Читать книгу A Risky Proposition, Book 1 of The Third Wish Duology - Dawn Addonizio - Страница 11

The haranguing buzz of my alarm jerked me from sleep and I groaned, nearly sobbing in frustration. Not only was 8 am an ungodly hour to be awake, but a quickly fading dream—involving Sparrow, and me running my fingers over his magically glowing tattoos—left me wanting to smash the evil, unrelenting piece of machinery to bits.

Even in the best of circumstances, I’d never been a morning person.

I forced myself into a sitting position before sliding the alarm switch to ‘Off’, knowing that I ran the risk of drifting back to sleep if I lay down again. The thick aroma of coffee wafted through the closed door of my bedroom, along with the sounds of Sunny puttering around in the kitchen. I angrily swiped at an unexpected tear, realizing those simple morning rituals reminded me of Jeremy.

I told myself I’d feel better after a quick wash in the sink and my usual double-decker mug of hot tea with honey.

As I passed through the kitchen, Sunny grunted and gave me a weak semblance of a smile in response to my weary, “Morning.” She then returned to watching the coffee pot’s progress, one hip resting against a cabinet. She folded her arms across her chest and her black silk robe drifted open to reveal a crisp cotton tank top and shorts in a pretty shade of melon beneath.

I dropped a tea bag into my favorite mug and filled it from the hot water dispenser to steep. I glanced down with a grimace at what passed for my own customary sleeping ensemble: a ratty old Grateful Dead t-shirt and boxers whose material had been washed into perfect softness, but whose elastic had disintegrated. The swell of my hips was the only thing that prevented them from falling down around my knees.

I shuffled forward into my dining room/office to turn on my computer and blinked numbly at the screen as it booted up. Sunny and I knew each other well enough to appreciate that attempts at conversation were futile before caffeine.

An hour later we were both more coherent as we sat in companionable silence, working on our laptops, with Salsa music pounding through the flat-screen’s speakers. Sunny was writing a syllabus for the medieval history class she would be teaching next semester at Boston College, and I was plugging away at my usual data entry after having gone my morning rounds with Cindy.

Jasper was curled up on a chair by the sliding glass door, basking in a patch of late morning sunlight. Nothing supernatural here—just your ordinary every day Monday. Thank Goddess for small favors.

I could get used to this, I thought with a twinge of regret. I was going to be lonely after Sunny left.

The phone rang and I saw on the caller ID that it was Angelica. It had only been a week and I could barely contemplate the thought of returning to a life without maid service. I was really becoming spoiled.

“Good morning, Angelica,” I said brightly.

“Good morning, Sydney! Shall I come by now or later?”

“Now’s good.”

“Who was that?” asked Sunny as I hung up.

“That was Angelica, from the hotel’s cleaning staff. She’s on her way up now. And just to prepare you, she’s about six feet tall, looks like a supermodel, and wears one of those French maid outfits. She’s really sweet, and she’s amazing at cleaning. Oh—and she likes to talk about sex.”

I snickered at Sunny’s bewildered expression as I got up to answer Angelica’s soft knock.

“Hello Sydney! Just the usual today?” she asked, glass cleaner and duster in hand.

“That would be great.” I smiled as I stepped to the side so she could enter.

“Salsa music—what an invigorating way to begin the day! Oh—do you have company?” she inquired, glancing at one of Sunny’s suitcases on a nearby chair. “I hope it’s a handsome man,” she whispered conspiratorially. “It would be a shame not to properly break in that bed.”

“Nope, just me,” Sunny commented.

“Oh, I beg your pardon!” Angelica colored, the rosy tint making her even more lovely. “I didn’t see you there. And I didn’t mean to presume you required a man to break in your bed, either,” she told me with a wicked grin.

I laughed. “Angelica, this is my best friend, Sunny. She’s visiting from Boston for the week.”

“Nice to meet you, Angelica. And believe me, I would be just as pleased as you to see Syd break in her bed with a handsome man,” Sunny teased. She dodged as I swatted at her.

“Lovely to meet you, Sunny,” Angelica replied as she continued into the sitting room to begin her cleaning routine. “Maybe, then, your combined powers of attraction will draw a pair of beautiful men to you before the week is out. Or at least one for you to share—when approached correctly, that can be a truly bonding experience between friends, you know.”

I swallowed and shook off the unbidden image of Sunny, Sparrow and myself sharing my new bed. Sunny’s snort of mirth mirrored my own, and I said, “I’m not sure our friendship has a need for that type of bond, Angelica.”

She shrugged as she bent over to dust one of my frogs. “Suit yourselves—a pair of men it is, then.” She grinned suddenly as she added, “Maybe hot Latin lovers, who’ll appreciate your taste in Salsa music.”

“I like the way you think,” Sunny said.

Angelica continued about her work as Sunny and I returned to our own. I couldn’t help but envy her unconscious sex-appeal as she matched her movements to the beat of the music. If I hadn’t liked her so much, I probably would have had a hard time not hating her. I was willing to bet that men fell helplessly at her feet wherever she went.

She disappeared into the back rooms for a while and then began returning supplies to her cart. “Thursday?” she inquired cheerfully.

“Yes, please,” I agreed.

“See you then, Sydney. It was nice to meet you Sunny. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

“Thanks—we’ll let you know how it goes with the Latin lovers!” Sunny called.

Angelica paused and pursed her lips thoughtfully. “The angle and depth of that couch might be conducive to some interesting seated positions, especially if you enjoy being on top.” She gave it an appraising once-over and nodded before turning to push her cart into the elevator.

