Just a Taste (25 page)

“Mom is stronger than any of us give her credit for. If she wasn't, she wouldn't have commented on Carmen at all. Bring Carmen. Show Mom how great she is.” Moira picked up a box and followed him to the stairs.

“How do you know how great Carmen is?”

“Besides the fact that I see how happy she makes you? We've talked a little.”

The thought of Moira and Carmen conspiring made him uneasy. He never knew what kind of trouble his sister might be causing. He walked down the steps to the musty basement and shoved the boxes in the corner. Moira tossed her box next to the rest.

She cocked a hip and crossed her arms. “You need to make sure Carmen knows how important she is, especially if Mom cops an attitude.”

“She knows.”

“You sure?”

“I told her I love her. It doesn't get any simpler.” He turned to go back up the stairs. Even though he was an adult, the basement still creeped him out.

Moira caught his arm and spun him into a hug. “I'm happy for you. Don't screw it up.”

He patted her back. “We're talking about me, not you.”

She smacked his arm. “I didn't screw things up with Jimmy.”

“I know. I'm just yanking your chain.”

They clomped up the steps and surveyed the living room. It looked the same way it did every Christmas. The artificial tree stood in front of the living room windows so people on the street could see the lights. The shelves beside the TV held knickknacks: small statues of Santa, snowman candles, and various bells.

Then they moved on to the bedroom, where they changed the sheets and Moira threw in a load of laundry so their mom wouldn't have to worry about it. When she came back to the living room, Moira said, “You know we're wasting time. She's going to walk in and criticize what we did and how it's not right.”

“That's Mom. But at least we tried.”

The front door swung open, and Ryan came through carrying Mom's small bag. He was followed by Maggie and Mom with Colin pulling up the rear.

“Maggie, I'm not a frail old woman. I can walk by myself.”

“The front walk was slippery. I didn't want you to fall.”

“We're in the living room. My floor is not slippery.” She yanked away from Maggie, and Liam smiled.

Moira was right; their mom was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Mom took off her coat and shoved it at Maggie before looking around. “Who put up the tree?”

“Moira and I did,” Liam said, stepping forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She pressed her lips together and gave a stiff nod. He smirked at Moira, who rolled her eyes.

“You want some tea, Mom?” Moira asked.

“Oh, yes. They didn't know how to brew a cup in that place.” She settled on the couch and everyone stood watching her. “What are you all standing there for? Don't you have lives to lead? I'm not goin' anywhere.”

They all let out a collective sigh and then laughed. Mom really was okay. Liam went to the kitchen to do some prep for tomorrow's dinner. Moira stood at the counter readying the teapot.

“Told you she'd appreciate the effort we put in.”

Moira turned to look at him. “The only reason she didn't complain was because you said you helped. If I'd told her I did the decorating, she would've made corrections. She sees any effort from any of you boys as an unbelievably great thing. You can do no wrong.”

“Don't be jealous.”

“Shut up.”

“So what did you get Jimmy for Christmas?”

Moira pulled out a plate and set three cookies on it for their mother. Mom was definitely a creature of habit. Everything the same, no matter what.

“Nothing you really want to hear about.” Her cheeks grew pink and he regretted asking.

“You're right. I don't want to know. I'm going to head out in a little bit. Maggie staying here by herself with Mom?”

“Yeah. She knows to keep Mom out of the kitchen?”

“Yep.”

Liam opened up the bread he'd gotten at the bakery and laid the slices out to harden overnight for the stuffing. He'd toss them in the oven first thing in the morning if necessary. Then he finished chopping the vegetables for the salad and double-checked to make sure he hadn't forgotten any ingredients before washing his hands. He gave Moira a quick hug and said, “Have fun with Jimmy tonight. See you tomorrow.”

“See you. Tell Carmen I said hi.”

CHAPTER 15

C
armen felt bad about dodging Liam's calls earlier. She went to her aunt and uncle's house for Christmas Eve dinner. Although there would be another dinner tomorrow, she could get away with participating in only one. Things had been so hectic that she and Liam hadn't talked about their holiday plans, so she hadn't invited him. They'd only been dating about a month, and it seemed early for the whole meet-the-entire-family thing, plus it was a major holiday.

She was a total coward and sent him a text when she sat down for dinner. She hoped he wasn't mad so they could meet after. She wanted to be able to give him his gift while they were alone. In addition to the collage of pictures she'd framed with Moira's help, Carmen also bought some slinky lingerie with Rosa's help. She wanted tonight to be about them.

