Romancing the Gorgon, page 12
“Come on, let’s sit down.” Chandler moved towards a bench, but Lettie planted her feet. “Okay, we’ll stay here. Can I just say I’m sorry and—”
“No. You can’t. I don’t want to hear it. Tell me the deal you made. I deserve to know.”
Chandler ran her hands through her hair and a snake hissed from somewhere nearby. The air fizzled with magic making Lettie realize Chandler was right. She needed to sit down before something happened that would leave her full of another decade of regret.
She sat on the nearest bench and put her hands under her legs to keep from wrapping her arms around herself. “Your grandmother would be so ashamed.”
Chandler sat, the wood underneath her turning to stone. The coils of her hair were tight and dark magic moved around her like puffs of smoke. “I know she would be. I really fucked up, Lettie. I was trying to fix it before you found out.
“Fix what?” Lettie’s magic was hot, a pit of fire burning through her, urging her towards chaos. She needed to get control. For the first time in her life, she understood how witches cursed people.
“You have to understand I called Gwen the day I found out about the Lodge and the inheritance. Way before anything happened between us. I missed her, I thought I had a way in. I knew she still had a contract with my old employer. They were buying up real estate in towns like this and I took the opportunity.”
“But you can’t even sell for six months.”
Chandler chewed her bottom lip. “Hillchamp is just some small-town lawyer. I don’t think he even made any changes to what our grandmothers wrote up. The wording is vague. So, I signed a deal that doesn’t go through until the six months are up.”
Maybe Lettie was going to cry. “You were never planning to stay, were you?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. I had a bad day. My grandmother was dead, I was missing my ex. I did something incredibly stupid, and I’m trying so hard to get out of it.” Chandler reached for Lettie, but she moved away. Chandler dropped her hands back to her lap and stared at them. “Lettie, I won’t let them have it. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can. I really can. Look, if I back out, I lose a ton of money, but I can back out. I will, I swear, I will. But Lettie…” Chandler pivoted on the bench to look into Lettie’s eyes. “Maybe you could help me.”
“Help you? Why would I help you?” But Lettie’s heartbeat had slowed, the desire to cry, or scream, or blow up the town square for a second time receding.
The bench underneath Chandler changed back to wood. “Because you have pity for idiots? Because, maybe, just a little, you believe that I’m very, very sorry.”
“Fine.” Lettie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not agreeing, but I’ll listen.”
Chandler smiled, and her entire face lit up with relief. “If I back out of the deal I lose money, but if they back out, I get money. We get a lot of money that we could use for the Lodge.”
“And I assume you have some sort of harebrained scheme to get them to back out?”
Chandler’s grin grew. “Oh, do I ever.”
-CHAPTER
SIXTEEN-
LETTIE FELT BETTER with a warm cup of coffee nestled in her hands. Chandler was staring at her, but she wasn’t ready to talk just yet. She took a slow sip of her drink and inhaled the scent of caramel and caffeine. Her emotions were a mess, vacillating between rage and the desire to help Chandler.
But one step at a time. She could handle that. Whatever she decided to do, she would need a plan and to make a good plan one needed all the facts. She took one more sip of her drink. “Okay, I’m ready to listen. Then I will make my decision.”
The coffeeshop Chandler had led her to was quiet and was mostly deserted. Lettie and Chandler were tucked away in a corner, curled into overstuffed chairs. The irony of how cozy and content they must look to a passerby was not lost on Lettie.
“I could kiss you right now, Lettie Katz.”
“Please control yourself.” Though the desire to throttle Chandler was receding, Lettie still hadn’t decided where she would land on the issue. The lie was enormous. “Just tell me your plan.”
“So, here in Lilac Lake people aren’t afraid of gorgons, but in the rest of the world there’s a lot of prejudice. Maybe it’s even well earned, we can turn people to stone.”
“It’s not like you or any other gorgon couldn’t turn them back.”
