Fool for Love (25 page)

Grant, an Academy-Award winning
screenwriter who lived in Los Angeles, greeted Joe with a handshake and
one-armed hug. "How's it going?"

"Great," Joe said, going with
the truth. What the hell? They'd hear about it soon enough. "Good to see
you, man."

"You, too."

Joe admired that Grant hadn't let success
turn him into an arrogant jerk. He had a cool, urbane way about him that dated
back to high school and probably served him well in Hollywood.

"Can you even believe why we're
here?" Adam asked as he hugged Joe. A successful computer programmer who
lived in New York City, Adam was six inches shorter than his brothers. They
called him "Little Brother," even though Evan was the youngest.

"Never thought I'd see the day,
that's for sure," Joe said, his stomach twisting with nerves as he
wondered if Mac was still pissed with him. "Where's the man of the
hour?"

"My dad is bringing him so he doesn't
have to drive," Evan said.

"Oh, good call. Did you guys get to
meet Maddie?"

"Briefly," Grant said.
"Mac's truly gone over her, huh?"

"Truly," Joe agreed.

"I knew her years ago," Evan
said with a hint of chagrin.

Joe winced, recalling Evan's role in
sullying Maddie's reputation in high school. "How was it to see her
again?"

"She was far more gracious than I
deserved."

"That sounds like her," Joe
said. "She's amazing."

Luke came in carrying two huge bags of
ice. "Oh, hey, man. Everything look okay?"

"It looks great," Joe said.
"Thanks for the help."

"No prob."

"Let the games begin!" Big Mac
bellowed as he walked in with Mac and Ned trailing behind him. Big Mac spread
his arms. "All my boys! How fabulous is this?" When he was excited,
his enormous personality got even bigger.

Hit with a sudden burst of nerves, Joe got
busy opening catering trays and setting out paper plates.

"Hey," Mac said from behind him.

Steeling himself, Joe turned. "How's
it going?"

"This is nice," Mac said,
gesturing to the food. "Thanks."

"Luke did most of the heavy
lifting."

"I'm sure you did your share."

Joe shrugged off the praise. "I assume
you'd do the same for me if my time ever comes."

As Mac studied him with intense blue eyes,
Joe couldn't get a reading on what his friend was thinking. "You're damned
right I would."

Relieved, Joe couldn't help but ask,
"Even if the bride is your sister?"

"Especially then."

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"I'm told you were upstanding
throughout the whole … um, encounter."

Joe snorted with laughter. "You're
extremely ridiculous when it comes to her. You know that, don't you?"

"I've been told that as well."

Cracking open beers for both of them, Joe
laughed harder.

Mac glowered at him and snatched the beer
Joe offered. "I'm sorry I accused you of taking advantage of her. She said
something today I can't get out of my head."

"Which was?"

"That I know
you
, and that
should've been good enough. She's absolutely right about that."

Joe clinked his bottle against Mac's.
"You certainly know better than anyone how much I love her. I'd never do
anything to hurt her."

"I hope you know what you're doing. I
don't want to see you hurt, either."

"Don't worry about me. I can take
care of myself."

"Joseph," a booming voice
intoned.

Uh-oh
. Joe looked up at Big Mac and flashed a grin. "Beer?"

Big Mac made no move to accept the beer
Joe offered. "May I have a word with you outside?"

Joe glanced at Mac, who snorted behind his
hand. "Um, sure. Now?"

"Right now."

Driving an elbow into Mac's ribs on the
way by, Joe followed Big Mac outside. As they walked to the end of the long
pier, Joe wondered if the older man intended to push him into the murky water
and leave him for dead. When they couldn't go any further, Big Mac turned to
him, hands on hips. "What's this I hear about you and my daughter?"

"Well, um…"

Thanks to the lights on the pilings, Joe
could see that one of Big Mac's eyebrows was raised. That was never a good
thing.

"I'm waiting."

"I love her. I've always loved
her."

Big Mac stared him down, but Joe didn't
blink. "Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

"So the minute her fiancé was out of
the picture, you moved right in, huh?"

"It didn't happen that way.
Exactly."

"How
did
it happen?"

"First of all,
she
called
me
when her car broke down."

"And the rest?"

Joe rubbed at the stubble on his chin as a
bead of sweat rolled down his back. Being tossed in jail had been far more
pleasant than this interrogation. "I'd rather not talk about that. It's
personal. Between Janey and me." He cleared his throat. "Sir."

"I can respect that. I suppose. Where
do you see this heading?"

"If I had my way, we'd be the ones
getting married next weekend. At this point, it all depends on her. She knows
what I want."

"She's interested in veterinary
school. Are you aware of that?"

"She told you that?" Joe asked,
a burst of adrenaline kicking his heart into higher gear. Why hadn't she told
him?

"We had a conversation about it.
Would you stand in the way of that?"

"Hell no. Who do you think has been
pushing her in that direction?"

"And if she moves to Columbus, Ohio
for the next four years?"

"We'll figure that out when she gets
in. No matter what, she's going."

"That's what I want to hear."

"You have to know I'd take good care
of her if I'm lucky enough to have that opportunity."

"It might be awhile before she
figures out what she wants."

"I'm not going anywhere, and I'd wait
forever for her if that's what it takes."

