Two Wrongs Make a Right Page 5

  “Unless,” Raynie continued.

  “Oh crap. I hate the sound of that.” Quinn’s shoulders drooped. So far, the guy sounded too good. There had to be a catch.

  “Unless, those C cups get you carried away, and you mess things up.”

  “Oh please. I’ve never known a man who didn’t love C cups. D is better, but C is okay.” Quinn laughed again. She was on a roll.

  “I’m serious.” Raynie pointed at her. “If you like this guy, and you will, you need to make him want you. Don’t get swept up by his charms.” She slid one more from the deck. “Last one. Knight of Cups reversed. Knights usually signify quick and decisive action, which means he could be a playboy type.” She leaned in closer. “Before you get too interested, check him out and make sure he’s truthful. He’ll be charming and successful. He’s a man who hasn’t heard ‘no’ much in his life.”

  Quinn tried to focus. The wine was affecting her. “Good choice. It has a knight in shining armor on a horse. He could rescue me from heartbreak. But the rider is holding another goblet. That makes me nervous.”

  “Again,” Raynie said, and tapped the card. “This isn’t speaking to his drinking. But referring back to the coin card. He must work to earn your trust. You must proceed slowly. The Nine of Cups shows potential in this relationship, but the rest of the spread reveals you should use your head and not your heart, when you deal with this man.”

  ~~*~~

  The next evening as Quinn dressed, she fantasized that the silly reading might be correct. Could he be The One? She considered the laws of attraction for a moment. Not the scientific concept, the philosophical one, where like attracts like. The cards got her negativity right. She had a negative attitude toward men. No, not men. Love—and the ability to find it, or maybe a better word choice would be to attract it. All the men she’d dated long-term could love, so why couldn’t they love her?

  Considering Raynie’s comment, perhaps Quinn was her own worst enemy standing in the way of her white picket fence fairy tale. But with her history, how could she change her attitude?

  She vowed to become more positive. Like attracts like. Positive attracts positive. She’d keep repeating that. But trusting and believing she’d find true love during the process? Well, she couldn’t do either of those. She could only hope.

  Later, Quinn fiddled with her necklace while she waited for her date. When she saw him, her heart fluttered. The man was more gorgeous than his photo. His salt-and-pepper hair complemented the pale gray jacket he wore over a light blue shirt and jeans. Positive attracts positive.

  He smiled as he approached, and she stood to greet him. Expecting a handshake, her face flushed when he embraced her, and held on a little longer than necessary. She stiffened, and he released her. “I’m Robert. It’s nice to MIRL and OMG, I have to say you are hashtag beautiful.”

  She gave him points for originality. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you in real life, too.” She sat, and took a fleeting glimpse from his head to his toes. No handkerchief in his coat pocket. No bulge up his sleeve. No visible animal hair on his clothing. She leaned forward, rested her hands on the table, and laced her fingers. “This may seem like an odd question, but what do you think about magic?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  On the drive home, Quinn asked herself if she could get past Robert-the-Stargazer’s one bad habit, and accept everything good about him. It wasn’t natural for a forty-two-year-old man to talk in acronyms. She’d tried to overlook the LOL’s and OMG’s, but found it necessary to make a quick trip to the ladies room to use her phone to find definitions for DQMOT, (don’t quote me on this) along with BTDT, (been there, done that) FWIW, (for what it’s worth) LBH, (let’s be honest) and several more SCRATM, (she couldn’t recall at the moment). She laughed out loud at the last one, her original addition.

  Robert excited her. If he’d only hush, he’d be perfect because he was easy on the eyes, and those lips definitely invited long slow kisses. Regardless of the verbal instant messaging, she’d agreed to see him again, and he’d said he’d call. Until he did, she had other interested parties on the site, and she didn’t intend to ignore them while waiting for kissable Stargazer.

  Pulling into her drive, she spotted Raynie’s bright red Volkswagen parked on the street, but didn’t see her in it. Once Quinn got to her apartment, she found both best friends sitting on the steps.

