Dangerous Curves Ahead: A Perfect Fit Novel (10 page)

Ellis couldn’t see her small mother behind Mike’s large frame but there was no mistaking the sound of her voice.
Frick. Crap. Shit!

“Dr. Gregory?” Mike whipped around and let Ellis go before she had the chance to squirm away.

“Michael Edwards?” Ellis watched Phillipa’s mouth drop open; then a huge smile spread across her face. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I moved back!” Mike stepped toward her mother, picked her up, and spun her around. “How are you, Dr. Greg?” He put her down and smiled at her. “I think about my favorite professor all the time.”

“Not enough to come and see me, you big lug?”

“Mom, you know Mike?” Ellis couldn’t believe the scene unfolding in front of her. Mike knew her mother? Her mother knew Mike? And they liked each other?
No freaking way
.

“Know him? He was the only boy in my eco-feminism and ethics class. I thought he was dumb as a rock, but what did I know? He turned out to be one of my best students.”

He looked at Ellis and then back to Phillipa. “I only signed up for the class because I thought it would get me laid but I actually learned a lot from Dr. Greg. She’s amazing.” Suddenly it dawned on him. “Did I hear you call her
Mom
?”

“Yes.” Phillipa came to stand next to Ellis. “This gorgeous female is my daughter.” She raised her graying eyebrow. “How exactly do you know each other?”

Oh crap
, Ellis thought. She recognized that look in her mother’s eye. Her meddling-pain-in-the-ass wheels were turning. Phillipa wouldn’t let this go.

“I had no idea.” Mike studied them both, and Ellis knew he was trying to see if there was some similarity between them. He wouldn’t find any. “Ellis and I are friends.”

“Did you have any idea that he dated Dina?” Ellis said, hoping that it would cause her mother to back off.

“You dated Dina!” Phillipa shrieked. “Oh no.” She shook her head. “The lovely Ms. Wild Child is all wrong for you. It couldn’t have lasted long.”

“It didn’t.” Mike glanced at Ellis then gave his attention back to her mother. “So how have you been, Doc? You still writing those man-hating books?”

“Yes.” Phillipa proudly raised her nose. “I’m two-thirds through my latest man-hating manifesto, and now that you’re back in town I expect you to come to my next book signing.” She turned to Ellis and in a stage whisper said, “The man is gorgeous. He’ll spike my book sales just by showing up.”

Mike grinned. “I’ll do anything for you, Dr. Greg. How about I take you and Ellis out to lunch today? That is, if you don’t mind being seen with me looking like this.”

“No.”

“We’d love to.” Ellis’s and Phillipa’s words clashed.

No way in hell. No freaking way in hell.

“What?” Phillipa looked at her daughter. “We’re going down the street for a sandwich, not to the Ritz. He looks fine.”

“Mike’s looks are not the reason I can’t go to lunch.” Ellis’s eyes connected with Mike’s briefly. She wasn’t going to go out with him. Ever. Especially not with her mother in tow.

“Then what?”

“I’m busy, Mom.” Ellis motioned around her. “I’ve got a store to run and three dresses to alter. I really can’t go out right now.” She narrowed her eyes at Phillipa. “Why are you here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be shaping young minds or something?”

“I had two shaping sessions this morning.” She placed her hands on her nonexistent hips. “And do I need a reason to come see my youngest child? I haven’t seen you in a week. You can’t spare a little time to spend with me. Isn’t this one of the reasons you left Manhattan? Oh, and your father! He asked me about you three times this week. He thinks you’re starving to death!”

Ellis sighed “Okay, Guilty Mcguilterson. I’ll come over for dinner.”

Mike caught Ellis’s eye and gave her a sympathetic look. If he’d spent a semester in Dr. Phillipa Gregory’s class, he knew how compelling she could be. “I’ll leave you ladies to talk.”

He was out the door before she could say anything, which left her alone with her smiling mother.

“Is Mike the guy you were telling me about?” Phillipa’s eyes lit. She was smiling so broadly her face looked as if it would crack. She grasped Ellis’s arms and shook her. “Oh my God, Ellis! I’m so excited for you. Have you slept with him yet?”

“Mom!”

We aren’t having this conversation. We just can’t be.

“Oh, don’t be a prude.” She waved off Ellis’s objection. “That boy was legendary on campus. The girls said he could give multiple orgasms. Has he done that for you yet?”

