— ELEVEN —
“HE’LL be back for the wedding,” Dani said with more than a little amusement as their mother fussed over Zander. He was unpacking his saddlebags and figuring out what he could leave in Pine Harbour and what he needed to take back to the base.
“I know, but we’ve hardly seen him this week. He was gone all last night, for goodness sake. Didn’t roll in until seven this morning smelling of bonfire.”
It was so inappropriate to pop a boner in front of your mother, so Zander kept his head down and tried not to think of making love to Faith. Twice next to the fire, and when that burned out, again in the tent, slowly, because she’d been sore and tired, but he couldn’t get enough of her. And then she’d woken him up at five this morning, kissing her way down his body, proving that she also had a hunger for the magic they made together. At least he wasn’t the only depraved one.
Fuck. Math. He needed to think of math. Not bonfires and blow jobs and dark-haired writers with sparkling blue eyes.
Even his mother’s voice wasn’t the cold shower he really needed. “And the wedding weekend is going to fly by so fast,” she continued. “When will you get in, Alessandro?”
He stifled a laugh. She only called him that—his father’s name, his namesake—when he was getting ready to leave her.
It never stopped him from going, because he was a terrible son.
He was his father’s offspring in more ways than one.
Tamping down that bitter, never-spoken thought, he glanced up at his hovering mother. He hadn’t booked his flight yet, but he needed to figure out a way to do it and steal some time with Faith without her knowing. “About that…I think I’ll get a rental car for the wedding weekend.”
Both women protested. It wasn’t the Minelli way. Even though the airport was three and a half hours away, someone always came to pick him up. Tom would be driving him there later today.
“Leave it alone. I can’t take someone away from wedding preparations for an entire day, not when they stock perfectly acceptable cars for just such a purpose right at the airport.”
“We can argue about that later. Just remember when you book your flights that the rehearsal dinner is on Thursday night, not Friday.”
“Ma,” Dani interjected. “Zander doesn’t need to take that many days off.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will, my darling. You and Tom will be the most eligible bachelors. Don’t pass up this opportunity to find someone, hmm?”
Oh, shit. “Do not try to fix me up with anyone.”
“Why not?” This time it was Dani who asked, and from the stricken look that crossed her face as soon as the two words were out of her mouth, she’d said them without thinking. “I mean, of course not. It’s not a good time.”
He cleared his throat. He hadn’t asked Faith to come to the wedding yet, but now he needed to—and more importantly, he wanted to. “It’s actually a just fine time, but I may have a date for the wedding.”
“You may?” Anne pitched her voice into that tell your mother everything zone that gave him chills.
“I have someone that I’m going to be asking. And if she’s busy, I don’t want to be fixed up with anyone else.” He stood and nodded down at his small backpack. Everything he needed for his flight. But first he had a phone call to make. “Excuse me.”
He strode outside and dialled his brother’s number. “Tom? I need a favour.”
— —
The doorbell rang and Faith pushed away from the kitchen table where she was working on a puzzle with Eric and her mother. “That’ll be dinner,” she said, but neither of them were paying any attention. Not even Eric, who normally needed to be the one who answered the door.
It was a really good puzzle, and it had been a long day. She’d already explained to Eric that they weren’t going to see Zander again for a while, and that was okay, because he had to go and work with the army and protect the country.
She lied like a pro.
It was okay. Of course it was. He had an important job, and he was coming to the end of that responsibility, anyway.
Then he’d move to Pine Harbour and they could…date. The thought made her warm all over like a school girl who’d just been invited to the prom. Only in this case, the prom wouldn’t happen for six months, and when it did, would be more likely to be a jeans-and-t-shirt-type dance at the legion.
In other words, perfect.
But waiting for that…and telling her son to wait…that was agonizing.
Faith had been focused so hard on being smart and safe, she hadn’t given any weight to the possibility that they weren’t the same thing.
Because saying goodbye to Zander hadn’t felt safe at all.
So she’d ordered fish and chips and planned a movie night. She’d curl up with Eric and try desperately to stop thinking of the calendar in terms of days and weeks. Months would be so much easier to count down. And if she held her breath for thirty days at a time to get it done, so be it.
She’d been frozen before.
And Zander had taught her that the thaw could be lovely. She just needed to be patient.
She grabbed her purse from the closet and muttered something rude under her breath when the delivery guy knocked again. Mighty demanding knock from someone who wanted a tip.
But on the other side of the door stood a man who could be as demanding as he wanted.
“Zander,” she breathed, not caring at all that she was blushing or sounded like an infatuated teenager. “I thought you’d gone!”
He grinned, every inch the charming rake she’d been smitten by. “I may have changed my flight to tomorrow.”
Her heart beat faster, each flutter more reckless than the last. “Yeah?”
“Except for my brother Tom, my family all thinks that I’ve left already. So…I was wondering if you and Eric wanted to have dinner with me.”
“Absolutely.” She couldn’t breathe properly. “If you…where are staying tonight?”
