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“You want to convince your grandmother, don’t you?” He wiped his hands with a paper napkin. “I’ll pick you up and we’ll come in, the inseparable lovebirds. Your grandmother will go home satisfied you’ve found the perfect man at last.”
“Don’t get too far into the role, okay?” She scribbled her address onto another napkin and handed it to him.
He read it and stuffed it into his pocket. “What should I say when people ask how we met?”
“That’s easy. Tell them we met at the hospital. Cops come in here all the time.”
“And we’ve been dating how long?”
“Six weeks.”
“I’m a fast worker, huh?”
“G.P. knew my grandfather six weeks when they got married.”
“How long were they married?”
“Forty-one years.”
He laughed. “And you don’t believe in fate!”
“G.P. and Grandpa were lucky. That doesn’t happen very often.” She didn’t want to talk about her grandparents’ marriage with him. She opened the door. “I have to get back to work.”
He stopped and kissed her cheek on his way out. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening. I’m looking forward to it.”
She stared after him, still feeling the warmth where his lips had been. One moment she was furious with him, and the next he did something that made her positively melt. He’d crashed into her quiet, ordered life like a meteorite. She figured the sooner they ended their deal and parted company, the better off she’d be.
His earlier words to her echoed in the back of her mind (or was that her conscience again?): Liar.
CARTER ARRIVED at Joni’s apartment promptly at 4:45, having circled the block half a dozen times to avoid showing up too early. He ate half a pack of breath mints while he was waiting and cranked the air conditioner full blast, praying his antiperspirant didn’t fail. Though he hoped he didn’t show it, his stomach was in knots at the thought of meeting Joni’s family, especially the infamous G.P.
He didn’t have much experience with families, though as a cop he’d seen plenty of family feuds gone wrong. If the rest of the family was anything like prickly Joni, he’d have one hell of a time keeping his cool tonight. But he intended to give it his best shot. Joni might be difficult at times, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the two of them could make some magic together. Call it destiny, fate, or mere coincidence, but Joni had come into his life from out of nowhere, and he wasn’t about to let her leave too soon.
She greeted him at the door, dressed in an orange tank top and white shorts. He had a tough time not staring, and had to continually pull his gaze away from her long, tanned legs and soft curves. “You look great,” he said.
She smiled and surveyed his jeans, boots and knit polo. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”
“I brought you something.” He handed her a pink rabbit’s foot key chain.
“What’s this for?” She inspected the rabbit’s foot.
“For luck. You said you don’t believe in it, but the rabbit’s foot works whether you believe or not.”
She laughed. “All right. I’ll humor you.” She clipped the key chain to her purse. “Are you ready?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m ready. By the end of the evening, your grandmother will love me.” And maybe her granddaughter’s feelings will be a little more affectionate as well.
The drive to her parents’ home in Alamo Heights took only a few minutes. The house was already surrounded by cars, and a trio of little girls chased each other across the front lawn. “You have a big family,” he said.
“Not that big. I have three brothers, Matt, Greg and David. Then there are their wives and children—the girls on the lawn belong to Greg and Matt. David has a baby boy. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Richard will probably be here, and my cousins Marcus and Larry. Uncle Leo and Aunt Lucy, and their sons, Bruce and Peter. Bruce’s wife Penny and their two boys, Zach and Thomas…”
“Like I said. A big family. Must be nice.” He found a parking space down the street and guided the car in. “Three brothers, huh? So you’re the only girl. And the youngest, I’ll bet.”
“David is younger, but, yeah, I’m the only girl.”
He grinned. “No wonder you don’t like being bossed around.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. He was still chuckling when they walked through the front door. The roomful of people fell silent. He looked at her and saw the telltale flush creeping up her neck. “You didn’t tell them you were bringing me, did you?”
She gave him a look of apology. “I, uh, I forgot.”
A woman in her fifties with Joni’s eyes moved toward them. “Well, don’t just stand there. Come in!” She took Carter’s arm and led him farther into the room.
“Mama, I’d like you to meet Carter Sullivan. Carter, this is my mother, Adele Montgomery.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Carter said. “I’d have known you for Joni’s mother anywhere.”