“Mother!”

“Honey.” Phillipa gave her a considerate look. “You probably never had one of those before. Jack-ass wasn’t a very good lover, was he? I never experienced a multiple orgasm until I met your father.”

“Phillipa Elizabeth Gregory!” Ellis slapped her hands over her very red ears. “If you say another word on this subject I’ll commit matricide.”

“Oh, please.” Phillipa rolled her eyes. “I’m shaking in my shoes. Listen, my love, it’s all right to share these things with me. Mike is a great guy. I totally approve.”

“He dated Dina! Doesn’t that matter to you at all?”

“Not really.” Phillipa shrugged. “They were no good for each other, but he’s good for you. He likes you. A mother can tell these things.”

“Can you, O Wise One?”

“Yes.” Phillipa stood on tiptoes and gave Ellis a loud smacking motherly kiss. “Come for dinner tomorrow night. I’m going to see if I can get your sister to show up, too.”

“Really?” Ellis tried to contain her frown. Oil and water. Ellis and Dina.

“Yes, really. When was the last time we all had dinner as a family?”

“I’m not sure,” Ellis said softly. It had been too long, probably years.

“I’m not, either, which means tomorrow is family night. Be prepared to do some bonding.”

“Of course,” Ellis sighed. “Looking forward to it.”

*   *   *

Phillipa left the store a few moments later and when Ellis returned to the front the only person she found besides a few customers was Belinda. There was a tiny little ache in her chest. Mike had gone and she was okay with that, but he could have at least said good-bye. She didn’t know why she cared; it was probably his MO. She wondered how many women he had left without saying good-bye to.

“Hey, where did your mother go?” Ellis whipped around at the sound of Mike’s voice. He was there again, standing just inside the front door with a brown paper sack in his arms. “Why do you look so surprised to see me?” A smile spread across his face. “Did you think I wasn’t coming back?”

“I didn’t care either way,” she lied. The smell of french fries hit her nose and she began to move toward him. “What’s in the bag?”

“Lunch.” He walked over to the register where Belinda was standing, handing her a sandwich. “Turkey sub for the redhead with the mighty swing.”

Belinda grinned at him. “You shouldn’t have bought me lunch. It almost makes me feel bad for trying to knock your brains out.”

“Then my evil plan worked.” He turned to face Ellis. “It’s the weekend, Harvard. I’ve got some good stuff in here for you and I don’t want to hear any bullshit about you not wanting it.” He walked toward her and she held her ground. Today was her day to be wicked, to eat whatever she wanted. There was no way she was going to turn down free food from a hot man.

“I ate carrots all day Friday to make up for all the damage I did on Thursday.”

“That’s ridiculous. You had two strawberries!”

“No.” She pulled her lower lip between teeth. “After I left Bagpipes I ate half a bag of chocolate chip cookies.”

“Really?” Mike bent his head close to hers. “After you left, I smoked a cigarette.”

It took Ellis a moment to get his joke but when she did her eyes widened. “Perv.” She shook her head. “Let’s go eat in the storeroom. I hope you’ve got french fries in that bag.”

She turned to lead the way and he was right behind her. Too close. So close that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She stopped short, causing him to softly collide with her.

“You didn’t really think I would leave without saying good-bye, did you?” Mike asked. Ellis said nothing because that’s exactly what she thought. “I’m not as big an asshole as you make me out to be.”

“The jury’s still out on that one.” She turned to face him. “Why are you really here?”

“I don’t know.” His answer seemed honest. “Can’t a guy buy a girl who kisses like a porn star some lunch?”

“Mike.” She didn’t want to smile, but she couldn’t stop her lips from twitching. “I still want to hate you for forgetting me, so quit being a nice guy.”

His blue eyes searched her face in a way that always disarmed her. “Haven’t you ever met a nice guy before?”

“I didn’t know they made men in nice.”

Instead of Mike smiling at her little joke concern spread across his face. His warm fingers came up to touch the underside of her chin.

“What did he do to you, Elle?”

The bell over the front door sounded and Agatha Toomey walked into Ellis’s shop.

“Oh God.” Ellis slapped her forehead. “Why is she here?”

Mike turned his head to see what Ellis was talking about. “Oh, it’s the bitch from the coffee shop,” he said so matter-of-factly she smiled.

