Chapter Two

“So, I met the famous Nicholas Pine,” Zelda said as she handed Molly Saunders a glass of sauvignon blanc. They were sitting on the patio behind the duplex they lived in. Molly’s son was jumping on the trampoline, calling out to both of them to watch his tricks as he did flips and other jumps that sometimes involved him yelling out the names of his favorite superheroes.

“You did? How?”

“Well, remember that stalker I told you about?” Zelda said as she took a sip of her wine.

“Yeah. Did you confront him? I told you not to do that. What if he was dangerous?” Molly asked. “You need to think these things through.”

Molly had a point, but the guy had been there for three days. “Turned out it was Nicholas Pine.”

“But why is he skulking outside your shop?”

“I asked him. Turns out he is looking for a missing Houdini water chest and thought the one I was advertising might be his.” Whenever she got a high-ticket item, she liked to give her customers a heads-up. She had mentioned a lot of magic antiques from Europe on her website—the water chest was just one of those listed.

Molly turned. A strand of her hair fell in her face, and she tucked it back behind her ear. “That’s odd. Why would he think you’d have his chest?”

“His was stolen, apparently. I’m not sure, but I think he’s just following any lead he finds. Anyway…I told him I’d let him know when it came in in exchange for tickets to his show for you and Stetson,” Zelda said. She’d done a little research on Nicholas that afternoon and was more convinced than ever that she should keep her distance from him.

His illusions were top-notch. In fact, he had been doing variations of the water trick a lot recently. Maybe inspired by Houdini? She didn’t really have to think that hard on it. All modern magicians and illusionists were emulating Houdini—he’d been the one to set the bar in that world.

“You did?!”

“Yes.” It had been worth letting this bit of her past back into her life to see the look on Molly’s face.

Molly leaned over and hugged her. “Thank you. He’s going to be so amped up about this.”

“I know,” Zelda said. Stetson was her godson, and if she was honest, she’d admit she loved him as if he were her own.

“So, what’s he like? Nicholas Pine. I’ve seen the posters up around town. He looks intense.”

She thought about it. His bright blue eyes and that suit that fit him like a second skin were never far from her thoughts as the day had gone on. Which wasn’t like her. He’d been arrogant, and there was a confidence in him that hadn’t surprised her. She’d been around magicians before and knew they often carried themselves as if the world revolved around them. She understood it—otherwise, how would he mesmerize his audience? But it had been more than that. When she’d snapped the photo, she’d surprised him, and for a minute she thought she saw past the illusion to the man behind the magician.

She shrugged.

“Zee, you like him.”

“Not really,” she said. That was not her way. She liked to keep things casual. In fact, she still wasn’t sure how she’d ended up with this close relationship with Molly and her son. But after so many years, it had been hard not to care for them. Not to let them in.

“Liar. You always can break anyone down in a minute. You see past the clothes and the attitude to the person beneath, and this guy you have no words for? That’s telling,” Molly said.

“He wasn’t what I expected. And his eyes are so pretty… I was kind of caught off guard,” she admitted. “I think he’s arrogant and cocky, but what illusionist of his ilk isn’t? I mean, he has to be in order to keep his show going.”

“Fair enough, but you don’t like the show part,” Molly said.

“You’re right. I don’t. I prefer seeing the real man, not the showman,” she admitted.

Molly just smiled, then looked down at her watch. “Oh my God, I have to go make dinner. Lorraine is dropping Cameron off to stay the night from the afterschool program in thirty minutes. Thanks for the wine.”

Relieved not to be talking about Nicholas any more, Zelda hugged her friend goodbye and then watched her walk back to her place. In fact, she managed to shove him out of her mind completely until she was getting ready for bed and had her phone in her hand to set her alarm. She clicked on the photos and opened the picture she’d taken of him. There was something about his presence that drew her to Nicholas. She stared at the image for a moment, zooming in on his face and looking into those eyes that were so mesmerizing… Was there more to the man than magic?

She hoped so… But then again, why did it matter to her? He was no one to her—just a possible client and someone who could help her give her godson a gift that he desperately wanted. That was all.

But her subconscious didn’t agree, and she woke in the middle of the night, the remnants of an erotic dream that had featured Nicholas Pine still in her head. She tried to go back to sleep but found she couldn’t. So she got out of bed and reached for her phone, looking again at that photo of him and wondering if he’d put some sort of spell on her.

“Zee, watch this,” Stetson said as he held up his hands, which were handcuffed together. His thick brown hair fell over his forehead.

“I’m watching, kiddo,” she said.

She sat in one of the seating areas in her shop. It was four o’clock, so there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic at this time of day—the perfect time for company. Stetson walked to her shop after school and stayed with her while his mom finished her shift as a payroll clerk at one of the larger casinos on the strip. The trick handcuffs had been in a lot she’d won from an online auction house and had arrived earlier that day. Zelda had pulled them out of the box, knowing the kid would like them.

“You may think that I’m trapped and escape is impossible,” Stetson said. He’d been working on his patter for a while now and was getting better with each new illusion he performed for her. Watching Stetson’s excitement and happiness brought some of her own joy in magic back.

