10. Spy Mode Makeovers and Mayhem
CHAPTER 10
SPY MODE: MAKEOVERS AND MAYHEM
DAISY
T his time, it’s Ollie who spots the guy in the suit first. It’s a man who’s by himself instead of like before when they’ve come in pairs. Could it be that they are all bad guys after us? I have no idea. But what are the odds of five people coming to a town harvest festival in suits? I could see someone coming straight from work to meet their family, but none of them had been with families. And this guy is glancing around like he’s looking for someone. Or two someones.
I don’t see a good spot to hide—we are near the hay bale maze, but it must be the backside of it because I don’t see an entrance—and the guy is about to turn in our direction. I pull Ollie toward the maze, then grab hold of his shirt and pull him to me, pressing my lips against his. People tend to glance away from couples kissing, right? Like as a way to give them privacy? I’m hoping that’s what the man in the suit does.
Me kissing Ollie surprises him so much, though, that he drops the case. The thing he’s had a death grip on since he first stepped out of the car. He sucks in a quick breath and scrambles to pick it up, quickly glancing around to see if anyone was watching. But I don’t want the man in the suit to see our faces, so I grab Ollie by the face and turn him back to me.
I had planned to make this a quick kiss. Something fake and only for show. I mean, really, from a dozen or two dozen feet away, we’ll look as if we are kissing even if our lips don’t touch.
But Ollie doesn’t fake this. He wraps one arm around my waist and the other cradles the back of my head, and I can sense the longing and the hope that he’s pouring into his kiss. And it feels so good and so right to have his lips press against mine. To have his arms wrapped around me. I slide my hands around to the back of his neck and I’m pulling him close as much as he is me.
I have admired and enjoyed Ollie coming into the Coffee Loft for a long time. And lately, I have really been hoping that he will get the courage to ask me out. I had started dreaming about what it might be like to date him, all while having one foot out the door and dreaming about moving. Maybe part of me thought it might be fun for a bit .
But maybe that part of me had been wrong. Maybe me and Ollie could work. Maybe I don’t need to move somewhere else to figure out my life. Maybe my life could be right here.
Just as I’m starting to think that I could stand here and kiss Ollie all night, I hear a familiar barking followed quickly by Ollie pulling away, right before he says, “ Hey !” I peer around him to see Prince Charming tugging at Ollie’s case with his mouth.
“ Prince Charming !” I say. My dog immediately lets go of Ollie’s case and bounds to my feet, looking up at me, grinning, like he’s such a good boy for finding me and finding an effective way to get my attention. I bend down and pet the sides of his neck while saying, “ We don’t bite people’s bags!”
Then I look up to see Ruthie standing next to Ollie , holding onto Charm’s leash. “ Prince Charming and I got walking and I thought wouldn’t it be fun to see the festival! And we were having a great time, so I couldn’t understand why he started running all of a sudden. I guess he caught your scent. Smart dog! We didn’t even know you would be here.” Then she turns to Ollie . “ I’m so sorry about the bag. Did he ruin it?”
Ollie shakes his head. “ It’s fine. It’s probably a three-dollar bag, anyway.”
“ If nothing else, I’d like to apologize on behalf of Prince Charming , because if he didn’t ruin that bag, he for sure ruined that kiss, and it looked like one to write home about. Come on, Charm . Say your goodbyes. We need to let these two get back to their business.”
My face has heated up—my elderly neighbor catching a front-row seat to that kiss isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I was thinking that people usually turn away from kissing couples. But I tell Charm goodbye and that I’ll see him when I get home. I also glance around to make sure no suits are nearby. They aren’t.
As Ruthie and Charm are walking away, Ruthie calls back, “ Be as late as you’d like! I’m fine to watch this cute little guy for as long as you need.”
I’m sure my cheeks are still flushed, and Ollie’s are a bit, too. We just look into each other’s eyes for a bit, and then I say, “ It’s either been a very long time since I’ve been kissed like that, or you are very good at pouring emotion into a kiss. Because that was pretty amazing.”
Ollie smiles, and the way his lips curve up is the cutest. So is the way his eyes shine. He nods. “ It definitely was amazing.”
“ We should do more of that again soon.” I look us both up and down, then say, “ But right now, I think we need to do something about how recognizable we are. And that case is.” Then I glance around. “ There . That place selling town t-shirts.”
We head toward it, and this time, he takes my hand. It’s the first time he’s initiated it. The booth is run by the city, and they are selling town t-shirts. I pick up a gray one that looks like it could be Ollie’s size.
