by Stone, Nora
“Really? I could probably get the guys together if you wanted…”
“Could you?” Tony said, his excitement cutting into the sentence before I’d even gotten it all out. But oddly, it didn’t strike me as rude or annoy me, because I didn’t think that was how he meant for things to happen. It was more that he was just that excited, and I found myself grinning at his wide-eyed enthusiasm.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said.
“Here we are,” Patrick said, startling me a bit as he came up behind me. I hadn’t even been aware that he was back.
“Oh, crap,” I said, holding my hand to my chest.
“I think you startled her,” Anna said with a laugh. Patrick looked down at me, a questioning look on his face.
“Did I?”
“A little. But everything is okay,” I said, looking at him head on so that he could see that I meant everything, not just me after the jump.
“Right,” he said with a relieved smile.
“This is a nice car, Patrick,” Anna said, looking on as he opened the back door for his mother and helped her inside.
“Thanks, Mom.” He smiled. Tony walked around the car and got into the other side of the back seat on his own just as Patrick closed the door and turned to me.
“Your father seems really excited about meeting the team, has he not before?” I asked. Patrick smiled and ran his hands through his hair.
“Honestly, no. My parents are a bit… snooty, and they can rub people the wrong way. I’ve kept them away from the team.”
“Or, maybe you could just warn them? We could get Joey to send out a warning and get everyone together, that way everyone is prepared and your parents get a fun experience,” I said. Patrick seemed to think about it, and then nodded.
“You want to make a good impression,” he said, as if he saw right through me. I nodded.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Alright. I’ll call Joey when we get home,” he said. The smile on my face was so wide, that it hurt my cheeks.
“Okay,” I said. Patrick laughed softly, and then opened the door to help me into the passenger seat of the car.
Chapter 29
A few hours later, I strolled through the grocery store with Anna walking along beside me, prattling on about something in regards to the quality of the grapes we’d just picked up for the fruit salad. I tried not to roll my eyes, but to be fair, she didn’t really seem like she was trying to offend anyone. It was simply that she was used to better, and she thought that everyone ought to get that ‘better’ as well. It was a good thing, if you tried to look past how she presented it to you.
“Hey Jacinta!” A welcome and happy voice said behind me, causing both Anna and I to turn around.
“Char!” I said, so glad to see her there.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she said, strolling up to us. It was odd, since this was a good ten minutes from where she normally shopped. Patrick must have called Joey and told them where I was and who I was with.
“Charlotte, this is Patrick’s mother, Anna. Anna, this is my best friend and Joey Parker’s wife, Charlotte.”
“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Anna said, shaking hands with Char. Charlotte, ever the media mogul, smiled warmly and gently returned the hand shake. Alton was wrapped around her neck and grinned over at Anna.
“This is Alton,” Char said, in response to his squeal in the direction of the new person.
“Your son? He’s a handsome little one,” Anna said. Her features softened as she watched Alton, there in Char’s arms. I glanced at Char and smiled, seeing what a wonderful mother she must have been when Patrick was little.
“Thank you,” Char said.
“Can I hold him?” Anna asked, her voice hushed as if she was afraid that she’d startle him. Charlotte grinned.
“Sure you can.” Anna gingerly took Alton from her arms and held him close, her eyes completely enamored with his little face and the grin that he was concentrating on her.
“We call him Al for short,” Char said.
“He is such a good boy,” Anna said. Char and I shared a look and started the trio walking again.
“So what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Joey wanted to pick up a few things to help Patrick with the grilling later today. Patrick said that his father is a fan, so instead of bringing him, I’ve got a list and I dropped him off at your house,” Char said. She pulled the small list from her pocket, and we put it with the list that I was working with so we wouldn’t miss anything.
“And the rest of the team?” I asked, lowering my voice a bit.
“We’ve got hours until they start to show,” she said. I nodded and we started walking again.
~~~
We arrived back at the house in time enough to find Joey, Patrick and Tony outside, hovered over the grill. I smiled at them through the window and set down the bags I’d been carrying while Char set up Al’s playpen and Anna settled with him on the floor.
“Are these all of the toys that he has? Oh dear, I wish I’d known. We could have gotten him some better ones while we were out,” Anna said. Char stopped and looked up at me, her eyes saying what I’d been thinking since Patrick’s parents arrived.
“Patrick,” I said, just loud enough for him to hear me through the open door. He turned and immediately came inside.
“Everything turn out okay?” he asked, putting his arm around my waist and kissing me gently.
“Yep. I think your mother is in love with Al,” I said with a grin.