As much as she'd decided that she wanted to spend more time with her family, a big family meal was still difficult for her. Her aunt insisted on dumping more food on her plate as if Carmen couldn't decide what to eat for herself. Then came the poking and prodding, with comments like “Eat up.” Her stomach threatened to revolt.

All of the progress she'd made by eating regular meals with Liam, real food with taste and texture, things she could enjoy, had not prepared her for this. She ate about half of the food on her plate and felt ill. And fat.

By the time she said her good-byes to her cousins and aunts and uncles, her only thought was that she wanted to pull on some sweatpants and crawl into bed.

She hadn't heard from Liam, and then she remembered his mom was being released from the hospital. She figured she'd call him when she got home to make sure everything was okay, but when she pulled into her driveway, his car was parked there.

She went into the house, tossed her keys on the kitchen table, and went to the living room. On her table sat a small Christmas tree with twinkling lights. She didn't have the energy to decorate the house this year, so the little tree made quite the impact.

Liam sat up where he'd been sprawled on the couch. “Hey, you're home.”

His face lit with a smile that she returned and all of the stress and anxiety she'd felt over the last few hours disappeared.

“What's this?” she asked, pointing to the tree.

“I needed somewhere to put your present.” He slid a small box off the table. “Merry Christmas.”

She sat beside him and kissed him. She held his head, running her fingers through his hair, loving the brush of his beard against the soft skin of her lips.

“You okay?” he asked when he pulled back.

“I've missed you.”

“How was your night with your family?”

“The usual.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I wish I had been here with you. How's your mom?”

“Good. Back to complaining about all the usual things.” He paused and took her hand. “I want you to come with me to my mom's house tomorrow, but I feel like I need to warn you.”

She let out a slow breath. “About?”

“My mom.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “She's . . . well . . .”

“Jeez, Liam, spit it out.”

“She's disappointed that you're not Irish.”

Carmen waited, sure there must be more. She considered what that meant. “Is she upset that I'm not Irish or that I'm Mexican?”

“I'm pretty sure it's that you're not Irish, but I can't be sure.” He rubbed a hand over his head. “In all honesty, I think it's because you're not white.”

She slid her hand from his grasp. She let it sink in and tried to determine how she felt. Part of her thought she should be angry, but she wasn't. Deep down, she knew she wasn't because she had feared the same reaction from some of her family members. It was why she hadn't invited him to Christmas Eve dinner.

He reached for her again. “You know I've never even thought about it, Carmen. And the rest of my family couldn't care less. But my mom is . . .”

“Old, out of touch, set in her ways.” She settled next to him on the couch and reveled in the feel of his embrace as he brought her closer. “I get it. My family's the same. It was my cousin who used to call you Wonder Bread, remember?”

His fingers played with the ends of her hair. “Is that why you didn't ask me to come with you tonight?”

She nodded. “I'm not embarrassed to be your girlfriend. But it's still so new that I didn't want to chance anyone attacking it.”

“My mom won't attack. She probably won't even be cold toward you. She'd most likely be overly friendly because she would never want anyone to accuse her of being racist, but I didn't want to bring you into the fray without warning.” He kissed the top of her head. “I know that once she gets to know you, she'll love you.”

Carmen didn't respond. She wanted to fit in with Liam's family, but she didn't want to cause a rift with anyone. “If you're sure, I'll give it a try.”

“Good.”

“Do I get my present now?”

“Absolutely.” He sat up to grab the box. “I would've given it to you even if you decided not to go tomorrow.”

She jumped up from the couch. “Hold that thought. I'll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to get your present.”

She raced to her bedroom to grab the picture frame. She looked at the lingerie she bought, but couldn't bring herself to put it on. Emotionally, she felt battered and taking that extra step to put herself on display would be too much. Another day.

For now she hoped the photos would be enough.

Liam stretched out on the couch and waited for Carmen to return. He was still nervous about giving her jewelry, but he hoped she liked it.

Standing in front of him, she held out a neatly wrapped package. He held out hers. “You first,” he said.

“Let's do it at the same time.”

“Okay.”

They swapped presents and she ripped into the paper while he peeled it away.

“Jeez, are you a grandma looking to save the paper? Tear into it,” she goaded him. She didn't wait for him to catch up, however. She flipped the top off the box and then ooohhed over the necklace.

