“Don’t ignore me, John. You tricked me into coming and you know it. Have you no shame at all?” she demanded.
John reached for her hand and pulled it up to his lips. Yes, he’d played his trump card with Nina. He knew if he said something about Paris and the interview, Nina would go with him in a heartbeat. She might be as cuddly as a cactus, but she cared about his well being enough to do things she didn’t really want to do, as long as it meant he was happy.
“I apologize, Miss Parker. It was a low trick, I admit it,” he said solemnly, his thumb stroking the hand he was still holding. “I promise to make it up to you, though. And you have to admit it’s too nice a day to be closeted up inside. We’ll have a good time, wait and see.”
Nina didn’t seem to be in a hurry to take her hand back, she allowed John to continue to hold it. She seemed relaxed and content until they arrived in the Palmer Park section of Detroit where Donnie and Angelique Cochran lived. With a slight sigh she took her hand back and smoothed the fabric of the dangerous skirt while John parked the car. She adjusted her chic sunglasses and gave John a quick glance. “Okay, I’m ready.”
He touched her cheek and gave her his most lethal smile, the one that could charm the panties off any woman within a fifty-mile radius. “You’ll be fine, Miss Parker. This time I’m looking out for you.”
Nina smiled in spite of herself. He really was irresistible. There was something about John that made her melt inside, especially when he flirted with her the way he was doing now. She tried to stare him down, abruptly asking him why he still called her Miss Parker. “Isn’t it time you stopped doing that? Why do you insist on calling me by that ridiculous name?” she asked crossly.
John helped her out of the car and pulled her into his arms for a hug while he kissed her forehead. He didn’t watch much television, but he liked to watch syndicated reruns of The Pretender whenever he could. The hard-as-nails character “Miss Parker” reminded him of Nina. The woman on the show was always immaculately groomed and totally intimidating to everyone but she had a tender heart and a deeply wounded soul, something John associated with Nina for some reason. He looked down at her and kissed her again, this time a soft one on the lips. “Sorry, Nina. I try to stop using that name but you just remind me of that character so much,” he told her. You must admit she’s a fabulous dresser,” he pointed out. “She always looks like a high fashion model and so do you.”
Nina gave him a mischievous smile. “Yes, and she wears really short skirts as I recall. So you can’t complain about mine anymore, can you? Let’s go,” she said, stunning John by taking his hand.
“Why, Miss Parker, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were starting to like me a little,” John said with that incredibly sexy smile of his.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she murmured, but she didn’t let go of his hand as they walked to the house.
Despite her initial reluctance, Nina found herself having a good time with John’s family. They entered the spacious house by the back door as was customary with friends and family. Donnie and his bride Angelique were in the kitchen with their baby, Lily Rose. She was full of smiles for her new uncle and waved her arms to indicate she wanted to go with him. John held her for a few minutes, talking to her in Spanish and kissing her behind the ear to solicit giggles. Lily then reached for Nina, who held out her arms for the baby and smiled with pleasure as she got used to Lily’s warm weight against her body.
Angelique looked at the charming picture they made and said she was going to get a camera. “Nina, you don’t mind holding her for a minute, do you? I’ve got to get some pictures. I love taking pictures of Lily with all the family so I always try to get as many as possible.”
“We’ll be just fine, won’t we?” Nina nuzzled Lily’s neck and was rewarded with laughter and a bubbly smile from the happy baby. “Is there something I can do to help?”
The suggestion was met with a chorus of “no’s” from the other occupants of the kitchen, John’s new sisters-in-law, Tina, Faye and Renee Cochran. Renee reiterated the refusal. “We’ve got this under control, Nina. Why don’t you and John just take it easy? By the time everyone gets here there’ll be plenty to do, believe me.”
Nina did as Renee suggested and went into the living room with John and Lily Rose. Nina sat down at the piano with the baby in her arms and smiled when Lily Rose started wriggling and waving her hands at the keyboard.
“So you’re a music lover, hmm? Okay, let’s see what we can do,” Nina told her. Soon Lily Rose was laughing with pleasure as Nina picked out a tune for her on the piano and sang her a little song. John smiled at the two of them and was about to say something when the newlyweds entered the room.
“Hey, what are you two doing here? I thought you’d be on your way to some exotic locale by now,” John said.
Alicia and Adam exchanged a very private look indicative of some very passionate thoughts. “We’re leaving tonight,” Alicia, said when she could finally tear her eyes away from her husband. “We spent our wedding night at home,” she murmured.
Nina relinquished Lily Rose to her Uncle Adam and turned around on the piano bench to face Alicia. “At home? Isn’t it more traditional to go to some luxury hotel somewhere?” she teased.
Alicia sat down on the bench next to Nina. “Girl, now you know we’re not much for tradition. Our families kind of expect the unexpected with us, but you know that, since you eloped with us!” Alicia laughed merrily, and then gave Nina a big hug. “Thank you again for making both our wedding days so special. It was so wonderful of you to stand up with us, even though you don’t know us very well. I really appreciate it, Nina.”