  “Your text said we’d meet tomorrow, but we couldn’t wait,” Megan said.

  Raynie stood and pulled Megan up with her. “Was he everything the cards said he’d be?”

  “AFAIC he was, BOTOH, he had his faults.”

  “Why are you talking like that and what is AFA whatever supposed to mean?” Megan asked.

  Keys in hand, Quinn stepped past them and unlocked the door, then motioned them inside. “As far as I’m concerned, he was, but on the other hand, he had his faults. That’s how my evening went. I’m pretty sure he named himself Stargazer because he may be from another planet. He uses all those IM codes and I’m not in the loop. I had to sneak around to do an Internet search on my phone to find the meanings. I was too embarrassed to tell him I didn’t know WTF he was talking about.”

  Megan plopped down into a dining chair. “Well, at least he didn’t have a live animal with him. Or did he?”

  “No, and he is charming and handsome.” She smiled at Raynie. “Your prediction was right. I agreed to see him again. If things go well between us, I can break him from that bad speech habit.” She saw pride in Raynie’s eyes, and after giving her such a hard time about the readings, that made Quinn feel good. “I took to heart what you said. I’m putting a positive attitude out there, expecting to get results.”

  “See, I told you. The reading helped.”

  “I hate to break up this moment, but we can’t stay,” Megan said. “Charlie gave me a curfew.”

  “That’s why neither of my marriages worked out,” Raynie said. “Cole and Bronson ordered me around like I was a child, instead of a wife.”

  Quinn often wondered why the cards had not shown her Tarot friend the outcome of her marriages. Another reason not to trust the predictions.

  “Don’t look at me that way,” Megan said to Raynie. “Charlie has a right to want me home by a certain time. It was more of a request than an order. Besides, tomorrow is his birthday, and I want give him an early present.”

  Raynie’s mouth quirked up at the corners. “Give him a blow job, it’s like flowers and candy to a guy.”

  “Funny,” Quinn said, trying to catch her breath. “True, but funny.”

  Megan straightened her face. “So who is the next guy on the list?”

  “Nobody I’m interested in. I’ll check it out again tomorrow, see if I have any new replies, and go from there.”

  “There are men at work I could recommend,” Megan said.

  Quinn shook her head back and forth so fast she got dizzy. Fix-ups never worked out, and it put friendships in an awkward position. “No. Remember when my coworker matched me with her cousin? We had nothing in common, but he wanted to go out again, and I didn’t. It made things uncomfortable at work because Melody didn’t understand why I didn’t fall madly in love with him. She never got over it. That’s my number one rule. No blind dates from friends or family.”

  “These guys mean nothing to me, so if you change your mind, let me know.” Megan flapped the air as if swatting a mosquito, then leaned closer. “Before I go, I have something I need to tell you.”

  From her expression, whatever it was, Quinn knew it wasn’t good. “I’m guessing this is bad news.”

  Megan released a heavy sigh. “I went to the airport today to pick up some business associates, and ran into Brad. He was returning to New York.”

  “So?”

  “He wasn’t alone. He had Blair with him.”

  “His secretary? She was probably dropping him off.”

  “No.” Megan pursed her lips. “She was traveling with him. I think they’re living togethe
r.”

  Quinn’s chest tightened, and she fisted her hands. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Take my word, they’ve been having an affair. Before your break-up.”

  “That chicken dick.” Raynie folded her arms. “He wanted to have his cake and eat it too.”

  For two heartbeats, Quinn froze, then tears came fast and furious. Not because she wanted Brad back, but because he didn’t want her, and never had. She was cake. Blair was frosting. Quinn would never be frosting.

  “Don’t cry. Not over that loser,” Raynie said.

  “He isn’t a loser. I am. Why do I keep choosing men who won’t be faithful or commit.”

  “I will not listen to you talk like that,” Megan said. “We’ve all picked the wrong man at some point. Lord knows there are so few good ones out there.”

