Show Stopper

by BJ Harvey

  Refreshments? I quirk a brow at my sister, who’s struggling not to laugh herself.

  I take Marco’s hand and we sit on the sofa across from my grandmother. “Thanks, Hayls.”

  Hayley rolls her eyes. “I can do one better than that. I’ll serve up food and drinks.”

  My head jerks back. “You cooked?”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to make Grams cook for all of us. Her doctor said she needs to take it easy.”

  “Hush now, child,” Gram says, waving her off. “Young Marco doesn’t need to hear about an aging woman’s woes.” She looks over at the young man in question and smiles sweetly. “I’m not an invalid just yet, but my sweet girls think I’m ready to be shipped off to the good lord upstairs. I happen to think I’ve got at least another twenty years left on this earth. There’s still so much more mischief to get up to, don’t you think?”

  “You don’t look a day over seventy, Grams,” Marco replies smoothly. I cover my mouth to smother my giggles, my shoulders shaking with them. Grams narrows her eyes at me but I don’t miss the flash of amusement on her face either.

  She nods. “Such nice manners. A gentleman should always compliment a lady. Your parents raised you well. My George had a way with words too.”

  “Mama always said manners will get you far.”

  “She’s right,” Grams replies, smiling up at Hayley as she returns with a tray of sandwiches and pastries, and disappears again. Not long after, she comes back with another tray, which Marco stands and helps her with, this one with a teapot of what will undoubtedly be Gram’s favorite English Breakfast tea, along with a jug of iced tea with matching tumblers.

  Like the trained hostess Grams taught her to be, Hayley serves everyone, before joining Grams opposite us.

  “You have a lovely home. My parents live not far from here,” Marco says, looking around the living room. Grams has always prided herself on keeping a clean and tidy house. She has a cleaner come by twice a week but she still would’ve made sure the place was perfect before we arrived today, purely for Marco’s benefit.

  “Thank you. My George always loved coming home to a nice tidy house with a good home-cooked meal after his long, hard day at work. I’m sure my granddaughters will be just as thoughtful when they finally settle down too.”

  Hayley snorts but covers it quickly with a cough, her dancing eyes widening as she looks over at me, my expression mirroring hers.

  To his credit, Marco doesn’t miss a beat, but he does reach out and rest his arm over the back of the sofa behind me. “I can already tell you’ve done a fine job with both of them, too.”

  I blink in shock as Gram’s cheeks turn pink. Oh, my. Marco Rossi has just charmed my hard-to-please grandmother in the space of twenty minutes. My ex tried—and failed miserably—to make a good impression on her. Grams has always supported the decisions Hayley and I have made in our lives, but when it came to my engagement, I knew she was worried.

  Listening to Marco, Hayley, and Grams talk, I’m amazed—but not all that surprised—that Marco has just slotted into our close-knit family of three.

  “Now, Marco. You may or may not know, but we haven’t had much luck with firefighters in this family,” Grams says, snapping me out of my revelry. My mouth gapes open.

  “Grams!” Hayley and I gasp in unison.

  She arches a brow. “What, sweet child? Am I lying?”

  “No, but I—”

  “But nothing, Renee. Any man worthy of my granddaughter’s time and body must be able to rise above the woman’s past dalliances.” To his credit, Marco doesn’t even flinch.

  “I agree with that sentiment, Grams,” he replies, locking eyes with her intense gaze. He laces his fingers with mine and squeezes me affectionately. “And I can unequivocally promise you that I am absolutely nothing like that particular poor excuse for a man.”

  She tilts her head as if studying him, looking for any sign of uncertainty. When she seemingly finds none, she smiles at him. “I’m glad to hear that. Let me warn you—my Renee here is hell on wheels when cornered and she’s as a stubborn as I am when it comes to standing her ground, regardless of whether she’s right or wrong.”

  Marco chuckles. “Good to know.”

