That's (Not Exactly) Amore

by Tracey Bateman

  I shake my head, still reeling with all the possibilities. I press my palm to my stomach and try to breathe. “I think your uncles might have just made me an offer I can’t refuse.”

  27

  The evening progresses nicely. By nine o’clock, an hour after the beginning of the reception, all the guests have arrived, including Janine, who is amazed by the entire place, especially since we have 11 x 14 glossy posters displaying Nick’s before the renovation.

  “I just can’t believe what you’ve done,” she practically squeals. “I definitely made the right decision in hiring you. Now when do you get the results of your final so you can start going out on calls?”

  “I’m not sure.” I would love to bask in the glow of all this praise (who wouldn’t?), but I know I’m not the one who should be receiving the credit. Really, all I did was suggest the floor. “You know, Janine, Nancy and Jazz were the two who really put this together.” I mention my suggestion of a faux stone floor. “But that’s really all I came up with. The first proposal blew up like a nuke. Just ask Joe if you don’t believe me.”

  Janine waves away my concerns. “Listen, honey, I have more work than I can keep up with. You’ll learn, so don’t you worry. I’m giving you a chance because I see myself in you. When I first started, I had to lie to get a job. But before long, I caught on, and so will you.”

  I wish I could believe her. But I’m just not so sure. The offer from Joe’s uncles seems like such a godsend.

  Jazz walks up to us, carrying a plate of food and grinning big. “We’re a hit!”

  “We sure are.” I motion to Janine. “Have you two met? This is my new boss, Janine.”

  Jazz holds out a hand. “Nice to meet you. You made a great choice hiring Laini, here.”

  “Actually,” I say, because I’m sick of the lie, “Jazz is the real genius behind all of this. She recently redecorated an office for a lady mourning the loss of her husband, and she got three more jobs from it.”

  Jazz grins with pleasure as I sing her praises. Janine’s eyes get wide and I’m sure she’s thinking about the commission she’d make if Jazz joined her and gave her the seventy-five percent of the three jobs she’s landed.

  “I think the two of you should talk.” As I stand there watching them, I realize that of the three of us, one of these things is not like the others. And I’m the odd man out. I don’t know if I’ll take the uncles up on their offer or not, but their confidence in me makes me realize I can work hard and make a living from my apartment. Cooking. Baking. I love it—that’s what I want to do. I’d love to tell Janine now, but she and Jazz are deep in conversation.

  As I’m trying to figure out a graceful escape, my eyes land on my two best friends in the world. Tabby and Dancy are sitting together across the room. Tabby is devouring the food on her rounded plate. They grin and wave at me when they spy me watching them. It seems like ages since I’ve seen the two of them, and I realize that I’m aching for girl talk. I mean, who else am I going to tell about Mark and Kellie or this new offer from the uncles?

  I turn to Janine and Jazz. “Will you two excuse me?” I grab a bottle of water and a couple of pigs in a blanket and head that way.

  “This place is amazing!” Tabby exults as soon as I slide into a cushiony olive green booth. “I’m so proud of you, Laini.”

  Her eyes water with emotion, and I figure any second she’ll be crying with joy. Tabby is a wreck since her hormones have risen to healthy levels for her baby. But she makes no apology and we wouldn’t want her to. Our time is surely coming. Surely.

  “Thanks.” I grin and dip my pig in a blanket in a blob of ketchup.

  Dancy is unusually quiet, and she keeps looking down at the table. Suddenly I realize what she’s looking at. Her hands are resting on the table just waiting for someone to notice the glittering diamond on her ring finger.

  I gasp. “Dancy! You did not go and get engaged without telling us!”

  Tabby grabs her hand. “Oh, my goodness. Look at that rock. When did this happen and why haven’t you told us?”

  A look of pure joy flashes across Dancy’s face. “Jack just asked me Thursday night, but I didn’t want to say anything while Laini was studying for finals. Besides, I didn’t want to steal her thunder for tonight.”