  The way her love life had gone in the past, Quinn wasn’t sure there were good ones left. None were on her radar. She wasn’t interested in Walt, and regardless of what Stargazer said, he’d probably never call. “Okay, I’m done crying.” She sniffed, pulled a tissue from her pocket, and blotted her eyes. “He’s not worth it. I’ve moved on. At least I’m trying. Y’all go. It’s late. I’ll be fine.”

  She looked at Megan. “Go give Charlie those flowers and candy. He deserves them.” Quinn hoped the hint got rid of them. She wanted to be finished crying, but she wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

  She watched until Raynie’s tail lights disappeared, and then Quinn got into the shower, cried and screamed, until she had nothing left. Little by little, she was loving him less. Brad was history. Walt was history. And she could tell Stargazer was the type of man who got lots of frosting.

  Climbing into bed, she laid the PC across her lap and opened it. She may as well get a few sentences written about her first experience. Rethinking the crazy date helped take her mind off Brad and Blair. Oh God, they even sounded like a couple. She shook the thought away and typed.

  Be careful what you wish for.

  Online dating sites have over forty million members, and they’re all looking for the same thing. Love. Happily-ever-after. The one who makes their heart beat faster. Their breath come quicker. Their palms sweat. The one who creates magic.

  My first date, Wizard, didn’t affect my heart, breathing, or body temperature, but he definitely provided me with magic by producing a bouquet, pulling a coin from behind an ear, releasing a dove, and conjuring up a bunny.

  Moral of the story: whatever you wish for, be specific.

  I wished for magic and got it—in the air, behind an ear, and up a sleeve.

  ~~*~~

  The next morning, she faced something more nerve-racking than a blind date: her mother. For the past few weeks, she’d spoken to her on the phone, but not in person. When Mom had inquired about Brad, Quinn acted as if they were still together, and everything was fine. The good thing about phone calls, eyes couldn’t reveal the truth.

  She had no proof of cheating. It’d been weeks since she’d left him with the most expensive food tab he’d ever had. Plenty of time for him to start a new romance. But in retrospect, the signs were there. She’d just been too stupid to see them—or admit it was possible. The truth took another chunk out of her heart. Tears didn’t help, but she had plenty of reasons to cry. Other than Brad, she was scared Dad’s cancer came back. Terrified she’d never have a family. Days were flying by. If she didn’t fall in love soon, she’d be out of time, because early menopause was on her heels, and she was running like hell to stay ahead of it.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Before Quinn made it to her Mom’s she pulled to the side of the road and freshened her makeup to erase signs of crying. She had enough explaining to do without going into how frightened she felt that she’d never make her mother proud. She’d always failed at that.

  Quinn parked under the big oak and eyed the neighbor’s tire swing twirling in the breeze. As a child, she’d had one like it, and while she and Megan fought over whose turn it was, Raynie gathered acorns to string for her own special costume jewelry.

  The three of them, best friends, but so different. Megan, the smart one. Raynie, the beauty, and Quinn, practical and predictable. She smiled at the memory and wished for Raynie’s Ouija board to predict Mom’s mood. Even if it was good, the news of Brad riding off into the sunset would spoil it.

  Over the years, she learned visits went better if they started with a gift. She considered it a peace offering in reverse. She gathered her purse along with the small bag resting on the seat and got out of the car.

  The large oaks swayed and the scent of fresh bread permeated the air. Next-door-neighbor Mrs. Walker must be baking.

  Before Quinn knocked on the front door, Mom opened it. “I thought I heard a car,” she said, picking cat hair off Quinn’s shoulder. “It’s nice to see you. It’s been what—over a month?”

  Quinn leaned in for a hug. “It hasn’t been that long. Besides, we’ve talked on the phone several times, and I initiated those calls. You could call once in a while.”

  Her mother backed away and eyed Quinn. God, not here five minutes and already being judged.

  Her mom smiled. “You’re right. I should. It’s just I stay so busy, it’s late before I slow down enough to call. The church rummage sale is taking so much of my time. I meet myself coming and going.”

