She gave him a smile over her shoulder. “It is.”
“Kind of bold serving red sauce to a couple of Italians.”
She laughed and the sound danced over his nerve endings. Damn, he was barely able to control himself when she was mean to him. Smiling and laughing at him…that was going to make her lethal to his libido.
“You two aren't the only Italians around.” She started looking through her drawers. “Aha!”
She held up her bottle opener. “Would you mind? I suck at it.”
More at ease now, he said, “Sure.”
“So, you're Italian, Ms. Johnson?” Vince asked.
“Oh please, call me Maryanne, or MJ. I answer to either.”
“And you can just call me the other one.”
Her face flushed. “You heard that?”
Of course his brother had heard that. Maryanne wasn't exactly quiet when she spoke.
“Just call us Leo and Vince. One of us will answer.”
She laughed as she set a couple glasses on the counter. She rose to her tiptoes to grab another one but Vince walked up behind her.
“Let me get that for you.”
She stilled as Vince grabbed the glass and pulled it down.
“There you go,” Vince said, his voice even as if he didn’t realize he had been that close to her. Hell, if Leo had been, he would have embarrassed himself. When she turned around, her face was pink again.
“Hey, Leo, gonna open that bottle or just break off the bottle opener?” Vince asked as he leaned against her kitchen counter. He looked like he was making himself right at home.
Leo frowned at him, but noticed he was looking at his hand. Leo had the bottle opener in such a tight grip that his knuckles were white. He glanced at Maryanne who was busy at the stove with her back to them. With effort, he loosened his hand and gave his brother a warning look. He uncorked the bottle and set it on the counter to breathe.
“So, you’re Italian? Johnson doesn’t sound very Italian,” Vince said.
She tossed another smile over her shoulder. “My grandmother is Italian. And since she’s the one who taught me how to cook, most of my entrees lean that way.”
She grabbed a box of spaghetti and dumped the pasta into the boiling pot.
“So, your grandmother lived with you?” Leo asked.
She gave the spaghetti a stir, then turned around. “Yeah. My mom died when I was young, only three. Dad tried for a few years to handle the four of us on his own, but it’s hard. Y’all know what it’s like with a family of four kids and military obligations. Anyway, there was an incident and basically, he felt he lost control. And you know how Marine fathers are.”
Leo snorted. “Losing control is not something any military man likes.”
“Of course not. I get it. I mean, you give over so much of your life that you need to control something and when you can’t control a five-year-old girl…you feel your life is falling apart. He wouldn’t let my grandmother take me away, so she moved in with us. It was the best because my brothers were running amuck and Dad had a lot on his plate. He says he would have never made any of his stars without my grandmother helping out.”
“Stars?” Leo asked.
“Don’t tell me your father is General Bryan Johnson,” Vince said in a strange tone. Leo shot his brother a look, but his brother had his concentration on Maryanne.
“Yeah. Do you know him?”
More than likely Vince did. He’d been Special Forces early in his career, but he had made his rank fast, and he had been to several specialized schools. He was a little young for making Lt Col but he had done his time in the field and his time at the Pentagon.
“Is he still active?” Leo asked.
She nodded. “I wish he would get out and get a life. He also needs a woman.”
Vince seemed to recover himself a bit and chuckled. “That’s a strange thing for a daughter to say.”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, it’s been a long time since he’s had a relationship. I can understand why it’s hard for him because, well he’s busy. I keep telling him that soon he’ll be all alone.”
“He always has his daughter to keep him company,” Leo said.
She snorted. “Yeah, Dad and I love each other but we usually get in some kind of argument within twenty-four hours. I am the one child of his who is not in the military and he cannot control me at all. It drives him crazy.”
Her timer buzzed on the oven and she retrieved some garlic bread. She set the pan on the counter and grabbed a basket.
“What was the incident?” he asked.
“What?”
“The incident. The one you said drove your father to ask your grandmother to move in?”
She sighed. “I was a tomboy.”
“No way,” Vince said with a chuckle.
“Yeah. Kind of hard to believe with a Marine father and three Marine brothers that I would turn out that way, right? Right now, we don’t always get along and they made my life hell in high school, but then, when I was little, they were my whole world. They treated me like one of the guys. So, when I wanted to play t-ball, I expected to get all the same equipment they did for baseball.”
Leo frowned. “Yeah, so, why didn’t you?”
Her cheeks pickened. “There’s one bit of important equipment that boys wear that girls don’t.”
Then it hit him. “You wanted a cup.”
“Well, yeah. They all had one. And from what my grannie tells me, they did anything I wanted up until then. Dad felt guilty because Mom died, not that it was his fault, but still, you know. And he said, even though I was a tomboy, I knew how to work the house of men. I would cry and they would do anything I wanted. But, when I demanded a cup and threw a fit in front of the entire team and their parents because I couldn’t get one, Dad decided it was time for some maternal influence in my life.”
