Sugar And Spice (Holidays: Valentine) Read online

  Crissy reached over and snagged a French fry from Amy. “Only part devil. You have your angelic moments too.”

  Amy gave a mock suffering sigh and slid the rest of her French fries over to Crissy. “Flattery makes me weak, Cristina, and you do it so well.”

  Crissy shoved her salad away to make room for the extra food. She picked up a French fry and held it out to Amy as an offering.

  Amy took the French fry and pointed it at Crissy. “There’s one more thing. About Quinn.”

  Crissy raised her eyebrows, waiting.

  “I know I screwed up with Rob,” Amy continued. “I didn’t see the warning signs.”

  Crissy started to protest but Amy held up a hand and Crissy stopped.

  “I’m your best friend. I should have noticed something. But this time around…I’m keeping an eye on Quinn. I know you don’t know each other yet, so I’m not passing a final judgment on him anytime soon but there is something I do like.”

  Crissy paused, the burger forgotten in her hand. “What?” she whispered, her throat dry.

  Amy gave her a wry smile. “He makes you blush. It’s been three years since I’ve seen that happen.”

  Crissy groaned and rolled her eyes. Amy giggled and leaned her head on Crissy’s shoulder.

  “Ready to brave the clothing racks again?” she asked.

  Crissy wrinkled her nose. “Not really.”

  “You pick out something this time,” Amy said. “I’ve been pushing a little too much today, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t know you were so upset about this whole thing. Find something you feel comfortable in and we’ll go from there.”

  Crissy took a deep breath before she plunged into the aisles of clothes again. Amy wandered close by, allowing Crissy her space, but not smothering or trying to cheer her up. It was still frustrating to find clothes she liked that didn’t come in her size, but she tried not to think about it.

  Finally, she settled on a burgundy dress with a white lace trim around the collar, black lace leggings, and black boots. She inspected herself in the dressing room mirror and a small smile came to her lips. It felt right. She felt…good. Really good. A little flurry of butterflies took wing in her stomach. Maybe this wouldn’t be a disaster after all.

  Crissy stepped out of the dressing room, smoothing her hands down the skirt, to present herself to Amy.

  Amy’s eyes went wide and she placed a hand over her mouth. She grinned and gripped Crissy’s hand. “Do you like it?” she asked.

  Crissy nodded. “It’s perfect. I think…” She bit her lip against the grin spreading across her face. “Amy, I think it’ll be okay.”

  Amy beamed and Crissy smiled back, feeling a surge of happiness in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Crissy didn’t even try to sleep the night before the party. She stayed in the kitchen, her recipes spread all over the counter amid flour, sugar, egg shells and cooking utensils. She had long since filled Quinn’s order for the party, but as long as she continued to ice cupcakes and cookies or beat her fists into the yielding warmth of bread dough, the butterflies in her stomach were kept at bay and she didn’t feel quite so sick with nerves.

  When Amy walked in at the start of her shift, she let her bag slide off her shoulder and drop to the ground with a whump.

  “You haven’t slept a wink, have you?” she asked.

  Crissy looked up, unable to hide the guilty expression on her face. She nudged her empty coffee mug closer to Amy.

  “I could use a refill though,” she said.

  Amy sighed and kissed Crissy’s forehead as she took the cup and started making a fresh pot of coffee.

  “I thought you were feeling better about this whole thing?” she asked.

  Crissy shrugged. “Well, I was, but…it’s really happening. Now. Today. And…”

  “You’re freaking out,” Amy finished for her as she slid the now full cup of coffee onto the counter next to Crissy.

  Crissy let out her breath in a rush. “Yeah.”

  Amy leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “And you’ve been wondering, all night long, whether or not you’re actually ready for this. Right?”

  Crissy nodded. Amy placed her hands on either side of Crissy’s face and looked her in the eyes.

  “Take a flying leap, sweetie,” she said. “You will never know if you’re going to be ready for this until you take that next step. No matter what happens tonight, it won’t be the end of the world. You’ve always got me,” she finished with a smirk.