  Quinn held out the bag. “I brought you something.”

  “How sweet of you.” She removed the tissue, pulled out the candle, and pressed it to her nose.

  “It’s your favorite fragrance.”

  “I see that. Thank you.” Mom set the gift on the counter and picked up her glass. “Want something to drink? I have soda.”

  “No, I’m fine. So you’re in charge of the rummage sale again this year? If I get a chance, I’ll get together some things I don’t wear anymore and get them to you.”

  “The Bible Study Ladies will appreciate it.” She motioned toward the sofa, so Quinn walked over and sat. Her mother followed and eased into a side chair. “How’s your dad?”

  “Better.”

  “Is he seeing anyone?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, I’m sure you take very good care of him.”

  She should have taken her mother up on that drink. Something stronger than soda. Quinn swallowed hard. “I have something to tell you.”

  “What? That you and Brad are over, and he’s already flown off to New York with another woman?”

  Quinn flinched. “How did you…”

  “Know? Mary Lou Patterson’s daughter works in the same building as Brad. Water cooler gossip.”

  Damn, all this time her mom had known, and had been waiting to throw the news in Quinn’s face. She hung her head. “I’m sorry. I know you expected to have Brad in the family.”

  Her mom flapped her hand. “How could you let him get away? You could have had a wonderful life. Travel, social status, a fine home.”

  “He didn’t love me.”

  “A man doesn’t have to love you, to marry you. He just has to need you for something. Like having a prize to show off. I understand that secretary of his is quite fashionable. It might help if you stopped buying used clothing, and presented yourself as more affluent.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with how I dress. The items I buy are almost new. Nobody can tell they come from resale shops.” Quinn glanced down at her shirt and ragged jeans. “What’s wrong with this outfit?”

  Her mother’s gaze went from head to toes, then back up again, and settled on Quinn’s face. “Honestly, you look like a throwback to my era. An old hippie. Nobody is wearing large floral prints right now. And those flared sleeves look as if they might set sail.”

  “This happens to be a style. It’s called Boho. Short for Bohemian, and believe it or not, it’s in.” Quinn congratulated herself for standing up to her mother. She’d gotten used to the constant disapproval, and most days accepted it. But not today.

  Her mother took another drink and ignored t
he remark. “So if you’re unattached again, I have someone in mind. He’s a bit younger, by four or five years, but he’s attractive, and has an insurance office in that strip shopping center on Washington Avenue. If you want to check him out, he does commercials on channel six during the news.”

  This was no time to appear desperate. She couldn’t let Mom have the upper hand. Well, she’d already had it, but it was time to change that. “I’m already seeing someone. A teacher.” What was happening? She was sass-talking her mother. Before she could go on, the doorbell rang, and she went to answer it.

  “Hello, Quinn,” Mrs. Walker said. “I thought I recognized your car.” The frail woman shoved two brown bags toward her. “I brought you some fresh bread and hoped you’d take a loaf to your Granddad.”

  Mrs. Walker had always had a thing for Gramps. Funny that women her age were still interested in men. Quinn turned that over in her mind. Would she be trying to find a husband when she was in her seventies? Breath caught in the back of her throat. Lord Jesus, she should start baking bread now. “I’ll be happy to. Thank you.”

  “Marita tells me you’re engaged.”

  Mom sprung from her chair like a jumping jack and waved a hand in the air. “Oh that’s all off the table, Eula. I misspoke. Quinn’s managed to let another one get away. But no need to worry. She’s already seeing someone else. Let’s keep our fingers crossed this one works out.”

  Anger rose in Quinn’s cheeks. She had to get out of there before her sass became involuntary momslaughter. Because she wasn’t sure how much longer she could control herself, she grabbed her purse, and inched past the old woman. “Nice to see you Mrs. Walker.” When she reached the doorway, she turned back to Mom. “I have to go.”

  Mom set her drink down. “Oh, all right. You should come more often. Keep me up to date about what’s going on in your life so I don’t have to hear it through the grapevine.”

  “I will. Bye.”