Chandler chuckled. “Well, let’s not advertise that because we’re going to play on that fear. The man who signed the contract, Alvin Condon, has always been fearful of me. He’s extremely superstitious and distrustful of magic. Plus, he fired me.”
“Then why would he buy a hotel in Lilac Lake?”
“The dollar signs. This town is beautiful, there’s so much potential for a true tourist town here, even without the magic. But there’s hardly an acre of land on the lake that someone doesn’t own. So, the question is, can you stomach scamming a millionaire out of his barely worked for money?”
Lettie put her coffee down on the table between them. She was still furious with Chandler but owning the Lodge with her seemed better than owning it with some rich asshole. “I am not entirely opposed.” A lifetime of friendship with Daphne and being raised by Monica had predisposed Lettie to all manner of subterfuge.
“And your friends? Do you think any of them would be willing to help out? You know this town better than I do.”
Green magic swirled around Lettie. She knew this wasn’t a prospect she should be excited about, but it sure beat being furious with Chandler. In fact, being mad at Chandler had always been hard for her. She welcomed having a task she could focus on. “Yeah, I think we could rope a few people in, as long as it’s not dangerous. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“No, definitely not. We aren’t actually going to hurt anyone. We’re just going to make Alvin believe we could, that we might if things don’t go our way. That will confirm his suspicions that this town is full of barely contained, extremely dangerous, magic. And, hopefully, he’ll be too scared to stay and beg me to let him out of the contract.”
“We did make a little explosion.”
“That’s my girl.”
The words hit Lettie like a brick to the chest. Chandler’s girl. What more had she wanted only an hour ago? She pushed past it. All of that could wait. The important thing was the Lodge and making sure that Lettie didn’t co-own it with some bigoted man who only saw the monetary value of it and not all the ways it was beautiful.
But Chandler has clearly seen her discomfort. She picked up her chai latte and sunk deeper into her chair. “I really am sorry. I think what we have could be so good.”
Lettie waved her hand, looking away from Chandler and through the window. How much longer before the cold set in completely for the season? “I’m not ready to talk about that.” What she wanted to talk about was Gwen. She wanted to know every detail, let each one tear at her, comparing herself to someone she could never be. But what was the sense in that? Still, her willpower only went so far. “Gwen is staying at the Lodge?”
“I didn’t know until today. Pepper must have made the reservation. You can’t blame her.”
“I don’t,” Lettie said through gritted teeth. “When is Alvin coming?”
“At the end of the week.” Chandler’s fingers made indents in the styrofoam cup.
Lettie stood up and put her hand out. “We’ll keep the Lodge in the family.”
Chandler stood and gripped her hand, her thumb brushing over Lettie’s fingers and sending a thrill through her. “Can we talk more? I know you’re upset, but I don’t want things to be like this between us.”
Magic sparked, hot embers that made them both pull back their hands. “No. Not right now. I’m still mad, I just don’t want to lose something I’ve worked for.”
“Okay. Whatever you need.”
“I’ll go rally the troops.”
Maybe it was just Lettie’s imagination, but outside the air seemed cooler, the promise of spring rescinded. The town had returned to winter, and she pulled her jacket tight around her.
She still needed groceries, but the idea of being alone with her thoughts in the unnaturally bright, slightly smelly grocery store was more than she could take. She tried to head back to the Lodge but for a moment her feet wouldn’t move. Gwen must have made it there by now and Lettie didn’t know how she would face her.
But that wasn’t who she was. She didn’t give up or roll over. The Lodge was hers; it had been hers from the moment she was born. It would not be another casualty of capitalism, and neither would she. She didn’t want some corporate logo or standardization. To save her birthright, she could be a scary witch. For a decade she had convinced herself that was exactly what she was, how hard could it be to convince someone else?
She had a banshee for a roommate and siren friends. Oak was a shifter and Chandler was a gorgon. If Gwen and Alvin were scared of magic, she’d make them horrified. She’d send them running back to New York or wherever the fuck they were from. But the Lodge was, and always would be, hers.
