Chapter 30
Liz regained her balance after running into Lucky and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I seem to be doing that a lot today,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Lucky said, smiling back. “How are you?”
“Good. I just finished having breakfast with Alexis, and was heading over to Kelly’s. I don’t work for a few hours still, but I figured I’d just hang out for a while.”
“Really? That’s where I was going next. I just stopped in here to ask Emily something. Monica said she was here with Jason, eating brunch or something.” Lucky looked up and saw that there were three women heading for them. He smiled as they approached.
“Hey Liz,” Phoebe said, eyeing Lucky. “We just got a look at the prices at the restaurant here, and were hoping you’d tell us where this diner of yours is. It’s got to be cheaper than this place!”
Liz laughed. “Sure, no problem. Oh, this is Lucky Spencer. Lucky, this is Pru, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell. I just ran into them a few minutes ago.”
“Literally,” Phoebe said with a laugh.
“One of their cousins used to live here, maybe you knew her. Hannah Scott?” Liz asked.
“But don’t hold that against us,” Phoebe added quickly.
Lucky laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, I knew her. She was Sonny’s girlfriend. I think she was killed when Moreno bombed his island. He got held up here with business and was heading over there later that night, so he wasn’t there when the bomb went off.”
“You know him?” Phoebe asked.
“Yeah, he owns a blues club with my dad. You should check it out sometime,” he said, looking at Liz out of the corner of his eye. She looked like she was getting jealous of the attention Phoebe was giving him. “Well, It was nice meeting you all, but I have to go find my friend before she leaves. I’ll see you later, Elizabeth?”
Liz smiled and nodded. “Sure.” Lucky nodded at them all and walked off to the Grille.
“Whoa, mama,” Phoebe said, watching him leave. “You are one lucky girl, no pun intended.”
“Why?” Liz asked, trying not to show the jealousy she was feeling.
“Because that guy is gorgeous, and he’s obviously into you. Are you going out?”
Liz shook her head. “Not anymore. We decided to just be friends. I was too afraid he’d find out about me being, well, you know.”
Pru nodded, knowing full well what she meant. “Yeah, it’s tough, isn’t it?”
“So, are all the guys in this town that hot?” Phoebe asked, her one-track mind running overtime. She looked over Liz’s shoulder and grinned. “Nevermind, I think my question was just answered!”
Liz turned around and smiled. “That’s Ned Ashton.” She waved at him as he passed, and he smiled back at her before making his way to the elevators.
“You know him too?”
Liz chuckled. “Yeah, he’s about to become my stepfather!”
“Oh my gosh, you don’t think he saw this, do you?” Pru asked nervously, holding the vase closer to her body.
“Probably not, and even if he did, he most likely didn’t really take notice of it. He’s on his way to see my mother, so I have a feeling his mind is pretty occupied,” Liz said with a laugh. “Hey, why don’t you go put your stuff in your room, and then I’ll show you over to Kelly’s?”
“That’s the diner, right?” Phoebe asked. Liz nodded. “Okay, we’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
~*~
Elizabeth waited in the lobby for them to return, then walked with them to Kelly’s. Her shift didn’t start for another hour, so she decided to go for a walk along the docks instead of going inside. She didn’t want to take the chance that Bobbie would ask her to start early.
Inside the diner, the three sisters were enjoying a leisurely lunch, chatting about what they wanted to do while in town, when Phoebe looked up and grinned.
“Okay, so far every guy I’ve seen here is hot!” she whispered, leaning closer to her sisters. “Look at the one that just came in.”
“Nikolas!” Bobbie greeted from behind the counter. He smiled and sat down on one of the stools.
“Hey, Bobbie. Have you seen my father?”
“No, is he supposed to meet you here?” she asked.
“Yeah, but I’m a little early, so it’s no big deal. I’m going to go sit over there and wait for him.”
Bobbie chuckled softly. “Since when does Stefan come into Kelly’s?”
Nikolas smiled and shrugged. “Since I asked him to meet me here, I guess. I thought it would be a nice change for him. Maybe you can even convince him to try the chili again.”
Bobbie giggled and shook her head. “I doubt it.”
Nikolas took the drink she had poured him and sat down at the table next to the Halliwells.
“Phoebe, you’re drooling,” Piper whispered, noticing how intently her sister was watching him.
Phoebe blushed and looked down at her plate. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was staring. He’s just so cute!”
Nikolas hid a smile behind his menu as he heard her talking. He looked up and smiled at her, causing her to blush again.
“Hi,” she said, trying to hide her embarrassment at being caught.
“Hi,” he said. “I haven’t seen any of you around before, are you new in town?”
“We’re here on vacation,” Pru explained, seeing that Phoebe was still to tongue-tied to speak. “I’m Pru Halliwell, and these are my sisters, Piper and Phoebe.”
“Hi,” the other two women said in unison. Nikolas chuckled.
“I’m Nikolas Cassidine, It’s nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy your vacation.” He looked up as the bell over the door jingled. “Hello, father.”
Stefan sat down across from him, and they immediately fell into a deep discussion.
“Father?” Phoebe said softly. “How formal!”
“I have a feeling he’s not American,” Pru said, glancing over at their table. “He was probably just raised differently.”
About a half hour later, the women were finished with their meal and were about to leave, when Phoebe’s purse bumped a glass off their table. Having developed fast reflexes for that sort of thing, especially while running Quake, a restaurant back in San Francisco, Piper’s hand flew up in front of her, freezing time before the glass could hit the floor.
“Thanks, Piper, I’m such a klutz!” Phoebe said, reaching down to put the glass back where it was.”
Nikolas was sitting at his table, waving his hand in from of Stefan’s eyes. “Father? What the....” He looked around the room, noticing that no one else was moving, except for the three women he had just met. “Uh, what just happened?”
The Halliwells had been so intent on the glass falling, they hadn’t even noticed Nikolas until he spoke. They all jumped back and looked at him.
“Okay, I don’t mean to sound like I’m in the Wizard of Oz or anything, but are you a good witch or a bad witch?” Pru asked.
Nikolas looked at her strangely. “The Wizard of Oz?”
Phoebe shook her head. “Forget about that. Are you a warlock? If you are, this really sucks, because we were trying for a warlock-free vacation here.”
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