“Yes, she also happens to be my ex’s aunt and the bane of my existence. Go wait for me in the back. I’ll be there as soon as I can get rid of her.” Ellis attempted to step around Mike but he grasped her hand before she could go.

“I don’t like the way that lady talks to you. Let me come with you.”

“Why?” She raised her brow at him. “Are you gonna try to break her wrist if she gets too sassy?”

“No, but if she gets really nasty I’ll have her car impounded.”

“Oh.” That funny little ache in her chest appeared again. Slowly all the preconceived notions she had of him were melting away and she was seeing Mike for the man he really was. A caretaker. “That might be nice.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Go eat, Detective. I’ll call for backup if I need it.”

*   *   *

Ellis took a deep breath before she lifted her chin and made her way to Mrs. Toomey. “Welcome to Size Me Up, Mrs. Toomey. Can I help you find something?”

“Oh God no.” Agatha looked around the store, her face pinched as if she smelled something sour. “I came to speak to you about Jack.”

“Wow!” Ellis said with faked enthusiasm. “You picked the last topic on earth I want to talk about. Let’s talk about the fifty grams of sugar I ingested on Thursday instead.”

“This is no time for your little jokes,” Agatha snapped. “I came to talk about my nephew.
You
are making him miserable.” She pointed a bony finger at Ellis.

A wall of anger rose inside her but she wouldn’t show it. She wouldn’t give either Toomey the satisfaction of knowing they could get to her. “I refuse to discuss Jack with you. We are broken up. End. Of. Story.”

Agatha’s thin cheeks grew red. “What is wrong with you, Ellison? Jack is the best that you can do. He’s smart, handsome, and successful and he doesn’t want any other woman but you. I think he could do better, but you’re all that he wants and I’m here to see that he gets what he wants.”

Jack’s mother died when he was just a kid. Agatha doted on him, but Ellis didn’t understand why Agatha cared so much about their relationship. However, it did give her a tiny glimpse into Jack’s brain. If he’d spent his whole life being catered to by this woman, no wonder he expected the same from her. “Not this time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Ellis moved to walk away but a bony grip on her wrist held her still. The hold hurt. Agatha’s perfectly manicured nails bit into Ellis’s skin.

“You had better smarten up, girl, and go back to Jack because if you don’t you’ll be sorry.”

Because there were customers in the store Ellis knew she couldn’t make a scene and knock the woman’s lights out like she wanted. She was going have to channel Gandhi and go the nonviolent route. Agatha had never been a fan of hers, but the hatred rolled off of her today like a thick fog.

“Ellis, baby, are you okay?” Mike emerged from the back room. His big body was relaxed, but his intense gaze concentrated on Agatha’s hand. Ellis could handle herself but she felt comfort in knowing that he was there in case she couldn’t.

“I’m fine, Mikey. I was just saying good-bye to Mrs. Toomey.” With a twist of her wrist Ellis broke free from the woman’s hold. She lowered her voice. “Get out of my store, Agatha. And don’t ever show your face in here again.”

Agatha’s eyes traveled to Mike and then back to Ellis. “Whore,” she quietly spat.

“Skinny bitch,” Ellis returned.

Agatha gave her one last long chilly look and walked out. Ellis took a deep breath, gave a warm smile to her curious customers, then headed toward Mike, who was still standing in the doorway to the back rooms. When she approached he stepped aside to let her through but guided her to her office instead of the storeroom where she assumed they would be eating.

She was surprised to find that her desk was tidy when she walked in, all the papers stacked into neat piles with sticky labels attached to them. “Snooping through my records?” she asked.

“Your organizational skills are lacking,” he shot back as he shut the office door with his foot. “Are you okay?” He gave her a gentle push toward the love seat that used to be covered with sewing supplies and sat down next to her.

“I’m fine, Mike,” she lied. She didn’t feel fine at all. She felt woozy and lightly leaned against his side.

He lifted her wrist to study it, examining the little crescent-moon marks. “I’ll fucking kill her.”

“Mike…”

“Where does she live?” He lifted her wrist to his mouth and gently kissed it.

It was yummy, so yummy that she allowed her eyes to drift shut while he lingered there. “I’m not telling you.”

“I need to know so I can be your alibi for the day you go over there to kick her ass.”

She smiled, thoughts of slapping the smug look off of Agatha Toomey’s face floating in her mind. “Thank you, but it’s no big deal. My ex is her beloved nephew. She just wanted me to reconsider my decision to dump his sorry ass.”