He smiled, then he found himself laughing out loud. “Seriously, Maryanne, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
She smiled. “It was a good thing though. Having another woman in my house was a godsend. I don’t even want to think about talking to my father about puberty.”
“Well, I would say that you turned out just fine, in my humble opinion,” Vince said sweetly.
She blinked then smiled at him and just like that, Leo was pissed. This was going to be one long night.
* * * *
Maryanne was relieved when the evening came to an end. It had been difficult to sit through the meal and not drool over her companions. Of course, having Vince there made it a little easier. He flirted with her enough to make her feel pretty, but didn't push it. He had no interest in her at all. At least, she didn't think he did. Anyway, the brooding presence of Leo made it hard to be a completely relaxed meal. He added to the conversation, but the dirty looks he kept giving her and Vince made her uncomfortable. It was as if he didn't trust her with his brother.
“Now, here, take this,” she said as she offered Vince the plastic container of food.
He took it with that drop-dead gorgeous smile—dimples and all. “No problem. That hardly leaves you any, though.”
“Believe me, I don't need that hanging around my house. Once Tuesday hits, I'll be gone so much with work, I will end up throwing it away. Or worse, I will eat it all tomorrow on my day off.”
He nodded and headed to the door. Leo said nothing as he followed his brother to the door. Once Vince stepped through the doorway though, Leo shut the door and grabbed her by the wrist pulling her to him, then crowded her up against the door. Before she could tell him to get his hands off her—and she was so totally going to do that, really—he slammed his mouth down on hers.
Her brain fizzled. Just right there, stopped working. She couldn't seem to do anything but to kiss him back. Every other thought dissolved and the primal instinct to connect took over. Heat bloomed within her, pulsing through her veins. In that one instant she went from sort of frustrated to wanting to tear off his clothes. When he pulled back, they were both
breathing heavily.
“Just so you know which Santini is really interested.” He swooped in for another quick kiss. “God, you taste good.”
From the need she heard in his voice, she was sure he would kiss her again, but with a sigh, he stepped back.
“Thank you for dinner.” He kept looking at her and she didn't know what to say. That steady gaze had her heart smacking against her chest. What did you say to a man who fizzled your brain like that?
“Maryanne?”
“What?”
He offered her a gentle smile that almost undid her. “I can't open the door with you standing in front of it.”
“Oh.” Her face heated as she stepped aside. He opened the door and paused.
“I would love to take you out tomorrow.” She was formulating her excuses, when he continued. “But, my brother is only here for another day. How about next Friday?”
“You're asking me out?”
She didn't mean to shout the question but this was bad. Worse, she wanted to say yes, Yes, YES.
Oh, god.
“I thought we should explore this...thing.”
“Thing?” Great. She sounded like an idiot.
“How about we call it breaking even? You made me dinner. I'll take you out for dinner.”
She should say no. A man like Santini had heartbreak written all over him, but she could only say, “Okay.”
He smiled as if she had given him some kind of gift.
“Good night, Maryanne.”
Then he slipped out the door.
“You need to lock the door, Maryanne,” he said through the door.
“You’re not my keeper.”
But she did lock it.
“Goodnight.”
She said nothing and leaned back against the door. The man was dangerous. Big time dangerous. Like get her into all kinds of trouble dangerous. And dammit, that excited her even more.
As a military brat, she had grown up around like men like him, and when she started dating, it was natural to gravitate toward military guys. She knew a lot of her friends went the other way, but she hadn’t, mainly because they didn’t expect her to be prissy. They accepted the fact that she could take them down like she did with Leo and still see her desirable. She could hunt and fish and be herself. A lot of them liked rough and tumble girls like her.
After awhile though, being treated as their buddy with a side order of sex got boring. They always seemed to think she wanted nothing more than that.
She sighed. Going out with Santini was a mistake. She liked him. He was hot, sexy and that one kiss still had her knees feeling like asphalt on a hot Texas day. She would have to come up with some kind of excuse not to go out with him. And that would be the end of it.
Really.
Chapter Four
Leo straightened his shoulders before knocking on Maryanne’s door. He knew he was in for a battle tonight. She had called and left messages all week. His good sense told him she was trying to break their date. He wasn’t about to let that happen. If he had to go in her apartment and dress her, he would do it.
Of course, that brought a whole new set of ideas to the forefront of his mind. Damn, the woman had him hotter than he could ever remember and just from that one little kiss. He hadn’t planned on doing that, but something told him he had to at least see what she tasted like. It had been worth getting crap from Vince about it later. Now, he knew she was definitely interested and he wasn’t going to let it go.
He knocked on the door. He heard some rustling and then the door opened wide. It wasn’t Maryanne. It was a man, as tall as him, with dark hair and a rather pissy look on his face. He had apparently been sleeping.
“What?”
“Jackson Michael Johnson, is that the way you greet someone at the door?” Maryanne asked from behind the man. Of course, he could only hear her. He couldn’t see her with the massive roadblock in the door.
“I was sleeping, MJ.”
He saw a hand reach up and smack the man on the back of the head.
