“Good morning yourself,” Matt said, pushing a cup of coffee across the table toward me. Then he came around the counter and looked me up and down. “I’ve learned not to ask what you’re wearing.”
“It’s shopping day,” I said in explanation. “This was an intricately planned outfit. Anyway, I’m sorry to bother you. I didn’t realize you had company.”
“I don’t,” Matt corrected. “You have company.”
I gave a too-high-pitched laugh. “Ah, funny. Why did Allie come here instead of to my place?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
Matt eased closer to me, his hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans. His voice dropped to an intense register. He had on a worn fire department T-shirt that was threadbare at this point but somehow made him look all the more attractive. His arms were also pretty big guns, not that I was comparing them to Cooper Dear’s arsenal. Then again, Matt had probably gotten those muscles from saving puppies and cats and women and children from dangerous fires.
I fanned myself. “When’s the last time you saved someone from a fire?”
Both of Matt’s eyebrows shot upward this time. “How’s that relevant before nine in the morning?”
“Forget it,” I muttered. “Remind me why Allie is in your kitchen?”
“Apparently that’s for you to know and for me to find out.” Matt’s voice lilted with amusement. “I’m not sure it’s any of my business. But it is news to me that I’m running a coffee shop out of my home on Tuesdays.”
“You’re following in the steps of greatness,” I said. “Your grandmother will be proud to hear that.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Matt studied me with a gleam in his eye. “Don’t think you’re getting off that easy.”
“What do you mean?”
He dropped his voice until it was so soft only I could hear it. “I saw the look on your face when you walked in and heard someone talking.”
“And what look would that be?” I asked innocently.
“The I’m-not-happy-another-woman-is-stealing-my-mug-of-coffee look,” Matt said with a wide grin. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s great coffee.”
“How utterly sexist of you,” I said haughtily. I tilted my nose up extra high, and I examined my fingernails for a chip in the new manicure, which I knew wasn’t there. “It wasn’t the fact that it was a woman; it was the fact there was another person drinking my coffee. On my stool. I need to be properly caffeinated for my shopping day. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
“It’s fine, seeing as it’s my butt,” Allie piped up. “I didn’t mean to steal your chair. Stool. Whatever. Is this your cup? You need to write your name on it or something.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe you stole my coffee mug.”
“I’m sure Matt has others,” Allie said diplomatically. “Plus, it’s not my fault you were late. I came here looking for you.”
“Why, exactly?”
“Because you’re always at Matt’s.”
“Not always.”
“Let’s not argue.”
“But—”
“Do come in,” Allie said, beckoning me into the kitchen as if she owned the place. “Take a seat. We need to multitask. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”
“We?” I asked weakly.
“We,” she confirmed with a decisive nod of her head. “If you think I’m letting you go into the murder trap that is the Mall of America alone, think again.”
“First of all, it’s a shopping mall, not a murder trap. Your imagination is getting the better of you,” I said. “Second of all, I have plans. With a friend.”
“A Hollywood friend?” Allie asked.
“Does it matter?” I asked defensively. Then I relented. “Yes. She’s in town for the movie.”
“Don’t do it, Jenna. Don’t ditch the rest of us for your old friends,” Allie said. “They dropped you like used tissue paper when you left. We scooped up the pieces of that tissue paper and very carefully glued it back together.”
I flinched at the image but made a jerking gesture for Allie to follow me. “Let’s go. No time to waste. The mall opens soon, and I want to be parked and waiting at the doors when that happens.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Allie said. Then she saluted Matt. “Thanks for the caffeine.”
“But...” Matt looked down at his counter. “I made waffles.”
“Mind if I...” I meandered over to the table and picked up a dry waffle.
Matt rolled his eyes, but he grabbed a travel mug out of his cupboard and dumped some coffee in there as well.
“Be free,” he said, handing it to me. “And don’t come back in debt.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” I called good-naturedly over my shoulder. “Thanks for the sustenance.”
Within minutes, Allie and I were in my very odd-looking car—a PT cruiser with very ugly wooden paneling on the side—and headed north. We had the windows down despite the chilly spring air. It felt nice, brushing through our hair as we cranked up the volume to some nineties tunes that added a nice nostalgic feel to the ride.
It was punctuated only by the ring of my cell phone. I hit speaker and rolled up the windows—manually—without looking at the number.
“Jenna,” a deep voice rolled over the phone line. “Where are you?”
“On the road,” I hedged. “Definitely not driving. Allie’s holding my phone.”
Allie quickly grabbed the phone from my lap.
“Please don’t give me a ticket,” I said to Cooper. “I agreed to style you for the wedding.”
“This isn’t a personal call—exactly,” Cooper said, sounding confused. “I think you need to cancel your plans for today and head home.”
“But...” I pouted. “I spent hours preparing for today. What’s more important than a shopping day at the Mall of America?”
“Plus, she’s got to give her friend a ride,” Allie added. “We can’t leave Miss Starlett stranded.”
My cheeks turned warm. “Yeah, of course. That too.”
“Very noble of you,” the chief said dryly. “But, unfortunately, I’ve got some bad news. And someone seems to think you might know something about it.”
“Bad news?” I echoed. “Is my mom—”
“Your family’s fine,” Cooper said. “But Tennison Daniels is not.”
I racked my brain but couldn’t place a face with a name. “Gosh, that sounds familiar. Is he a resident of Blueberry Lake?”
“With a name like Tennison,” Allie said, looking at me, “you really think he’s from Blueberry Lake?”
That’s when it hit me. Tennison Daniels—C-list actor. I’d styled him for a low-budget romantic comedy at the start of my career. While I’d gone on to style A-listers and big budget movies, he’d hung around the C-list for most of his career.