The Trouble With Scarecrows (The Trouble With Men Book 2) (9 page)

“I’m sorry to disturb you while you’re working, but do you have a minute?”

Zadora nodded, and Brenda walked through the house to sit at the table with her. “I was talking to Neal, and we decided to all go to dinner tonight.”

Zadora seemed to be figuring this all out. She had her hair pulled away from her face and her glasses snuggled at the end of her nose, which she took off and bit on the stem. “I think I’ll have to pass,” she finally said.

Zadora’s green eyes, without the magnifying lenses of the glasses, made Brenda hesitate. They were pretty, stunning actually, and even though she’d planned the words to say, she almost decided to not to say them. But she had to.
Shake it off
. “I think y’all are both available. Maybe this would be a chance to go
out
. . . like a date. He’s really hot.”

That got Zadora’s attention. She straightened. “I thought you two were, you know, seeing each other.”

No secrets in this house, Brenda thought. “We don’t have a future. As a matter of fact, I’ll have my own date. This will be a double date.”

Zadora eyebrows crunched together, as if Brenda spoke another language, and Brenda supposed that to shy Zadora, she did.

“Besides,” Brenda said, “Neal really wants to go. You know how he wants to be a chef, and he doesn’t get very many opportunities. This is his chance to go to a finer establishment. I thought it would be awkward for Neal to be with me and my date.”

Zadora had a slight frown on her face as her eyes zigzagged. And the longer Zadora took to give an answer, the more Brenda began to wonder why the hell she had thought this would be a good idea in the first place. What had she been thinking? She had half a mind to say never mind. But she couldn’t. This would demonstrate to Neal that they needed to go their separate ways. It would also show her. “He really wants you to go. I don’t think he’ll go unless you do, and this would help him out. So what do you say?”

“I wouldn’t know what to wear or what to order.”

“All fixable problems. I will do all the ordering. I’ve been there so many times, I have the menu memorized. Also, you have plenty to wear. We will put some of those clothes in your closet to use.”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to let Neal down after all he’s done for you?”

Zadora didn’t say anything so Brenda interpreted that as a no.

“Okay. I can’t wait to get into that closet of yours.”

Chapter 16

Neal stood at Zadora’s door, willing himself to knock. He didn’t like the way he felt right now: used, humiliated, even a little defeated. Brenda was like a puppeteer, pulling his strings, making him dance. Brenda wanted him to cook, he cooked. Brenda wanted him to repair the entire house, he was working on it. Brenda wanted him to date Zadora, here he stood at her door.

Even though Brenda pushed his buttons, making him confused and angry, he felt dumbfounded. He hated to admit it, but their night together hadn’t just been sex. Not for him, anyway. He’d had plenty of one-night stands where he’d easily separated his heart from his lust. Actually, liking the woman as a person hadn’t ever factored in. The only other woman he’d wanted a real relationship with had been Alexandria, and even that was different than how he felt around Brenda.

Brenda made him feel alive. Even now he felt some emotional connection to her because otherwise he wouldn’t be so angry.

However, Brenda had convinced herself that she wanted a certain type of guy, a guy like Eugene, and he wasn’t anything like Eugene. He refused to chase after her just to have her pick someone else in the end. The thought of it brought back a lot of unwanted nasty feelings- feelings that he knew would weigh him down if he let them stir. So the only thing he could do now was try and get his life back on track. He’d been fine before Brenda arrived, and he would be fine in a week when she went back to her real life.

Even though it was going to be tough to sit there quietly while Brenda was on a date with another man, he was curious to see how she acted with Eugene. In the back of his mind, he knew she couldn’t really be interested in him. Besides, he’d always wanted to go to one of the French restaurants in the city. Although, after finding the menu online, he wished he wouldn’t have shouted out that he would pay. His stupid pride didn’t look at his wallet.

After he finally decided to knock, the door opened immediately. It took Neal a second to recognize Zadora through the beautiful, very elegant woman who stood in front of him. Especially since her stare didn’t waver.

