Desperate Measures (11 page)

The room was crowded with people eating lunch. Realizing a good portion of them must be Joe’s relatives, she batted down a huge wave of butterflies. She had momentarily forgotten this was a family business. Then she spotted Mario. He was staring at her, his eyes narrowed and calculating. A shiver ran down her spine, and she had a strong notion she was being dissected for possible use.

Joe touched her elbow. “This way. I’ve got a table reserved.”

Before they could move, Uncle Thomas was waving and hurrying toward them.

“Joey, you brought Ellen!” the older man exclaimed,
when he reached them. He kissed her on the cheek as if he had known her for years.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Ellen said, smiling at him. It
was
nice.

“Quit flirting, Uncle Thomas,” Joe said, tightening his grip on her elbow. “Otherwise I’ll be forced to be jealous.”

Thomas smiled happily. “As if I stood a chance, Joey. Come, Ellen, let me introduce you to some of the family.”

Ellen innocently walked into the lion’s den with a lamb, in the form of Uncle Thomas, leading the way. She had no idea just how far she had entrapped herself until the older man stopped at the first table.

“This is Ellen Kitteridge, Joey’s girl,” Thomas announced proudly to the two women at the table.

Ellen froze.

“Joey’s girl?” the women echoed in unison, their expressions lit up with eager speculation.

“This is Joe’s aunt Teresa and cousin Marlene, Ellen.”

Ellen wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Unfortunately, the damn thing refused to cooperate, and she was left to shake hands with Teresa and Marlene. “I’m just a friend,” she said.

“I should be so lucky,” Thomas said, winking broadly.

“Ahh … Uncle Thomas,” Joe began.

But Uncle Thomas was unstoppable as he launched into the story of meeting the two of them in Atlantic City. Clearly, Ellen thought, when Joe had explained to Thomas what Mario
was up to, he had neglected to correct any notions of her being a “date” that evening.

She glared at Joe. He shrugged. She was tempted to find the nearest samurai sword and put it to good use. She wondered in mortification how she could have believed Uncle Thomas was a sweet, kindly man. To her further irritation, she became aware of Joe smothering amusement when Teresa asked him if he was bringing Ellen to a christening on Sunday.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said, at the same time Joe said, “Of course. It’s for my nephew,” he added to Ellen. “I was going to ask you, but the family just beat me to it.”

She smiled sweetly at him. “We’ll discuss it later.”

But the damage was done. Thomas’s voice had carried to the next tables, and suddenly people were calling out for introductions to “Joey’s girl.” Everyone ignored her corrections, and they all insisted Joe bring her to Sunday’s christening to meet the rest of the family. Sensitive to all the speculative glances, Ellen suspected Joe’s family was more interested in her “celebrity” status than in her being Joe’s new girlfriend.

Joe was smiling and accepting the attention, as if there were nothing extraordinary about it. What, she wondered, could she expect, after the way she had just kissed him?

She was torn between being angry with him and with herself for this mix-up. And she had no idea how to correct it.

Wonderful, she thought. It looked as if she were going to a Carlini christening.

As Joey’s girl.

• • •

“I can’t.”

Joe held his temper at the words. It was after lunch, and he and Ellen were standing in the lobby. He could feel the company receptionist craning to hear their conversation. Keeping his tone low and even, he said, “I know my family got carried away, Ell, but—”

She shook her head. “Going to the … communion—”

“Christening. For my nephew. My sister Carol’s baby.”

“Yes. I’ll do that. I said I would.”

“And I said I was sorry about Uncle Thomas’s misunderstanding.”

She narrowed her eyes for an instant, her body tensing. Watching her, he figured his family must have grated even more than he had thought.

Finally she sighed and relaxed again. “I know. But you should have told him the truth about me, Joe. Then this wouldn’t have happened.”

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration at the twin urges to shake her and kiss her. Both sounded satisfying. “I told him you were helping me with Mario. I thought he understood. How was I to know he had jumped to conclusions and assumed we were involved with each other and that’s
why
you were helping me.”

