Thelma barked out a laugh. Joey loved the sound of it. It was like a fog horn and loud as one. Some people might call it obnoxious. Joey found it comforting. She gave Thelma a kiss on the cheek.
“See ya tomorrow.”
Then she slipped out of the office. It was best to pretend she had no idea what her employer was up to. If she confronted Thelma, she would just deny it and become sneakier.
When Joey returned to the bar, Santini was standing there waiting for her. Lord, he cut a fine figure. People could say whatever they wanted about Marines, they definitely knew how to keep in shape. She’d love to sculpt him. And that was odd enough because that wasn’t her regular medium.
“He was afraid you slipped out the back,” Sam said with a chuckle. Santini shot the older man a nasty look then turned back to her.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be. Night, Sam.”
“Night, Joey.”
They said nothing to each other as they walked out of the bar and into the night. It might be close to Christmas, but Jacksonville wasn’t exactly a wintery place. They’d had a bit of a December heat wave of sorts, leaving the air heavier with humidity. The balmy night air refreshed her, at least enough to walk the few steps it took to get to her apartment.
“The answer is no.”
He said nothing as they kept walking a few more steps; the only sound was their feet against the gravel.
Finally, he said, “I didn’t ask anything. Yet.”
She sighed. “I know Thelma means well and I’ve heard her mention the Santinis a time or two. Still, I don’t date. I don’t have time for it.”
Joey sensed more than saw his nod, and then he said, “Doesn’t mean I can’t at least try.”
Lord, a stubborn one. She really didn’t need that right now. She was so close to getting enough money to make the commute back and forth to Greenville. Being distracted by Papa wasn’t a good thing. It was better that she let him know exactly where they stood. When they reached the steps that led to her apartment, she stopped. Turning to face him, she looked him directly in the eye.
“I don’t date. I don’t have time.”
He rocked back on his heels as he studied her. She wondered how much he could see of her feelings in the dim streetlight. As a woman with good reason to be wary of men, she realized she didn’t feel any of her usual anxiety with him. She was relaxed. Well, as relaxed as she could feel with ten thousand butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
That was enough to worry her.
“What makes you think I want to date you?”
His face was completely void of all expression. She snorted, then started laughing. He joined in and the ball of worry that had been building in her stomach loosened.
“Then why did you walk me to my apartment? It’s not like I haven’t done it every night.”
He cocked his head to one side. She didn’t like the way he studied her. It was as if she were some kind of puzzle he wanted to assemble. Joey knew from experience a man like him would not be happy with the end product.
“This isn’t the safest part of Jacksonville to walk around at night by yourself.”
She sighed. “Don’t worry, Santini. I can take care of myself.”
“I bet you can.”
Joey rolled her eyes. “And don’t use that patronizing tone men use with women.”
“I was not using a patronizing tone.”
“Believe me, I know how the handle things if it gets tough.”
Again, he was quiet, then he leaned forward and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. She couldn’t fight the shiver that stole through her, or the heat it left behind.
“Some day maybe you’ll believe me that you don’t always need to deal with the tough times alone.” Then he dropped his hand. “Go on up the stairs so I can tell Thelma you made it upstairs okay.”
She couldn’t really come up with a response to that, so she turned and did as he suggested. Unlocking the door, she looked down at Santini.
“You can go now.”
It was dark but she could see him smile, and knew those damned dimples were flashing at her. “As soon as you lock the door, I’ll be on my way.”
She didn’t even respond to that. She slipped through the door then shut it behind her.
“Goodnight, Joey,” he said, just loud enough to allow his voice to drift up to her. She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She thought for sure he had planned on making a play for her, even if he just tried to kiss her. But he didn’t.
And now she wanted to know why—and that bothered her more than anything else.
She pushed away from the door and was about to go jump in the shower when she heard the whistling. And of course, it was The Halls of Montezuma. She rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself.
“Damn Marine.”
Chapter Five
Papa sat on the hood of his car as he watched Joey walk up the sidewalk from the bus stop. He knew that she had been at her other job that morning and afternoon. He had been able to pry that much loose from Thelma, even if she did keep most of what she knew about the waitress to herself.
Women. They always stuck together.
He liked watching her. A lot. More than he should feel comfortable with. In the last week he’d been into the bar every night, and he had yet to learn much more about her. Sure, he knew she worked two jobs and didn’t seem to have a social life. He knew she was from the Seattle area. Maybe.
That was it.
It bothered him on a level he didn’t understand that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. Just today in a briefing he’d lost track of what the commander had been saying because he kept thinking about the way she laughed.
As the colonel had griped him out, he had silently sworn not to go to the bar again.
Yet here he was, watching her stride up the sidewalk with that no nonsense way of hers. Damn, he found it sexy. He liked a woman who knew her own power—although, he had serious doubts she knew just how sexy she was. He hadn’t planned on coming there, but he found himself on his way before he realized it.
