Part 1 (2/2)
Officer Lockwell s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the ceiling.
”Should we go to the party room?” Rachel asked, leading the way.
”Here are two more,” Jake Hartman said, ushering his little girl, Taylor, and Andi's daughter, Mia, into the shop. Both six-year-olds attended the same kindergarten cla.s.s as Caitlin at Astor Elementary.
Andi stepped forward and gave Jake a kiss before he had to head back to work at the newspaper office.
”Is he a real magician, Mom?” Mia asked Andi, hugging her legs as Mike the Magnificent came out to welcome them.
”As real as they get,” Andi a.s.sured her.
Rachel exchanged a look with Andi above Mia's head and smiled. ”I wonder if he needs an a.s.sistant.”
IN THE PRIVACY of the kitchen, Andi pulled the pink bandana off Rachel's hair. ”That's better. Now primp your curls.”
”And don't forget to swing your hips as you serve the cupcakes,” Kim added. ”Maybe Magic Mike will wave his wand and whisk you under his cape for a kiss.”
”I can hope,” Rachel said. ”I haven't had a date in two weeks.”
”Is that a new record?” Andi teased.
”Almost.”
”Maybe if you kept one guy around long enough, you wouldn't have to worry about finding a date,” Kim said, arching one of her delicate dark eyebrows.
”Oh, no!” Rachel shook her head. ”Rule number one: Never date the same man three times in a row. First dates are fabulous, second dates fun, but third dates? That's when guys start to think they freaking know you, and the relations.h.i.+p fails. Better to stick with two dates and forget the rest.”
”Jake and I continue to have fun,” Andi argued.
”That's because you and Jake are made for each other.” Rachel picked up the tray of cupcakes they'd decorated to look like white rabbits peeking out from chocolate top hats. ”And so far, I haven't met any man who looks at me the way he looks at you. If I did,” she said, pausing to make sure her friend got the hint, ”I'd marry him.”
Andi pushed a strand of her long, dark blond hair behind her ear and blushed. ”Maybe Mike will be your man.”
”Maybe,” Rachel conceded and smiled. ”But every relations.h.i.+p starts with a first date.”
WHEN RACHEL ENTERED the room, Mike was in the middle of performing a card trick. She scanned the faces of the two dozen kids sitting at the long, rectangular tables covered with pink partyware and colorful birthday presents. Mike did a good job of holding their attention. They sat in wide-eyed fascination. Not one of them noticed her as she distributed the cupcakes to each place setting.
Next, Mike the Magnificent showed the audience the inside of his empty black top hat. Placing the hat right-side up on one of his black boxes, he waved his wand over the top and quickly flipped the hat upside down again. Rachel smiled as he invited the birthday girl up to the hat. The six-year-old reached her hand in and pulled out a fake toy bunny with big, white floppy ears.
Caitlin looked at Mike, her eyes betraying her disappointment, then mumbled, ”Thanks.”
”Were you hoping for a real rabbit?” Mike asked her.
Caitlin nodded.
”Let's try that again.” Mike told Caitlin to put the stuffed bunny back into the hat. Then he turned the hat over and placed it down on the black box again. He waved the wand. This time when he turned the hat over a live rabbit with big, white floppy ears poked its head up over the top of the rim.
Caitlin let out an excited squeal, and Rachel laughed. Mike the Magnificent was good with the kids and a good magician. How did he do it? She stared at the box and the black hat and couldn't tell how he'd been able to make the switch. Dodging a couple of the strings that hung down from the balloons bobbing against the ceiling, she moved closer.
”Just the person I was looking for,” Mike said, catching her eye. ”Rachel, could you come up here for a moment?”
”Certainly.” Rachel gave him a wide smile and moved to his side. ”What would you like me to do?”
”Get in the box.”
Rachel glanced at the large horizontal black box resting upon two sawhorses in the middle of the room. It looked eerily like a coffin.
”And take off your shoes,” he added under his breath.
Rachel stepped out of her pink pumps, and when Mike moved aside the black curtain covering the box, she slid inside.
”How about a pillow?” Mike asked.
”A pillow would be nice,” she said.
His large, warm hand cupped the back of her head as he placed the white cus.h.i.+on beneath her, and his gaze locked with hers. ”Are you married?”
Rachel's eyes widened. ”No.”
”Have a steady boyfriend?”
Rachel shook her head.
”Good,” Mike said and grinned at the audience. ”I won't have to worry about anyone coming after me if something goes wrong.”
”What do you mean, 'if something goes wrong'?” she demanded.
He held up a carpenter's saw with a very large, jagged blade, and the kids in the audience giggled with delight.
”He's going to saw her in half!” Mia exclaimed. ”I don't think my mommy will like that. How will Rachel help my mom bake cupcakes?”
”Saw me in half?” Rachel gasped and stared up at Mike. How did this trick work? He wasn't really going to come near her with that saw, was he? ”I . . . uh . . . have a slight fear of blades. If I get hurt, do you have a girlfriend or wife I can complain to?”
Mike grinned. ”No wife. But if you survive, maybe I'll marry you.”
The young audience edged forward in antic.i.p.ation, probably wondering if they'd see blood or hear her scream.
Rachel had done some pretty crazy things in the past to get a date, but this ridiculous stunt had to top them all. ”I really am afraid of blades,” she said, her voice raised to a high-pitched squeak.
”Don't worry; I've only killed two people in the past,” Mike rea.s.sured her, then leaned down to whisper in her ear, ”Roll to your side and curl up in a ball.”
Rachel did as she was told and faced the audience. There was more room in the box than she'd first supposed. Mike made a few quick adjustments, and an inside board slid up against her feet. Then he raised the shark-toothed blade above her and began to saw the outside of the box in two. The box rattled, and the fresh sawdust made her sneeze, making the kids laugh.
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