She waved a hand. “I guess it couldn’t be helped. Joe, I do understand that you have to keep up this farce for a little while longer—”

“It’s not a farce, Ell. Just a dinner invitation.” Joe scrambled for something to get her to agree. Maybe she only needed a little push. After all, her
protest sounded halfhearted. “I merely asked you to have dinner with me tonight. What’s wrong with that? Mario’s ‘contained’ for the moment, so why don’t we relax and get to know each other better?” Her body tensed again, and he knew he’d made a mistake. Backtracking, he added, “I’d like to do something to show my appreciation for all your help.”

“Then send me flowers.”

“I’ll pick you up at eight,” he snapped, his exasperation getting the best of him. Why couldn’t just one thing be easy with her? Because she’d been hurt as very few people had, he answered himself.

“Joe—”

“Eight o’clock.”

“No. I’m not ready.”

He stared into her wide eyes. Why wouldn’t she acknowledge what was between them? He corrected himself. She acknowledged it. The problem was she was afraid to do something about it.

“You’d better hurry,” he said, grinning. “You’ve got a little more than four hours to get ready. I’d walk you to your car, but that would give you time to think up an excuse. And I’m not accepting excuses today. Remember that.”

He walked away through the double doors before she could protest his Neanderthal tactics. He should have known a simple invitation to dinner wouldn’t be so simple with Ellen. Nothing worth having ever was.

“But she’s not here, Joseph.”

Joe gaped at Ellen’s grandmother as she stood
in the doorway of her Gladwyne home. He was dimly aware of a slow flush of anger rising up his neck to his face. He hadn’t once considered that Ellen might stand him up.

“I’ll wring her neck,” he finally said.

“I assume from that remark that she was supposed to be here,” Lettice said, eyeing him.

“I told her I would pick her up at eight for dinner,” he replied, numb with the shock of her defection. He should have realized she would panic. He’d pushed too hard. Suddenly he was angry with himself. “How could I be so stupid?”

“One does wonder.” Lettice took the bouquet of flowers from his stiff fingers. “We might as well get these in water before you crush the freesias and daisies any further. You better come in, Joseph. You look as though you could use a drink.”

The offer was surprising coming from the dragon lady, but he didn’t have time for it. “Where is she?”

“Not until you’re calm. Now come inside.”

The imperious tone penetrated the red haze that was building inside him. He opened his mouth to say he was calm, but Lettice had already turned on her heel and was walking back into the house. He had no choice but to follow her—if he wanted to know where Ellen was.

Lettice took him into a little solarium off the kitchen. It was filled with plants of all kinds, and Joe stared at the vibrantly colored orchids in bloom along one wall. She stopped at a work counter and began to fuss with the bouquet.

“There’s a bottle of whiskey and some glasses in
that cabinet there,” she said, dipping her head to her left.

“No thanks.”

“Then make one for me. A little water and no ice. Ice ruins a good grain.” She smiled slightly. “I learned that in Scotland.”

Joe swallowed back his impatience and made the drink. He handed it over.

Lettice took a healthy sip, then said, “Actually, I don’t know where she is.”

He glared at the older woman. “Then why didn’t you tell me that before—”

“Because you’ve turned her upside down, young man,” she said, arching an eyebrow. “She ran out of here as if it were the great escape. Any fool can figure out there’s something between you two. I want to know exactly what it is.”

Joe felt as if someone had just punched him in the solar plexus.

Lettice chuckled. “Took the wind out of your sails, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Then I’ll take them out some more. What are your intentions concerning my granddaughter?”

“I …” He paused. “To be honest, I don’t know. I only know she turns
me
upside down. I’m willing to go wherever it leads. And in case this is the reason for the third degree: I don’t give a damn that her family came over on the Mayflower or that she has enough trust funds to bankroll an entire country. I’ve got my own money and my own name, and I like them just fine.”

Lettice gazed at him. He gazed back.

“I’ll accept that,” she said at last. “And if you
hurt her, I’ll come after you with everything I’ve got. She’s been hurt too much.”

