A Santini Christmas (4 page)

“
Uh, I can walk myself. Like I do every night.”

And she didn’t like the idea of the Marine walking her up to her apartment. But, apparently, he did. He was already off his stool and heading her way. Dammit. Butterflies erupted in her stomach. Not the kind that spelled trouble but the ones who fluttered at the anticipation of being with him. Alone.

What the hell was wrong with her?

“
It’s better to just go along with Sam and Thelma,” he said with an understanding smile.

He was right. When she first met them, Joey had tried her best to keep the relationship professional, but Sam and Thelma adopted people. They had taken her on as a waitress and as a part of their family. Now, she couldn’t imagine a day going by that she didn’t talk to them.

“
Give me a second.”

He nodded and went to what she assumed was parade rest to wait for her. She untied her apron and headed back to the office. After the day she had, she really didn’t need this kind of irritation. She was pulling out her tip money when Thelma slipped into the office.

“
What’s got you in such a bad mood?”

She sighed. She loved Thelma like a mother, but the woman drove her crazy at times. She knew right now Thelma wanted Joey to date Santini. It had been months since she had attempted the insanity of dating. She’d been so uncomfortable with the very safe accountant that she had decided to give up on all dating. The idea of going out with a big, hulking, pretty Marine left her unsettled.

“
Nothing. I’m just tired.”

Thelma knew better. Joey could tell just from the way the woman was eyeing her. Thankfully, though, Thelma knew not to push it.

“
Okay. You need to take it easy every now and then, Josephina.”

“
I would love to, but I want to have the money to start school next semester. I want to be able to just work here and go to school. That’s not going to happen if I start to take it easy.”

The older woman nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

She slipped her tips into her wallet, then stood. “There will be time for fun later on.”

Thelma shook her head. “You’re way too serious for someone so young.”

“
Of course I am. Someone around here needs to act like an adult.”

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.”

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.