“Ma’am, would you please check these cuffs and confirm they are locked?” he asked, holding his wrists out to her.

She reached out and tugged on each cuff to make sure they were firm. Then she nodded.

“They are locked,” she said.

The bell over the door at the front of her shop chimed, and she glanced over and saw the shadow of Nicholas Pine. It had been a week since she’d confronted him in front of her shop, and he hadn’t been back since.

Stetson wasn’t distracted, and Zelda forced her gaze back to him instead of staring at the illusionist who had been in the back of her mind more often than she wanted to admit. She’d gone online and checked out his profile on the Jokers Wild website and might have lightly stalked him on social media. And she’d been surprised—and a little excited—by how buff he looked in the posters for the show. Surely those muscles had been airbrushed on when he’d been wrapped in thick chains. But today, his suit was fitted, and he was even more tempting as he came over to lean his hip against the counter.

Stetson looked up from the cuffs he’d been working, then back down at them again before doing a double-take.

“Nicholas Pine?!”

“Hello,” Nicholas said. “Finish your escape.”

Stetson nodded, and Zelda saw the determination on her young friend’s face. She hoped he remembered everything she’d shown him earlier, and, for a moment, she saw his fingers fumble. He stood up straighter and looked right at one of the most famous illusionists in the world, then spoke.

“Today I will attempt to escape from these cuffs. Zee has already checked them to see that they are locked, but would you like to check, too?”

“I would,” Nicholas said, inspecting the cuffs before standing next to her again.

She caught a whiff of his aftershave as he moved and closed her eyes for a second to inhale deeply. No one should smell that good. It didn’t matter that the fresh scent of the air after it rained was her favorite smell. Really.

“Now watch carefully as I…” Stetson trailed off as he twisted his wrists, and, a moment later, the cuffs opened. He caught them with one hand and looked both proud and a little bit surprised as he held them aloft. “Ta-da!”

Zelda applauded, as did Nicholas. “Well done.”

“Very good job,” Nicholas said. “You have the makings of a showman.”

“Thanks,” Stetson said. “Can I do another trick?”

“Sure. You know where the box is,” Zelda said.

Stetson ran toward the back of the shop, leaving her alone with Nicholas. She glanced around her crowded, dusty floor room and tried to remind herself that she really didn’t need to be attracted to a magician right now…no matter how sexy he was.

“So that’s the kid you wanted the tickets for?”

“Yes. He loves magic,” she said.

“You don’t,” he said.

“It’s okay,” she said. She was uncomfortable lying about her connection to magic, but at the same time, he was a stranger, and that was a box she didn’t want to open. Even Molly didn’t know all of her secrets.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Just that I like the old stuff better than the modern shows. No offense,” she said after a moment.

“None taken. I still haven’t heard what it is you don’t like.”

“Take that trick, for example. It’s escaping something, and it’s pretty straightforward. No smoke machines or distractions—just a ‘watch me escape this’ kind of trick,” she said.

“You know there is still sleight of hand in what the kid did, right?” he asked sardonically, arching one eyebrow at her. “Every illusion has a bit of smoke and mirrors to it. It’s the magician who sells it well that makes it seem like it doesn’t.”

“Yes. But it seems less…” She stopped. She was about to insult him. There was no way she could say “flashy” and have it not sound like she thought that there was no substance to magic today. Especially to someone like Nicholas Pine.

“Real?”

She shook her head. “Never mind that. What can I help you with?”

“I stopped by to find out if there was any word on the chest. My assistant mentioned you’d called.”

“I did. There’s no firm date yet, though. Shipping from the UK can take a little longer than normal. But I had an email this morning from the seller, and he said that he had confirmation it had arrived in Los Angeles. So I’m thinking I should have it sometime tomorrow. I asked your assistant to pass the message along to you. Sorry you made the trip for nothing.”

“It’s not for nothing,” he said. “I wanted to see you again.”

She tipped her head to the side, studying him. In his tailored suit, he should look out of place in a world populated by casual dressers, but he didn’t. “Why?”

“So suspicious,” he said, lifting one hand to touch her cheek.

“If you pull a coin from my ear, I’m not going to be impressed,” she said.

“I wasn’t planning on doing that,” he said wryly. “That’s not really my style.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what his style was, but she knew that would be flirting. And she was determined to keep this professional. “Then what are you planning?”

“To ask about your source for the chest. My assistant wasn’t able to find the item online,” he said.

She looked up into those bright blue eyes and felt that electric tingle race through her again. She should refuse to tell him. But she hadn’t been able to get him off her mind, and she… Well, she wanted to help him.

She groaned. “You checked up on my story?”

He arched one eyebrow at her. “Yes. Does that make me horrible?”

She shook her head, feeling the weight of her long hair brushing her shoulders. “It doesn’t make you look good. My source is Alastair Mooney. He called me when the chest came into his shop and asked if I was interested.”

“But you don’t know where it came from?” he asked.

