She was a jeans-and-sweater kind of gal herself. So, that’s what she’d donned for their night out—deep-blue skinny jeans, paired with her black cashmere J.Crew sweater. She pulled her blond hair back neatly into a low ponytail, applied powder, blush, mascara and lip gloss and was ready to go.
Shane knocked on her door at seven o’clock sharp, looking great in jeans and a navy button-down. The color brought out the deep blue of his eyes.
“Hi.” Shane gave her a once-over and smiled. “You look great.”
She stared at him...a few beats too long. She ducked her head and smiled. Why was she so nervous? “Thanks. Just let me set the alarm and I’ll be right out.”
“Alarm?”
“Yes, my security system,” she said. “You know...single woman living alone. Can’t be too careful these days.”
AJ suggested they walk the half mile from her house to downtown. It was a gorgeous night. The sun was setting in the September sky, painting an abstract still life of peaches and blueberries on a pink lemonade canvas. The cicadas were out in force, serenading them with their staccato song.
Soon enough they were downtown, sitting in a window booth in Taco’s Tex-Mex, sipping margaritas and making small talk over the strains of a mariachi band that was strolling throughout the restaurant.
“Have you gotten any calls about Houdini?” AJ asked.
Shane shook his head. “Not a single one.”
“Oh, what a shame.” AJ sipped her drink, enjoying the tang of the lime mixed with the sharpness of the salt that rimmed the glass. “What did you do with him tonight?”
“He’s at home in the apartment. It’s not a very big place. There’s not a lot for him to get into.”
AJ quirked a brow. “It was brave of you to leave him home alone.”
“He did fine last night when I was sleeping. He made himself at home right at the foot of the bed. He’s housebroken and relatively calm. Obviously used to living inside.”
“Which means,” AJ interjected, “he probably belongs to someone who misses him desperately.”
Shane was just about to sip his drink, but he stopped and gazed at her over the top of the glass. “Which is precisely why I spent the morning hanging up flyers.” He winked at her and clinked his glass to hers. “Oh, and by the way, while I was out today, I met a friend of yours. Bob Germaine?”
“Oh, Bob! Right. We’ve known each other since elementary school.”
Shane nodded. “That’s what he said. Great guy. He mentioned that you left Celebration and went away to boarding school for high school?”
Oh, that. Why would Bob tell him that?
AJ toyed with the spoon at her place setting, contemplating how much she should share with Shane. Not that it was a big secret, but she simply didn’t want to unload the Sherwood-Antonelli family saga on him. It was like opening Pandora’s box, only in reverse. It sucked people in, and they had a hard time getting out.
However, since he’d already had a taste of the formidable Agnes Sherwood, AJ decided to give him the condensed version.
“When I turned fourteen, my grandmother decided it was time for me to receive a proper education.” She put a snooty-sounding emphasis on proper. “She shipped me off to the Le Claire Academy boarding school up north. That’s where she, my mother and all my sisters went. I guess you’d call Le Claire a Sherwood rite of passage. Or maybe it’s more of a mandate, because my sisters and I never had a choice. It was already predestined.”
Ugh. She was sounding bitter. That certainly wasn’t very attractive.
“The upside was that two of my friends ended up there, too. Pepper, who you met today, and my friend Caroline, who’s a financial analyst. So, I suppose if I put it into perspective, it really it wasn’t so bad. I don’t mean to sound like the poor little privileged girl.”
He was watching her and she couldn’t quite read his expression. She had an urge to fill the uncomfortable silence that seemed to echo with her words.
Should she explain to him that she’d been making her own way since graduating from high school? That she’d opted out of her grandmother’s plan that mandated she attend an Ivy League college? AJ had chosen culinary school instead. For that, her grandmother still hadn’t forgiven her.
Maintaining eye contact, she and Shane reached for a chip at the same time. Their hands brushed. AJ flinched and withdrew her hand, immediately feeling ridiculous.
“Please, go ahead.” Shane gestured to the chips. AJ glanced up at him, but quickly let her gaze fall back to the dish of salsa. Her nerves seemed to be getting the best of her. That’s what was wrong.
It had been a long time since she’d been out with a man who wasn’t Danny. It had been even longer since she’d felt chemistry with a man who wasn’t her late fiancé. Especially chemistry strong enough to make her jerk her hand away.
Her heart twisted in protest to the answer that came to mind: it was time she got off the shelf on which she’d placed herself, started living. In one beat her heart seemed to say, “You love Danny. Being here with a virtual stranger isn’t right.” The thought made her squirm inwardly, but she couldn’t ignore another feeling running counter to the emotions that had formed the core of her very being for such a long time: it was time to break free and start living again.
She glanced back up at Shane, at his rugged, tanned face and those blue, blue eyes... What color blue were they...? A shade deeper than the summer sky. Definitely more blue than gray...with flecks of white and a darker blue rimming the iris. More like stormy heavens, she decided, and much more hypnotic than she cared to admit. In fact, his gaze was so intense, it almost hurt to look into his eyes—though that certainly didn’t stop her.