  “Oh, Dancy, that’s fabulous! And so much better than passing a final or this reception or getting a new job offer.” I’m so jealous I don’t even know what to say.

  “Wait a minute. Do you know you passed?” Dancy asked.

  “Well, no. But I hope so.”

  “What about getting a new job offer?” Tabby asks. “Do you mean besides Janine?”

  “Look who’s keeping all the secrets,” Dancy grouses. “All I did was go hide an engagement. Spill it, or am I going to have to put you through Chinese water torture to get you to open up?”

  “All right. I need your input anyway. It’s actually more than a job offer. And it’s not Janine.”

  Dancy grasps my wrist with her left hand, and the light reflecting off the diamond on her finger practically blinds me. “Spill it, Laini.”

  “Okay, here’s the thing.” I tell them about “the family” making me the offer.

  Tabby’s eyes go wide. “Oh, wow. That sounds like a great opportunity.”

  Dancy nods. “I’ve always said you should cook for a living.”

  “So have I,” Tabby pipes in. “Don’t let Dancy take all the credit.”

  “I’m thinking about it. But I also decided that even if I don’t take the uncles up on their offer, I’m not going to do interior design.”

  “Bravo!” Tabby and Dancy applaud.

  “Take the uncles up on the offer,” Tabby says. “It’s a great idea!”

  “Wait,” Dancy says. “It’s a great idea if you can be sure they’re not selling drugs to little kids for the front money. I’m still not convinced at least some of the family isn’t connected, if you know what I mean.”

  “Well, I don’t think they’d hurt kids.”

  “Why? Because they seem so nice?” Dancy scowls. “Listen, most bad guys are really fun to hang around until you try to date one of their family members or run a little short of the rent money or something like that.”

  “Well, they’re the ones pushing Joe at me. So I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. And as far as the rent goes, well, if they hurt me I won’t be around to bake their rolls, will I?”

  “I can’t believe you’re being so flip about this,” Dancy says, shaking her head.

  Tabby knocks on the table to get our attention. “What do you mean they’re pushing Joe at you?”

  I glance her way for a second. “They like me even if I am Irish and not Italian.” Now back to Dancy. “I can’t believe you’re being so judgmental. You know Nick. He’d never hurt anyone.”

  “No. But have you ever met Frank?” She glances around. “Joe’s dad is scary.”

  “I know. I’ve met him.” I wonder where he is tonight. Joe hasn’t mentioned his absence, but it’s strange, considering his own son is transforming Nick’s into a force to be reckoned with.

  Tabby gives us a frown. “How come the two of you have met him and I haven’t?”

  “Just lucky, I guess,” I say, not quite ready to move on. “Look, I’ll make the right decision based on facts and prayer, not assumptions.”

  A scowl mars Dancy’s face, and for some reason when she pushes her hair out of her face with her left hand, I see red. I think she’s rubbing it in that she’s engaged and I’m not.

  I can’t believe she’s being so petty about my actually getting a great opportunity, when she has everything she wants. A beautiful condo with a view of Central Park, a book deal with a major publisher, and now marriage to a gorgeous Brit who clearly adores her. Is it any wonder I want to knock her down just one little peg? “Besides, you write for a company that publishes erotica. What difference does it make?”

  Dancy opens her mouth, then closes it. “If you don’t see th
e difference between publishing sexy books and selling drugs to eight-year-olds, then no one will be able to convince you. Do whatever you want to do.” She waves me away, which sets my teeth on edge.

  “Okay,” Tabby says. “You two, stop fighting. We should be celebrating. Dancy is getting married, and Laini has transformed Nick’s into an Italian villa. It’s wonderful. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow.”

  Dancy waves her away and points over my shoulder. “Hey, Laini. Isn’t that your cop coming in the door?”

  My stomach loops as I turn. “Yeah.” Mark’s in uniform—is he here on duty? There couldn’t have been complaints about the noise coming from Nick’s. The club down the street is crazy noisy every night, especially on Saturdays like tonight.

  Mark and his partner are looking around the room. Mark’s thumbs are locked through his belt. He looks like he means business.

