“I know the food is going outside, Carmen. But right now, I have you inside. Alone.” Her body, which was in good physical shape for responding to emergency situations, went limp and tense all at once.
“But we need to get people fed,” she said, wanting to deter him. When he moved in front of her, she held up her hands as though she could stop him from what she’d secretly been hoping he’d start again.
He looked at the rooster-shaped potholders on her hands before grinning and sliding them off. “Luke,” she whispered, even though she doubted anyone else was in the house. “What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
But before his playful lips could get any closer, the back door screeched open. Carmen jumped away from him, backing into the open oven, which was probably less likely to leave a lasting burn than his heated embrace. At least mentally.
“Do you need anything in here?” Kylie said as she walked into the kitchen. “Oh, hey, Luke. I didn’t know you were giving Carmen a hand.”
He was actually about to give her a lot more than a hand, but Carmen turned to gather the basket full of condiments before the other woman noticed anything was off between the two of them.
“I’d love some help,” Carmen said, seizing on the opportunity to put more distance, or at least more obstacles, between her and the man she shouldn’t be left alone with. “Luke was just about to start carrying out some of the food, so if you could take a bowl or two outside, that’d be great.”
Nobody said a word about the fact that this party and its organization had been Kylie’s idea in the first place. After all, this was Kylie’s family and, by default, this kitchen should’ve been her domain. Yet, Luke’s sister-in-law seemed willing—actually, eager—to turn over her planning and hostessing role to someone who was a little more than a glorified babysitter.
“Perfect,” Kylie said, turning her back to them and opening the refrigerator. “Let me just get my Waldorf coleslaw out of the—oh, no. Why does it look so wilted already?”
Carmen used the distraction to make a fast break toward the back porch.
“We’ll finish our conversation later.” Luke’s whispered words caught Carmen by surprise and she fumbled her grip on the screen door.
She turned to whisper back and her head nearly collided with Luke’s since he was so close behind her. “But we weren’t really having a conversation.”
“I know.” His lips grazed the side of her neck and she almost dropped the ketchup and mustard she’d been balancing in the crook of her arm. She could actually feel the vibration of his laughter against her collarbone. “Here, let me get that for you.”
His hand skimmed her waist as he reached in front of her and closed his fingers over hers, helping her release the door latch. A crowd of hungry guests looked up toward them and Carmen walked outside, her legs feeling about as firm as the hot dog buns she was trying to carry in her shaky grip.
“Food’s on,” Luke announced jovially from behind her.
She deposited the condiments and buns and retreated to the kitchen for more dishes. And maybe that plastic cup of wine she’d poured earlier. She passed Kylie, who was carrying more food and didn’t mention the wilted green-and-purple mess Carmen spied dumped into the trash can.
It took several minutes to get her breathing back to normal. By the time the guests had lined up for the buffet-style meal, Alex Russell had taken over on the grill. She wasn’t sure where Luke was, but Carmen was glad he was getting a reprieve to enjoy his sons’ party since he’d been working so hard on it the past two days.
Freckles, defying both gravity and age, balanced three plates of chicken in one hand as she strutted by wearing bright orange cowboy boots and a halter top to match. “Great party, you two.”
You two? Who was...? Carmen felt Luke’s palm against her lower back.
“Thanks, Freckles,” Luke said, his fingers making a slow small circle before he walked away to tell the children to go wash their hands.
The rest of the evening, Luke made a habit of sneaking up behind Carmen when she was least expecting it, touching her ever so subtly, then taking off seconds later. She prayed that Elaine Marconi, who was holding court near the makeshift bar, hadn’t noticed.
But Luke was a master at the hit-and-run displays of affection. A quick caress here, a soft smile there—he’d even refilled her wine cup when she finally took a break to sit and talk with Maxine and Cooper and Mia and Garrett McCormick.
“This is going to be a tough birthday party to top,” Maxine said when Luke eventually stayed still long enough to pull out the chair next to Carmen’s and take a seat. “I saw one of Mia’s dance moms over by the mobile video game trailer asking the face painter if he was available for her daughter’s princess party next month.
“You can thank my charming sister-in-law for that,” Luke replied, then lifted a cold bottle of beer to his lips. Stop staring at his lips, Carmen had to command herself. “I had no idea she was orchestrating all this.”
The group of friends all turned to look at the pseudocarnival that had magically sprung up on Luke’s property. He took the opportunity to slide his hand onto Carmen’s knee beneath the table.
“Just be thankful my wife told the party-rental people there were only three acres of land here,” Drew said. “Do you know that company rents snow-cone booths, inflatable waterslides and human-sized hamster balls?”
Carmen was more thankful that the woman had had the foresight to rent these long green linen tablecloths instead of going with the short plastic ones Luke wanted to buy at the supply store yesterday. Otherwise, everyone would be able to see Luke’s hand slowly inching its way up the leg she was praying wouldn’t tremble.
“Don’t worry, babe,” Kylie said to her husband as she fed one of her daughters. “I’m getting plenty of practice for the girls’ first birthday.”
