Be Careful What You Wish For Read online

  “It has?” Rory looked surprised. “I didn’t know that!”

  “Oh, yes, my dears! Why, when I was a girl, States Street was the poshest neighborhood in town! Of course, things have changed somewhat…” She sniffed. “But it’s still very respectable and historical. I’m sure your art guests would love to see it—and to see all your art set up in it, too.”

  Cass sat up and looked around, seeing the house where she’d grown up in a whole new light.

  “You know—it might work.” She tried to keep the note of excitement out of her voice and failed. “We’d have to move the furniture around and get some kind of catering, which won’t be easy at the last minute…”

  Rory made a face. “Who needs catering? We’ll just go get some mini quiches and petit fours from Costco and raid Nana’s wine collection—it’ll be perfect and way cheaper than catering too.”

  “Good idea!” Cass got up and started pacing. “We’ll need someone to serve the snacks…”

  “Me—I’ll help! And Phil and Josh will be back in town by then too—I’m picking them up at the airport tomorrow morning. I’m sure they won’t mind helping.”

  Cass felt a warm glow when she thought of her older sister coming home. She’d really missed Phil the past few days. Their family didn’t feel complete without all three sisters at home.

  “You call and ask her, would you?” she said to Rory. “And I’ve got to start calling Lady Blankenship and her crowd and telling her about the change of venue for tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, tomorrow night?” Nana’s face fell. “Oh dear—I have a date set for tomorrow night with a nice man from Lake Como Resort.”

  “Lake Como?” Rory frowned. “I think I read something about that resort. Isn’t it the place where—”

  “Never mind,” Nana interrupted, lifting her chin. “I’ll change the date. I don’t want to miss Cassandra’s art show.”

  “Are you sure, Nana?” Cass asked. She loved her grandmother but she wasn’t sure how well she would fit in with Lady Blankenship’s crowd.

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Rory said quickly, before their grandmother could answer. She shot Cass a meaningful look. “Especially considering how your last two dates turned out.”

  “Oh, right.” Cass nodded quickly. “Yes, Nana—if you don’t mind I’d love for you to be at my show.”

  “Then I’ll be there.” Nana nodded her head decisively, her swirl of silver hair dancing with the motion. “And Sir Percy will just have to be understanding.”

  “Sir Percy?” Cass raised her eyebrows. “What is he, a Duke or something?”

  “It’s an honorary title,” Nana explained, with a toss of her head. “You girls wouldn’t understand.”

  “I’m sure we wouldn’t, Nana,” Rory said, smiling. “But that’s okay. It’s sweet of you to cancel your date so you can be here tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow night—and the day is half gone already!” Cass jumped to her feet. “We have a lot to do.”

  “Let’s get to work,” Rory said. “We’re going to make this the best art show anyone has ever seen.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Cass said. “But if we can just persuade Lady Blankenship to come see my art in the first place, it’ll be good enough for me.”

  Thirty-Five

  For once in Cass’s life, everything seemed to be going right. With her birthday wish fixed and her art on track, it seemed like everything else was falling into place too.

  She had called Lady Blankenship personally and explained what was happening with Albert and the I.C.U. gallery. To her surprise and gratification, the Grande Dame of the Tampa Bay art scene had been completely incensed at the gallery owner’s perfidy and had agreed at once to a change of venue.

  “And I’ll be certain my whole circle knows too,” she’d told Cass. “He tried this once before, you know—promised us a show by a very talented young artist from the Lutz area and then subbed in some niece of his at the last moment. Her work was dreadful.”

  Cass had made all the appropriate noises of commiseration and had given Lady Blankenship her home address and told her what hour the show began. Then she and Rory had run to Costco to get all the necessary snacks and she’d begun working on a plan for where to display her art. They had decided to keep everything to the downstairs area and keep everyone out of the upper story of the house.

  “Because what if someone walks into the spare room looking for the bathroom and finds all the Brandon clones instead?” Rory had pointed out. “I can’t lock the door—I lost the key.”

  Cass shivered at the thought.

  “Right—keep everyone downstairs. Good idea.”

  She’d been up late getting her planning done and then, right on time, Phil and her fiancée, Josh, had gotten back into town. The good-natured Josh had immediately started moving furniture to make room for the displays and both of them had promised to play waiter and waitress for the night.

  Everything was coming together beautifully, Cass thought. The art was all arranged and displayed perfectly, Rory was in the kitchen heating up the hors d’oeuvres, Phil and Josh were dressed in black trousers and neat white shirts and ready to serve—(Josh was tending the wine bar and Phil was ready to start bringing out trays of baby quiches and petite fours.) And Nana, all in a flutter of excitement, was waiting at the front door to greet the first guests.

  It was only an hour until her show and Cass was getting dressed, her stomach a mass of butterflies, when Jake suddenly poofed into her room unannounced.

  “Oh, Jake!” She went to him at once and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad to see you—you’re just in time for my art show! It starts in an hour.”

  He frowned. “You’re having it now?”

  “Well, yes—isn’t that why you’re here?” Cass frowned. She hadn’t told the big elf what was going on but she knew he kept an eye on her so she’d assumed that he knew.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’m actually here to take you to the Summer’s End ball. It’s about to begin.”

  “Now?” Cass bit her lip. But now that she thought about it, she should have guessed that was his intent. He was dressed to the nines in a perfectly tailored black tux that made him look even more imposing and gorgeous than usual.

  “Yes, now—have you changed your mind about accompanying me?” Jake raised an eyebrow at her. “Of course, I understand if you have. Especially since your art show is about to commence. I know how important that is to you.”

  “Not any more important than the Summer’s End ball is to you,” Cass protested. “Look, there’s no reason I have to miss either the ball or my show,” she pointed out. “Time moves slower here—I can go to the ball with you and still be back in time for my show, right?”

  Jake looked thoughtful.

  “Yes, that should be possible. Of course time moves a little differently in the Cathedral of the Oaks, where the ball is being held, but it shouldn’t present a problem.”

  “Perfect,” Cass exclaimed. “Okay, well…I was going to wear this to my show.” She had on the same black jeans and silky black shirt she’d worn the second time she’d gone to court with Jake—minus the hooker heels, which she’d thrown away because they hurt her feet. “But considering how you’re dressed, I doubt this outfit is going to work for the ball.”

  “It won’t,” Jake said, smiling. “But not to worry—I’ve got you covered, as you humans say. Both literally and figuratively.”

  He said a word of power and a long, gift-wrapped box appeared in his arms. He handed it to Cass with a smile.

  “For you, my darling.”

  “Oh…” Cass took it from him, not knowing what to say. “Is this…?”

  “Open it,” the big elf urged. “See for yourself.”

  Cass wasn’t usually the type of girl to get excited over new clothes but the moment she opened the box, she sucked in a breath in awe.

  Nestled in the box, wrapped in white tissue paper, was the most el