“And I’m Joni’s grandmother.” A thin, angular woman with a thick crown of snow-white hair inserted herself between them and offered her hand. “Pamela Pettigrew, but everyone here calls me G.P.”
“Pleased to meet you, G.P.” Carter shook hands with the old woman, who had a surprisingly strong grip.
She kept hold of his hand and looked him over, starting at the polished toes of his boots and ending at the top of his head. He tried not to squirm, though he had the feeling he was being sized up like a side of beef. G.P. turned to Joni, who stood with her fists clenched at her sides. “Why have you been keeping this man a secret?”
“Well, I, uh…” She looked at him, telegraphing panic.
He put his arm around her. “I think Joni wanted to be sure of my feelings before she sprung me on the whole family.”
G.P.’s eyes narrowed. “And what are your feelings?”
He leaned closer and spoke in a confiding tone. “Just between you and me—I love her.”
He’d meant the words as a dramatic gesture, but a sudden tightness in his chest when he glanced at Joni told him they might be true. This beautiful, aggravating woman had gotten under his skin in a hurry.
JONI STARED AT HIM, openmouthed. Why had he thought it necessary to say something like that? Especially with her whole family watching and grinning like kids at the circus.
She slid her gaze over to G.P. Her grandmother was still holding Carter’s hand, studying him with considerable interest. “Come sit over here and tell me something about yourself,” she said, leading him to the sofa.
Aunts Lisa and Lucy moved over to make room, so that Carter ended up sandwiched between G.P. and the grinning aunts. “Tell me how you and Joni met,” G.P. said.
Carter leaned back against the sofa cushions, long legs stretched in front of him. Joni stood behind her mother’s chair, while the rest of the family arranged themselves around the room. Carter glanced at Joni, then delivered his lines: “I was sitting at a restaurant all alone, depressed because I didn’t have someone special in my life, and all of a sudden, this beautiful woman walks right over and sits down at my table.”
Joni gasped, drawing curious looks from those near her. She dabbed at her eyes with her fingers, pretending to be all choked up. In reality, she was furious. What did he think he was doing, telling her family the truth?
“She’d mistaken me for the man she was supposed to meet at the restaurant,” Carter continued. “One look and I knew fate had sent me the woman I’d been waiting for. We talked all evening, and I guess you could say we really hit it off.”
“What a romantic story.” Aunt Lucy sighed.
“When was this meeting?” G.P. asked. “How long have you known each other?”
Joni held her breath. If he dared tell the truth this time…
Carter smiled fondly at her. “Six weeks.”
A collective sigh issued from her entire sappily romantic family. G.P. beamed. “That’s how long my late husband George and I knew each other when we got married.” She touched Carter’s hand. “We had a wonderful forty-one years together.”
“So Joni tells me.”
“I wish you could have known him. He was a wonderful man, so full of life. When I met him, he was a barnstorming pilot, flying around to small towns and performing stunts. Our first date, he took me up in his plane and performed two barrel rolls and a backward loop. I knew right then, he was the man for me.”
“He sounds like quite a daredevil.” Carter had the audacity to wink at Joni.
“Oh, he was. He flew in Korea and worked as a crop duster in the Rio Grande Valley, then flew reconnaissance for Customs. On weekends, we’d go to air shows and he’d fly stunts for fun.” She patted his hand. “But you didn’t come here to listen to an old woman talk. I want to know about you. What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a patrol officer with the San Antonio Police Department.”
G.P.’s laugh was closer to a cackle. She looked at Joni. “Is that so? What did I tell you?”
Joni crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not happy about his job.”
“I predict you’ll get over that soon enough.” She turned back to Carter. “Now tell me about your family. Where do they live?”
“I don’t really have a family. I grew up in several different foster homes. I stayed the longest with the Calabrias, five years when I was in junior high and high school. I still see them from time to time.”
Joni felt like she’d swallowed hummingbirds. She thought of the runaways and homeless kids Carter said he tried to help. Did he see himself and his own childhood when he looked at them?
“You can consider us your family now,” G.P. announced. “I always said Joni needed a strong man who could show her how to really live.” She leaned toward Carter and lowered her voice, though not so low Joni couldn’t hear. “She has a tendency to guard her feelings too well,” she said. “Maybe you can teach her to take a few more risks.”