Drew paled slightly, then recovered and said, “Too bad we don’t have the space for all that at our condo. Maybe we’ll just have a nice intimate family dinner.”
“Don’t be silly,” Luke chimed in, still not removing his hand from under the table. “This is still Gregson land. You can have the party here. Carmen and I would be happy to help.”
Everyone laughed and Carmen tried not to shift in the white plastic folding chair. He made it seem like they were a pair, that they were partners. Even if he’d been sly in the way he’d been touching her all evening, people might already be lumping the two of them together, assuming she would be around for future Gregson family events.
She really needed to get Luke alone to tell him that this birthday party, as well as that kiss last night, was a onetime thing. She needed to convince him that he and the twins were probably better off not getting too close to her. The problem was getting him alone. And then not falling victim to those damn dimples.
* * *
“But, Dad, we don’t want to help clean up,” Caden told Luke. “Now that everyone’s gone, we want to open our presents.”
“And have another piece of cake,” Aiden whined before shoving a blue lollipop from his piñata treat bag into his mouth.
Luke stood in his almost-empty yard. The party rental company had loaded up and left his property looking like less of a carnival and more an abandoned battlefield. Most of the guests had gone home, with the exception of a few friends who were either collecting remnants of streamers and empty plastic cups or putting his house back to rights.
“See Officer Carmen in the kitchen?” Luke pointed to the window framing her as she washed dishes at the sink and laughed at something one of the other women must’ve said.
For the first time, Luke realized that his feet hadn’t been restless at all today. Sure, they were tired and aching as he’d been standing since seven that morning, but they felt grounded. Seeing Carmen in his home, having her work b
eside him for a common goal, feeling her eyes on him when she thought no one was looking, felt grounded.
“What about her, Dad?” Aiden interrupted his trailing thoughts.
“Oh, look,” Caden yelled before dropping his plastic garbage bag and running toward the driveway. “Uncle Kane’s here.”
Kane Chatterson pulled up in his old SUV. While the famous baseball pitcher wasn’t Luke’s brother-in-law exactly, he was Drew’s—which made him family and somewhat of an uncle figure to the boys.
The late arrival turned his engine off and grabbed a couple of oversize gift bags from the backseat, causing the boys to shriek and jump up and down over the idea of more presents. Great. At this rate, he’d never get his children to settle down.
Oh, well. They’d probably get more done with the boys out of the way and occupied.
“Good timing.” Luke walked up and shook the man’s hand. “Did Kylie assign you cleanup duty tonight?”
“Yep. She knows how I feel about avoiding big crowds. Got any beer left?”
“You bet. Come on into the kitchen and we’ll get you a plate of food, too. Your sister had me buy enough to feed the crew of an aircraft carrier.” What Luke didn’t say was thank God Carmen had been there to help him prepare everything, or he’d have been at a complete loss.
Carmen’s feet were probably just as tired as his. He thought of the one time he’d seen them bare, her dainty toes with their bright pink polish nervously hustling around on her cottage floor as she brought him and the boys T-shirts to borrow. He would love to send the rest of the cleanup squad home and sit on the sofa with her pretty feet in his lap. He didn’t even need her pricey peppermint tree-bark foot cream.
If it were just them, the kids would be in bed and he’d start a fire in the big stone hearth. Maybe put on some of the country music that she enjoyed. His mind started to get lost in the fantasy, but was cut short when he heard the boys let out a whoop at the brand-new bow-and-arrow sets their uncle Kane had just bought for them.
“Can we try them out, Dad? Huh? Can we?”
He shot Kane a look that promised retribution for the irresponsible gift. Even if it did say “beginner” on the packaging.
“Maybe tomorrow. We should probably get inside and open the rest of your presents,” Luke said, trying to distract them. “We’ll have some more cake while we’re at it.”
“But I thought you said we had to clean up first, Dad?”
“No bows and arrows tonight, guys.” Luke ignored their groans. “Besides, it would hurt everyone else’s feelings if you played with Uncle Kane’s...uh...gift before you even opened theirs.”
“Oh, right. Come on, Caden. Let’s go.”
He watched them race into the house, Kane helping them carry the arrows that hopefully had somewhat blunted tips. Luke took one last look at his kitchen window just in time to see Carmen step away. The arches of his feet tingled and he had a moment of panic before she came back into view, carrying the empty pan of beans.
Yep. She felt like home.
Maybe Drew was right and he could try again. Maybe he could be the kind of man someone like her would deserve. He heard several raised voices, the zinging sound of a released bowstring and then Kane yelled, “Ow. That was my good shoulder.”
Man, Luke could barely control his own children. Calling him adequate at being a father would be generous. So who was he to say that he’d be any better at a romantic relationship? He remembered his brother’s advice and decided there was only one way to find out. Hopefully, he could do so before his wild little monkeys made up Carmen’s mind for her.
* * *
Carmen hugged herself, unsure of what to do now that most of the cleanup was finished. The boys sat on the floor, tearing into packages as their uncle Drew tried to keep some semblance of order and Mia McCormick took notes on which person had brought which gift. Cooper and Maxine were drying dishes, and Kylie had just put the girls down to sleep in their portable crib. Luke was sitting on the sofa, having a beer with Alex Russell, while Kane and Hunter worked on a Lego set that was deemed appropriate for ages fourteen and up. The whole scene was too warm, too intimate, too family for Carmen.