  Crissy smiled softly. “What would I do without you?”

  Amy screwed up one eye as if she had to think about it. “You’d kick ass like you always do. With me around, we kick ass together and we look fabulous doing it.”

  Crissy couldn’t help laughing at that. It felt good to laugh after the tedious, long hours of the night before. Maybe she should have called Amy earlier and talked to her…

  Amy picked up her bag and shoved it into Crissy’s arms. She waved at Crissy, shooing her out of the kitchen.

  “Go take a shower, get changed, all that fun stuff,” Amy said. “I’ll be up to do your make up in a little while.”

  “But what about the shop?” Crissy protested. Her stomach alternated between butterflies and a vise grip. She didn’t want to leave the safety and comfort of her kitchen. “I can’t just take the day off.”

  “Crissy, honey,” Amy said. “You baked all night. There’s enough food here to feed an army for a year. I’ll cover for you. It’s about time you took a break anyway.”

  Amy pushed her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to Crissy’s apartment above the shop. The bell over the shop door rang, signaling the arrival of the first customer for the day. Crissy stood in the middle of her apartment, clutching Amy’s bag and trying to stay calm. Amy paused with her hand on the door to Crissy’s bedroom.

  “You got this, sugar,” Amy said. “Stop thinking about it and enjoy the moment. Show me that excited smile you had yesterday when you found that dress.”

  Crissy attempted a weak smile that was nowhere near the desired effect. Amy tipped her head to the side and squinted.

  “We’ll have to work on that,” she said. “But we’ve got plenty of time. Don’t sweat it.”

  She winked and started to close the door but Crissy took a step forward. The idea of preparing for the party on her own, without Amy around, without the comfort of her kitchen or her recipes, it was terrifying and she wasn’t quite ready to be alone just yet.

  “Will you…?” Crissy hesitated, fumbling for words.

  Amy paused, waiting expectantly.

  “Will you help with the make up later?” Crissy asked. “I never could manage that magic you do with eyeliner.”

  Amy beamed. “You bet your ass I will. No way would I skip out on helping my best friend prepare for her big day.”

  “Thank you, Amy. For everything.”

  When Amy had left and the door finally closed, Crissy stood rooted to the spot for a full minute, willing herself to move, to stop thinking and enjoy the moment like Amy had suggested. She forced herself to set Amy’s purse on the bathroom counter then turn on the shower, as hot as she could stand it, and started to get ready.

  A few hours later, Amy came in with a steaming hot cinnamon sugar bagel and cream cheese and a fresh cup of coffee. Crissy was sitting cross-legged on her bed, her hair still wrapped up in a towel as she spread her scrapbook around her.

  Gently, Amy took the clipping Crissy was working on out of her hands and replaced it with the bagel and coffee.

  “You need to eat something, honey,” Amy said.

  Crissy accepted the food and tore off a chunk of the bagel. “I thought I’d just work on my recipes for a bit until you got up here.”

  “That was four hours ago, Cris.”

  “I could have sworn…”

  Amy crawled onto the bed behind Crissy and pressed a kiss to the top of Crissy’s head
.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I know you’re nervous. I should have checked on you earlier. But now it’s crunch time. Where’s your dress?”

  Crissy pointed to where the dress hung on the back of her bedroom door. Amy patted Crissy’s shoulders.

  “All right, get dressed and I’ll prep the make-up.”

  The moment Crissy put on her dress, her stomach flipped so hard and so fast that she wondered if she’d be able to keep that little bite of bagel down. She smoothed her hands down the front of the dress repeatedly, took a breath, then stepped out of the bathroom. Amy grinned and patted the bed beside her.

  “You look gorgeous, sweetie,” she said.

  Crissy sat on the bed as Amy worked her magic, gently tugging Crissy’s curls into obedience. She said nothing while Amy kept up a constant stream of chatter, as usual.

  “And I’ll be right here at the shop if you need me,” Amy repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “If he tries anything funny or if the party is an absolute train wreck, you just call me and I’ll come get you. Then I’ll send Manu to beat him up.”

