Already Home

by Susan Mallery

She pressed her lips together. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go on like that.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s nice to hear someone excited about what they do. Are you hungry? We’re having dinner around the corner. Fish City Grill. Have you been there?”

  “Not in years, but I remember liking it.”

  “I doubt they’ll have anything as good as your enchiladas,” he warned.

  She laughed. “I’m okay with that. Last night I tried to make a kale pesto. Can you spell yuck? I don’t know where I messed up, but it was awful.”

  “Do you try different things with food a lot?”

  Good question, she thought. “Not for a while, but it’s coming back. Slowly.” She smiled. “I’m starting to remember that it’s okay when things don’t turn out right the first time. I can always try again and get it right.”

  “Good philosophy.” He motioned to the door. “Shall we?”

  She collected her purse and followed him outside.

  They walked to the restaurant. Ellington gave his name, and they were shown to a corner table by the window. Once they were seated, he leaned toward her.

  “Thanks for coming out with me tonight,” he said. “I haven’t been on a real date in a long time.”

  “Why not?” Someone who looked like him and who was also nice and successful should have women taking numbers.

  He hesitated.

  “You’re not going to tell me you were waiting for the universe to tell you it was time, are you?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  He laughed. “No. I don’t communicate much with the universe. That would be your mother.”

  Birth mother, Jenna corrected silently. “How much did she tell you?”

  He looked startled. “About what?”

  “The adoption. Our relationship.”

  “Oh.” His expression relaxed. “That she gave you up for adoption when she was a teenager and recently she’s reentered your life.”

  Jenna had a feeling he knew a whole lot more than he was saying, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out what.

  Their server appeared. They both ordered wine.

  When the woman had left, Jenna said, “Why haven’t you been dating? It can’t be for lack of opportunity.”

  He laughed. “Thanks for the compliment. I suppose it’s a combination of things. I won’t date a client.”

  “Hearts are breaking all over Georgetown.”

  “I’ve had a few women leave my practice because of that,” he admitted. “No one I was truly interested in.”

  “Ah, so you are interested in some of your clients.”

  “Not at all.”

  “That’s what you implied.”

  His teeth flashed white as he grinned. “You’re trying to get me in trouble.”

  “It’s kind of fun. You’re so perfect.”

  “Far from it.”

  “Oh, please. Harvard medical school, but it was too traditional, so you went to China to study there. You’re athletic, spiritual, have a kid, give a great massage, are holistic, but eat meat. Does it get any better than that?”

  “Many women see my son as a liability.”

  “Many women would see him as a bonus.”

  The server appeared with their drinks. Ellington asked her to give them a few minutes before ordering.

  Jenna took a sip of her drink and studied her date. She enjoyed teasing him, mostly because she sensed he would take it in the spirit she meant it.

  “I’m far from perfect,” he said when they were alone. As he spoke, he leaned toward her. “For one, I’m divorced.”

  “So am I.”

  “My marriage fell apart because I was caught up in my work. I would rather have been with a patient than my wife. Or traveling.”

  “Was that about you or what was going on at home?”

  “Both. It’s hard to stay with someone who travels all the time. Even after Isaiah was born, I spent several months in India every year. I believed that what I was doing was more important than anything else.” He shook his head. “I wish I could say I was the good guy.”

  “What changed?”

  “She left and took my son with her. At first I kept doing what I’d always been doing, then one day I realized Isaiah was my responsibility. That I had deliberately brought him into this world and that he needed me. But the parenting plan was set. When I wanted to change things, she wouldn’t agree. I supposed it was her way of punishing me for emotionally abandoning her. I can’t really blame her.” He shrugged. “Unfortunately Isaiah suffered, as well.”

  Jenna stared at him. “Something must be different now. He spent the night last night.”

  “He didn’t spend the night, he lives with me. About a year ago, she was killed in a car accident. I became a full-time single dad. It’s been a tough year for him. He was six. First he lost his dad, then he lost his mom. We had a lot of adjustments to make.”

  Jenna couldn’t imagine an adult going through something like that well, let alone a little boy. “How’s he doing now?”

  “Thriving.” Pride filled Ellington’s voice. “I bought a house in his school district so he could stay close to his friends. My mom moved in and my mother-in-law lives around the corner. Between them, they handle the day care and everything about my life and his. I stopped traveling and opened a permanent practice at the healing center.”

  “You were able to reconnect with him?” she asked.

  “It took a while, but yes. We’re doing all kinds of things together. We have a deal that I’m home to tuck him in bed.” He grinned. “I had to get special dispensation for our last date and for tonight.”

  “Please tell him I appreciate his generosity.”

  “I can see I’m going to have to continue to negotiate the bed tucking issue with him,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “For the past year, it hasn’t been much of a problem, but that might be changing.”

  Jenna willed herself not to blush. “I’d like that.”

  “You’re ignoring the fact that I live with my mother.”

  “I’m not scared about it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Good.”