“Wow,” he said, not meaning to say that. But it was exactly how she looked. Her eyes, which were usually covered by glasses, were lined in black and shone bright green. Her lips were shiny; he’d never noticed how full they were. Her fair skin blushed a faint pink. Her rich, dark hair cascaded in waves down the front of her dress.

His eyes followed the hair, which led him to her breasts which were plumped up in her dress. And her tiny waist made her hips just about right for . . . he had to stop staring!

He forced his eyes up to her face, where he could have sworn she was enjoying the admiration, but then she turned away, giving him a chance to compose himself long enough to remember who she was and to stop acting like an eye-bulging cartoon character. He cleared his throat. “You’re beautiful.”

She turned back to him, smiling. “Thank you. You look very handsome yourself.”

He held out his arm to her. “Thank you. I had to shake the dust off the suit.”

They didn’t talk much in the car on the way to the restaurant. Neal didn’t know what to say. It was like Zadora was some stranger. She looked different, smelled different. And he felt kind of bad that he was turned on by her. He’d never even given Zadora a second thought in that way. Not when she’d been so plain.
Man
, he thought,
I’m shallow
.

When they entered the restaurant, she accepted his arm again, and they were led to the table where Brenda and Eugene had already been seated.

Eugene stood up, the bastard, and Brenda sat there not hiding her shock at seeing Zadora all dolled up. After they were all seated, Brenda said, “My, how you cleaned up.”

“Thank you for helping me.”

“I helped you pick out a dress, a different dress, I might add.” She waved her hand in a circle. “And where the hell did all this come from?”

Zadora shrugged her shoulders. “I wanted to fit in.”

“Right,” Brenda said, staring her down. “Or stand out.”

Zadora tugged at her dress and peeked up at Neal before dropping her head.

Neal didn’t like the way Brenda was treating her with such disrespect. Especially after Zadora seemed to have a gained a little confidence. “I think she’s gorgeous,” he said. “Don’t you, Eugene?”

“Well, yes, she looks very . . .” Eugene glanced at Brenda whose eyes were wide and mouth held tight. He offered his hand to Zadora. “We haven’t met. I’m Eugene Spenser.”

“Nice to meet you,” Zadora said lowly as she shook his hand.

“Whatever.” Brenda picked up her menu. Neal heard her mutter something behind it, and he caught a glimpse of Zadora as she lowered her eyes.

“Brenda,” Neal whispered through his teeth, “you invited us to dinner. If you can’t stop yourself from being rude for one night, then my date and I will go elsewhere.”

Silence haunted the table for a second, and then Brenda put the menu down, revealing a smile. A plastered curtly smile. “I apologize.”

The server arrived and put Neal and Zadora’s napkins in their laps. When he asked if they wanted appetizers, Neal said no because just the entrees would cost three days of overtime.

But then Brenda said, “Yes, he’ll take the mussels, I’ll take the
foie gras
, and she’ll have the beet salad. Eugene, what would you like?”

Neal should have known he’d be made a fool of. This was such a bad idea. Then he felt Zadora nudge him. “Huh?” he asked.

“What would you like to drink, sir?” the server said, obviously repeating an earlier question.

“Water, if the lady approves.”

The server actually looked over to Brenda and waited for her to answer.

“That’s fine,” she said and gave an eye roll.

After the server left, Brenda said, “I brought you here for a reason. Don’t screw it up by being so . . . male. Let me order and pay. Consider this a business dinner.”

Neal wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and shifted around in his tight dinner jacket.

“It’s settled,” Brenda said. “Now, give me a few minutes to see what I think you should sample.”

The server brought the drinks, and Neal drank his down. Someone was there two seconds later with another glass of water. The appetizers arrived and they all ate in silence, which Neal was grateful for. He was able to enjoy the mussels, which he’d never had before. He’d watched them being made by Tyler Florence on TV not too long ago and had wanted to try and make them one day. But it was always better to taste the food to see how the flavors were supposed to be first. As he bit into the firm meat, tasting the white wine, garlic, and citrus, he began reconstructing the dish with a TexMex flair by adding some cumin and chilies and tequila.