“Everyone falls in love with that kid,” Patrick said, picking up another bag and beginning to unpack it.
“How are your Dad and Joey getting along?” I asked. Patrick glanced up through the window, watching his father and Joey laughing over beers.
“Great, actually. This was a good idea, I’m glad you asked if we could do it. I don’t think I’ve seen Dad smile this much in years.”
“He doesn’t smile with your Mom?”
“He and Mom spend most of their time making snooty remarks about their surroundings, so they don’t have time to smile,” he said. We laughed softly together.
“I know they are a bit high-brow, but I don’t think they really mean to be offensive,” I said. Patrick sighed.
“No, they don’t mean to be. But a lot of times, they are. They alienate people, but can’t see how when no one wants to hang out with them anymore.”
“You told Joey to warn the guys, right?”
“Yeah, he said they have all been told,” he replied. I pulled out one of the large platters and began laying out steaks so that the guys could start seasoning them out back.
“Then everything will be fine,” I said with a smile.
~~~
The night was winding to a close, and people were beginning to leave. Al had passed out on the couch while Joey, Patrick, Tony and half of the team had settled into the lounge chairs outside and Char and I stood in the kitchen with matching glasses of wine.
“So how long are Patrick’s parents going to be in town?” Char asked.
“A week, for right now. Anna said they were going to do some traveling after they leave Dallas and might come back on their way back home,” I said. Char nodded.
“That’s cool. They seem to like you.”
“They do, and I’m so glad. I’ve been terrified for the past week waiting for this,” I said with a laugh.
“I knew they’d love you, Jacinta. You’re awesome,” Char said, bumping hips with me.
“They are a little hard to take, unless you take the time out to realize that they really aren’t trying to offend people.”
“True. But it’s okay, you only have to worry about that when they’re here. Patrick isn’t like that at all.”
“Right, it completely skipped him. It’s odd that it missed him like that, plus I don’t think I could deal with that all the time.”
“Remember, you’re marrying Patrick, not his parents.”
; “Easy for you to say, Joey’s parents are awesome,” I said. Char grinned.
“I do love his parents. But no, that’s not the point. I know they’re going to be your in-laws and a permanent part of your life after the wedding, but just keep in mind that Patrick is his own man,” Char said. I nodded.
“That he is.” I glanced out back as the men laughed loudly at something. I smiled. This was something that I could get used to.
“We’re both going to be married women. Who’d have thought this was going to happen?” I said with a giggle.
“Not me,” Char said, bumping shoulders with me gently.
“Me either, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said.
Chapter 30
Anna had come up to the mall with me and made an appointment to have me dress her at the shop while Patrick and Tony had a tee time starting around the same time my shift started. I flitted around the store, a bit nervous about it all even though Anna and I seemed to get along just fine and I knew that I was good at what I did. It was more that we’d be alone and I felt like I would be judged even more because this was my job, and her son had gobs of money, was famous and played football. I stopped folding the pants in my hand. Suddenly, I felt completely inadequate for Patrick.
“This mall is wonderful, I see so many things that I love,” Anna said, already towing two large shopping bags with her. I smiled and swallowed my heart, making myself walk across the store floor to meet her.
“There are a lot of small businesses that carry very unique items here. It’s one of the reasons that this mall hasn’t died off like others in the area, that are full of chain stores that no one cares enough to take care of,” I said, gently taking the bags from her and moving to the counter.
“I bought a few household things that I thought you and Patrick would like. Can we take a look together after my appointment? I made sure that I kept the receipts, in case you don’t like it so that we can take it back.”
I smiled, genuinely this time and nodded. “Sure we can. I’ll take lunch afterwards, and we can go look over something good to eat.”
“Excellent,” Anna replied with a grin.
“Now, shall we get started? I set aside a few pieces that I think fit your tastes,” I said, putting the bags back behind the counter, where I knew they would be safe and not bothered.
“You already know what I like?” she asked. I grinned.
“I’m observant,” I said. “It’s just something that I do now with everyone that I meet, out of habit. All I had to do was think about all that I’d learned about your taste in clothes and accessories, and I walked the store earlier and put aside a few of our items that are higher demand, so that there was at least one for you to look at when you got here.”
Anna actually looked a little impressed. Something about that made me feel awesome about myself.
“Lead on, Miss Jacinta. I am fashion putty in your hands,” Anna said. I laughed and motioned for her to follow me. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
~~~
“So you basically spend your entire day shopping with someone else’s money? That sounds like a dream job!” Anna said with a wide smile, as we were seated at a table in the small Italian restaurant that Anna wanted to try for lunch.