“You know, I think she might be right,” Sunny mused a moment later.

I shook my head and went back to work.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Later that afternoon Sunny came for a ride with me as I made my rounds to pick up paperwork from my employers. Mr. H appeared at the back door to scream obscenities at Cindy for taking too long to talk to me. I grimaced and slammed the car door to drown him out.

Sunny whistled. “That is one nasty little man.”

“Ugly inside and out,” I agreed.

I snapped up an empty parallel parking spot right in front of Haute Hannah’s on crowded Worth Avenue, and made a mental note to ask Lorien if she was responsible for my good parking fortune again.

“You should come in with me. Hannah has a really nice shop, and you’ll get a kick out of her,” I told Sunny.

“Sure, why not?” she agreed with a shrug. “She won’t try to get me to buy anything though, will she? I doubt she’s in my price range.”

“I don’t think you have to worry,” I replied. “Hannah’s a consummate saleswoman who knows her clientele. She generally saves her sales pitch for the ladies in Chanel suits—or at least designer jeans.” I glanced down pointedly at our casual attire as we crossed the sidewalk.

“Hey! I paid thirty dollars for these at The Gap,” Sunny argued with a laugh.

“Twenty bucks at Ross,” I countered smugly, indicating mine.

“Nice.”

The spotless glass door glided open with the tinkling of a bell, and we stepped into the cool, bright interior of Hannah’s shop. Soft French jazz drifted over us, and brilliant shimmers of light dazzled our eyes as they reflected off of the precious metals and gemstones displayed throughout the store. The glittering intensity was relieved by pastel blue and white walls, delicately sponge painted to resemble a tranquil sky.

“Oh! Hello, Sydney! I am so happy to see you!” Hannah rushed forward, a compact force of nature, sparkling with jewels and floating in a cloud of rich perfume. I leaned down so she could kiss me once on each cheek.

She took my hands in the manicured fingers of her own, spreading them out to get a look at me. “You are looking good, no? You have lost weight! And who is your lovely friend?”

I grinned, always a little overwhelmed by Hannah’s enthusiastic personality. “This is my good friend Sunny. She’s visiting from Boston for a few days.”

“You look beautiful as well, Sunny!” Hannah complimented as she reached to squeeze Sunny’s fingers in greeting.

“Why thank you,” Sunny smiled, reclaiming her hands just in time to stifle a sneeze.

“À vos souhaits!” Hannah called out in response to Sunny’s outburst, as she bustled back behind a display case of multi-hued crystal perfume bottles to retrieve my paperwork.

“So, you girls will hit the town tonight and paint it rouge, yes?” she continued, a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she glanced up from gathering files. “Les hommes, they will find you irresistible!” She spread her arms in a grand gesture as she sashayed forward to hand me my work.

“That’s the plan!” I agreed. Actually, we were going to stay home and get takeout, but I wasn’t going to disappoint Hannah with the boring version of our plans.

She tapped my arm and gave a delighted laugh. “Oh, to be young again!” she sighed dramatically.

Sunny attempted to subdue another sneeze, and Hannah’s brows drew together as she gazed at her in concern. “But your friend, she is maybe coming down with the cold, no? Perhaps you should take it easy. You do not wish to chase the handsome men away with a dripping nose.”

Hannah reached out to give Sunny a motherly pat, and she immediately sneezed again, retreating toward the door with a strangled, “I don’t want you to catch anything from me Hannah, but it was so nice to meet you, and you have a beautiful store! I’ll just wait in the car, Syd.” She exploded with a final sneeze as she fled.

“You should see that your friend gets the rest. We are much susceptible to illness when we travel, yes?” I swallowed my laughter and thanked her for her concern as I left with the files.

I dropped into the driver’s seat to the sound of Sunny purging her nose into a Kleenex. “Holy hell, Syd!” she sniffed. “What does that woman do—take a morning dip in a pool of perfume? That was worse than sticking my head in a vat of faerie dust! I’m going to have to change and wash my hair just to get the stench off.”

“Hannah likes her perfume like she likes her jewelry,” I shot her a grin as I pulled into traffic and turned down a side street toward the nearest bridge spanning the inter-coastal, “outrageously expensive and displayed in overwhelming force.”

“Well, she’s very sweet, but I’m surprised she doesn’t asphyxiate all of her customers. You’ve got allergies—how do you stand it?”

“I seal off my nose and start breathing through my mouth as soon as I walk in the door.”

“Really? Thanks for the forewarning,” Sunny intoned sarcastically.

I snickered. “It’ll wear off soon, I promise.”

Sunny groaned. “I guess it’s kind of fading already.”

“Enough that you’d come to a restaurant with me instead of bringing home takeout?” I coaxed.

“Sure,” Sunny replied with a shrug.

“City Place is close.”

“Sounds good.” Sunny sniffled again and I hid a smile.

We parked in the garage and walked over to one of the more casual eating venues with dim lighting and big leather booths. We shared a huge French fry appetizer dripping with cheese and bacon, and split a pitcher of their freshly brewed beer. We justified the calories by having salads on the side.

Pleasantly sated, we decided to make a detour by Starbucks before going on to browse the bookstore. Sunny ran to the bathroom while I waited to pay. The store was abuzz with jonesing caffeine addicts, and a flustered cashier rang me up, noisily breaking open rolls of change into her drawer while I stood there with my credit card out.

“I’ve got it,” a voice said behind me, handing the cashier a ten over my shoulder before I could get a word in.

“Really?” I smiled in confusion and turned to find Mickey standing there. The cha-ching of the cash register sounded before I could refuse.