  “I’d better go see what’s going on.”

  Dancy slides from the booth. “I’m going too.”

  “You’re not leaving me here.” Tabby holds out her hand to Dancy. “Give a pregnant lady a boost, will you?”

  “Go ahead and go, Laini,” Dancy says. “We’ll meet you over there.”

  Joe beats me to the door, but barely. I hear him ask, “Officers, what can we do for you?”

  Mark steps forward. “Joe Pantalone?”

  Joe sneers. “You know who I am.”

  “You’re under arrest for bribing a city official.”

  “What are you talking about, Hall?”

  Mark whips out his cuffs. “Your father is already at the station, and we have a confession from the official the two of you bribed to get the permits for this place. It’ll go a lot easier for you if you come peacefully.”

  “I’ll come peacefully because I know this will be resolved quickly. I had nothing to do with bribing anyone.”

  I can only watch dumbfounded and heartsick as Joe allows Mark to turn him around and put the cuffs on him. Joe is standing face-to-face with me when the click of the cuffs practically resonates off the walls.

  I want to reach out to him. To tell him I know it’s not true. But there’s nothing I can say. Because the truth is, all my doubts are coming back.

  “Let’s go,” Mark says. He looks at me and scowls. “Maybe you’ll believe me next time.”

  “Laini.” Joe’s eyes bore into mine, the dark depths revealing emotions I can’t even wrap my spinning head around.

  “Joe,” I whisper, silently begging him to be innocent.

  His gaze sweeps over me like a caress. “Believe in me.”

  Predictably, the reception breaks up after that. The good news is that my professor pretty much assures me that I did indeed pass his class. He tells me, without “telling” me, that I have nothing to worry about in terms of getting that degree. I don’t have the guts to tell him I’ve decided not to pursue the profession after all.

  Nancy and I walk back to our apartment, and I have to admit I’m still broken by the image of Joe being taken away in handcuffs. I fall onto the sofa, glad to be out of my three-inch patent leathers. Nancy brings two steaming mugs of chamomile tea into the living room and hands one of them to me.

  I’m on the verge of tears, and there’s no disguising it when I speak. “Wasn’t that crazy?”

  “Don’t believe it.” Nancy’s tone is a mixture of anger and disbelief. “I mean it, Laini. I’ve known that guy my whole life. Joe didn’t do a thing and Mark knows it. He’s just trying to make Joe look bad so you’ll stay with him. I bet he set up this whole thing. That’s probably a phony confession.”

  “I hardly think I’m enough of a catch that Mark would risk his career to frame a man just to get him out of the way.”

  But Nancy is livid. She’s not even listening. “You know what makes me sick? I’m sick of prejudices against Italian families. Why is it that all the mob families in the movies and TV are Italian? I’ll tell you. Prejudice. That’s why.”

  I never thought of it that way before, but it’s a point to consider.

  “What about the so-called confession? And don’t say Mark framed Frank and Joe. That’s ludicrous.”

  Nancy gives a snort. “Then he probably beat it out of the city hall guy. Mark’s a jerk. Living with one woman and trying to go out with you. Why don’t you think he might be capable of framing Joe?”

  True, that doesn’t speak well for his moral character, does it? But still . . . and besides . . . “He sent Kellie and Kyle to live with her parents in Missouri.”

  “What do you mean, he sent her?”

  I shrug, because I’ve been thinking about that too. “Kellie couldn’t find a place she could afford around here, so her parents asked her to go back to her hometown.”

  Nancy grunts out a mirthless laugh. “More likely Mark forced her out. How could a guy just get tired of a woman who has given five years of her life to him? I mean, the least he could have done was marry her.”

  “I know. He came to my mom’s house last night and wants to see me again.”

  She gives a cynical nod. “Now that he’s sent the other woman away.”

  “Technically, I think I’m the other woman.” I take a breath. “But yeah, that’s about it.”

  The buzzer goes off and I run to the door. Please let it be Joe; please let it be . . .

  “Laini?”

  It’s Mark.