“I guess I never thought about it like that,” I said. “It’s not always fun. I had some woman’s spoiled little kid with a cold sneeze right in my face and laugh when I seemed horrified about it. Then he told his mother to shut up and called her stupid. I was floored!”
Anna’s eyes widened. “My goodness. We may have raised Patrick with a bit more privilege than most, simply because we had the means and we could, but we taught him to respect it as well. He would never have dared to do something like that.”
“I can see that, Patrick is one of the most respectful men that I’ve ever met,” I said. Anna smiled, her face full of pride.
“Thank you for that, I am so proud of him. Knowing that you feel that way makes me even more so.” Anna reached across the table and took my hand.
“I’m really glad that Patrick has you, and all of his friends around him,” she said. “I was always afraid that he’d have a hard time when he moved away, and I wouldn’t be close enough for him to come visit when he’s down, but knowing that he has you all makes me feel much better.”
I felt a flush rush into my cheeks almost painfully and I had to fight the urge to hide my face behind something.
“Thank you, Anna. That really means a lot to me,” I said. The waiter stopped past the table, and Anna ordered herself a glass of wine and an appetizer for us to share.
“Do you and Charlotte spend a lot of time together?” she asked.
“As much as we can. She and I have been friends since college,” I replied. Isobel came rushing back into my mind and I swallowed and pushed the thought down.
“That son of hers is quite the charmer,” Anna said. I grinned.
“Al is my pick me up, when I’m having a bad day. The little boy is pure sunshine.”
“How much time does Joey get to spend with him? I know those boys are out of town a lot,” Anna asked. I nodded.
“They are, but he calls and Char puts Al on the phone with him,” I said. “And when he’s in town, he spends as much time as he can with Alton, and Char will take him out to the practice grounds so that he can watch his father on the field.”
“Oh that sounds wonderful. I watched them at the cookout. Have you ever noticed that Joey watches Charlotte?” Anna asked. I frowned slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“He always seems to keep his eye on her, but not in a creepy way. More in a protective way, to make sure that she’s okay. For example, we were inside and Alton got a bit fussy. As soon as Charlotte started to get a bit frustrated, Joey was there to take the baby and give her a break. It was very sweet, honestly,” Anna said, seemingly lost in thought for a few moments.
“I guess I’m so used to it that I don’t see it. He’s always treated her like that, and it didn’t change once they got married,” I said. Anna’s eyes refocused on my face.
“Patrick does the same with you, you know,” she said with a smile.
“He does?” That, I hadn’t noticed. Anna nodded.
“All the time. Of course, you all don’t have a baby or something like that to lead to added stress like Joey and Charlotte do, but he watches. He makes sure that you are always smiling, and if you aren’t, he’s on the hunt to find out why not,” Anna said. I stared at her for a heartbeat.
“What?” I said softly. Anna smiled.
“I didn’t think you’d noticed it. It’s very endearing. That’s how I know that my son truly loves you, Jacinta. He looks at you the way that Tony has always looked at me,” she said. I blinked at her, surprised.
“I had no idea.”
“Neither did I with Tony, until my mother pointed it out to me,” she said. “Ever since then, I’ve always looked for it in couples that I’m around. Keep Joey and Charlotte around you all. They have learned a bit more about marriage than you all have, so they can help you. And Joey seems to ground Patrick, in ways that a spouse can’t. They’re good influences.”
I smiled. “Thank you for that.”
“For what, dear,” Anna said, looking at the menu.
“For the advice. And for the happiness.” Then, I opened my menu and followed suit, noting the slow, quiet smile that spread across Anna’s lips without any fanfare at all.
Chapter 31
A few days after Anna and Tony left on their way to Austin to be tourists, the doorbell brought me out of my sleep with a small start. I turned and squinted at the clock, then almost sat straight up. It was 8 AM on a weekend, which to me meant that something was wrong. Patrick stirred a bit in his sleep, but didn’t wake up and I didn’t see a reason to wake him up without knowing what exactly was going on. Instead, I slowly slid out of bed, trotted over to the closet and grabbed my robe and tiptoed out into the hallway as the doo
rbell rang again.
I ran to the door before the person on the other side could ring the bell again and looked out of the peep hole. Seeing Isobel there almost stopped my heart. I flung the door open, my eyes wide and my mouth almost hanging open.
“Izzy,” I said. Isobel’s eyes met mine without a hint of emotion.
“Sorry if I woke you.”
“It’s alright. I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks, but you never answered my calls. Come in,” I said, stepping back. Isobel shook her head and reached into her bag.