Big Mac studied him for a long,
long
moment before he finally extended his hand. "Be good to her," he said
quietly. The tone was in sharp contrast to his usual booming voice.

Overwhelmed by the blessing Big Mac had
given him, Joe shook his hand. "Always."

Much later, Joe stood off to the side watching Mac engage in a fight to the
death with Grant, who was trying—and failing—to win back some of the money Mac
had won at the poker table. The groom-to-be had been unstoppable all night
long. Over the course of the evening, most of the old men who hung around on
the docks had wandered into the party, and at some point Evan had unearthed his
guitar.

Under the influence of his brothers and a
considerable amount of alcohol, Mac seemed to be having a fantastic time, which
was all that mattered to Joe. However, he couldn't help but wonder what Janey
was up to. Since all his guests were happily engaged, he stepped outside to
give her a quick call.

"Are you bored at the bachelor
party?" she asked. "I told you to get strippers."

Joe smiled, delighted to hear her voice.
"You told me no such thing."

"Well, I would have if you'd asked
me."

"Where does one get strippers on this
island?"

"If anyone would know, I would."

"Do
not
tell me how you know
that."

Janey's sexy laugh sent an arrow of desire
rocketing straight through him.

"I miss you," he said, looking
out at the moon reflecting on the placid Salt Pond.

"You just saw me."

"This morning seems like a
really
long time ago."

"For me, too," she said softly,
as if she didn't want someone to hear her.

"Where are you?"

"Over at Maddie's providing the bride
with moral support while the groom is out drinking and carousing."

"There's no carousing going on. Just
some rather heated hands of poker. Tell Maddie that Mac has relieved Grant of
five hundred bucks so far."

He listened while she relayed the message.

"She said that's great, but if he
comes home drunk, she's blaming you."

"Fabulous. So, if I bring him home
later, maybe you'll still be there, and maybe I can give you a ride back to
town?"

"That might be possible."

"I'm not working until twelve thirty
tomorrow."

"I'm not working at all. Got the
shower."

"Mmm, I'm picturing a lazy morning in
bed."

"We're on a diet," she reminded
him.

"I'm hoping you'll forget about that
about five minutes after we get back to your place."

She released a nervous giggle. "We'll
see about that."

"Yes, we will. Don't wait for me if
it gets too late."

"I'll wait."

Joe wished he could leave right now and go
to her.

"Joe?"

"What, hon?"

"Thanks for the flowers. They're
gorgeous."

"I'm glad you like them."

"I haven't gotten flowers in a really
long time."

"Is that right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Janey…"

"Yes?"

Overwhelmed with love for her, he took a
deep breath. "I'll see you soon."

"I'll be here."

By midnight, no one else was willing to take on Mac at
the poker table, so the cards were abandoned and the bullshitting began in
earnest. They covered every old story about Mac's capers as a kid, as well as
his considerable dating history. Joe kept them all in beer, whiskey and cigars,
even though he'd quit drinking hours ago. No one seemed to notice.

"So you know who was on the ferry
this afternoon?" Evan asked. "Remember Sydney Donovan who used to
come out in the summer?"

Joe tuned right into the stricken
expression on Luke Harris's face. He'd dated Sydney every summer for years
before she went off to college and never came back.

"She looked rough, man," Grant
added. "Has she been sick or something?"

Since Luke seemed paralyzed, Joe told the
others about what had happened to Sydney's family.

"Oh, man," Adam said softly.
"God."

"Apparently, she shattered her pelvis
in the same accident," Joe said.

"I heard she's here for the rest of
the summer," Ned said. "Staying with her folks till she's back on her
feet."

"Poor kid." Big Mac shook his
head with dismay. "How do you ever get over that?"

"Wasn't she a friend of yours,
Luke?" Mac asked.

Luke seemed to snap out of his trance.
"Um, yeah. Long time ago."

"She was a friend of Maddie's,
too," Mac said. "They worked together at the Scoop." He referred
to the ice cream shop in town. "She'll be glad to know Sydney's back on
the island."

Mac was slurring his words, and Joe could
tell Luke didn't want to talk about Sydney. "What do you say we call it a
night? Thomas will have you up early."

A big goofy grin spread across Mac's face.
"He's so awesome. Isn't he awesome, Joe?"

Joe helped Mac to his feet. "He sure
is."

"I love being a dad. Who knew?"

Mac's brothers snickered as Joe guided him
to the door.

Mac tightened his arm around Joe's neck
and kissed his cheek. "I'm so glad you're sleeping with Janey."

A collective gasp rippled through the
room.

"Oops," Mac said.

If looks could kill, Mac would be deader
than dead just then.

"You take him," Big Mac said to
Joe. "I'll fill them in."

Joe glanced over his shoulder to find the
other three McCarthy brothers and Luke staring at him, mouths agape. Ned, on
the other hand, had a satisfied smile on his face.

"Thanks for coming everyone,"
Joe said. He moved Mac as quickly as he could to the company truck he'd
commandeered for the evening and loaded him into the passenger seat. As Joe
secured Mac's seat belt, his friend's eyes fluttered closed.

"Sorry 'bout that," Mac said
when Joe started the truck. "Shouldn't have blurted that out."

"Ya think?"

"They love you. They'll be happy
'bout it."

"If you say so."

"I say so," Mac said one second
before letting out a huge snore.

Joe laughed to himself and deemed the
bachelor party a success.