“Lost again, Santini?” Joey asked, not slowing down as she passed by him. It was much better than being totally ignored, which is what she did the first three days. It was a sad day when a Santini sat around waiting on a woman to talk to him.
“Nope. Got off work early, was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat.”
“I have to work tonight.”
“You have to work every night. At least this way you’ll have some food in you.”
She opened her mouth to argue with him. The women sure did love to argue for the sake of arguing.
He set his finger on her mouth. It was the first time he had touched her since the night he met her. The truth was, Papa hadn’t been so sure he would be able to touch her and let her go. So, to save himself from embarrassment, he had kept his hands to himself. Even with just this simple touch, he yearned for more but he knew she wasn’t ready.
“Why not have dinner with me? No strings, just food.”
She looked down at his fingers, which looked a bit comical because it made her appear cross-eyed. He dropped his hand.
“Just food?” she asked, suspicion lacing her tone.
He really wanted to know if she didn’t trust Marines or were all men lumped into the category. Which was completely out of character for him. If a woman gave him the back off vibe, he did. No questions asked. But with Joey, there was something there.
“Promise. Cross my heart.”
She cocked her head as she studied him. “And hope to die?”
“Never, not when I can have dinner with a woman like you.”
Her sigh was long and filled with irritation, but apparently she’d decided to take a chance. “As long as you understand this is only dinner.
He smiled, knowing he had won at least this one battle. “Of course, if you feel the need to throw yourself at me, I will sacrifice myself. It’s the least I can do.”
Joey shook
her head, her ponytail swinging back and forth behind her. “Give me a second. I’ll be right back.”
She jogged up the stairs and he leaned back against his car again. Today was shaping up to be a much better day than he expected.
He let her pick the place, which made Joey happy. It made sense since she had lived there longer than he had, but men didn’t always use good sense.
She suggested her favorite pizzeria and he hadn’t batted an eye. She had expected him to say something but he didn’t. He did sniff at the air as they were led to their table. Before they sat down, his lips curved.
“What?” she asked when the waitress had left them.
“Smells good. I can usually tell a good pizza place from the smells.”
“How about I know my pizza.”
He shrugged as he looked over the one page menu. “I don’t know that much about you other than you work too hard and you’re gorgeous.”
For a second she just stared at him. In all her years, she had never really been called gorgeous. She’d been a skinny girl with a penchant for art and books. She hadn’t fit into any group, really, being the daughter of missionaries who often left her for their work.
She leaned across the table. “You know you don’t have to keep up the charade, Santini.”
He glanced up at her and every thought in her head seemed to evaporate. He had an amazing set of eyes. She had described them as chocolate brown, but that didn’t do them justice. A small line of gold rimmed his iris and sometimes, when the sun hit them just right, she could see shades of green within them. They seemed to always change their shade and, for an artist, it held her mesmerized.
“What charade would that be, Joey?”
God, the way he said her name. It made her all squishy on the inside. Worse, it made her want to reach across the table and pull him closer for a long, wet kiss.
Fudge.
“That you’re interested in me. You don’t have to try and romance me because there will be no romance. I don’t have time for it or for you.”
Pretending to be more interested in her menu, she picked it up off the table and blocked out the sight of him. It only took a couple of seconds before she felt a tug on the top of the menu. She looked up and found Santini looking over the edge of the laminated paper.
“Everyone needs a little romance.”
“I know that as a Marine, you’re only out for a good time. That’s great. But I only have time for work. Then, next semester, school.”
He nodded and looked at his menu again. “Sure. I get that. Not like I’m busy or anything protecting the world.”
She heard the sarcasm in his voice and couldn’t fight the chuckle that bubbled out. He looked at her and smiled the slow sexy smile that she already loved.
“You should laugh more often. It’s a really pretty sound.”
She said nothing to that and thanked the good lord the waitress returned with their drinks. “Do you know what you want?”
“Want me to order?” he asked. “You know, being the Italian.”
“You’re not the only Italian at this table and I used to work in a pizzeria. Anything without peppers or anchovies is fine by me.”
As soon as he ordered, and the waitress left them alone, he kept staring at her.
“What?”
“Nothing. Nice to know you’re Italian though.”
“So I passed some kind of test by accident of birth?”
For a second he didn’t say anything, then he laughed.
“What?”
“You have just the right amount of sarcasm to please me, Joey.” He took a sip of his soda. “So, are you going to tell me your full first name?”
“You couldn’t charm it out of Thelma?”
“No. She told me if you didn’t want me to know, I didn’t need to know.”
She bit her bottom lip and tried to keep from laughing, but it was no use. He sounded so irritated by the whole issue. His eyes narrowed when she snorted.
