The Matchmaking Twins

by Christy Jeffries

  A flashback from his boyhood hit him and he remembered his nana cooking one time when he’d spent the night at her house. She’d put a frozen pizza in the oven and then turned on the Country Music Television channel, calling an eleven-year-old Luke into the living room to do the “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” with her. He’d thought dancing was for girls, but the cowboys on TV didn’t look all that girlie. Plus, Pioneer Days was on the calendar at school soon and his teacher had warned the students that they’d all have to learn to square-dance as part of the festivities. So after a small amount of convincing, he’d line danced with Nana, learning the Cowboy Cha Cha and the Eighteen Step. By the time they’d mastered the Watermelon Crawl, Nana’s smoke alarm was shrieking at full blast.

  She’d tossed the burned pizza in the trash and told Luke, “It’s not the food we eat, it’s the company we keep that makes a good meal.” Then they’d made root beer floats for dinner and watched reruns of Hee Haw until he’d fallen asleep on her sofa.

  Sure, the cheesy beef and macaroni he’d made tonight was a bit on the overdone side. But he’d had way worse meals in bunkers and tents around the world. What mattered was that he was here with his children and that he was providing for them. They were a family—and they were together.

  And he was about to throw them the best damn birthday party Sugar Falls had ever seen.

  * * *

  Carmen couldn’t believe she’d agreed to help with this birthday party. Actually, she pretty much would’ve agreed to anything that made Aiden and Caden Gregson happy, but it was their aunt who’d convinced her.

  When Kylie ran in to her outside of Domino’s Deli yesterday, the woman had been panicked that the birthday party would be a complete failure since she was too busy to take care of the last minute details herself. And it hadn’t taken much begging on Kylie’s part to convince Carmen to step up to the plate.

  Truly, Carmen would’ve done it for free. But now, as she navigated her SUV over the ruts in the dirt road leading up to the Gregson cabin, she decided that working side by side with Luke today was enough of an emotional chore to earn a relaxing trip to a day spa.

  She put the car in Park and turned down the radio station she’d been listening to. Her appreciation for George Strait and Garth Brooks rather than Jenni Rivera and Intocable should’ve been her first clue that she didn’t fit in well with her own family. She loved them and knew they loved her, but she’d always been destined for different things.

  However, today wasn’t a day to be thinking about her past and all the things she couldn’t change.

  She gathered the lists she’d printed off earlier this morning and exited her car. As much as she had wanted to wear a dress or something more feminine to remind Luke that she was more than just a cop, she also wanted to be comfortable with all the shopping and hauling that they were going to be doing today. So she’d settled on the low-waisted jeans she’d been wearing that night at Patrelli’s—the night he’d said he wanted more children—and a black V-necked sweater. Although she did add her metallic purple ballet flats at the last minute, just to soften things up.

  She ran her fingers through her loose curls, debating whether she should’ve pulled her hair into a ponytail, then wondered what she was even doing on his front porch in the first place. Before she could second-guess herself, she knocked on the door, taking a slight step back when Luke flung it open.

  “Hi,” he said, somewhat winded and twisting a dishcloth in his hands. The sleeves of his blue thermal shirt were pushed up to his elbows, his forearms slightly wet with soap suds. “I was just trying to get the dishes done and a load of laundry going before you could see what a wreck this place is.”

  He and his dimples stood back, allowing her to step into the cabin. It wasn’t dirty, but she could definitely tell that a couple of creative and high-energy boys lived here—along with their high-energy dad, who could charm the socks off most of the ladies in Carmen’s growing kickboxing class.

  “It’s not a wreck,” she said, thinking back to some of the meth houses and condemned buildings she’d made arrests in when she’d worked in Vegas. “It just looks...lived in.”

  “That’s one way to put it.” His smile deepened and she found herself a little disappointed to see him pull down his sleeves. The guy’s forearms really were amazing, as was the rest of his upper body. “So what’s on the party planning agenda?”