  The server returned and they quickly ordered. After she left, he said, “Enough about my life. Tell me about yourself.”

  She gave him a few highlights, explaining about being a chef, her marriage and subsequent divorce and her move back to Georgetown.

  “You don’t want to tell me about your ex?” he asked.

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  Ellington didn’t say anything. He simply watched her.

  “All right,” she said slowly. “He reminds me of you a little.”

  “Ouch.”

  She smiled. “You don’t look alike. But you’re both…charming.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “It turned out to be with him. I’ve always been creative with my cooking. At first he encouraged that, but in the last couple of years he seemed more interested in making me feel like I wasn’t good enough.” She shook her head. “The worst part wasn’t what he did, it was that I believed him.”

  He reached across the table and touched her hand. “We often tend to believe the people we love. Even when they’re wrong.”

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right. So now I have to figure out where I left my confidence and start trying things again. I’ve been taking a few very small risks. Our dinner was one. It’s strange, in the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt my experimental side returning.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Maybe that’s because Serenity is around.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “She’s very creative, you’re a lot like her. Maybe having her show up jolted you out of a rut.”

  “I was just getting my store up and running when Serenity and Tom arrived,” she mused.

  “Interesting timing. Trust the Force.”

  As soon as he said the words, his expression froze. Jenna blinked at him.
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br />   “The Force?”

  Oh, God. First Serenity with the universe and now Ellington with the Force? She found herself glancing toward the exit.

  He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I had the lunch box and everything when I was a kid. Isaiah has seen the first movie with me and we’ve been playing with our light sabers, so it’s on my mind.” He looked completely humiliated. “When I said ‘huge fan’ I meant I like the movies. I don’t have costumes or think there really is an Empire.”

  She relaxed, finding the confession more charming than scary. And seeing the somewhat perfect Ellington squirm didn’t hurt, either.

  “Light sabers?”

  “Toys. They’re toys.”

  “Do they make the noises?”

  He sighed, as if surrendering to the inevitable. “Sure. Otherwise, where’s the fun?” He stared at her. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

  “I think you’re a lot less like my ex-husband than I realized.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  “Very good.”

  They smiled at each other.

  He cleared his throat. “Now what were we talking about before I stuck my foot in my mouth?” He paused. “Serenity and Tom.”

  Jenna would rather have talked Star Wars, but okay.

  “You know they’re good people, right?” he asked.

  “I do,” she admitted. “At first I resented her. I have a family, I wasn’t looking for more parents. But my mom—” She paused. “I know Serenity is your client or patient or whatever, so don’t take this wrong, but the woman who raised me will always be my mom.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “My mom thinks I should get to know Serenity and Tom. That my connection to them is important.”

  “She sounds very wise.”

  “I think so, which means I’m listening. Maybe Serenity isn’t as strange as I first thought. I can see she’s a lovely person, but she’s nothing like me.”

  “You have a lot in common with her.”

  “That’s the second time you said that.” Jenna wrinkled her nose. “I cook with butter, eat meat and the universe has never once sent me a message. Or the Force.”

  He laughed. “I was thinking you shared other characteristics. You look alike.”

  “True.” At least she knew she would age well.

  “You’re both caring, nurturing people.”

  “I don’t nurture,” Jenna protested.

  “The act of cooking, of feeding people, is nurturing by its nature. Food is life.”

  “I think you’re taking my work a little too seriously.”

  “Or you’re not taking it seriously enough.” He mitigated the intensity of the words with a smile. “Appreciate the gift you bring.”

  “Now you do sound like Serenity.”

  “Occupational hazard.” He took her hand in his. “Have I totally scared you away?”

  “No,” she said honestly. “You’ve intrigued me. You’re full of contradictions. And, according to Serenity, you give a great massage.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve already had a sample of that.”

  “I have and I’m surprised you have time to do anything else in your day. I would think your massage clients would keep you busy.”

  “I don’t usually offer massage to my clients,” he said, releasing her hand.

  “Really?”

  “Serenity’s a special case.” He hesitated for a second. “What with her being from out of town and a temporary client.”

  Before she could ask anything more, the server returned with the bread basket.

  “Is it hard for you to eat out?” he asked, leaning toward her and speaking quietly. “Are you thinking about how you’d do it better?”

  “I try not to,” she admitted. “Eating out is fun and I don’t want to lose that by being critical.”

  “Sort of like me taking an over-the-counter pain reliever for a headache.”

  She turned to him, pretending shock. “You don’t.”

  “Sometimes.”

  “What would your patients say?”

  He laughed. “They’d be appalled. Can I convince you to keep my secret?”

  She found herself getting lost in his blue eyes again.

  “Maybe,” she said, trying to sound casual. “For a price.”

  “A woman who negotiates. I like that.”

  Which was good, because she was quickly beginning to realize that there were many things that she liked about him.

  Twelve

  Jenna floated home from her date. Oh, sure, a car was involved, but that was a technical detail. In her heart, she was floating.