“Tom’s.”
Her mind was racing. “You could stay here. Not in my room, because of Eric, but…we have a guest room.”
“I don’t want to impose.” He raked his gaze over her and she wondered for a moment if maybe she had really just gone up in flames. Nope, no scorch marks. But whew…the heat that rolled off him when he looked at her was insane. Had it been like that all week and she just hadn’t noticed?
And he didn’t want to impose. Silly man. She stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in. My mom is in the kitchen so I’m going to have some awkward explaining to do when Eric starts jumping all over you, but she’s generally pretty cool. And we can discuss the rest later.”
He stepped into the foyer and looked past her, but she could hear Miriam and Eric still loudly arguing over the puzzle. She hopped up unto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and he cupped her jaw, holding her in place so he could kiss her lips.
“Gotta do it right,” he whispered against her skin.
Her chest ached as her heart doubled in size.
“You do everything right,” she murmured, reluctantly stepping back.
“Except for the part where I fly across the country tomorrow.” He gave her a pained look.
“You can’t help that.” She rolled her lower lip between her teeth. “And now we’ve got a bonus night. We’re just waiting for delivery—fish and chips again, but there will be plenty to share.”
He beamed. “And I’ve got more chocolate chip cookies.”
“That’s a very fair trade.”
“I’ll go get them.” He stepped toward the door and their hands came up, linked, between their bodies.
When had she slipped her fingers into his?
And why was it so hard to let him go and get cookies?
She lingered in the doorway, watching him bound to his bike. Behind him, a car pulled into the drive, and he stopped and waited for the delivery guy. Before she could say anything he’d pulled out his wallet and handed over three twenties, accepting the bag of food with a wave and a thanks.
He’s leaving in the morning. Apparently her heart hadn’t just exploded, because now it was very solidly, very painfully thumping in her chest.
She didn’t want him to go.
She wanted this—him in her driveway, him walking up the steps with a bag of food, him leaning in to kiss her forehead—
“Faith?”
But her fantasy didn’t include her mother catching a stranger kissing her on the forehead.
Zander froze, then stepped to the side and gave her mother his most charming smile. “Delivery?”
Bubbling, unstoppable laughter shook Faith’s body and she doubled over. When she stood up again, tears were streaming out the corner of her eyes. She shooed Zander in, muttering something about finding Eric.
Which left her standing on the front step receiving a what-the-hell look from her mother.
“Who is that?”
“That’s Zander.”
“He’s…tall.”
Another laugh ripped out of Faith’s mouth and she wiped her eyes again. “Yes, he is.”
“Why are the fish and chips being delivered by a tall drink of water on a motorcycle, all the way to our kitchen table, with a pause for a kiss for you?”
“That’s not exactly what’s happening.”
“So the fish and chips guy didn’t just kiss you? I mean, they are pirates. I wouldn’t put it past them.”
Faith sighed. “He’s not a pirate.”
“Are you going to tell me anything else?”
“Are you going to stop asking me questions long enough to give me a chance?”
Miriam’s eyebrows hit the roof. And she pressed her lips together.
“We met last week, at Greta’s. He’s in the military and he’s been a wealth of knowledge for my latest book. He’s from Pine Harbour and was visiting for the week, and tonight…” She didn’t need to justify it to her mother. She was a grown-up.
But maybe she needed to justify it to herself.
“He’s flying back out west tomorrow. So tonight he’s staying here.”
Miriam’s expression didn’t move.
That could be good. It could be bad.
Faith was too rattled to tell the difference.
“Not in my room,” she hastened to add. “He’ll sleep in the guest room.”
Still nothing.
“What?”
“Well, if it were me, I wouldn’t have him stay in the guest room, but I suppose that makes sense with Eric,” her mother finally muttered.
“Mom!”
“What? He’s very tall.”
Faith was starting to understand where she’d inherited her taste in men.
“Okay, don’t say anything like that to him.” She yanked the door open and pointed inside. “Let’s go.”
— —
Faith’s family was totally different than the Minelli clan. They argued silently, for one thing. Over dinner, when Eric didn’t want to eat the frozen peas Miriam added so there would be something green on their plates—“Because coleslaw isn’t a vegetable”, a statement of Miriam’s opinion that Faith vehemently denied as fact—all Faith had to do was give him a raised eyebrow and he shoved a spoonful in his mouth.
And when he said, “yummy,” with a grimace that said the exact opposite on his face, nobody reamed him out.
There were still rules, and rebellion, but both were muted.
Zander thought it was delightful.
For a guy who’d spent his whole life surrounded by ever increasing noise—quarrels, arguments, lectures, drill sergeants, explosives, war zones, motorcycle engines and helicopter rotors—this quiet family dinner was an unexpected balm.
After dinner they cleared the table, but dishes were just scrapped and stacked next to the sink, to be done after Eric went to bed, so they could squeeze in a promised family movie night before it got too late.
Chores taking a back seat to fun? Zander could get behind that, too.