  “And she loves thoughtful gestures. Not expensive ones. She’s determined and feisty and bull-headed, but she’s ambitious, and when she sets her mind on getting something or going somewhere, she never gives up till she makes it happen. She loves fiercely. She’s also the most loyal, thoughtful and supportive wom—”

  Hayley giggles. “Grams, you sound like you’re selling him on a prized cow, not your granddaughter.”

  “Oh pfft,” she says, waving my sister off. “One look at those two and I already know Marco appreciates what he’s got in his arms and his bed.”

  Marco’s amused grunt almost sets me off. I did warn him Grams would know, and there’s a dazzling twinkle in her wise old eyes confirming she’s not blind and is definitely still as sharp as a tack.

  “I know all about you macho firefighters.” A sly smile plays on Gram’s lips as she leans toward Marco, her eyes bright. “When I was a young sprightly thing, my girls and I were known to get up to a little mischief.”

  “Something tells me you and your friends got into more than your fair share of trouble, Grams,” Marco says, making even me swoon, and I’m the one who just two hours ago was panting and whimpering under his touch as a result of a lost bet. But I clearly came out on top thanks to his talented mouth, fingers, body . . .

  Grams holds up her fingers. “Maybe,” she says, a sly smile playing on her lips. “But what’s the point in living life to the full if you don’t have fun while doing it?”

  “There’s fun, then there’s getting stuck up a tree in a miniskirt at three a.m. on your fiftieth birthday, Grams,” I say with a giggle.

  Grams laughs. “Hey. A woman only turns fifty once, and in the end, I was saved by five very hunky firemen with a big ladder.”

  “And Grandpa blew his stack when you conned the firemen into dropping you home and turning their lights on, giving him one hell of a fright.”

  “Your grandfather was a good man who hooked his star to a wild woman. He knew what he was getting into, believe you me,” she says.

  “I think your husband and I would have had a lot in common then,” Marco says before turning my way. His intense gaze and quirked lips make my stomach flip, my heart sigh, and my lady parts clench. “At least the part about having a soft spot for a wild woman.”

  Holy spontaneous orgasm, Batman.

  “Oh, my sweet child,” Grams says. “I approve. I wholeheartedly approve.”

  And all I see in her expression is relief, something I’ve never seen before. She’s not just saying it, she means it, and it’s not until now that I realize I really needed Grams’ okay. I needed to know I wasn’t just seeing everything I wanted to see in Marco. He’s the real deal. He’s everything he says he is, and if Grams can see it, and Hayley can too—well, she liked him before she even met him—then I can trust my gut when it comes to my growing feelings for this man.

  It was never anything about Marco; it was me and my own baggage that were the problems. But not anymore. When it comes to Marco Rossi, I’m all in. With my moment of self-realization passed, I lean into his side. His hand comes down to rest around my shoulders, pulling me in closer as I melt against him. And when I sneak a look at Grams and Hayley, both of them are grinning over at us and I don’t even mind.

  That’s until Grams opens her mouth again. “So Marco. Now that Renee’s taken care of, have you got any handsome single friends for my Hayley, here?”

  14

  Marco

  I’m sitting at my desk, working through a pile of paperwork while the guys run through drills in the garage, when my phone vibrates against the desk.

  Renee – Hey. How’s your day going? I’m just sitting down to dinner with Hayley and thought I’d see how you are. Can I call you tonight? I’ve got something to ask
you?

  “Who’s that?” Luca asks, walking into my office and slumping down on the small couch opposite my desk.

  “Hello to you too.”

  “Hey, brother. How have you been in the fifteen minutes since I saw you last?” he asks.

  I turn to face him, shaking my head at his shit-eating grin. “Smartass.”

  “One of us has to be. You’d rather moon over your girlfriend than do paperwork. Jeez, you get the approval of the nonna and you’re all lovey-dovey and shit. I should probably check it when you’re done just in case you’ve written ‘Marco hearts Renee’ or something.”

  I snicker, shaking my head at the idiot. “Like you’ve finished yours.”

  “Well, no. But I’m taking a well-earned break before getting back into it.”

  “You say that like you’ve even started.”