The design on it reads, Cipher Springs : We’ve got a lot of history brewing. The bottom of the t-shirt has a stylized silhouette of the historical part of Main Street , with the theater that’s being restored, the train station that Coffee Loft is in, the old clock tower, and the old hotel that is now a bookstore and clothing boutique. It also has a steaming cup of coffee, with the steam blending into the sky.
“ Oh my gosh,” I say. “ This is perfect!” I pay for the shirt, then we scoot down toward the end of the long table in their booth so we won’t be in the way of other shoppers.
My suit jacket is a dark teal and is probably the most easily recognizable thing about us. Anyone looking for us will definitely keep an eye out for it. I take it off so my dark gold shirt will be what’s most noticeable, and then I turn the jacket completely inside out. The lining is black, which is perfect.
I lay it flat on the table, then take the case from Ollie . I place the case on the jacket and then bring in the sides of the jacket like I’m putting it on a person. The handle of the case sticks up at the neck, and the case is almost as wide as the shoulder part of my jacket. Ollie is looking at it, confused, probably thinking I must be crazy. But I’m not, and he’ll soon see why .
I button the jacket, which is kind of awkward to do since it’s inside out, and then I fold the arms onto the case. I fold the bottom half of the jacket up, fold over the flap sticking up at the top, and tuck it in. Now the case is completely enclosed in the jacket and it doesn’t look like it ever was a jacket.
My hair is still pulled up in a bun, which is probably recognizable, too. So I take out the hair band and all the bobby pins holding it, and I shake my hair out. I see how Ollie’s expression changes. It’s probably a wild mess of curls, but it’ll do.
I use the bobby pins to secure the jacket to the case. When I’m done, I pick it up and turn it around. I’ve never actually done anything like this with a blazer before, but it looks impressive! In fact, it looks like a black tote bag now. It’s actually kind of cute.
“ Okay , so my top is gold now instead of teal, my hair is down, and the bag looks nothing like it did. Now it’s your turn.” I hand him the shirt. “ Put this on.”
He glances around, then hisses, “ Right here? In the open?”
“ I’m not asking you to take off your shirt, Ollie . Put it on over the one you’re wearing.”
“ Over a button-down?” He asks it like he’s sure he must be hearing wrong.
But I nod, so he pulls the town tee on, and I help him to get it and the shirt underneath it straightened. The collar from his button-down sticks out above the collar of the t-shirt. I get that straightened, and it looks good. The sleeves are about the same length, which works.
“ Now ,” I say, “we just need to untuck your button-down.” I reach around him, pulling it out all the way and straightening it. Now the tails stick out below the tee, and I have to say, he looks pretty hot.
He’s looking down at the shirt, holding his arms awkwardly. “ Does this look weird? I feel weird.”
“ You look amazing,” I tell him. “ Pay attention to the looks people give you as we walk. I guarantee they’ll show you how crazy good you look.”
Ollie seems to stand a bit taller, so he must believe me. As we walk toward the carousel, we don’t see anyone suspicious.
We walk along, holding hands, like we’re a couple. And I’m really digging it. “ So ,” I say, because couples strolling through the park during a town festival would be chatting, not looking around for bad guys, “after the mudslide, did you have to go to a new school?”
Ollie nods. “ I was in Kindergarten . There were only about six weeks left in the school year when we moved into our new house. It was hard. I liked my old school. I ended up liking the new one, too—it just took some time.”
“ What are your parents like? Are they pretty cautious people?”
Ollie lets out a short chuckle. “ Totally . I think they rubbed off on me. ”
“ Or the situation rubbed off on all of you.”
Ollie looks over at me, curious.
“ It had to be traumatic for them, too. Home was their safe place, and it was swept out from under them. The thoughts of what could’ve happened to any of you. New house, new school for you, and seeing how hard it was to adjust, new friends… All because of something unexpected that couldn’t be controlled. Anyone would feel a bit skittish about taking risks after that.”
Ollie stops walking and studies me for a moment. Then he says, “ I hadn’t connected any of that. Thank you.”
I look into his eyes and can see the stress he’s trying to hide. “ You’re nervous about getting this to Jace .”
He glances in the direction of the carousel before his eyes meet mine again. “ Knowing the source of the fear and getting rid of the feeling are two entirely different things.”
I grab the top of his arms. “ Winston Oliver Baldwin .” A look crosses his face that tells me he’s surprised that I know his full name. “ I see your debit card every time I take your order. Your name literally begins and ends with ‘win.’ You can do this.”
One side of his mouth pulls up in a smile. “ My last name also contains the word ‘bald,’ but I’m not hoping for that.”
I try not to laugh because I want him to take my next words seriously. So I look into his eyes until he knows how sincere I am. “ I believe in you. You’ve got this.”
He gives me a resolute nod that tells me he trusts me. Then he says, “ Okay , let’s do it.”