  She jumped at the opportunity to launch into professional mode. Controlling mode. “I figured we could pick up the decorations and most of the groceries today. The rental company will be by tomorrow to set up the chairs and tables and I can pick up the cakes in the morning on my way over here to help prep the food.” She saw his eyes glance down toward her breasts but then realized he was probably looking at the papers she was holding against her chest. “Oh, and Kylie emailed me these.”

  She thrust the papers at him, and his fingers brushed hers as he took them out of her hands. She felt that zappy feeling again and tried to remember her stun-gun training. One small tingle of current wouldn’t hurt, but a full force of electrical shock could do some serious damage. She made a mental note to avoid any more accidental physical contact with him.

  “Why do we need to rent tables and chairs?” he asked before flipping to the page with the guest list. “What the...? Is this all the people invited?”

  She wanted to laugh at the surprised look on his face and felt just the slightest twinge of guilt for her growing desire to overwhelm him a bit more. “No, those are only the people who can make it.”

  “But there’s gotta be over a hundred people on this list!”

  “Actually, there’s one hundred and fifty-two if you don’t count the girls from the Junior Jazzette dance troupe. Since school gets out early, they have a late matinee performance at the Remington Theater tomorrow and Mia doesn’t know if they’ll be done in time for the party.”

  Carmen caught a movement on the hardwood floors and saw Luke’s bare toes do an odd flexing thing. Man, even the guy’s feet were muscular and sexy.

  “Are there even one hundred and fifty-two people living in Sugar Falls?” he asked sarcastically.

  “Oh, come on, Captain Gregson. Don’t tell me that a big, tough Navy SEAL is afraid of a simple gathering.”

  He looked up. “It’s not the large group I mind. It’s the being responsible for entertaining them all that I wasn’t expecting. I told the boys last Monday that they could invite a few friends, but this is ridiculous. How did they even get the chance to talk to so many people in such a short amount of time?”

  She showed him the printout of the online invitation. “I was under the impression you’d sent this to everyone since it came from your email address. But, knowing the twins, I probably shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

  “‘Come one, come all?’” He read aloud. “Did they really put that on the e-vite?”

  “Luke, I’m starting to see where Caden gets his flair for drama. It’s really not that big of a guest list. In my family, anything less than two hundred people isn’t even considered a party. We call it Sunday night dinner. My cousin Maria Rosa had three times that many to her quinceañera.” Of course, Maria Rosa, being younger by six months, had always tried to go out of her way to outdo her older cousin.

  “You mean this is going to get worse every year that they get older?” Luke’s face paled.

  She finally laughed out loud. “Relax. Just think that with twins, you’re getting two birthdays for the price of one.”

  “What a bargain. So where do we get enough food to feed all these people? I’ve been too nervous to step foot in Duncan’s Market since you told me about the boys getting eighty-sixed from there.”

  “There’s a big party-supply store in Boise, so I figured we’d go there first. Then we can swing by Costco after that.”

  “Swing by Costco?” He lifted on
e eyebrow. “I haven’t been to a bulk warehouse like that since the twins were in diapers. Samantha used to say that we should’ve bought stock in that place. And in baby wipes.”

  The butterflies in her tummy had just turned into hornets. She wished she didn’t feel so stung by the sudden mention of the twins’ mom. Carmen had absolutely no claim to Luke and shouldn’t be even the slightest bit jealous of his love for his late wife. Yet, some of her humor was lost by the reminder that not only would she never be buying diapers with a husband, the one man she was attracted to was in love with someone else and, therefore, on the shelf.

  “Well, then, get your wallet ready, Captain.” She retreated into her default professional mode. “Judging by Kylie’s list, you’re going to be spending a lot of money today.”

  He grabbed on to his back pocket dramatically, as if he could protect his billfold, and she tried not to think of what it would feel like to cup her own hand against that perfect curve of his jeans.