“You want me to scare a man?” Daphne looked downright delighted at the prospect. “Hell yeah, I’m in.”
“And we aren’t mad at Chandler?” Lorne was perched on the arm of the couch, a beer dangling from his fingers.
“I’m not saying that we’re happy with her.” Lettie sipped her own beer. “I think a certain amount of anger is justified.”
“And where is this Gwen? Did you check the computer?” Daphne stared at the door like Chandler’s ex might walk through it at any minute. “She sounds like a real piece of work.”
“I didn’t check.” Though she had thought about it. Lettie had let the mouse hover over the reservations tab for several minutes before thinking better of it and going to her room.
“We could hang out in the common area. You own this place. You have every right to be there.”
“Yeah.” Lorne got to his feet. “I want to see her. Come on, Lettie.” He grabbed his sister’s hands and pulled. “You loved playing spies when we were little.”
“Oh, that’s right. You were always taking me on stakeouts. That’s how we found out my parents were getting divorced,” Daphne said.
“I’m still really sorry about that.”
“My heart has healed.” She placed her hands, one on top of the other, on her chest and let out a mournful sigh.
“You’re a real comedian.” Lettie followed the two of them into the hallway, trying not to look at Chandler’s door. Was she back from sweet talking Amelia?
A sudden urge to knock on the door overcame her, and she quickened her pace to follow the other two. She knew exactly what would happen if she set foot in that apartment, and she wasn’t ready to forgive Chandler yet, or fall back into her bed. It would do Chandler some good to wallow a little longer.
Pepper was shoving things in her purse at the front desk. “Hey, boss. I was just about to head out. Andy just got here for the night.”
Daphne leaned on the counter, “Quick question, a blonde woman checked in earlier. Do you know if she’s still in the building?”
Pepper glanced towards Lettie. “I…”
“Ignore her.” Lettie pulled on Daphne. “Quit harassing her.”
Daphne pouted but obeyed and followed Lettie and Lorne to one of the expansive rooms that made up the front of the Lodge. There were a few people in the dining room, but Lettie settled into the parlor, running her fingers over the spines of books that filled the shelves.
The parlor had always been her favorite; each book felt like a treasure waiting to be discovered. Plus, she could overhear guests while they ate if it was quiet enough and she really had enjoyed playing spies as a kid.
But at that moment, it all felt silly. Even if Gwen came downstairs, what was Lettie going to say? She’d love to have some clever quip, but everything was still so fresh and Lettie had never possessed the quick tongue that Daphne did.
“We could seduce her and steal the contract.”
“Daphne, shut up,” Lorne said. “Look at Lettie. She’s sad. We’re supposed to be supportive. Do you want to go hit something? Eat some ice cream? Scream at the sky?”
“The third has merit.” Lettie watched an older couple through the doorway. The woman was laughing, and the man swiped a piece of chicken off her plate grinning the whole time. “I wasn’t even looking, you know. It’s not like I was lonely. And now—”
“I’ll be right back,” Daphne kissed her head and then went into the dining room.
Lorne sat beside Lettie. “I’m not sure exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m bad at this. But I’m here, for whatever you need, up to and including felonies.”
“Oh yeah. Got something in mind?” Though Lorne was a disaster most of the time, Lettie appreciated that he was always there. Annoyingly so sometimes, but there.
Daphne returned carrying a large slice of chocolate cake and three forks. “Ms. Evette’s cake fixes any ails.”
Lorne took the cake and put it between them, but his eyes scanned the dining room. “She has to come out, eventually.”
“Not really.” Lettie grabbed a fork and sunk it into the rich chocolate. The first burst of flavor on her tongue did make her feel a little better. After all, she was half owner of the cake and all Lodge cakes. That had to count for something.
The older couple had finished their meal and made their way out of the dining room and into the parlor. They slowed when they noticed Lettie.