Nina and John, together with Alicia’s friends Roxy Fairchild and Bryant Porter, had indeed eloped with Adam and Alicia. Alicia had panicked under the weight of all the wedding preparations of her formidable aunts and it was Adam’s idea to go to Idlewild and have a simple ceremony before what Alicia referred to as her “Big Fat Cuban Wedding.” Nina felt her face turn hot from the unexpected and very sincere thank you. She’d been touched and surprised to be included and Alicia’s sincere thanks was rather embarrassing. A sudden influx of Cochrans deflected attention from her and also made it unnecessary for her to respond. An answer was not only superfluous, it would have been impossible to hear as Benita and Clay Deveraux entered the living room, each carrying one of their twin daughters. Their three lively sons followed them and the room was noisy with happy greetings. Trey, the oldest son and the most like his formidably handsome father, kissed his Aunt Alicia and followed suit with Nina. “Miss Nina, you can really dance,” he said admiringly. “I wanted to dance with you but I couldn’t find you. Where did you go last night?”
“Umm, I had a headache and I had to go lie down,” Nina offered lamely. She didn’t dare meet John’s eyes, although she could feel him staring at her intently. She did her level best to avoid another look like that the rest of the day. She conversed with the bride’s parents, with John’s brothers and admired all the babies and assorted small children. And despite earlier protests, she did end up helping to get everything set up for the buffet. Those Cochran women were absolute dynamos when it came to entertaining. And everything else, apparently, as they all had brilliant careers too. These women were more than dynamic; they were positively intimidating.
Nina watched Faye putting an olive garnish around the huge bowl of potato salad and said to her, “I don’t know how you all do all this.”
“What do you mean, hon? All what?”
“I mean, how do you manage your careers, your family and still manage to pull these gigantic feasts out of your back pockets at a moment’s notice? With all you do, you still manage to cook like this. I’m amazed, that’s all.” And I’m also scared of every one of you.
“Cook? Oh bless, your heart Nina. I love to cook, we all do. But who has time? This potato salad was made from scratch, and the cornbread. But everything else? Costco, Nino Salvaggio’s, Trader Joe’s and Farmer Jack’s
have provided the rest of this bounty. We might know how to cook but we also know how to shop,” Faye said with a cheery lack of repentance.
Tina chimed in with the same sentiments. “I almost drove myself crazy for a while trying to be superwoman. I was trying to be the perfect wife, a domestic diva and have a career. When I was finishing law school, it was okay. As long as I was really organized, it worked. But when my babies came along and I was working in the prosecutor’s office, it got to be a little too much. Luckily I have a very helpful and understanding husband and he not only pitched in, he had sense enough to insist I hire someone to help out. Our lives have been much better since then. We eat a lot of store bought food, but it’s good food. At least no one complains,” she ended with a shrug.
Once again, Nina was saved from having to make a reply by another arrival. This time it was Paris Deveraux. “Hey, everybody! What smells so delicious?”
While everyone was saying hello to Pairs, Nina quietly left the room and went in search of John. When she found him he was outside sitting with his father watching his brothers Alan and Andre deftly grill the meat. John stood as she approached and took her slender writs in his hand.
“Is everything okay? Are you having a good time?” he asked softly.
Nina gave him one of her rare smiles and was touched when she saw John’s genuine concern reflected in his eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just checking on you,” she admitted. “Paris just got here,” she added in a guarded undertone.
John entwined his fingers with hers and smiled down at her. “It’s okay, Miss Parker. She’s just going to talk to us a little bit, nothing too intrusive or weird. She just wants to get a feel for things so the actual interview will go well.”
Nina looked at their hands with their fingers locked before looking into John’s eyes. He smiled at her again and brought their clasped hands up to his lips, giving the back of her hand a quick kiss. “Nina, I’m fine. I love the fact that you’re so concerned about me, but there’s nothing to worry about.”
Her self-control was slipping fast; for some reason Nina wanted nothing more than to thrown her arms around him and kiss him really hard. Instead she shrugged her shoulders as though they'd been discussing nothing more pressing than the weather. “Who’s worried about you? You’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, I’m not your nanny,” she said with a sniff. She pulled her hand away from John and left to go back into the house.
Adam and Andre snickered to each other and shook their heads. “What did I tell you? The woman is tough,” said Andre.
“Yeah, but I still think he can do it in less than a year,” returned Alan.
“Okay then, let’s raise the bet.”
“If you’re so sure let’s double the bet, can you handle that, Big Baller?”
The two men continued to bicker while Big Benny took a long, assessing look at his son. John resumed his seat, watching the elegant sway of Nina’s body as she walked away from him.
“Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you, son. Your woman’s gonna give you a hard time every inch of the way. Don’t give up on her though, she’s a good match for you,” Benny said with quiet amusement.
“Oh, look Dad, it’s not like that. We’re not involved or anything. We’re just…it’s just…I,” John tried vainly to come up with a coherent sentence and then started laughing. “Am I that transparent?”
