The Marine and Me

by Cathie Linz

  She answered such diverse questions as When did Seabiscuit win his last race? and What’s the name of the river under the Ponte Vecchio? That last one was from the Chicago Tribune crossword puzzle and so she was asked that question a number of times. Polish Heritage Month was coming up October first, so she had a number of requests for information on that and inquiries about the Polish book club that read works in their native language. Wanda was a frequent participant in that. Plus Chloe was responsible for the nonfiction book display for the week, which meant she had to gather the materials for the glass case near the entrance door.

  She’d selected Fall Foliage as her topic. She gathered a variety of books—from the scientific explanation of why leaves change color to photographic coffee-table tomes. A small toy squirrel in one corner along with a child’s plastic rake in the other provided additional interest. She’d even gathered some of the more colorful leaves from her own backyard and included those, some stapled to the back of the case, some artistically strewn around the bottom.

  She had a few leaves she’d picked up at Devil’s Lake, but she had most of those tucked into a book at home for pressing, with one stuck into the edge of her dresser mirror. Mementos of her perfect day with Steve.

  With so much to do, Chloe couldn’t get away for lunch until almost one.

  She and Lynn walked to Paco’s Tacos around the corner. Since they were frequent customers, the owner, Paco, greeted them with a smile. “The usual, ladies?”

  They nodded.

  A few minutes later, they took their order to one of the dozen tables and sat down. Chloe’s “usual” was a taco salad and Lynn had the cheese-and-veggie quesadillas. They both had diet sodas and shared an order of salsa and chips.

  “Okay, tell all,” Lynn said. “Start with Saturday night.”

  “We went to this great restaurant in Lincoln Park. It was decorated in the Arts and Crafts-style and it had the most gorgeous views of the park and the city. And the food was incredible.”

  “Did he kiss you when he took you home?”

  “No, of course not. He was a perfect gentleman. Besides, we’d only gone out to discuss his plan to make his grandmother think that her matchmaking efforts for the two of us were successful.”

  “Right. And what about all day Sunday?”

  “The same thing. I’d never ridden on a Harley before…”

  “He has a Harley?”

  Chloe nodded and then picked a hot jalepeño pepper off her salad. Paco must have put it on there by mistake. He knew she didn’t like her salad too spicy.

  “A Harley? And you rode it?” Lynn shook her head with admiration. “You wild woman, you.”

  “I wore a helmet.”

  “Oh, that makes it okay then.” Lynn tossed a corn chip at her. “Did you have fun? Where did you go?”

  “I had no idea where we were going at first,” Chloe admitted.

  “He didn’t tell you?”

  “No, he just showed up and told me to hop on his Harley. That’s not exactly true, he did call me first to tell me that he was outside my house.”

  “And you got on his bike, without knowing where he was taking you?”

  Chloe nodded.

  “That doesn’t sound like you.”

  “It’s time I had some adventures. Took some chances.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to take chances after what happened with Brad.”

  “Not romantic chances. But this is just for fun.”

  “Right. Fun.”

  “Yes. Fun. Something I don’t have all that much experience with. But I’m doing better. By the end of the day I could hop off that Harley like a regular biker babe.”

  “It couldn’t have been very comfortable.”

  “It wasn’t too bad.”

  “The inner muscles on your thighs aren’t sore from straddling that bike?”

  “I’m more sore from the hike we took to the bluffs above Devil’s Lake. We had a picnic up there. It was great.”

  “It sounds like it.” Lynn smirked.

  “What?” Chloe demanded.

  “Nothing. I’m just happy that you had a nice time. And wondering what you’ll be doing next? Hang gliding? Bungee jumping?”

  “No, but I always have wanted to go hot-air ballooning.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No.” Chloe took a sip of her soda. “That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never quite had the nerve.”

  “And now you do have the nerve?”

  Chloe grinned. “I’m getting there.” With a little help from a Marine named Steve.

  “How was your day yesterday?” Wanda asked Steve Monday afternoon. She’d spent the morning at some kind of women’s church-group meeting so she hadn’t had a chance to interrogate Steve until now.

  “Outstanding. I took Chloe up to Wisconsin on the Harley. We had a great time.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I’m so glad to hear that.”

  Steve refused to feel guilty at the delighted look on his grandmother’s face. He wasn’t lying to her. He had taken Chloe up to Wisconsin. They had had a great time.

  But he was misleading his Busha into thinking that anything could come of this Alpha Libras mission.

  What about that kiss last night? Why had he kissed her? What had he been thinking? Steve had started asking himself more questions than even his grandmother did.

  The answer was simple. He’d kissed her because he’d wanted to.

  Simple? Yeah, right. There was nothing simple about this situation.

  What happened to being smart and learning from his mistakes? So his mistake had been what? Falling for Gina? Trusting his backstabbing buddy? Which meant what, that he could never trust another friend again? That he could never trust another female again? Of course not.