  “If you buzz that guy in, I’ll punch you,” Nancy says.

  Ignoring her, I press the button. “Stay there, Mark, I’ll be right down.”

  “I’m going to take a bath,” Nancy grouses. “You’re crazy to even talk to him after what he did to Joe.”

  Barefoot, I descend the stairs, step outside, and lean against the door.

  Folding my arms across my chest, I give him an even look that I hope will show him how angry I am. “What happened with Joe?”

  “Can’t we go inside?”

  “Nancy would stab you with a knife. And she’d probably kill me too.”

  A scowl twists his features. How come I never realized before how cold his blue eyes are? “I hope you believe me about that guy.”

  I shake my head. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.”

  His jaw drops. “What?”

  “If anyone bribed a city official to get the permits, it wasn’t Joe.”

  “You don’t want to believe it, that’s all.”

  “You know, Mark”—I give him a pointed look and decide to get this out once and for all—“I always try to believe the best of my friends. Just like I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt when you told me about Kellie and Kyle.”

  “Friends? I’d say your relationship with Joe is a little more than that.” He sneers.

  “You mean like yours with Kellie?”

  An unapologetic shrug lifts those massive shoulders. “She was there. I needed someone and she did too.”

  “She still does.”

  “I want you.” Again, an unapologetic shrug.

  Does this guy have any heart at all?

  “Don’t call me anymore, Mark.”

  “What do you mean? You said when Kellie was gone . . .”

  “I didn’t say we’d be together. I said we’d see. And we did. I don’t think we fit.”

  “But you fit with Joe?”

  “Joe has never been anything but a friend, but if he asks, I’ll date him.”

  Mark expels a frustrated breath. He lifts his arms and drops them back to his sides. “This is what I get for trying to protect you from that family.” He shakes his head at me. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “I guarantee you I will never say that.”

  “Fine. And remember, you’re the one who gave up what we have between us.”

  I can’t even respond. I look at this man I apparently don’t know at all.

  “I’m out of here,” he says. “Oh, by the way, we released your boyfriend for lack of evidence. Charges were dropped.”

  Spinning on his heel, he shoots off
down the sidewalk like he’s being chased by a rabid dog.

  And I sort of wish he were. The creep. Joe was right. He is a pig.

  When Mark is out of sight, I turn to go back inside. The door won’t budge and I realize I’m not getting in without help. How could I be so stupid? I ran down without my keys or my purse. Everything is inside.

  I buzz for Nancy. And buzz. And buzz again. Come on, Nance! After five minutes, I suddenly remember my roomie saying she was going to take a bath. Nancy’s an iPod girl and takes long, steamy baths. There’s no chance I’m going to get back inside that apartment for at least thirty more minutes.

  A raindrop hits me. And another. And another. Great. Can tonight get any worse?

  28

  I’m not sure how long I stand in the rain before I realize what Mark’s last words were. Joe was released. So, he’s probably home. What am I doing standing in the rain when I could be at Joe’s in five minutes if I run?

  In a flash, I find my steps leading me away from my apartment. Moments later, I’m standing, soaked, in front of Nick’s. Of course the coffee shop (if it can really even be called that anymore) is closed. As a matter of fact, it’s not even set to reopen until Monday.

  I walk around the side of the building and take a deep breath at the bottom of the steps leading up to Joe’s apartment. Slowly, I start to climb, barely paying any attention to the rain trailing down my face.

  I hesitate only a second before knocking on the door. The lights are off, and after a few more knocks, I realize he hasn’t made it home yet. But I’m not going to be deterred. Lowering myself to the top step, I’m determined to dig in and wait it out. I just wonder how long he’ll be, because it’s so cold out here my teeth are chattering.

  I hug my wet body trying to get warm. But a cold rain at midnight won’t allow for warmth no matter how tightly I wrap my arms around myself. I’m glad when I start shivering. Everyone knows shivering is the body’s way of warming itself. But after five minutes of shivering, I draw the conclusion that there’s something wrong with my warming mechanism.