He was a good-looking guy and she was attracted to him. No wonder this situation felt so dangerous.
There. She’d admitted it to herself: she was attracted to him. She had been from the minute he’d set foot in her shop last week. As if mocking her acknowledgment of desire, a rogue heat burned in her, starting in her heart and blazing upward.
“Just a Sherwood rite of passage?” he asked, breaking the spell.
“What?”
“You said boarding school was a Sherwood rite of passage. Where does the Antonelli half fit in?”
She blinked, searching for her bearings. Two servers with full trays balanced precariously on their fingertips sidestepped each other as they rushed to deliver food to opposite ends of the packed restaurant. In the distance the mariachi band sang a jubilant tune.
“As far as my grandmother is concerned, the Antonellis have never fit in. After my mom married my father she and my grandmother had a love-hate relationship. More love on my mom’s part than on my grandmother’s. It’s a long story. Believe me. I’ll save the rest for another time.”
He slanted her a flirtatious glance. “So, does that mean there will be a second date?”
AJ’s skin prickled at the thought. Despite the fact that he would be leaving soon, she wanted to see him again, to get to know him better, on a deeper level.
“I don’t know,” she answered, hoping she looked braver than she felt. “Does that mean you’re going to ask me out again?”
He chuckled, a low, pleasant rumbling sound. “Of course I am.”
She smiled and drew in a long breath as she savored the possibility in his words. The spice of cumin, chili and cilantro, mingled with the scent of lime and fresh, hot corn tortillas, perfuming the air. She picked out each of the fragrances as she contemplated how to steer the conversation away from her dysfunctional family without killing the mood.
“It’s your turn to tell me something significant about you,” she said.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know...like what’s your favorite sport?”
“Oh, that’s easy. Basketball.”
“Me, too.”
His eyes lit up. “Really? To play or watch?”
“Both.”
“You play? Seriously?”
“Well, not
NBA-caliber, but I’ve been known to shred some hoops.”
“That sounds like a challenge,” he said. “When can we play?”
“Whenever you want. There’s a court in the park.”
“How about tomorrow evening?” he asked.
“Wish I could, but I have to work. I have a big job for the Celebration Women’s Club. Their annual scholarship dinner.”
He nodded. She didn’t elaborate because she’d already monopolized enough of the conversation.
“The evening after next? You know I’m just going to keep going through the calendar until I find a night you’re free. Remember, I’m new to town and other than work, I don’t have anything on the books.”
“So, other than Houdini, I’m your only friend?”
He smiled. “That sounds pretty pathetic, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess we need to get you out more, introduce you around so you can meet some people.”
Truth be told, it warmed her from the inside out knowing he wanted to spend time with her. She loved his smile, the light in his blue eyes and the way he didn’t take himself too seriously. There was a nice, easy flow between them. She wanted to keep things light.
“Okay, so, I have a question for you,” she said. “If you’re in the army, how come I’ve never seen you in uniform?”
Shane glanced down at his polo as if confirming the fact. “When we’re off duty we can wear civilian clothes. We’re not relegated to always wearing ACUs. Only when we’re on the clock.”
“ACUs?”
“Army combat uniform.”
“Combat uniforms? Even when you’re not in a war zone?”
He nodded.
As ridiculous as it sounded, she hadn’t really given much thought to the fact that since Shane was in the army it might mean his job was dangerous. He could go to war. The thought was sobering.
She hadn’t put two and two together because he was on assignment in Celebration, the farthest place from a combat zone a soldier could get, and the three times she’d seen him, he hadn’t been wearing his army fatigues.
He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “ACU is a standard-issue uniform, that’s all. The army doesn’t provide an outfit for every occasion. You’ll have to stop by the jobsite and I’ll model it for you.” He grinned and shot her a mischievous wink that was just this side of cocky.
But it wasn’t cocky. It was fabulous. Her skin tingled at the realization.
The ability to not take himself too seriously, of course stemmed from self-confidence. But his brand of confidence didn’t cross the line into arrogance. That was one of the traits that topped her list of attractive man qualities. Yep, it was right up there with a set of mile-wide shoulders, muscular arms and sparkling blue eyes.
Shane Harrison had all four.
Taking it one step further, AJ would be willing to wager that he had six-pack abs that would make her mouth water.
Dreams of what might be hidden under that navy polo eclipsed dark thoughts of how she’d already lost one man to a dangerous job, that the last thing she needed was to fall for a soldier who might be shipped off to war and never come back.
But Shane was right here right now, very much alive. She realized there wasn’t any place else she’d rather be.
Yes, Monty Hall, she just might be willing to make a deal and risk guaranteed safety to find out if there was a sexy prize hidden behind curtain number one.
AJ blinked. To her embarrassment, she realized he’d just spoken and she hadn’t heard a word he’d said.
“Did you hear about it?” Shane asked, probably repeating the words.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked, a little sheepishly.
He smiled. “You were obviously deep in thought. Where did you go?”
The mariachi band had started making its way toward their table. AJ grabbed the convenient excuse. “I’m sorry.” She pointed to her ear and shook her head. “I can’t hear you above the music.”
