Page 21 of Cursed Touch
“It’s the least I can do for Carter’s woman,” she said with a wink.
Vanessa’s heart stuttered, loving the sound ofCarter’s womanbefore remembering it was not her. “I’m not Carter’s woman,” she said, a slice of pain causing her to suck in a breath.
Brandy tipped her head to the side before she pulled a nearby chair next to her. “I don’t understand. What happened?”
She shook her head. “I’m not really sure I should be having this conversation with you. You’re his sister.”
“That I am, and if he did something, I’m going to whoop his ass like I wasn’t his baby sister.”
Vanessa could not stop a chuckle from slipping free. “It’s nothing, really,” she fibbed, ignoring her inner voice, which scolded her for the lie. Lying the same way he had.
“Errr,”Brandy said, mimicking the sound of a game show buzzer. “It’s something. Out with it.”
Vanessa looked around the busy coffee shop, but no one seemed interested in the two of them. She dropped her gaze to her lap, where her hands twisted with nerves. Sucking in a breath and needing someone to talk about it, she decided to take a chance and spilled it all.
Brandy’s face took on a variety of emotions, ranging from confusion to surprise to deep in thought. But she never looked at Vanessa like she’d lost her marbles. “So you’re saying you’ve noticed all of this, mentioned it to Carter, and he called you a liar?”
“No! He denied seeing the person’s eyes change at the restaurant, but he lied.”
She nodded slowly. “I—”
“Brandy!” someone called from behind the counter and waved her over.
Brandy peered at the person, then Vanessa and gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I really need to go see what’s wrong. Can we maybe continue this—”
Vanessa dismissed her. “Nah, it’s okay… go! Go get to work. I’d hate for you to get fired.”
Brandy’s laughter lit up her face. “I’ll kick his ass if he tries,” she said before whispering, “One of my brothers owns it.” She sent Vanessa a conspiratorial wink and rushed behind the counter.
She watched them work quickly to shorten the line that had formed. Brandy was kind, and her employees clearly respected her. Vanessa checked the time and realized she needed to get to her own shop. On Saturdays she opened before lunch and remained open until well past dinner. Her customers came from all kinds of backgrounds, and she did what she could to cater to their shopping needs.
An hour before closing, Vanessa stretched her neck from side to side and sighed. It had been a rather busy day, and while she was happy for the sales, she was beat. Leaning against the counter, she cast her eyes on her scribble. She had made notes of the items she needed to create in the coming day, aware it would involve some late nights, when the door chimed.
“Welcome! Please let me know if I can help you find anything,” she said to her notebook.
“Great! Maybe you can tell us why you won’t give Carter another chance.”
Vanessa’s head shot up as she met the curious gaze of one woman and Serena’s serious expression. “Umm… What?” she muttered, unable to grasp what was happening.
The first woman offered her hand once they reached the counter. “Hi, I’m Andrea.”
“Andrea,” Vanessa muttered. “Oh, Andrea! You have a birthday coming up, right?”
Andrea tipped her head and smiled. “I do—oh! Was Carter in here shopping for me? Because I’d love to not get another gift card to an electronics store. Bless him, he does not know how to shop for women.” Andrea faced Serena and asked, “Did I tell you he bought me a vacuum one year? A vacuum? What the hell was that? James is luckyhenever did that shit, or I’d have bopped him on his handsome head.”
“Andrea.” Serena chuckled before nodding toward Vanessa. “Remember why we came?”
Andrea huffed as she took in the store before meeting Vanessa’s eyes. “Yes, I remember, but dammit, there are so many pretty things in here.”
“Talk first, shop later.”
Vanessa blinked her eyes rapidly after moving them back and forth between the women. “Hi, Serena, was there a problem with your order?”
“Nope,” she said, popping the P for added emphasis. “I just wanted to come talk to you about Carter.”
“There’s nothing to say,” Vanessa said as she shut the notebook.
“Mhmm.”