  “Okay, sailor.” She yanked the lists out of his hand and turned toward the door. “This ship needs to sail if we’re going to get all this done before the boys get out of school.”

  “All right. As long as I can steer the ship.” She heard the jangling sound of his keys.

  “No way,” she said. “We have a lot to buy and my car’s bigger.”

  “I’m starting to think you have control issues, Officer Delgado.”

  “I’m a woman in a male-dominated field. I’m supposed to have control issues,” she said.

  “Not with me, you’re not.”

  “Listen, Gregson. There’s something I’ve learned about the two types of men out there. There are the ones who don’t like a woman being in a power position. And the ones who think they like a woman in a power position, but when they end up finding out what that entails, they can’t handle it.”

  “Well, allow me to introduce you to the third type of man,” Luke said, pointing to his chest. “The one who’s a team player. Gender doesn’t matter to me as long as the mission gets accomplished. And this mission requires a roomy Oldsmobile.”

  “I’m sure Nana’s car is a real beaut and that the ladies are all lining up for their turn to be squired around in it. But my car has way more space. If we fold down the seats, you could even lay down back there. It’ll make for a better ride.”

  His gaze dropped to her waist and there was no mistaking the way the warm color rose along his neck. Or the fact that gender did matter to him when he’d misconstrued her suggestive words.

  “I meant since you’re so big and... Oh, never mind,” she muttered, turning away before he saw her matching blush. “You can drive.”

  * * *

  “I don’t know why we had to get two piñatas,” Luke said as he tried to shove the papier-mâché-covered cartoon character into the backseat of Nana’s Oldsmobile. He sure hoped his children enjoyed this birthday, because after filling two shopping carts full of decorations and favors at the party-supply store, this was the last one he was willing to throw.

  “We got two piñatas because you have two children,” Carmen explained as though Luke didn’t know exactly what it was like to have twins. Hell, he’d grown up as one himself. But his parents had been on a budget and they’d been smart enough to make sure their children didn’t invite that many people to their parties. Plus, Luke hadn’t had access to online invitations back then.

  “Aiden wanted a superhero theme,” Carmen continued as she piled bags onto the seat. “And Caden wanted ninjas. So we’re getting two of everything.”

  “But we haven’t even made it to Costco yet. How are we going to fit everything in here?”

  “You’re the one who wanted to bring the Nanamobile.” He looked up just in time to see her roll her eyes. “I offered to drive, remember?”

  Luke remembered all right. The minute she’d suggested putting the seats down in her car so he could lie back there and have a more comfortable ride, he’d made the mistake of looking down at her athletic body and envisioning the exact type of ride he’d prefer to enjoy with her.

  Then she’d made an about-face and headed straight for the driveway, her coolness serving as a reminder that Luke had no business getting involved with another woman, let alone the controlled female cop. The drive to Boise had been awkwardly silent until they’d finally passed the Shadowview Military Hospital and Luke couldn’t stand the quiet any longer. He’d turned on the radio, the old dial stuck on a country music station. By the time they’d made it to the party-supply store, Carmen didn’t seem as tense and had naturally fallen into her element by taking over the list of what they’d need for the party.

  Now he watched her yank her arm out of the way just in time to slam the car door closed against the tumbling bags. He doubted they really needed paper napkins in five different colors, but every time he’d expressed an opinion about buying so much stuff, she would point out the item on Kylie’s never-ending list of things to make sure this was the biggest kids’ birthday party the town of Sugar Falls had ever seen. Carmen Delgado must’ve been one hell of a Marine with the way she followed orders.

  He got into the driver’s seat and glanced at the sushi restaurant across the street. Was it too early for lunch? His stomach was telling him it wasn’t, but his no-nonsense passenger’s professional demeanor was telling him that going out to lunch—just the two of them—might seem a little too date-like. And he didn’t want her thinking he was trying to come on to her. Instead, he put the car in Drive without saying a word.