  “You’ve said that already, Amy,” Crissy pointed out, the first words she’d spoken within the last hour.

  “Well I mean it.”

  Crissy hesitated before she ventured her next question. “You’re nervous too. Aren’t you?”

  Amy’s hands went still for a fraction of a second. She sighed and moved around to face Crissy.

  “I just really, really want you to have a good time. That’s all. And if anyone makes my best friend cry, seriously, well…I hate to say this, Cris. I know you think he’s cute. But I will knock out his kneecaps. And I’ll probably knock out his pretty front teeth too for good measure.”

  Crissy wrapped her arms around Amy and laughed. “I’ll be okay. But I’ll hold you to that if things go south.”

  They stayed that way for several seconds. Amy had been trying so hard to be excited over this, to think positively, but Crissy knew, with the way Amy’s embrace was bordering on almost suffocating, Crissy knew Amy was just as worried about tonight as she was.

  Finally, Amy broke away, placed her hands on either side of Crissy’s face and smiled. “It’s party time, sweetie,” she said.

  A minute later, Crissy was on the snowy sidewalk, the icy winter wind biting at her cheeks, with the box of baked goods in her arms. Amy stood inside the coffee shop door without her coat, tugging Crissy’s scarf a little tighter against the cold.

  “Now remember what I told you,” she said. “Call me anytime. I’ll be there to get you. No matter what.”

  “I know, Amy. I’ll be okay.”

  “No kneecaps and no front teeth. Considerably less attractive. Just sayin’.”

  “Go back inside, Amy. Please. You can’t threaten physical violence if you catch your death in the cold.”

  “Fine, fine, I’m going.”

  Amy ducked into the coffee shop and pressed her hand to the glass door. Crissy forced herself to turn around and start walking despite how shaky she felt. With every step further away from the comfort of the coffee shop, she wanted to turn right around and run back. But she didn’t. One foot after the other.

  Before she knew it, she stood at the door of the fire station. A burst of laughter echoed inside. For a split second, she considered calling Amy right then and heading straight back to the shop. Then she stopped herself. Amy had helped her to get this far. She was not going to turn around and disappoint her without even giving it a shot.

  Crissy took a deep breath and fumbled with the box for a moment before she raised her hand and knocked.

  The door flew open. Quinn filled the doorway. And Crissy forgot to breathe.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Hey,” he said. “Wasn’t sure if you’d changed your mind.”

  She shook her head. “Just…last minute things.”

  “Let me take that,” he said. He reached for the box and the weight lifted from her arms. “Come on in.”

  She followed him inside. Streamers and hearts dangled from the ceiling. A long buffet table had been set up along one side of the room. Quinn headed for it and she followed him, unsure where she fit in this full room of people she didn’t know. He set the box on the table and pried the lid open.

  “That smells amazing,” he said.

  A hand snaked over Quinn’s shoulder and came within an inch of snatching a pastry before Quinn slapped it.

  “Pete, don’t even think about it,” he said.

  “It’s just one,” Pete grinned. He nodded at Crissy. “Glad you could make it. Quinn here has been waiting by the door for the past hour.”

  Quinn shot Pete a dark look but Pete just shrugged.

  “Just stating the facts, buddy,” Pete said. He dove for the pastry then darted behind Crissy before Quinn could stop him.

  “If you watch really closely,” Pete whispered to Crissy. “You might see him blush.”

  “Pete,” Quinn warned.

  “I think he might kill you after the party’s over,” Crissy said.

  Pete shrugged. “Not afraid of the big guy. He hasn’t managed to kill me yet. And I always give him a hard time around the ladies he likes.”

  Now it was Crissy’s turn to blush. Quinn took a threatening step towards Pete. Pete chortled and took off.

  “Don’t pay any attention to him,” Quinn said. He reached out to place a reassuring hand on her arm but he stopped just short of touching her. She almost leaned into him, to make him touch her, to make his hand come in contact with the exposed skin of her arm…

  But his hand fell away and he returned his attention to the box of food.