Shane leaned in. So did she. Their foreheads were inches apart. The intensity of his unswerving gaze made her stomach flutter. Reflexively, her gaze dropped to his lips.
What would he taste like?
“I asked if you’d heard about the attempted break-in at Bob’s house?” Shane said.
Oh. Her eyes snapped back to his. She bit her bottom lip, and even though the band was now at the table next to theirs, she leaned back a little, putting space between them.
She nodded. “Yeah, this crime wave we’re having in Celebration is making everyone nervous.”
AJ plucked another chip out of the basket and scooped up some salsa. This time Shane’s hands were nowhere near hers, much to her relief.
Even though there had only been a couple of break-ins, this was Celebration, Texas, a place where bad things didn’t happen to good people. That’s why she’d moved back after Danny was killed.
She propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her fists. “I guess that sounds a little melodramatic, huh?”
The band struck up strains of what AJ knew as “The Frito Bandito” song. They were singing in Spanish and she couldn’t understand what they were saying aside from the “Aye-yi-yi-yi” part.
“No. I get it.” Compassion deepened the blue of his eyes. “Crime is nothing to shrug off. One random act of asinine selfishness can change another person’s life forever.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”
For a split second sadness clouded his gorgeous face. Then it was gone. Still, it suggested something delicate and deep, that there was more to this man than a sexy body and stormy blue eyes in which she tended to get lost.
Since she hadn’t wanted to unload her baggage on him, she sensed he was giving her the same courtesy. She’d caught a glimpse of something weighty and big in the shadow that darkened his face. She was sure the something was a key ingredient to who he was, something that had formed him into the person he was today. Was it a woman?
Even though she knew she shouldn’t cross that line and trespass on this private ground, suddenly, she had to know.
“It sounds like you speak from experience.”
He nodded. A wall went up. She saw it, palpable as if she could reach out and touch it. “Unfortunately, I think we all know someone whose life has been changed by violence.”
AJ’s breath caught and her thoughts snapped to Danny, and the night her own life had changed.
Just like that.
“You, too, huh?” Shane’s question threw her.
Had Bob Germaine told him about Danny’s death? Everyone in Celebration knew. It was the reason she’d moved back. People had talked about it for weeks. Not directly to her, of course. She’d caught the pitying glances and the tail end of whispered conversations.
Poor AJ...
Such a tragedy to happen to someone so young....
I heard the wedding invitations were addressed and ready to go into the mail....
Even as she bristled at the memories, she found herself nodding in response to Shane’s question.
“My fiancé.” She swallowed thickly.
“What happened?” he asked.
“He was a police officer, and he was killed.”
“I’m sorry.”
Something that might have been sad understanding seemed to wash over him. Empathy. But she didn’t offer further explanation. She couldn’t. The unspoken agreement was one piece of her puzzle in exchange for a piece of his.
It was his turn to bring something to the table.
Time seemed to stretch and extend, but finally he offered, “Do you remember hearing about the terrorist bombing—that plane that blew up over Italy—back in...? God, it’s been more than twenty years now.”
AJ nodded, swallowed hard. Her heart clenched as she anticipated what he was about to say.
“My family was on board—my parents, my little sister, my brother. I was supposed to be with them, but I’d stayed behind. Changed my mind at the last minute. It was summer, and I’d
decided to stay in Italy....”
For a girl? The question intruded. She bit her bottom lip to keep it from slipping out. It was inappropriate because he was talking about his family. Losing his family.
“I was young and invincible—death wasn’t even on my radar. Hell, I’d just turned eighteen. It was my last summer before college. I was set to conquer Europe, while I waited for my folks to come back. My dad was in the army, and they were all moving there. He was going home to get everything settled. They were supposed to be right back. Instead, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
He shrugged as if there was nothing else to say. She reached across the table and took his hand. Their gazes caught and lingered. Something shifted. For the first time ever, Danny’s ghost surrendered to something tangible and solid.
Chapter Six
As Shane held open the restaurant door and followed AJ into the cool night, he wondered which was worse: a date laden with shallow pleasantries that led nowhere, or deep conversation that shot straight to the heart of everything he’d done his best to lock away.
Usually, when he took a woman out to dinner, the conversation skated across superficial topics. What was it about this woman that drew out the personal and private? A better question was why was he so compelled to tell her everything? It didn’t make sense.
But he was beginning to realize that things didn’t always have to make sense...like how he didn’t want their date to end.
Taco’s was a few blocks from the square, which just yesterday had been lined with white tents and filled with the food and the people of Celebration.
Was it only yesterday? It seemed like years ago.
“Mind if we take a walk before we head home? I’d like to work the edge off this dinner. I’m stuffed.”
He put a hand on his stomach, feigning fullness. He’d eaten just enough, but he hadn’t had enough time with AJ yet.
“Stuffed? Really? I didn’t realize chile relleños were that heavy.” She quirked a disbelieving brow at him.
So, his motives were transparent. He didn’t care. Especially when he saw her nod her head.
Texas Wedding Page 6