JONI STARED AT HIM, openmouthed. Why had he thought it necessary to say something like that? Especially with her whole family watching and grinning like kids at the circus.
She slid her gaze over to G.P. Her grandmother was still holding Carter’s hand, studying him with considerable interest. “Come sit over here and tell me something about yourself,” she said, leading him to the sofa.
Aunts Lisa and Lucy moved over to make room, so that Carter ended up sandwiched between G.P. and the grinning aunts. “Tell me how you and Joni met,” G.P. said.
Carter leaned back against the sofa cushions, long legs stretched in front of him. Joni stood behind her mother’s chair, while the rest of the family arranged themselves around the room. Carter glanced at Joni, then delivered his lines: “I was sitting at a restaurant all alone, depressed because I didn’t have someone special in my life, and all of a sudden, this beautiful woman walks right over and sits down at my table.”
Joni gasped, drawing curious looks from those near her. She dabbed at her eyes with her fingers, pretending to be all choked up. In reality, she was furious. What did he think he was doing, telling her family the truth?
“She’d mistaken me for the man she was supposed to meet at the restaurant,” Carter continued. “One look and I knew fate had sent me the woman I’d been waiting for. We talked all evening, and I guess you could say we really hit it off.”
“What a romantic story.” Aunt Lucy sighed.
“When was this meeting?” G.P. asked. “How long have you known each other?”
Joni held her breath. If he dared tell the truth this time…
Carter smiled fondly at her. “Six weeks.”
A collective sigh issued from her entire sappily romantic family. G.P. beamed. “That’s how long my late husband George and I knew each other when we got married.” She touched Carter’s hand. “We had a wonderful forty-one years together.”
“So Joni tells me.”
“I wish you could have known him. He was a wonderful man, so full of life. When I met him, he was a barnstorming pilot, flying around to small towns and performing stunts. Our first date, he took me up in his plane and performed two barrel rolls and a backward loop. I knew right then, he was the man for me.”
“He sounds like quite a daredevil.” Carter had the audacity to wink at Joni.
“Oh, he was. He flew in Korea and worked as a crop duster in the Rio Grande Valley, then flew reconnaissance for Customs. On weekends, we’d go to air shows and he’d fly stunts for fun.” She patted his hand. “But you didn’t come here to listen to an old woman talk. I want to know about you. What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a patrol officer with the San Antonio Police Department.”
G.P.’s laugh was closer to a cackle. She looked at Joni. “Is that so? What did I tell you?”
Joni crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not happy about his job.”
“I predict you’ll get over that soon enough.” She turned back to Carter. “Now tell me about your family. Where do they live?”
“I don’t really have a family. I grew up in several different foster homes. I stayed the longest with the Calabrias, five years when I was in junior high and high school. I still see them from time to time.”
Joni felt like she’d swallowed hummingbirds. She thought of the runaways and homeless kids Carter said he tried to help. Did he see himself and his own childhood when he looked at them?
“You can consider us your family now,” G.P. announced. “I always said Joni needed a strong man who could show her how to really live.” She leaned toward Carter and lowered her voice, though not so low Joni couldn’t hear. “She has a tendency to guard her feelings too well,” she said. “Maybe you can teach her to take a few more risks.”
He nodded solemnly. “Maybe I can.”
Joni turned away. Really, this was getting ridiculous. Carter was acting like this was all real, instead of a ploy to fool her grandmother.
A few minutes later, Carter caught up with her in the kitchen, where she was helping her cousin Bruce slice onions and pickles. “Everything’s going pretty good, huh?” he said softly, helping himself to a pickle slice. Bruce was arguing baseball scores with their cousin Marcus.
“Why did you tell them how we really met?”
“Because I’m a lousy liar. Besides, the truth is a better story. I think it really won them over.”
She made a face. “Oh, G.P. loves you.”
“I like her, too. I like all your family.”
She concentrated on making perfect, even slices. “I didn’t know that…about your family. I guess that’s kind of rough, huh?”
Carter shrugged. “That’s the hand I was dealt.”
She laid aside the knife and dried her hands on a dish towel. “Don’t you have any disgusting habits or annoying traits I can dislike without feeling guilty?”
He laughed. “I can swear in three languages, though that can sometimes be an asset. I can cuss out people in Italian and they don’t know if I’m dissing them or ordering spaghetti.”
She fought hard to hold back a smile. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, so he could whisper in her ear. “I wouldn’t call it annoying, but I do have the very frustrating habit of getting turned on whenever I’m around you.”
She wanted to scold him and remind him theirs was supposed to be a business agreement, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was giggles. Honestly! What was happening to her?
Her father stuck his head in the back door. “Hey, can you two lovebirds break it up long enough for Carter to come out here and play a game of horseshoes? I’ve already beaten everybody else.”
“You haven’t beaten the horseshoe champ of the SAPD West Substation.” Carter released her and followed her dad into the backyard.
Joni leaned back against the counter and sighed. Carter didn’t act like any cop she’d ever known—like any man she’d ever known. He was strong, but soft at the same time. He wasn’t afraid of revealing himself. After all, what kind of man stood up in front of a bunch of people he’d just met and declared his love for a woman?
Even if it was only an act?
3
EVEN THOUGH Carter and Joni were seated directly across the picnic table from one another, Joni refused to look at him. That’s how he knew he was getting to her. Every time he glanced up, her eyes darted away and she pretended a deep interest in the potato salad. You didn’t work that hard at avoiding someone’s gaze unless you secretly craved it. He grinned and leaned toward her. “The potato salad is excellent, isn’t it?”
“Huh?” Her head jerked up and her eyes met his for a split second before focusing somewhere over his left shoulder. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of looking into those eyes, trying to discover all the things they’d teach him about her.
“The potato salad? You were so engrossed in it, I thought maybe it was some secret family recipe.”
She set down her fork. “Um, I think Mom gets it from a deli over on San Pedro.”
He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s delicious. It’s all delicious.”
“The secret to a good brisket is to take it