  “I don’t mind,” she said. “Have you known each other long? He seems to have you pegged.”

  Quinn nodded. “Ever since kindergarten. He was the one who would put worms down the backs of little girls’ t-shirts on the playground. I was the one who apologized to the principle and got us out of it.”

  Crissy laughed and shook her head. “And you tolerate him still.”

  “Heaven knows why,” he said, smiling back at her.

  She nodded at the box. “Mind if I help you unpack that?”

  “You did all the hard work already. You should kick back, enjoy yourself.”

  She inched closer, her body practically vibrating when she felt his body heat and realized how close she was to him.

  “Yeah, but I’m not the greatest at parties and it’ll give me something to do.”

  “Ah,” he nodded. “I can totally understand that.” He moved over to make room for her and together they unpacked the pastries and set them out on the table. When they finished, Quinn snuck a sideways look at Crissy and slipped a white chocolate truffle into his palm.

  “I saw that,” she said in a low voice and a teasing glint in her eye. To think she’d been so nervous on her way here seemed impossible now. It felt as if they were old friends, bantering back and forth.

  Quinn plucked up a truffle for her and held it out to her. She raised an eyebrow, considered for a moment, then took it and popped it into her mouth.

  “Dessert before dinner, Quinn Spencer? You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  A woman stood behind Quinn, bouncing a baby in her arms. She shot him a mock stern look as he kissed her on the cheek.

  “Crissy, this is my sister, Megan,” Quinn said. “Melody, Crissy Atwood.”

  Megan’s eyes lit up and she smiled at Crissy. “Quinn as told me so much about you!” she said. “I couldn’t wait to meet you, especially when Quinn praised your baking abilities. He never praises mine.”

  Quinn rolled his eyes. “This is dangerous territory. Play nice, Megan.”

  “I’m just teasing, big brother.”

  Crissy nodded at the bundle inn Megan’s arms. “Is the little one yours?”

  Megan beamed. “She is. My fourth.”

  “If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look like you’ve had four children.”

  Megan cast an ap
praising look at Quinn. “I love her already.” She stepped towards Crissy and pulled aside a corner of the blanket to reveal a tiny pink face with big brown eyes peering out at her. “This is Rebecca. She’s six months old.”

  “She’s so small,” Crissy said. She inched one finger into the blankets. Rebecca’s hand caught Crissy’s finger and held on.

  “She likes you too,” Megan said. “The whole family approves already.”

  A small, pleased smile crept to Crissy’s lips.

  After that, it didn’t take long for Crissy to get swept into the party. It was like one big family and she had been enveloped into their warm embrace as if she’d been one of them all along. She quickly found herself playing games, trading jokes, and generally feeling relaxed in the group, despite her earlier misgivings. And everyone praised her cooking, making her blush harder every time.

  She didn’t know when Quinn suddenly disappeared. Throughout the party, he hadn’t left her side, providing introductions, keeping her champagne glass full, and generally making sure she was always comfortable and never felt out of place or alone in this group of strangers. But now she couldn’t find him in the crowd. Then Pete invited her to a game of cards and she was swallowed into the festivities again.

  Sometime later, Crissy’s head started to spin. She had long since lost track of how much champagne she’d had which probably wasn’t helping matters. A little shaky on her feet, she headed to the door but Megan stopped her with a hand to her arm.

  “You doing okay, Crissy?” she asked. “You look a little pale.”

  “Just need some air I think,” she said. “I’ll be fine. A bit too much champagne.”

  Megan nodded with a smile of understanding. “Oh, you poor thing. I’ll get Pete to ease up on the champagne, maybe switch out some non-alcoholic punch.”

  “That would probably be a good idea.”

  Crissy slipped outside and shut the door on the noise inside. She stepped out on the sidewalk, staring up at the inky dark sky and twinkling stars above.

  “Hey.”

  Crissy startled and nearly slipped in the snow. Quinn sat on the hood of a red pick-up truck, his hands tucked in his pockets, his coat collar pulled up around his ears.