Susan Mallery - Secrets Of The Tulip Sisters

“So I’ve been told,” Sven said with a grin. “Tomorrow you’ll have blintzes and crepes on the menu.”

Helen held in a whimper. How was she supposed to exist on plain salad while surrounded by blintzes?

“I have a meeting at JML,” she said. “You two will lock up when you’re done?”

Delja nodded. She motioned for Helen to move close, then hugged her tight.

“Beautiful girl.”

“Thanks. You’re always good to me.”

Delja smiled.

“Come here, you,” Sven said, surprising her by pulling her into his embrace.

Helen didn’t have time to wonder if Sven had decided to see her as more than a friend. Before she could gather any thoughts at all, he’d squeezed all the air out of her and then ruffled her hair.

“You’re fine. Stop trying to change.”

“Thanks,” she said between clenched teeth. “Great advice.”

Ruffled her hair? What, was she five? Apparently no one saw her as a sexual being. It was incredibly disappointing. Not that she wanted Sven but still.

She drove to JML and walked inside. It was too early for lessons, so the building was blissfully silent—except for the occasional smack of a bowling ball hitting pins. But when compared to the indignities the untrained could inflict on an innocent guitar, the sound was almost welcome.

She found Isaak in his office. She waved as she plopped down in one of the visitor chairs.

“Let me guess,” she said with a grin. “You have a new group that wants to learn every song from the Foo Fighters.”

“I wish, but no. I’m hosting a showcase.”

“You’re always hosting a showcase. I heard the one last night was particularly challenging for those attending.”

He groaned. “Tell me about it. You were lucky you didn’t have to be there. But this is different. There are a couple of other music schools that do what we do. We’ve been talking about organizing something together. It’s going to be up here at Petal Pushers.”

“They changed the name. It’s The Dutch Bunch now.”

“Whatever. I can’t keep up. Anyway, the venue is great and we’re each going to bring our best bands and players. I thought you and Jeff could do a duet.”

Naked, she thought dreamily. That was the duet she was most interested in. Naked Jeff and naked her. Not onstage, though. In her bedroom. Yup, that would be fantastic. Just their bodies touching and rubbing and—

“Helen?”

“What? Oh, sorry. That would be great. We can do our usual.”

Isaak sighed. “Not everyone likes Billy Joel.”

“Everyone should. He’s an icon and my personal piano hero.”

“I thought you could try something different.” He passed over sheet music.

She picked it up and glanced at the title. As she didn’t know if she should laugh or scream, the sound that escaped had a snortlike quality to it.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. You’d be great.”

“It’s not a duet.”

“It could be.”

Helen briefly closed her eyes. “‘Wrecking Ball’? I doubt Jeff knows who Miley Cyrus is and I know he’s never heard the song. It’s not his style.”

“Neither is Billy Joel but Jeff does it for you. I think ‘Wrecking Ball’ has potential.” Isaak winked. “Plus, he’ll love the video.”

Helen winced. No offense to anyone, but having Jeff watch that particular video was not going to get him in the mood to have sex with her. Miley was too beautiful, too perfect, too everything. Ordinary, plump women wouldn’t stand a chance.

“I’ll talk to him,” she said.

“Your lack of enthusiasm is inspiring.”

“I still think we should stick with what works.”

“No Billy Joel.”

She took the music and stood. “I’m going to tell Billy you said that and he’s going to come beat the crap out of you, so there.”

Isaak laughed. “I’m willing to take the chance.”

9

By the time Kelly was due to leave for the tourist board meeting, she was back to her regular self.

In deference to Olivia and not because her sister made her feel frumpy and androgynous, Kelly dug out a pair of relatively new jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt she rarely wore because it required ironing when it was washed. She took an extra couple of minutes with her hair, releasing it from her usual ponytail and fluffing it with her fingers. She thought briefly about mascara, but was afraid the single tube she owned might be well over a year old and God knew what could be growing in it. She settled on swiping on a little Burt’s Bees lip balm and called it a night.

When she stepped into the hall, she caught sight of her sister and thought maybe she should have risked an eye infection. Olivia had changed into a dress. Not just any dress, but a pretty sleeveless one that was white at the top and bottom with wide bands of different shades of pink and red in the middle. The dress had a relatively high neck, was fitted to the waist, then flared out to just above Olivia’s knees.

Her bare legs were toned and tanned and she wore a high-heeled nude pump. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid. She had on pearl studs and the kind of makeup that made her look sophisticated and competent.

Kelly felt her meager confidence shrivel and die as she turned from normal human to genderless country mouse. Telling herself she didn’t care about things like clothes and makeup didn’t help. Not when faced with a living, breathing example of what both could accomplish.

Olivia smiled. “Hi. I’m ready. You said six thirty and I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”

“You’re right on time,” Kelly said, hoping she didn’t sound as bitter as she felt. It wasn’t Olivia’s fault Kelly felt inept when it came to things like fashion.

“I’m really interested in the meeting tonight,” Olivia said as they walked out to Kelly’s truck. “I spent the afternoon researching tourism in the area and in other towns similar to this one. There are a lot of things that can be done to draw in tourists.” She opened the passenger door. “Don’t worry. I’ll only take notes and give you my thoughts later. You can use them or not.”

Kelly put her key in the ignition. “What do you mean?”

“It’s your meeting. I’m not going to butt in.”

“Trust me, any ideas would be welcome. We’re all at a loss. The tourist season around here is way too brief. Once the tulips are gone, so are the people. The hotels are full all summer long, but everyone is busy going somewhere else. We have the same weather as the rest of western Washington. It’s pretty. Why not spend the weekend here?”

“You wouldn’t mind if I said something?”

“Of course not. Is that what you did today? Computer research?”

“I drove around this morning. There are a few changes, but not that many. I went to The Dutch Bunch.”

“What did you think?”

“It has a lot of potential, but right now it’s a mess. That display by the door is overwhelming and way too busy. It’s going to frighten people away. And the layout of the booths is odd. There are entire sections you can’t get to without knowing where you’re going. How does anyone make any money?”

“I’m not sure anyone does.”

Kelly had to admit she’d never much thought about how the craft mall was laid out.

“Did your friends seem different?” she asked. “Or is everyone the same?”

“A bit of both.”

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