  “Hey, I was hungry and you can’t stay looking this good without sustenance.”

  I chuckle because I’ve never met anyone else who can eat his weight in food and not have to slog his guts out to work it off. Luca seems to eat without regret and have it all turn into muscle, and that includes a few of Mama’s home-cooked meals each week. He doesn’t live there, but I swear, he’d eat there every night if he could.

  “How is Renee?” he asks, nodding to the phone.

  “Did I say I was messaging her?”

  “You didn’t have to,” he replies without missing a beat.

  “She’s good.”

  “So things are going well?”

  “What do you think?” I reply in a ‘duh’ tone.

  “You’re an Italian Captain America. Everyone loves you, so of course you’ve got the Hamilton women eating out of your hand.”

  “Who does that make you then?” I lift a brow his way.

  “The Hulk.”

  I throw my head back and burst out laughing.

  Rhodes appears in my doorway, looking between us with a smirk. ”Is Luca telling you about how he had a woman’s roommate ask to join in last night?”

  My eyes bug out at my brother. “What?”

  He winces and scowls at Rhodes. “Thanks, big mouth. Last time I tell you anything in confidence.”

  The grin on Rhodes face gets bigger. “Gio thinks it’s funny too. The Captain and Zach just chuckled and walked away, muttering about how you’ll never learn, and I think Scotty wants to ask you for tips since Hayley broke his heart.”

  “Hayley didn’t even get close to his heart. All she wanted was a good time,” Luca says. “That’s more than half obvious.”

  I hold my hands up when both of them turn to me as if I know the answer. “I have not and will not ask Renee’s sister why she hasn’t returned Scotty’s fifty calls and text messages.”

  “Fifty? Shit,” Rhodes says in disbelief. “We need to teach him how to be cool.”

  My eyes widen. “Do you think he’s going to change? He’s been the same way as long as we’ve known him.”

  Rhodes sighs. “This is true.”

  Back to my brother, the manwhore. “How on earth did the proposed three-way come about?”

  Luca blushes a little. “She told me she had a roommate and that they might be keen to join us. I was the idiot who assumed she was another girl.”

  I bite my lip, trying so hard not to laugh, but I make the mistake of glancing at Rhodes and we both crack up at the same time, howling this time, not having any hope of being quiet.

  “God, I hate you two sometimes,” Luca grumbles.

  “I’m just living vicariously through you. Learning what not to do when I start dating again.”

  That grabs my attention, my head turning in slow motion to my best friend. “Did I hear that right?” I ask quietly.

  Rhodes shrugs. “Jake has a point. He’s gonna go to college in a few years, and I can’t put my life on hold forever. Lily wouldn’t want that and Jake’s got a good head on his shoulders. Maybe it’s time I open myself up to the possibility of dating again.”

  “Yeah. But there’s no pressure.” I tilt my head Luca’s way. “You don’t have to be like my ‘easy-breezy, all access to everyone’ brother over here.”

  “Thanks,” Luca retorts dryly.

  I eye him questioningly. “Am I wrong?”

  “You don’t have to be so obvious about it,” he mutters.

  “Neither do you,” Rhodes says, backing me up.

  “Yeah, yeah. Maybe I’ll be like my big brother here and meet the one woman who knocks him on his ass and fall head over heels.”

  “Actually, she did knock me on my ass—literally.”

  “That’ll be a good story to tell the grandkids one day,” Rhodes replies with a knowing glint in his eye.

  God, that’s jumping a bit far ahead, isn’t it?

  I roll my eyes and turn back to face my desk. “On that note, I need to get back to my paperwork before we get another job.”

  Luca stands and looks over at Rhodes, both of them with knowing glints in their eyes. “That’s code for ‘get out so I can call my girlfriend,’” Rhodes says with a smirk.

  My brother snorts. “Doesn’t want us to hear him getting all lovey-dovey ‘cause then we’ll give him shit.”

  Rhodes scoffs. “Says the man who only sweet talks to get in a woman’s pants.”

  “Or skirt. Not that fussed,” he says with a wink. Rhodes grabs him in a headlock and drags him from my office.