“Damn, MJ, do you have to hit so hard?” He stepped aside.
“Do you always cry like a little girl?” she asked.
When she stepped up beside the man, he saw the resemblance. Dark hair, blue eyes and that same stubborn chin.
“Leo, I tried to call and cancel because Jack here decided to drop in on me uninvited.”
He studied her and realized she was being truthful, but he also noticed that she dressed to go out. The cute little dress she wore wasn’t something a girl would wear around the house hanging out with her brother. And, thank the good lord, she wore her hair down again. His fingers had been itching to slip through the silky curls.
“But, you’re still going,” Jack said.
“Yes, I am. I’m not in the mood to hang around you when you’re in such a foul mood. Go back to sleep, loser.” She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “There’s beer in the fridge.”
Then she stepped out, causing Leo to step back.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded and smiled.
“Hey, I didn’t get to interrogate him.”
She smiled back over her shoulder at Jack. “Yeah, how about that, Marine? He got the drop on you and he’s Army.”
With that she laughed and started walking down the stairs. He smiled and followed her down.
“Be home by eleven.”
“Suck it, Johnson.” It was all she said as she waited for Leo to finish walking down.
“So, your brother...”
“Is a pain in the ass. I don’t know what he’s doing here, but it makes me nervous.”
He opened the door and she slid into his truck. She watched him as he rounded the hood.
“He’s making you nervous how?” he asked after he joined her.
“Jack has a habit of being involved with women who just tear him to shreds. He usually comes to see me to lick his wounds. And by that, I mean he comes here because I will be the designated driver for him.”
“When did he get in?”
“Last night.”
“But you tried to cancel earlier than that.”
She sighed and looked across the cab of his pickup at him. “I didn’t want to want to go out with you.”
He blinked. “Wow, that made my head hurt.”
She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. He found himself wanting to make her smile like she had that night at dinner.
“I’ve been involved with military guys before. It just never ended well.”
He could tell she was skittish and he thought it had to do with their initial interaction.
“How about this? We’ll do dinner, call it even for you cooking for me like I said, then you can decide if you want to make it…more than platonic?”
She cocked her head to one side. “And if I said no romance you’d be cool with that?”
He thought about it. No he wouldn’t be. He wanted her in his bed. He had decided that the night he had kissed her. There was nothing he wanted more in his life at the moment, than this woman beneath him moaning his name. But…he could wait. For now.
“Sure.”
She looked out the window. “Okay, let’s do dinner.”
* * * *
Maryanne tried not to be charmed, but she was. He took her to one of her favorite restaurants, The Alamo Cafe. As they ate he told her stories of growing up with four brothers and they compared what it was like to have an older brother who was a Marine.
“So, all of you got into the military?”
He nodded as he slathered some butter on his fresh tortilla. “Yep.”
“But you didn’t go into the Marines like your father. What about the other two?”
“Marco’s in the Navy. A SEAL. Gianni’s Air Force. PJ.”
She sat back. “So your entire family represents the armed services.”
He offered her one of those smiles that had her heart doing a little tap dance. “Well, we don’t have anyone in the
Coast Guard, but Mom said she was done after Gianni. And, he was sort of a surprise from what I remember.”
“How rude of your mother.”
He laughed like she expected and she bit back a sigh. The man had an amazing laugh. There was nothing calculated about it. It did funny things to her insides. Like, having his attention only on her. He wasn’t overly flirtatious, but he had asked about her work…and just about her. And, unlike so many men, he had actually listened.
“If my mom can’t handle four boys like us, I doubt there’s a woman on earth who could.”
Okay, that was starting to get to her too. Any other man would sound like a Mama’s boy, but Leo didn’t. His voice was filled with admiration.
“Where are they all stationed?”
We’re scattered all over the place, but at least we’re all back in the US, but not the CONUS. Marc’s in Hawaii.”
She sighed as she indulged in another tortilla. It was one of the things she loved about San Antonio. They brought freshly made tortillas to the table like most restaurants did with bread. It was a huge weakness of hers and she would have to run tomorrow to make up for it.
“All your brothers are Marines?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m not sure they thought of anything else, but they are all in different career fields.”
“But you never wanted to join?”
“No thank you. I am not good at taking orders.”
“Yeah?”
She heard the way his voice dipped and felt her face heat up.
“That is to say, I grew up with three older brothers and a father who had told them it was their duty to watch out for me. I don’t think I would have lasted a week in boot. Truth is, I think my father was relieved. He was worried he would have to deal with the aftermath of me making a drill sergeant cry. And, the worry I would end up stationed on the same base as one of my brothers…that did not sit well with me.”
“Jack didn’t seem to be too bad.”
She snorted. “Tell that to my prom date. He showed up and found Jack cleaning his gun. Swear to God I had never been so embarrassed. I didn’t even get a kiss good night.”
He was staring at her as if she was insane.
“I swear it happened.”
“No, I believe you. I just wondered what was wrong with it.”
The Santinis: Leonardo, Book 1 Page 3