  They were on their way to get groceries when he saw the sign for the giant toy store and a little light inside his head clicked.

  “Man, I totally forgot,” he said as he hit his turn signal. “I haven’t even gotten the boys their presents.”

  Carmen looked at her watch since the display clock in the Oldsmobile was stuck indefinitely on 8:56. “It’s already eleven hundred hours and you need to be back in Sugar Falls in time to pick up the twins from school.”

  “I’m their dad. I can’t not get them something for their birthday. Besides, I’m sure they’d rather have new toys than—” he picked up the grocery list sitting on the bench seat beside him “—two pounds of hummus. Who’s going to eat all that, anyway?”

  “Oh, fine,” Carmen responded with a sigh. “But let’s try to get in and out in under twelve minutes.”

  Twelve minutes? Did the woman think they were running some sort of covert op here? Maybe they needed to synchronize their watches or wear radio headsets to communicate throughout the assignment. But instead of making a sarcastic comment to Officer Controlling, he revved the engine of the Oldsmobile and pulled into a parking space in front of Toy Town, barely missing the curb. Nana would’ve been proud.

  Carmen grabbed her purse, a purple leather satchel that matched her dainty shoes, and Luke followed her to the entrance, thinking he still wasn’t used to seeing her with so many feminine accessories. She even had large gold hoop earrings on and several delicate bracelets tinkling against her wrist.

  Not that he was paying attention.

  “I used to love this place when I was a little girl,” she said, slowing her stride as they walked inside. Her chocolate-brown eyes were enormous, taking in all the colorful displays of the latest toy crazes. Luke couldn’t imagine someone as proper and as stiff as Carmen ever being a child.

  “Really? I didn’t know they had a bossy-pants section here.”

  “Actually, I preferred the rocket-blaster section. It was right by the sarcastic-tough-guy section, making it easy to shoot at targets.” But her smile caused him to chuckle, and seconds later, she joined him. He liked the sound of her laughter. It was sweet but throaty at the same time. A complete contradiction in terms, much like the woman herself.

  “C’mon, partner,” he said, placing a hand above the curve of her hip and guiding her toward the Lego ar
ea. “According to my calculations, we’ve got less than nine minutes to accomplish this mission.”

  Her face turned to his in surprise, but she didn’t make an effort to remove his hand or to step away from him.

  “Besides,” he added. “The manager here knows me by name, and even without the twins with us to wreak havoc, he’ll probably still be watching me like a hawk.”

  “So it’s not just Mrs. Duncan who doesn’t appreciate your family’s patronage in their stores?” She held her body rigid yet shot him a teasing smile. Even though the polished floor was smooth, Luke lost his footing and almost stumbled, causing him to pull her in closer to him.

  “I know it’s hard to imagine,” he said, trying to resume his pace. “But not everyone is as charmed by the Gregson twins as you are.”

  Carmen stopped and put her hand on his shoulder. Since he had yet to pull his own arm away from her waist, they were standing face-to-face in somewhat of an embrace.

  “Luke, your boys are wonderful and you’re so lucky to have them. Don’t let anyone else’s misguided judgments make you think otherwise. Sure, they’re a handful and they have a lot of energy. But they also have a lot of compassion. They’re smart and sweet and extremely happy. That means you’re doing something right.”

  His throat threatened to close and he sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to get emotional in the walkway between the Matchbox cars and the Nerf guns.

  “Thank you for saying that,” he said. Then he lifted his eyes to the ceiling and away from her gentle and caring gaze before speaking again. “When their mom died, I felt like I wasn’t worthy of being a dad to them. I was gone a lot on deployment, both before and especially after. Some people thought I was running from my responsibilities when I would leave them with my family and go out on dangerous assignments. But I figured it would benefit them more to be raised by people who knew what they were doing. I’d already let Samantha down and I didn’t want to let the boys down by not being the father they deserved. It took a...”