“Nope. I didn’t ask. But the paperwork should be with it when it arrives.”

“Fair enough.”

“Mr. Pine, want to stay for dinner?” Stetson asked when he came back into the room. “It’s taco night, and I already texted Mom to make sure it was okay.”

“Your mom said yes?” Zelda asked her godson, trying not to glare at him. But she could understand Stetson’s fascination with Nicholas—the illusionist was her godson’s idol. She couldn’t blame the kid for asking.

“She did,” he said with a grin, revealing his missing two front teeth. “Zee will be there. Maybe you can show me some more tricks. So, will you?”

Zelda wasn’t sure what Molly was up to but could only guess that her friend was matchmaking.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

…

Trixie was waiting for him when he entered the large warehouse at Jokers Wild. She had her tablet in one hand and held her finger up to him to indicate she was on a call as he approached her.

“Text me the address. Mr. Pine is on his way.”

Leo and Keely were nowhere to be seen, and he’d heard the roar of Dare’s motorcycle as he’d gotten out of his car in the parking garage.

“Where am I going?’

“To the police station. They seized a shipping container earlier this afternoon that is full of magic stuff…their words, not mine. But one of the items described could be your Houdini chest. The detective in charge didn’t know enough to verify it positively.”

Nicholas felt a tingle go down his spine. It made a hell of a lot more sense that someone local stole the chest, so he shouldn’t be that surprised. “Why was the container seized?”

“He wouldn’t say. But it’s worth a look, don’t you think?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah, it is,” he said, glancing at his watch. He was supposed to be at Zelda’s in an hour, but there was no way he could make it. He felt a pang as he thought that he was going to have to cancel, but it was probably for the best. For a moment, he wondered if it was Zelda’s shipment that had been seized in Los Angeles. If it was, then he had seriously misjudged her.

He wasn’t himself at all right now. He should have declined the dinner invite to begin with. She wasn’t his type, and neither was taco night. He wasn’t a domestic kind of guy, and kids weren’t his thing. Some would say he was cynical, but the truth was that, in his experience, everyone lied. And the whole domestic scene was one of the biggest illusions there was. He knew better than to come close to that. His entire upbringing had been an illusion, and he hadn’t forgotten just what it had done to him.

He liked working on tricks and doing his show—there was an honesty to admitting it was an illusion. But he didn’t ever want to blur the lines between illusion and real life. Saying yes had been an impulse and not one he could easily explain. It wasn’t like he could justify meeting her tonight and call it a hookup, because it had been clear she hadn’t been happy with her friend’s invitation.

He pulled out his phone, realizing he only had her shop number. He dialed it—at least he could leave a voicemail—but then it clicked, and he heard a pause before she spoke.

“Touch of Magic.”

“Zelda,” he said, “it’s Nicholas. I’m afraid I can’t make dinner tonight.”

There was a long pause.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll let Stetson know.”

“Thank you. I was looking forward to it, but I might have a lead on my chest,” he said.

“Good. I’ve just had a text from the delivery company that mine will be here in the morning. I was going to tell you at dinner tonight,” she said.

“If my lead doesn’t pan out, I’ll stop by your place tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve already given Molly’s name to my assistant. All she has to do is tell us when she wants to come to the show, and the tickets will be available.”

“Thanks. I have her number, so I will give it to Molly,” Zelda said.

They hung up, and Nicholas shoved his phone into his pocket, heading out of the warehouse to his car. He knew that Trixie would text him the address, and he couldn’t explain what he felt right now. It was a bit of disappointment and a sort of relief, too. Zelda was different—he couldn’t put his finger on how, exactly, and right now he had too much going on in his life to try to figure out the puzzle that she presented.

He got into his Corvette and roared out of the parking garage away from the strip, proud that he made it a point never to lie to himself, to project something that was magical on the world. But this time…he wasn’t sure. And he certainly couldn’t question it now. He had a big show to put on—one that would put the Jokers Wild on the map.

He had friends who were counting on him and a public that expected to be blown away. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a woman. He’d done it once before, and he’d nearly lost everything. He knew that Leo wasn’t going to allow that to happen again. He said the next time that Nicholas fell for a pair of long legs and curvy hips, he was out. Even if she was a sassy redhead who’d made Nicholas feel something other than his usual ennui. That was it, he realized as he slowed down to turn toward the police station.

He’d become jaded—pushing himself with each new trick, trying to find that little thrill in the bottom of his stomach that used to come so easily. But instead, he was just being drawn closer and closer to the edge, doing tricks that were getting increasingly hard to pull off. But there was no thrill.

He had started to fear that something had disappeared. Something that he used to call his soul had drifted off with Jade. When their partnership had ended, he’d lost more than an act. But he couldn’t continue to work with someone who had been sneaking around and couldn’t be trusted not to sell out his team.

Then, watching Dare deal so horribly with the woman who’d burned him coming back into his life had made it painfully obvious to Nicholas that he’d had his trust in women broken. And Zelda wouldn’t be the one to mend that trust; he knew that. He had to just stay focused on what he needed from her. His chest and nothing else.