  Okay, so yes, he had fallen for Gina quickly. And that bitter lesson had taught him that he needed to proceed with caution instead of rushing headlong into anything. Obviously that was easier said than done, given the fact that he’d always been the one who rushed into things. Tommy was the one who stood back and weighed his options.

  But he could change. That was part of this mission. He was to teach Chloe how to be more adventurous and she’d teach him to be more cautious where relationships were concerned.

  He’d been stupid to agree to that. How could she teach him to be cautious when she kissed him back so passionately? He should just focus on training her to be more adventurous. Like boot camp.

  He remembered her soft voice talking about her experiences at boarding school and comparing it to boot camp. They weren’t the same, of course. Boot camp trained you to become a warrior. You were taught how to wage war and how to manage peace.

  A sudden nudge in his side returned his attention to his petite Busha. “Where did you go? I was talking to you and suddenly you were off somewhere else. In another world. You were thinking of Chloe, yes?”

  “I was thinking of your kolachkis.”

  “Oh you!” She socked his arm. “I want to see you happy. I want to see you married and settled.”

  “I’m a Marine. We never get settled.”

  She waved his words away. “You know what I mean.”

  “Did you try this hard to hook Rad up with his fiancée?”

  “He was already engaged when I went to visit him in North Carolina. And yes, I know now that the engagement was not real at that time. But his love for Serena is real now. That’s what I want for you.”

  “That’s nice of you, but there’s no rush.”

  “You won’t be on leave forever,” Wanda reminded him.

  “Let’s just take things one day at a time for now, okay?”

  Steve felt like an idiot, hanging around the library entrance, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Chloe. The truth was he was still recovering from their kiss last night. She hadn’t seemed all that affected, smiling at him and telling him she had a fun time before calmly
walking into her house.

  Could it be that the librarian was used to kisses like that? He didn’t want to think so. He didn’t like the image of her in some other guy’s arms.

  He’d had a great time with her yesterday. He hadn’t expected her to be as open to just taking off to Wisconsin the way they had. He’d gotten a real kick out of being the one to show her how to have fun.

  That’s all this was. Fun. Nothing serious. Not on his part for sure. But that kiss…well, that hadn’t been in his game plan.

  Steve saw Chloe before she saw him. She was walking toward the library with another woman. She was back in her librarian persona, wearing a conservative pair of khaki pants and a sweater. The sweater was red, though, and brightened up her face. Several tendrils of her dark hair had come undone from her ponytail and curled around her face. Her glasses had slipped down her nose so she absently pushed them back into place while animatedly talking to someone who was obviously a friend.

  “Hi, there.”

  “Steve!” Her smile was startled but pleased. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

  “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by.”

  Lynn cleared her throat. Chloe made the introductions.

  “We were just talking about you,” Lynn told Steve.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You were?”

  Chloe elbowed Lynn into silence. “I was just telling her how spectacular the fall colors were up in Wisconsin.”

  Steve’s grin indicated that he didn’t believe one word. “Right.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you two alone then,” Lynn said with a bright smile.

  Chloe wanted to point out that they were hardly alone, standing as they were at the library’s main entrance. But she remained quiet instead and waited for Steve to speak first. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “I thought I should warn you that my grandmother is going to invite you over for dinner on Wednesday,” he said.

  “That’s nice of her.”

  “To meet my parents.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “We should talk about it over dinner tonight, unless you’ve got other plans?”

  “No, I don’t have any other plans.”

  “Good. When should I pick you up?”

  “Um, six-thirty? Is that too early?”

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.”

  “But let’s go someplace local tonight, okay? Nothing fancy.”

  “Agreed.”

  They ended up at a local Chicago-style pizzeria.

  Steve closed his eyes with pleasure at his first bite. It was so thick and juicy you had to eat it with a fork. Not like the skinny pizzas you got elsewhere. “You just can’t get deep-dish pizza anyplace else like you get it here in Chicago.”

  “Why is your grandmother having me meet your parents?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “I think that maybe this is getting a little too serious.”

  “Nah.” Steve waved her words away. “You haven’t met my parents. They’re not that serious. Well, my dad’s a former Marine, so he does have this sort of tough exterior.”

  “I’m not good with parents.” Her voice sounded small even to her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I’m not good with parents.” She tried not to hyperventilate. “I don’t have a lot of experience in that department.”

  “You mean because your parents died when you were a kid?”

  She nodded. This wasn’t something she liked discussing, despite the fact that she’d told him all about her life when they’d had lunch above Devil’s Lake yesterday. But parents…no, she just wasn’t good meeting parents.

  “Look, it’s just a meal. No big deal.”

  “Then why did we have to meet tonight to prepare for it?”

  “That was an excuse.” His confession was accompanied by a slow smile. “I wanted to spend time with you.”

  Chloe didn’t know how to respond. Neither one of them had brought up “the kiss.” Chloe certainly wasn’t going to be the first one to do so. Part of her wanted just to forget it had ever happened. The other part of her wondered when it would happen again.