In the cozy, book and photograph lined family room that overlooked the garden, an armoire opened up to reveal a decent sized flat screen TV. Eric hopped on the shabby chic sectional and demanded that Zander sit right in the corner—“So Mommy can sit on one side and I can sit on the other!”—and that sounded damn perfect.
Faith hid her blush by scurrying off to the kitchen to make popcorn. When she came back, Miriam had taken the arm chair. She stood in the doorway for a minute and Zander could feel her watching him reading the back of The Lego Movie DVD case with Eric.
“This looks like it might be scary,” Zander mock whispered, stealing a look up at Faith. She handed a bowl of popcorn to her mother, then disappeared again.
Eric nodded solemnly. “It’s okay to hide under the blanket.”
“Duly noted.”
When Faith returned, she didn’t bring more individual bowls of popcorn, but rather one big bowl. And she put it on Zander’s lap.
Eric curled up on one side of him, and while Faith left a bit more room on the other side, her arm did brush his on a regular basis as they watched the movie. And when Eric squealed and grabbed the throw, hiding behind both it and Zander’s arm, Faith teasingly did the same on the other side.
And she stayed there for the rest of the movie, her cheek pressed against his biceps.
So did Eric.
Zander couldn’t imagine a better last night on the peninsula.
Once the credits rolled, it took Faith half an hour to put Eric to bed. Twice he got up, once to give Zander another hug goodnight and again for a glass of water.
If Zander had been the adult in charge, Eric probably never would have gone to sleep. One adorable tilt of his tousled blond head and that gleeful dimpled smile, and Zander would have put on another movie and made more popcorn.
He was a sucker, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
He also didn’t mind either of those interruptions to the otherwise one-on-one time he was having on the main floor with Faith’s mother.
Miriam was lovely, of course. And she didn’t have anything on the shark-attack approach that his own mother preferred. But there was no mistaking the fact that she too was a mama bear.
He liked her.
But he also feared the way she looked at him, because in Zander’s experience, mothers knew things. So he wondered…did Miriam know how much Faith was afraid of making a mistake? Of diving recklessly into a doomed adventure?
Could she see that Zander desperately wanted to be more than an adventure? More than a delayed rebound guy? More than a “right now” fling?
She didn’t say anything. She just washed the plates and handed them over, and he did what any sane man would do—he dried them and pretended he had better answers to the obvious questions—because the truth was pretty damning.
Yes, I had sex with your daughter last night. Yes. I’m covered in tattoos and drive a motorcycle. Yes, I’m leaving tomorrow.
But like her daughter, Miriam didn’t need to say anything. She just looked at him from time to time, eyebrow raised ever so slightly. He stood straighter and squared his shoulders. Yes, he knew how special her daughter was. He saw how strong she was, even when she didn’t feel it in herself. He saw her wanderlust spirit and her need to protect her son and he loved both equally. Fiercely. Yes, he was leaving, but he’d come back.
He was already thinking about how he could re-jig his monthly leave days, usually used for shopping trips into the city or personal appointments, and fly back once a month until his contract was up in March.
He wouldn’t leave Faith and Eric hanging.
“Can you put this bowl on the top shelf?” Miriam asked, interrupting his thoughts. She was holding the glazed pottery dish she’d served the peas in, which she’d just dried herself, and pointed to the fourth shelf in the extra tall cupboard. He’d noticed her use a footstool to get it down earlier. That stool was now folded up and tucked in a nook beside the fridge.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Faith says you work out west.”
“I do. That’s coming to an end.”
“And then what?” She gave him that appraising mother knows look that said she saw him, too.
A week earlier, he’d ridden off the ferry wondering that exact same question. Now he felt a lot more comfortable in his answer. “Then I’m moving back to the peninsula. I’m from Pine Harbour. Got a lot of roots here.”
“Big family?” For someone who didn’t talk a lot, Miriam suddenly had a lot to say. Or ask.
Her right, of course. Zander nodded. “Two brothers and a sister. They’re all in the area.”
“And you joined the army and travelled far and wide.” She smiled, but there was a tremor of tension in her brow even as she did it.
“Got it out of my system,” he said evenly. For the most part. But the thought of not being able to pick up and go—of maybe having some responsibility beyond a job—suddenly didn’t terrify him.
“Good to know.”
And that was that. She pointed to the cupboard again, he put the dish away, and returned to drying plates.
When Faith came downstairs, she’d changed out of her jeans and t-shirt, and put on a simple black jersey dress. Bare legs. Bare feet. No jewelry and just a bit of lip gloss, maybe.
She took his breath away.
“I’m going to bed,” Miriam announced.
“Night, Mom,” Faith murmured, but her gaze didn’t leave Zander’s face.
He slowly dried the plate in his hand, then reached up and put it on the shelf without breaking that connection.
“You can leave the rest to dry in the rack,” Faith said, coming closer.
“It’s no problem,” he said gruffly.
Miriam smiled at him from behind Faith.
He tried and failed not to turn red.