  “Thanks,” I call out, still chuckling to myself as I bring up Renee’s number, already looking forward to hearing the sound of her voice.

  “Hey,” she says softly when the call connects.

  “Hey yourself. You know you don’t have to text me to ask if you can call? If I can answer, I always will.”

  “I’m not one of those needy girlfriends who expects you to reply straight away. I just like to let you know I’m thinking of you and that you can call me when you’re not busy.”

  “Baby, if you call and I’m not on a job, I’ll always answer because there’s nothing better for my mood than hearing your voice if I can’t see you.”

  She sighs, and fuck, that’s a good sound. It’s a happy one that tells me I’m not laying it on too thick. My doubts that we’re on the same page are pretty much non-existent, but when a man has a woman in his bed he wants to stay there, he’ll always be a little wary until he locks it down. “Good to know.”

  “What can I say? I kinda like you.”

  “Oooh. Like really, really like me?” she asks, putting on a teenage girl’s drawl.

  I chuckle. “Yeah. Like, a lot.” I try to sound like a surfer dude but it comes out more like Beavis from Beavis and Butthead, making her giggle down the phone.

  “That’s good. It would be terribly sad to have to break Grams’ heart. She’s a firm fan of yours now. She’s even told her friends about my ‘handsome new man-friend.’“

  “I promise not to break any Hamilton woman’s heart.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “You can hold me to anything as long as it’s against your body, especially naked.”

  “Behave, Marco. Don’t be sweet and sexy when I can’t show you my appreciation,” she says, her voice as smooth as the melted chocolate I drizzled over her skin a few nights ago when we last had a sleepover.

  “Being told to behave. That’s a first,” I say with a laugh, resting my ass against my desk, my groin definitely interested in the memory and promise of more. ”You said you wanted to ask me something.”

  “Yeah. So John asked me today if I was planning on going to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Fall Ball next month.”

  “You said you usually do.”

  “Yeah. I do. I just hadn’t really thought about it.”

  “I can be the candy on your arm,” I reply without her asking. “I think I look quite good in a suit if I do say so myself . . .”

  I hear her small gasp in my ear. “I didn’t, I mean . . . you don’t have to—”

  My lips twitch and I shake my head, even though I k
now she can’t see me. “Renee, were you going to ask me to be your date?

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you want me there?”

  “Yeah,” she says softly and so damn sweetly that it makes me wish I was there right now to throw her over my shoulder, take her to bed and show her what she does to me.

  “Then I’ll be there. When is it?”

  “Four weeks away. Can you make it?” she asks, and I don’t miss the hope in her voice.

  “Princess, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Especially since it means I get to see you in a ball gown.”

  She gasps. “I didn’t even think about that fact. I’ll get to see you in a suit.”

  “I’ll swap shifts around if I have to, and—”

  Her breath catches. “I don’t want to be any hassle though . . .”

  “Baby, I may not be able to give you everything in the world, but I’ll never give up trying. This is important to you and because of that, it’s important to me.” Comfortable silence fills the line. “But also, the fire department gets tickets every year because some of us volunteer now and then. The difference this year is I’ll be going for you, not as a firefighter. I’ll get the guys to come too.” The line goes quiet.

  “Renee?”

  “He never . . .” she says shakily but trails off. She doesn’t often talk about her ex, which is good, because then I’d press to try find out who he is and likely hunt him down to thank him for being a fuck-up and giving me a chance with her. “I know you’re not him, you’re nothing like him, but sometimes you’re so different it takes my breath away,” she says in her honest way that I like a hell of a lot. There’s no pretense with Renee. It’s all black and white, and clear as day.

  “Nothing about you will ever be a hassle. I swear to God, Renee, don’t doubt how important you are to me.”

  “Maybe you need to come show me,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

  “I need to sleep tomorrow, but do you want to come over tomorrow night?”

  “Or you could crawl into my bed when you finish in the morning and sleep here.”

  “Will you be there with me?” I ask, my voice thick.