Benny assured him it wasn’t that. “Just remember I have five other sons and I’ve watched every one of them go through the same things. All my boys had sense enough to find smart women with a lot of spirit and that kind never go quietly. Like I said, you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
Inside of the house, the women were conducting the same kind of avid speculation as the men, but with more finesse. “I think there’s more to this than meets the eye,” Tina said to no one in particular.
Alicia agreed wholeheartedly. “I think they really, really care about each other but neither one of them realizes it. Eventually it’s going to all come out, but right now I think they’re clueless.”
Paris’s eyes got big and her face took on the familiar matchmaker look, the look she always got when she was contemplating fixing someone up. Angelique recognized it at once and warned her cousin off.
“Paris, you need to stay out of this and attend to your own affairs. Am I imagining things or were you really engaged in conversation with Titus Argonne last night?” Her ploy worked as Paris’s face lit up in a dreamy smile.
“Yes, cousin, I actually talked to the man and we danced together, several times. I wasn’t goofy and tongue-tied and fumbling for words this time. For once we had a real conversation,” Paris reported with a becoming pink flush across her cheekbones. “We went to some little diner after the reception and drank coffee and talked for hours and when I’m back in Atlanta we’re having a real date.”
Angelique laughed and applauded. “Well honey, it’s a date that’s long overdue. How long have you had the hots for that man?”
Paris glanced out the big multi-paned window above the kitchen sink and watched John staring at Nina as she walked away from him. “About as long as those two have been heating up, at least. I wonder what’s taking them so long to make a move?”
All the women in the kitchen turned on her and in unison said, “Paris, mind your own business!”
“Ya’ll don’t have to be so mean,” Paris said in a fake hurt voice. “I’m just trying to be helpful.”
“Well help yourself to Titus Argonne and leave other folks alone,” Angelique said emphatically.
***
The ride back to Ann Arbor was pleasant and uneventful; neither John nor Nina had very much to say. They listened to a jazz station on the radio and once in a while one of them would say something inconsequential to which the other would make a brief response. After parking the car, John walked Nina to her door and waited until she opened it. He could sense her uncertainty and tried to put her at ease by running his index finger down the nape of her neck. She gasped softly and closed her eyes.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in, Miss Parker?”
In a tiny voice she asked, “Do you want to come in?”
“More than anything,” he said softly.
In a few minutes they were in the living room of the suite, John leaning back on the boxy looking sofa and Nina curled up on the loveseat. They were trying so hard not to stare at each other they gave up and looked at each other intently, as if they were seeing each other for the first time.
“Would you like something to drink?” she murmured.
“No, thank you, I’m just fine.”
Nina cleared her throat and looked around the room, trying to find something new at which to stare. Failing that, she spoke again. “It was a nice party,” she said lamely.
“It was great,” John agreed. “My family is wonderful. They think you’re exceptional, I had a fantastic time and I don’t want this to end.”
“’This’ what? What this, John? What are you talking about?” Nina hated her bitchy tone of voice but she could barely trust herself to speak.
“Why are you sitting way over there, Nina? You look like you’re about to run away from me,” John teased her.
“I might do just that if you don’t make yourself less obtuse. What are you talking about?” Her anxiety made every word sound irritated.
John held out his hand to her and gestured with the other hand. “Come over here, and I’ll tell you.”
Nina made him wait for almost a minute before she put her hand in his and gracefully undid her long legs. She sat down next to John and allowed him to put his arm around her so she was nestled against him.
“That’s better. You feel very nice next to me, Nina.” John kissed her hair, then her face as he inhaled her fragrance. “You also smell very nice.”
By now Nina’s nerves were shot and she wasn’t in the mood for any more foolish small talk. Unaware that her voice was trembling as much as her hands, she s
napped at John. “If you wanted to conduct an inventory you could have made a checklist and slipped it under my door. What do you want with me, John?”
John smiled into Nina’s neck and felt her trembling. Before she could protest he shifted her so she was sitting in his lap. Holding her close to his heart, he tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. “What I want is for us to be closer, Nina. I was watching you play the piano today and I suddenly realized I know almost nothing about you, and I want to know everything. I want to know all about you, where you came from, what you like and don’t like, and what you want out of life. I was thinking about finding a permanent place to live today and it dawned on me that I have no idea what your plans for the future are. I don’t know if you’re going back to California or what. I don’t like that uncertainty, Nina.”
As he spoke, he was massaging her back with his free hand, bringing her closer to his body until they were a kiss away from each other. He looked into her eyes with great tenderness and was awed by the soft, yielding look on her enchanting face.
“I want to spend more time with you, Nina, and I don’t want you dancing with anyone but me,” he whispered.
Nina laughed when he said that, a soft, throaty chuckle he’d never heard before, not ever. When she began to speak, he caught his breath, not sure of what she’d say.
A Fool for You (The Cochran/Deveraux Series Book 7) Page 4