“What?”
“So…poor little Marine couldn’t get Thelma to tell him stuff?”
He made a face and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He looked so put out.
“It didn’t used to be a problem.”
“I bet it’s never a problem for you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
She realized then that she said it aloud. With a sigh, she decided to end any chance she had with the man—not that she wanted one.
“Listen, I get it. You’re big and tough, not to mention you’re a Marine and gorgeous. Women are always falling over themselves to get your attention. I’m sure that Thelma’s reaction to you is rooted in your time together when you were a little boy, but I am almost positive you were probably a pretty little boy too.”
He blinked, calling attention to those large dark lashes and those impossible milk chocolate eyes. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
Of course, out of all of that, that is the one thing he remembered.
She shrugged. “You don’t make me want to vomit when I see you.”
There was another beat of silence and she fiddled with the edge of the sleeve of her jean jacket.
“Well, that’s a good thing.”
He said it with enough self-depreciating humor that she had to smile. When she looked up from the table, she found him grinning at her.
“It is a good thing. I would have never been able to suggest pizza otherwise.” He just kept grinning at her and there was a part of her that wanted to go with the flow. There was no way there would be anything between them. She didn’t know when she would trust a man that much again. Since he was a Marine who would probably ship out at some point, there was no reason to think there would be anything between them.
“Listen—“
“Oh, that doesn’t sound good,” he said easily.
She sighed. “I don’t date for a good reason. I don’t have time.” That sounded good. It was at least partially true.
“Really?”
He sounded skeptical but not sarcastic. There was at least that.
“Yes. I am trying to save up some money for school.”
“Your folks can’t help?’
She shook her head. “No. They’ve got enough on their hands at the moment.” Her father’s illness wasn’t something to talk about or the fact that when they did have money, her parents usually gave it away to those who needed it more.
He nodded. “I’m not sure if I would have made it through without going to Annapolis.”
Of course, he was an Annapolis graduate. Then it dawned on her that he was a captain or O-3. There was a good chance he had been to Vietnam before coming there.
“You’ve been in country?”
He nodded. “Just for six months though.”
“And your brothers, none of them went?
He shook his head. “They all wanted to go. Mom was happy they didn’t. She doesn’t like her babies far from home.”
She rolled her eyes. “Your poor mother having to deal with four boys. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the server bringing them the pizza. When they were finally alone, she asked, “What?”
He shook his head. “I just never thought about how being a mom of four boys would deal with it. I guess my mom just never really showed that it bothered her much. Of course, she is kind of the rock star of the family.”
“Oh, so a mama’s boy?”
He blinked again, then he laughed out loud. “I can’t win with you. But no, I am not the mama’s boy. That’s Adam. He’s the youngest and he’s been babied his whole life.”
“And I bet you and your other brothers made his life hell.”
“It was our duty as older brothers.”
She grabbed a piece of pizza and bit into it. The moment the hot cheese hit her mouth she realized how hungry she was. It had been seven hours since she had last eaten. Joey hummed as the cheese and pi
zza sauce danced over her taste buds.
She didn’t realize that Stewart had stopped eating to look at her and then she realized how loud her moan had been. Her face heated with embarrassment.
“Sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a piece of pizza.”
He said nothing to that as she took another bite. There were times he would just watch her, as if trying to figure her out. It always made her nervous.
“So, you really don’t get out?” he asked.
“I work over sixty hours a week. What do you think?”
“Yeah, I get that, but I would think now and then you’d have a date.”
That was tricky territory for her. She had her reasons for not dating. Most people didn’t believe her or thought she was insane.
“I don’t have the time or inclination. And while working at the bar gives me lots of choices, they aren’t that great.”
“And your daytime job?”
“What about it?”
“Well, are there any men there you might be in contact with?”
He asked it so casually she realized he was trying his best to keep it light, but he was definitely feeling her out to see if she was seeing someone else.
“No. Definitely not.”
“Still not going to tell me what you do during the day?”
“You’ve never asked me.” She knew she was pushing his buttons. Marines liked to be in control of the situation and he really didn’t like that she had power over him.
“What do you do during the day?”
“I work at that strip joint a couple streets over.”
Joey was proud of herself for keeping a straight face when she said it. His gaze shot up to hers then he laughed.
“You definitely have a smart mouth.”
She shrugged. “Better than a stupid one.”
He chuckled. “Okay, so, what do you really do?”
“I work at an art supply shop. Really, a hobby kind of shop where they have toy models and stuff to put together. I’m in charge of the paint area, plus I teach art classes to kids.”
“You know about model airplanes?”
“I do now, but I took the job to get the discount on paint supplies.”
“You paint?”
“Yes. That’s what I’m saving my money for. Art school.”
A Santini Christmas Page 3