  A “fun girl” wouldn’t take things so seriously.

  “And I wanted pizza,” Steve added, his smile turning into a grin. “I thought it would be nice having it with you.”

  Nice. Ah, yes, that was her middle name. Nice. Boring. Dull.

  “Why the frown?” Steve asked.

  “I was just thinking.”

  “Not a good idea.”

  “What?”

  “Thinking. You do a lot of that. Take a break.”

  “I don’t know if I can,” Chloe admitted.

  “Sure you can. You weren’t thinking yesterday were you?”

  “Not much, no.” If she had, she wouldn’t have let him kiss her.

  “And that turned out okay, right?”

  Okay? That ranked right up there with nice.

  She had to stop making such a big deal about this. Steve was only in town for a short while. They were just hanging out together, having fun. Alpha Libras. A team, not a couple. Nothing serious. No romantic entanglements.

  Then how did kissing get into the picture?

  Well, it had been fun. Maybe she’d catalog it under that subject heading. Fun. Not romantic, even though it had been.

  Maybe she should try thinking like a male. They didn’t get all upset about kisses. They lived in the moment. Sure, why not? Easy for them to do that, they’re not the ones who ended up with broken hearts.

  She was so confused.

  “You’re thinking again.” Steve reached for another slice of pizza. “I can hear you all the way over here.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  “I’m a Marine. Anything is possible.”

  “So Marines are able to read people’s thoughts now, hmm?”

  “Affirmative. Especially when the aforementioned thoughts are written all over your face.”

  “Then what was I thinking?”

  “That this is getting complicated. That maybe you shouldn’t have agreed to do this.”

  Chloe refused to be impressed. “It doesn’t take a mind reader to figure that out. I’ve said as much.”

  “Don’t I get extra points for listening and remembering what you said?”

  She had to laugh at his earnest expression.

  “I like the sound of that.” He brushed his fingers over the back of her hand.

  “Are you flirting with me?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think flirting is a bad idea.”

  “Because?”

  “Because it…we…you…” she sputtered.

  “Yes?”

  “It just is.”

  “You look cute when you’re serious.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Uh-oh, I recognize that look. It’s the one you gave me at the library that first night. You know, I have to warn you that it might discourage some guys.”

  “That’s my intention.”

  “Doesn’t work on me though,” Steve cheerfully added.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t get discouraged easily.”

  “How do you know I’m not like Gina? That I’m not some gold digger after your money?”

  “You’re not like Gina at all.”

  “Why? Because I’m not gorgeous and classy?”

  “No, because you’re not dishonest.”

  “You didn’t think she was dishonest at first either. How can you trust your own judgment?”

  “Ah, a valid point. It’s hard after you’ve been betrayed, isn’t it? Hard to face the fact that you made a mistake. That you were stupid.”

  “I didn’t say you were stupid.”

  “Didn’t you feel stupid after that guy dumped you?”

  She nodded slowly.

  “But this situation is different. You and I are different. Because we’re just…having
fun together. Alpha Libras, right?”

  “Right.”

  “We’re a team.”

  “Right. That’s what I told Lynn. She wondered if I was going to go bungee jumping next but I told her no, I’m not interested in that, although I have always wanted to ride on a hot-air balloon. Have you ever done that?”

  Steve nodded. “Out in New Mexico once.”

  “How was it?”

  “Slow.”

  “You’re used to fast things like Harleys and F-16 jets, right?”

  “Right.”

  Chloe wondered if he was used to fast women, too, but didn’t have the nerve to ask.

  “Are you ready for another piece of pizza?” Steve asked her.

  She nodded and held out her plate. He’d just finished placing the bit of hot, stringy cheese onto her plate when they were joined by an older man standing beside their table. He had thick white hair and vivid blue eyes.

  His attention was focused on Steve. “You’d be Wanda’s grandson, then.”

  “That’s right, sir. I’m Steve Kozlowski. And you are?”

  “Interested in your grandmother.”

  Chapter Seven

  Steve frowned at the older man. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me right enough.” The guy’s voice sounded defensive. “I’m interested in your grandmother.”

  “Interested in what way?” Steve wanted to make sure he understood what the stranger was trying to communicate.

  “Interested in asking her out.”

  “And you’re telling me this because?”

  “Because I wanted to know your thoughts on it.”

  “My thoughts on you asking my grandmother out on a date? I don’t even know who you are.”

  “My name’s Patrick O’Hara and I’m the owner of this establishment and the tavern next door.”

  “How do you know my grandmother?”

  “I live in the neighborhood. So what do you think?”

  Steve looked down at his empty plate. “That you make a great deep-dish pizza.”

  Patrick frowned. “I meant about your grandmother.”

  “I don’t know.” Steve was at a loss. He’d never had a guy approach him and ask him about his grandmother. It felt weird. “Help me out here, Chloe. What do you think? Can you vouch for this guy?”