He nodded solemnly. “Maybe I can.”
Joni turned away. Really, this was getting ridiculous. Carter was acting like this was all real, instead of a ploy to fool her grandmother.
A few minutes later, Carter caught up with her in the kitchen, where she was helping her cousin Bruce slice onions and pickles. “Everything’s going pretty good, huh?” he said softly, helping himself to a pickle slice. Bruce was arguing baseball scores with their cousin Marcus.
“Why did you tell them how we really met?”
“Because I’m a lousy liar. Besides, the truth is a better story. I think it really won them over.”
She made a face. “Oh, G.P. loves you.”
“I like her, too. I like all your family.”
She concentrated on making perfect, even slices. “I didn’t know that…about your family. I guess that’s kind of rough, huh?”
Carter shrugged. “That’s the hand I was dealt.”
She laid aside the knife and dried her hands on a dish towel. “Don’t you have any disgusting habits or annoying traits I can dislike without feeling guilty?”
He laughed. “I can swear in three languages, though that can sometimes be an asset. I can cuss out people in Italian and they don’t know if I’m dissing them or ordering spaghetti.”
She fought hard to hold back a smile. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, so he could whisper in her ear. “I wouldn’t call it annoying, but I do have the very frustrating habit of getting turned on whenever I’m around you.”
She wanted to scold him and remind him theirs was supposed to be a business agreement, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was giggles. Honestly! What was happening to her?
Her father stuck his head in the back door. “Hey, can you two lovebirds break it up long enough for Carter to come out here and play a game of horseshoes? I’ve already beaten everybody else.”
“You haven’t beaten the horseshoe champ of the SAPD West Substation.” Carter released her and followed her dad into the backyard.
Joni leaned back against the counter and sighed. Carter didn’t act like any cop she’d ever known—like any man she’d ever known. He was strong, but soft at the same time. He wasn’t afraid of revealing himself. After all, what kind of man stood up in front of a bunch of people he’d just met and declared his love for a woman?
Even if it was only an act?
3
EVEN THOUGH Carter and Joni were seated directly across the picnic table from one another, Joni refused to look at him. That’s how he knew he was getting to her. Every time he glanced up, her eyes darted away and she pretended a deep interest in the potato salad. You didn’t work that hard at avoiding someone’s gaze unless you secretly craved it. He grinned and leaned toward her. “The potato salad is excellent, isn’t it?”
“Huh?” Her head jerked up and her eyes met his for a split second before focusing somewhere over his left shoulder. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of looking into those eyes, trying to discover all the things they’d teach him about her.
“The potato salad? You were so engrossed in it, I thought maybe it was some secret family recipe.”
She set down her fork. “Um, I think Mom gets it from a deli over on San Pedro.”
He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s delicious. It’s all delicious.”
“The secret to a good brisket is to take it slow.” Joni’s father spoke from the end of the long picnic table set up under an oak tree in the Montgomery backyard. “You can’t rush something this good.”
Carter nodded. “I’ll have to remember that.” Good advice for briskets, and for relationships. He glanced at Joni again. She was studiously cutting her meat into tiny pieces, her cheeks flushed as if she’d had too much sun. Ah, Joni, I don’t want to rush you, he thought. I just want you to give me a chance.
G.P. pushed aside her plate and surveyed her guests with a satisfied smile. “As soon as everyone’s finished eating, we’ll start the games.”
The announcement was met with groans.
“Do we have to?”
“Aren’t we too old for that?”
“I think I sprained my ankle.”
“Nonsense,” G.P. countered. “The games are a tradition at every family gathering.”
Carter leaned across the table to whisper to Joni. “What kind of games is she talking about?”
Joni rolled her eyes. “Stupid ones. Kid stuff like three-legged races and balloon relays. She thinks they build closeness and togetherness.”
“They keep you all from being too serious.” G.P. directed her comment to her granddaughter. “I have very good hearing for a woman who’s almost seventy,” she added.
Carter shoved his chair back from the table. “Sounds like fun.” He nodded to Joni. “Can I be partners with Joni?”
G.P. smiled. “But of course.”