“The lovely woman running the desk said you own this place, dear,” the woman said. Her smile was warm and made Lettie think of Hattie, the way she used to smile at customers like they were old friends.
“Oh, yes!” Lettie brought her hand to cover her mouth, trying not to spew cake on paying customers.
“We remember your grandmother well. We’ve been coming here for years. This was where we went for our first night away after my oldest was born, we stayed in one of the cabins. I’m thrilled to see they’re being updated.”
Daphne nudged Lettie’s shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
Unexpected tears formed in Lettie’s eyes. “Thank you so much.” She stood up, resisting the urge to hug the woman.
“Of course,” the man said, patting her shoulder. “It’s good to see a younger generation keeping up wonderful traditions like this. Our granddaughter married a siren this spring, and he seems like such a nice young man.”
“Well, we won’t keep you. But tell the chef the food is as wonderful as ever.”
Lettie watched them disappear up the stairs to the guest rooms. “That was so nice.”
“Gran would have loved that. I bet she knew their names and everything.” Lorne shoveled more cake into his mouth.
“Lettie…” Daphne said, nudging her once again, but this time there was no grin. “Look.”
-CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN-
WITH A STEADYING breath, Lettie turned. But it wasn’t Gwen waiting for her, it was Chandler. Lettie wasn’t sure if that was better or worse, only that she wished she could have basked in the glory of old person praise a moment longer.
“Can I talk to you?” Chandler asked.
“Hmp.” Daphne leaned back in her chair. “Traitor. And to think I tried to like you.”
“Yes, we can talk,” Lettie said, against her better judgment. She stood, but a growing awareness swirled inside her. Somewhere above them was Gwen, beautiful and poised. Was that what Chandler wanted? Someone so unlike Lettie.
She resented the thought. Who cared? Was Chandler even what she wanted? Aloof and prone to running away when things got tough. Not exactly the perfect woman.
But she followed that imperfect woman away from her friends, trying to get her emotions under control.
Chandler rounded a corner and pulled Lettie into a supply closet where the air was thick with the smell of lavender cleaning products.
“What are you doing? We both live here, we don’t need to hide.”
“I know, but I didn’t think you’d come to my apartment. I just—shit, I should have prepared a speech or something.” She took a step closer, and Lettie took a step back, but the space was limited.
Lettie knocked into a mop, and it clattered to the ground. “I’m so fucking mad at you. And jealous! It’s like the dumbest thing in the world to feel jealous when I should be furious. I should want to rip your face off, but instead I keep thinking about Gwen. She’s like—like a fucking bitchy barbie or something. And I hate that I keep thinking about you and her. That you were so enamored by her you were willing to sell this place, everything our grandmothers worked for. But of course you are! Who wouldn’t be, she’s beautiful and—”
Chandler’s mouth crashed into Lettie’s, her tongue sweeping through her mouth, claiming her. “You’re beautiful.” She held Lettie’s face in her hands. “You’re so beautiful and perfect and everything I want. You’re so incredible I had to run away to get free of you. I knew if I stayed I’d never leave this town. I didn’t care about the explosion, I didn’t care if we blew up the entire state of Virginia. But I should have stayed. There’s nothing out there I need—girls that make me forget for a night, a month, whatever. Nothing important.”
Lettie’s head was only static with no coherent thoughts. “Those are just words.”
“I know. I know. And I am going to fix this. I’m going to make it better. I promise.” Her words came out in a breathless jumble. “Fuck, Lettie.” She kissed her again, pressing her back into the metal shelves.
Lettie pushed her away. “You can say all that but obviously you wanted her. Look at what you did. You sold the business without even telling me.” And maybe it was easier to focus on Gwen, on jealousy, than think about how Chandler had lied, over and over. How she had broken Lettie’s heart again.
“I didn’t do it because of her. Sure, I was sad. Everyone’s sad when they get dumped, but it was still about you. I saw you in that lawyer’s office and I wanted to kiss you then, just like I have every time I’ve ever seen you. And I was scared to stay.”