By the time he’d finished the plate and two more glasses of water, Neal had to go to the bathroom. He excused himself and went to the men’s room. He exhaled, realizing how uptight the evening had made him. He was exhausted from feeling excited about the food, yet upset with the way Brenda had treated them. Clearly she was jealous of Zadora. And the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he would take advantage of that. She wanted him to be on a date, right? Well, Neal would make sure it was just that. He didn’t go on many dates that didn’t end up in the sack. But as soon as he’d thought it, he changed his mind. He couldn’t do that to Zadora just to get back at Brenda. Even though with the way Zadora looked tonight he could have easily crossed that line, she was his friend . . . a friend with no sexual tension. And the thought of it made him angry with Brenda again. She had managed to change the way he saw Zadora. Now he would feel awkward around her for having these thoughts.

Someone burst through the restroom door, letting in strange noises from the dining room. Neal dried his hands and stood at the closed door for a second before he opened it to disaster: people ran around screaming, tables had been knocked over, food was everywhere, and what the hell just whizzed by him?

Neal crossed his arms and tried to stay as calm as possible, trying to take in the scene. But yeah, it appeared as though ghosts were in the restaurant, scaring the hell out of everyone. Everyone had gone crazy! But then his eyes zoomed in on Zadora and Brenda in the middle of the room. They stood facing one another, having a normal, yet heated conversation. Brenda had her finger pointed at Zadora’s face, and she looked mad, not scared like everyone else. They didn’t seem to even notice what was going on around them. Eugene, however, sat at the table, his hands over his ears and his eyes closed.

Neal walked toward them, stepping over chairs, shoes, and glasses.

Brenda was saying, “I saw your face! And then I heard that man’s voice come out of you. You did this on purpose.”

“I’m sorry,” Zadora said. “I shouldn’t have come.”

Brenda turned her attention to Neal, her eyes wide with anger or panic. “I didn’t believe you. But it’s true. I watched her do it.”

Zadora sniffled. “I shouldn’t have left the house. I’m sorry to ruin your evening, Neal.”

“I knew something was off with her,” Brenda said thoughtfully.

Neal couldn’t believe what was going on around him, but what confused him the most was the way Brenda didn’t even seem to notice. It was like she was in a bubble.

He suddenly felt responsible for everything that was going on. Zadora was clearly distraught, and he knew how much she wanted to keep all of this a secret, and now look what he and Brenda had done. He wrapped his arm around Zadora. “Everything will be okay.”

“No, it will
not
be okay,” Brenda said. “She was pissed and summoned all these things!”

“What are you talking about? She didn’t summon them. She can’t control it.”

“The hell she can’t. I said one little thing and it set her off.”

At that moment, the ghost of a man wearing a baseball cap and blue jeans stood beside them. “Hey,” he said. “Can you help me find Jaclyn?”

He seemed to be trying to get Zadora’s attention. Zadora shook her head and ran toward the door, joining a dozen or so people crowded at the front door.

“Was it something I said?” the ghost asked.

Neal heard a woman scream and looked at Brenda. But it wasn’t her. It was Eugene.

Brenda huffed and pulled her wallet out of her purse. “Just get her out of here,” she said. “Maybe then these things will go back to wherever they came from.”

The ghost crossed his arms. “Who died and made you so cranky?”

“I hope you’re happy,” Neal said to Brenda, hollering over Eugene’s screams, and trying to ignore the fact that a ghost was standing right beside him making stupid jokes.

“Me?” And then she shouted, “Eugene, shut up!”

“I’m out of here,” Neal said. “I’m getting Zadora out of this madhouse.”

Brenda cut her eyes at him and then glanced at Zadora, who waited for Neal by the door.

Eugene finally stopped yelling but still had his eyes shut and his hands over his ears. Neal was surprised Eugene was still in the restaurant and not climbing through a window or something.

“You’d better get your date out of here too,” Neal said and then started to walk away, but Brenda grabbed his arm.

“Neal.”

He huffed. “What is Brenda?”

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something but closed it, pressing her lips together, and shook her head.

“Thanks for the fantastic evening,” he said pulling his arm out of her clutches and then headed toward the door.