She needed to get out of there.
“Hey, kiddos,” she finally said, stepping over bows and strewn pieces of torn wrapping paper. “I’m on duty first thing in the morning, so I’ve got to get home and get some rest. Happy birthday.”
She bent down to place a light kiss on each curly blond head.
“Bye, Officer Carmen. Thanks for helping with our party,” Aiden said. Then both boys rose up and gave her three hugs, a gesture she’d recently found out Kylie had established with them to help ease their separation anxiety.
“Yeah, thanks, Officer Carmen. It was our bestest birthday ever.” Her heart squeezed at Caden’s sweet words. Then it dropped at what he said next. “And don’t forget to book your room for the tournament next weekend. Choogie said the team hotel in Rexburg will be sold out and if you don’t make your reservation, you’ll have to stay at the Big Horse Motel down the street. And that one’s haunted.”
“It’s not haunted,” Alex said, and all the other adults agreed. “I told you not to listen to Choogie Nguyen. There’s no such thing as ghost horses.”
“Still, I wouldn’t want to stay there and find out,” Caden said, sitting back down with his brother and tearing into a gift bag.
“If you can’t get a room at the not-haunted hotel, then you could just stay in our room with us,” Aiden suggested.
No. She was not staying in a hotel room with them and their father. She rolled her eyes. She wasn’t even going to Rexburg in the first place. “Sorry, boys, but I won’t be able to make it next weekend.”
“But, Officer Carmen, the big tournament starts on Saturday and you’ve gotta go with us. You’re our good luck charm. The whole team needs you.”
“You guys are great players and you’ll try your hardest,” Carmen explained. “You don’t need me or any luck for that.”
The room grew quiet and several Legos fell on the hardwood floor. Actually, Carmen wasn’t entirely sure which happened first. But everyone in the room stopped talking, stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Even the twins paused their unwrapping midpresent. “What’s wrong? Why’s everyone staring at me as if I’m standing on a buried land mine?”
Her answer came from the notoriously quiet Kane Chatterson, who apparently was the only one willing to explain. “You know, Officer Delgado, baseball players are very superstitious. We don’t take luck lightly.”
They couldn’t be serious. She looked around the room. “So you all believe in a person as a good luck charm, but you don’t believe in ghost horses?”
Why were they looking at her as though she were the crazy one?
“I can’t rightly attest to the goings-on at the Big Horse Motel,” Kane continued, speaking for the group. “But I do know baseball. And if the boys and the team think you’re good luck, then you are.”
“But I’m on duty next weekend,” she argued, and saw Luke flinch. What was that about? He couldn’t possibly believe his children wouldn’t win their game if she wasn’t there. Could he?
“Actually,” Cooper called out from the kitchen. “You’re off on Saturday, and Washington can probably cover your shift on Sunday. Plus, Hunter’s team doesn’t play until the following weekend, so I’ll be on duty while you’re gone. The department’s got things handled.”
Now her boss was assuming she’d just up and leave town for some Little League all-star game? This was utter nonsense. The more she tried to protest, the more everyone insisted she be there. If she argued any more, it would look suspicious. But it wasn’t like she could state the real reason she should stay in Sugar Falls.
In fact, she looked straight at that reason, whose eager, smiling expression matc
hed his children’s. She really needed to learn how to say no to that ridiculous Gregson dimple.
“Fine. I’ll go.” The boys cheered while the rest of the room seemed to let out a collective breath. “But I’m getting my own room.”
Chapter Ten
Carmen cut off Tim McGraw midchorus as she lowered the volume of her satellite radio and exited the highway. She’d been raised a big-city girl and, being a cop, she had a pretty good sense of direction. Still, she’d never ventured too far from Sugar Falls and Boise since moving to Idaho and she wanted to concentrate on where she was driving.
God forbid the good luck charm get lost on her way to the baseball tournament.
Several times this week, the twins had tried to talk her into riding with them and their father to Rexburg. But there was no way, no how, Carmen was allowing herself to be at the mercy of those Gregson males for nearly four hours.
In fact, she’d purposely waited to book a room and was checking last minute prices online for the so-called haunted motel, when Kylie had texted her last night to say she and Drew had to cancel at the last minute because one of the girls had come down with an ear infection. Kylie said the team hotel was booked up, but she could transfer over their reservation. In fact, Kylie had already taken the liberty of calling the hotel and giving them Carmen’s name.
She thought some people were going a little overboard in the name of luck for a kids’ recreational sports team. But at least Carmen didn’t have to share a room with a horse’s ghost. Or Luke Gregson. She honestly didn’t know which option was less scary.
Probably the former.
After leaving her house at oh six hundred and making two rest stops along the way—damn her weak bladder—Carmen stepped up to the check-in desk at the Springhill Suites with only a few minutes to spare before heading to the ball fields for the first game of a doubleheader.
The Matchmaking Twins Page 13