  They’d laughed and talked and laughed some more all through dinner. She couldn’t remember anything she’d eaten because she’d been so wrapped up in Ellington. Then he’d walked her to her car and kissed her with an intensity that had left her breathless.

  As she parked in her garage, she told herself not to get too excited. That one great date did not a relationship make. But it had been so long since she’d had such a good time with a guy, including the last few years in her marriage. Sad but true.

  Instead of going directly into her townhouse from the garage, she went out the open double door to collect her mail. On her way back, a man stepped out of the shadows.

  She stopped in midstep, not sure what to do. Run? Scream? With her garage door standing open, he could get directly into her house, possibly dragging her with him to do who knew what. Except this was Georgetown, not exactly a hotbed of murderers and rapists.

  Indecision kept her in place, and in that second when she couldn’t decide, she realized the man was on his cell phone. More than that, he was holding up his hand in the universal “wait and be quiet” signal.

  “…the Baxter files. Email me the results. And double-check the billing. They screwed up the hours last month. Thanks, Cathy. Have a good day.”

  Jenna relaxed. She doubted many criminals left messages while on a stakeout or told anyone to have a good day.

  “Sorry about that,” the man said, stepping closer to her and into the light from her garage. “Work stuff. My assistant gets frantic when I’m gone, and that’s never good.”

  She recognized him immediately from the pictures Serenity had brought to the brunch.

  “I know you,” she said.

  He flashed her a smile then, one that looked exactly like Tom’s.

  “So you’re feeling it then,” he said. “The connection? Our familial oneness?”

  She laughed. “Actually I recognize you from a picture your mother showed me. Hello, Dragon.”

  “Hey, sis. I’m glad it was a picture because, honestly, the oneness thing is so last year.”

  She laughed. “It’s nice to meet you. What are you doing here?”

  “I came to meet you. Sorry it’s so late, but my flight was delayed. I would have waited until morning but my curiosity got the better of me.”

  Jenna studied her clean-cut brother. He seemed so normal. “Want to come in? I can make you something to eat.”

  “That would be great, if you’re sure? Mom said you were a chef. Very convenient. I’ll bet you never go hungry.”

  “And you do?” She led the way through the garage and into the house.

  “Not now, but when I was a kid, it was a nightmare. All that vegan food.” He shuddered. “I started working in the vineyards when I was seven just to earn money. I told my parents it was for comic books but it was really so I could buy my lunch at school. No kid wants lentil loaf in his lunch box.”

  She set down her purse in the living room and made her way into the kitchen. “What happened to the connection that flows between us?”

  He grinned and took a seat on one of the bar stools next to the island. “Total crap,” he admitted cheerfully. “I’m a constant disappointment to my parents. Now, Wolf is perfect. Totally into everything organic. I’m the bad, nonorganic seed in the family.”

  Jenna checked her refrigerator. �
�I could make you chicken piccata over angel-hair pasta with asparagus. How does that sound?”

  “If you weren’t my sister, I’d kiss you. I’m sorry I didn’t bring wine.”

  She motioned to the small under-counter cellar. “Help yourself.”

  He did as she suggested, pouring them each a glass. Because she had been so busy talking with Ellington that she hadn’t even finished her wine at dinner, she accepted and took a sip. Then she got to work, making the meal.

  “Mom said you were on a date,” Dragon said as he took his seat again. “As your brother, I don’t want any details. I’m not looking for more responsibility in my life.”

  “What responsibility would you have?”

  “Beating him up if he hurt you.”

  The matter-of-fact tone was kind of comforting. She finished buttering bread from a baguette she’d bought, then squeezed on crushed garlic, topped it with fresh Parmesan cheese and popped the slices into the broiler.

  “I already know everything about you,” he continued. “Mom’s been making regular calls. You probably want to know about me.”

  Jenna finished pounding the chicken and dredged it in flour. “Every detail,” she told him, holding in her amusement.

  “Well, I’m a lawyer. Corporate. When I first said I wanted to go to law school, my parents expected me to study something like immigration law and then spend my career working for earnest praise.”

  “Not your style?”

  “Hardly. I’m corporate all the way. Gotta pay for the steaks and fancy car some way. It’s worked out great for me. I’m in San Francisco. Do you know what it’s like to be successful and straight in that town? It’s good to be me.”

  She supposed Dragon could easily fall into the arrogant jerk category, but he was so at ease with himself that she couldn’t help liking him.

  “Trust me,” he added. “I’m due. Growing up with a name like Dragonfly wasn’t easy. I got beat up on a regular basis.”

  She turned the lightly browning chicken and added the pasta to the water. The diced asparagus would be parboiled and served on the side. While he was talking, she pulled out the browned garlic bread.

  “Something to keep you from fainting while the rest of this cooks,” she said.

  He took a bite, then moaned. “Amazing,” he mumbled over his food. “I saw you make this in, what, a minute? I can’t believe how good it is.”