him.”

“Just because they’re here doesn’t mean they’ll see us. We can have our fun and slip out without them noticing.”

“I don’t think that
’s going to happen. Another guy has joined them and he spotted us.”

“Really?” Kimbely turned around again and waved. “
Oh, that’s Brandon. Did you meet him the other night?”

“No. I didn’t. Is he in the wedding too?”

“Yeah, he’s the best man.”

“Finally you get here,” Brandon said, coming up to
Alex and Phil as they waited at the hostess stand to be seated. “What took you so long? I came straight from work and figured I’d be the one late.”

“I took a short cut
.” Alex frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You mean you took what you
thought
was a short cut. A lot has changed while you were gone,” Phil retorted.

“It looks
like we aren’t the only ones here tonight. I just spotted Kimberly and her cute sister at a booth,” Brandon said.

“You’re kidding?” Phil
stepped around him to get a better look into the dining area. “Well they…. I had no idea they were coming here. Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

“Why should we do that?” Brandon asked. “You two aren’t fighting are you? Did you call the wedding off?”

“No,” Phil barked.

Alex smiled. “
Then should we go say hi?”

“No.”

Phil’s quick response surprised him. He’d figured his friend would have wanted to at least say hello to his fiancée. 

“Okay then. Should we sit at the bar or grab a table?” he asked as the hostess arrived.

“Booth.” Brandon and Phil chimed in unison.

The hostess picked up menus and wrapped utensils from the stand and flashed them a bright smile. “Right this way, gentlem
en.”

Alex
waved at Sue as they walked past their booth. She half-smiled at him and quickly looked away as a flush crept in her cheeks.

“Phil,” Kimberly said, causing his friend to stop.

“Go on, I’ll catch up.”

“Sure.” Brandon
grinned and punched Alex in the arm. “I bet he’ll ask them to join us.”

“
I don’t know. He was pretty adamant about our guys’ night out.”

“Don’t let that fool you. He has been so wrapped up in her since they started dating I was shocked he even wanted to go out tonight.”

“Really?”

Brandon nodded.

That sure didn’t sound like the Phil he had known before he left town
because that guy was always going out on the weekends to have a good time.
e’sh

The hostess showed them to a round corner booth large enough to seat six. She laid down
the menus, smiled, and left.

“Apparently the hostess thinks so too. Why else would she seat us at a table larger than what we need?” Bra
ndon sat and slid to the center of the round.

Alex
sat down and scooted in, shaking his head. When he looked up he saw Phil and Kimberly holding hands and walking toward their table together. Sue followed close behind them.

“I hope you don’t mind us joining you
.” Kimberly slid in beside Brandon and Phil joined her.

“Not a problem. Is it Alex?” Brandon shot him an amused look
and he could silently hear the
‘I told you so’
in his voice.

“No problem at all.” He scooted closer to his friend to make room for Sue to slide in beside him.

She set her drink and the half-eaten appetizer on the table before sitting down. “Sorry to spoil your guys’ night out.”

“You haven’t. The more the merrier. Isn’t that right, Alex?” Brandon said.

Alex shot his friend a look and kicked his foot underneath the table before he turned to Sue. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Same here.” She smiled and reached for her drink.

“That looks good. What is it?” he asked.

“A raspberry mojito.”

“Too girly for me,” Brandon said, reaching for one of the croquettes.

Sue watched him snatch one and her eyes enlarged.

Alex had a feeling that was strike one against his friend in her eye. “You’ll have to excuse him. He grew up without learning any manners.”

“
Obviously.”

“What?” Brandon asked, looking between them.

Kimberly giggled, snuggling closer to Phil. “Pay Sue no mind, Brandon. Help yourself. You too, Alex. We can order more if necessary.”

“I’m good
for now.” He turned his attention back to Sue. “I hope my sister didn’t work you too hard this afternoon.”

“She didn’t. It was pretty quiet once she left for her meeting.”

“Right. I forgot she said she had one.”

Sue tapped her painted nails on the drink glass. “How was the rest of your day?”

“I took my dog to the vet.”

“Oh? Is Duke ill?”

“No. Just a routine check-up, but we had to wait a long time because his vet was late returning to the office.”

“I bet
Kyle went to Jama’s doctor’s appointment with her.”

“Yeah.
Something about her doctor having to make an unexpected delivery right before their appointment. I guess babies have no concept of those things.” He grinned, hoping she found his humor amusing.

But she didn’t. Instead she nodded politely and looked across the table at her sister before she checked the time on her watch. He had a feeling she was itching for an excuse to bolt. Neither Phil nor Kimberly would appreciate that so he tried to find a way to make her stay.

“I hear there’s a dance club next door. Do you like to dance?”

“Sometimes.
It depends on the kind of music that’s playing.”

“What’s your preference?”

“Current pop, a little hip hop. But sometimes I’m into more standard sounds like Michael Bublé.”

His brow arched.
“So a waltz or slow dance?”

She nodded.

“What’s the mood tonight?”

“The slow dance.”

“Maybe a moon dance?”

She grinned, running her finger around the rim of her glass. “What are you suggesting, Mr. Jones?”

“That I know Bublé like you know Bublé.”

She giggled. “Not many guys would.”

“True. But music became a passion of mine while I was in Alaska.”

“I don’t think the underground is the place to find his music. Maybe we’ll have to go somewhere a little more private for that.”

“Maybe.” She was much more pleasant tonight and he was enjoying their conversation so much he wondered if he’d made too quick of a judgment about her. He had a feeling he’d regret asking, but he did it anyway. “I don’t suppose you’d want to go find a place to listen to some Bublé?”

She angled a look at him that read loud and clear ‘
you got to be kidding me’.
But a moment later she surprised him when she reached for her purse and shrugged. “Why not.”

H
e smiled. “All right then. Let’s go.”

Sue got out of the booth and he followed.

“Where are you going?” Kimberly asked, looking alarmed.

“We
’re going to go dance,” Sue explained. “I’ll see you later.”

“That sounds like fun.” Kimberly looked at Phil who shook his head. “But I guess we’ll stay here.”

“Count me out,” Brandon said, snagging the last of the appetizer.

“Are you good to get home?” Alex looked at Phil.

Phil grinned and turned to Kimberly. “Will you drive me home tonight?”

She nodded and kissed him on the cheek.

“Then we’ll see you folks later.”

Chapter Five

Alex led Sue to his truck and opened the door for her before running around to his side. He got in and started the engine, adjusting the AC to make it more comfortable for her. “Are you hungry?”

“A little.”

“Do you want to grab a pepperoni pizza? Go back to my place and check out my CD collection?”

She grinned. “That sounds good.”

“All right then. Have you ever met Duke?”

She shook her head. “Not in person. Pictures yes, but I’ve only heard about him.”

“Then I think it is high time that you meet the legend.”

She laughed.
“Legend? I wouldn’t exactly call him one.”

“
You wouldn’t? But he has a reputation, you know. Keely has told me tales of his antics while I was away. Surely you’ve heard them as well?”

“I have. I guess the funniest is where Duke dragged Keely through the bushes
at the Fountain City Lake to get to Darren.”

“Ouch. She didn’t tell me about that one.”

“Could you blame her? If it had been me, I wouldn’t have shared that story with anyone because it would have been too embarrassing to admit that I let an overweight dog get the best of me. She had a few scrapes and bruises after that incident, but she faithfully took him back for his jogs.”