He stopped unwrapping to watch her face.

“It's beautiful, Liam.” She traced her fingers over the design. “What is it?”

“It's a claddagh. The crown represents loyalty, the hands, friendship, and the heart, love.” He took it from the box and shifted so he could put it around her neck.

She lifted her hair. “It sounds distinctly Irish.”

“It is. I bought it last week, before anything happened with my mom. I wanted you to have something from me that would be personal.”

After he clasped it, she turned back to face him. The necklace was beautiful against her golden skin.

She pushed at him. “Your turn. We were supposed to be doing this together.”

He removed the paper and flipped the frame over. What he saw amazed him. The picture frame was filled with photos of his entire family.

In the center was a candid shot that Carmen's cousin had taken of Liam and Carmen in front of the truck. It had been freezing out and in the photo you could see their breath puffing, but they both looked happy. He took a few minutes to study the other photos.

“Do you like it?”

“How?” He was filled with so much emotion. No one had ever given him such a personal gift filled with so much love.

“I wanted to give you something that was important, to let you know how much you mean to me. This is what I asked Moira to help me with. Every time I'm in your living room, I feel like I'm in a stranger's place. I wanted something to make it yours.”

“It's amazing. I love it.”

She stroked his jaw. “Good. “

He kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He stood and pulled her off the couch. “Time for bed.”

He planned to spend the night showing her how much he loved her. Regardless of what anyone else said about their relationship, they belonged together.

Carmen rolled over the following morning and groaned. She stretched and enjoyed the soreness of her muscles. A slight ache all over reminded her of her long night with Liam and she smiled. She reached out next to her, but the bed was empty.

Liam rarely got up before her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. As she did, Liam came through the door with a cup of coffee.

“Good morning.” He handed her the cup. “I was going to make you breakfast, but I overslept. I have to get to my mom's. Moira called to let me know they're headed to mass soon.”

Carmen took a sip of coffee and tried to understand. “What does mass have to do with you?”

“Moira's getting my mom out of the house so I can start cooking. My mom is still under the delusion that she's well enough to cook Christmas dinner.” He kissed Carmen's cheek.

“Do you need me to get ready?”

“No. You stay and I'll come back for you after I get everything started. When I get back, don't let me forget the cheesecake in the fridge.”

Her mouth watered at the mention of his cheesecake. She'd gone for years without any dessert at all, but one taste of his cheesecake and she had thoughts of throwing away her scale. Of course the memory would permanently be linked to the first amazing orgasm of her life.

He smirked. “I know what you're thinking.”

She blushed and drank from her cup.

He leaned and whispered in her ear, “I made a second cheesecake for us for later.”

She shivered and felt a pulse run through her body. She licked her lips.

Liam pressed a kiss to her mouth quickly. “Don't do that. I really have to leave. I'll call when I'm on my way back.”

“Do you need me to bring anything?”

“Nope. We have it covered.”

“What should I wear?”

“Whatever you want.”

She looked at him. He wore jeans and a black sweater. “Will you be changing?”

“Nope. The O'Learys are a casual crowd.” He backed off the bed and left the room. A few minutes later, she heard the front door click shut. As soon as she knew Liam was gone, Carmen grabbed her phone and called Rosa.

When her cousin answered, Carmen said, “I need some advice.”

“Since when am I the advice giver?”

“Since I know you've encountered some parents who didn't like you.”

“What are you talking about? Everyone loves me.”

“Listen. Liam wants me to come to Christmas dinner with his family, but he warned me that his mom is not thrilled with the fact that I'm Mexican.”

“Fuck her.”

“That's helpful.”

Rosa sighed. “If she thinks you're not good enough for her little boy, you're probably not going to be able to change her mind. I say screw it. Walk through the door rattling off everything in Spanish. Make her crazy.”

“I don't know why I called you. You're not helping. This is important. Liam is really close with his family. Today is a big deal. Plus, the poor woman just got out of the hospital. I have to be nice.” She walked to her closet and flipped through the hangers, looking for the right thing to wear.

“What if it doesn't work?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if you do everything in your power to make the woman like you and she still won't accept you? Then what?”

“I don't know.”

“Well,
chica,
that's a conversation you need to have with your man. If his family is as important to him as you say, he might have to choose. Is he man enough to choose you?”