“I know,” he said. He was beginning to like Ellen’s grandmother.

Lettice nodded. “Now that we understand each other … I might not know where she is, but I have a good idea where you could look.”

Ellen glided around the roller rink, unconsciously avoiding the other skaters as her tensions drained out of her.

It felt good to be on skates, she thought. It felt good, too, to be at the rink nearest to home. No more hiding in Jersey. Teenagers dominated the rink this evening, and two boys whooshed by her. They were so close that one misstep would have knocked her off her feet.

And she would have deserved it.

She had no sooner set foot in the rink than the guilt of skipping out on Joe had assailed her. Okay, so he had ordered her to dinner. The man had been entitled to his frustration when she had refused the date. After all, she had kissed him as if she were starving for him.

No wonder he was confused. She was confused. But it was just that dinner seemed so … intimate. Candlelight and champagne reminded her too much of sensuality and seduction. She wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready for Joe Carlini to be in her life. And he was already there. Tours and christenings and dinners were too fast for her. She was fine when they were charging after his cousin Mario. But beyond that, she panicked.
She knew she was afraid to be hurt again, and it was easier to avoid anything resembling a relationship, including dinner. The kiss seared through her mind again, and she groaned.

“Just as if he were the last man on earth, and you were really glad to see him,” Ellen muttered to herself in disgust.

“Problem, lady?”

Startled, she turned to discover one of the rink’s referees hovering. Clearly, he’d heard her mumblings and thought she was speaking to him. She blushed and gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Just grumbling to myself over the latest headlines.”

The referee looked blank, then he nodded and skated past. Good thing, too, Ellen thought with a widening smile. She had no idea what the latest headlines were either.

Her amusement subsided when she noticed a young boy and girl by the locker area. The two teenagers were standing together in the flush of growing sexuality, and she slowed as she couldn’t help watching them. The girl’s fingers caressed a button on the boy’s denim jacket. His hand tightened on her hip in response. The girl looked up at the same moment his head lowered, and he took her mouth in a deep kiss.

Ellen felt her face heat again for a different reason. She wrapped her arms around her waist and skated faster, determined to put the scene behind her. Everything was so uncomplicated to teenagers, she thought with envy.

Then someone all too familiar caught her attention. She stumbled over her roller skates as she recognized Joe standing on the other side of the
curving barrier separating the rink proper from the rest of the building. She managed to save herself from a humiliating fall on her backside. He was staring at her, his expression giving away nothing.

How, she wondered frantically, had he found her? She had thought no one would find her here. In fact, she had thought no one would even bother to look. She should have known better than to think she could get away from Joe.

She realized she had to go over to him. To do anything else would only make her look more foolish than she already was.

Trying to control her nervousness, she carefully picked her way through the rambunctious young skaters. She stopped when she reached the barrier, grateful for the space between them.

“I wish you would have told me you wanted to eat here,” he said in the calmest of voices.

His matter-of-fact attitude bewildered her. She had been preparing for an outburst of anger.

“I … ah … well, pizza and soda seemed just fine to me,” she said helplessly, waving toward the snack bar.

He gave her a brief smile. “I have something better in mind. Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Feeling trapped, she came around the open end of the barrier and joined him on the other side. He didn’t touch her, and for a moment she thought he was too furious with her to do so. Yet as he walked beside her, saying nothing, she realized he was disappointed, as if she had hurt him. She had never meant to do that. It had only been her
own fears riding her that had made her act so … selfishly.

She nearly groaned aloud when they reached the locker bay. The boy and girl were still there. They had retreated to a shadowy corner and were now wrapped in each other’s arms, oblivious to anything around them. Just what she needed, she thought, as she inserted the key in her locker. A full-blown demonstration of what she was refusing to acknowledge. At least the teenagers were behind her and she could turn her back on the worst of it. She refused to look at Joe, and at the same time realized how much that refusal merely heightened her awareness of him.

“How did you find me?” she asked, hoping to dispel the urge to caress his suit buttons in imitation of the girl’s earlier gesture.