“Mr. Kilpatrick, your party has already been seated in the wine cellar as you requested. The hostess will be right with you.”
Leah tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. But what did she mean by ‘requested?’ You requested special seating for my family?”
He glanced down and almost laughed. She looked partially buzzed and adorably flustered. “A room, actually. You picked the loudest restaurant in Chicago. The wine cellar is cozy. Quiet. The perfect place to get to know people.”
Her eyes bulged comically. “Get to know—? I don’t want you to get to know them too well, remember?”
“We still want them to have a good time, though, right? They’re family.”
“I guess so,” she said, her brow wrinkling with worry.
The hostess gave them a curt nod. “Right this way.” She headed off toward the far end of the dining room.
Mick waited for Leah to follow the woman, and when she didn’t move he gave her a nudge. “Sweetheart, after you.”
She was even more nervous now. He could tell by the tilt of her chin and stiffness in her gait as they made their way to the back of the room. The minute they got to the double glass doors and she looked through, her eyes went wide. “Sweet. Heart.”
Amazing. She spoke but he didn’t see her lips move at all. Still, she was looking at him, so he responded. “Yes?”
“Did you do all this? The champagne and flowers?” She may have managed a barely passable smile, but her panicked eyes spoke volumes.
He didn’t have to answer because the hostess did it for him. “He wanted you to be surprised.”
“Mission accomplished,” she whispered, plucking at the buttons of her coat. “I’m surprised, all right.”
“Thanks, we’re good,” he told the hostess, then waited for her to leave. “Take a breath. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“It’s all gorgeous. But, Mick, you shouldn’t have done this. They’re going to fall in—”
He held a hand up before she really got into airing her concerns because there were three anxious people across the room who had caught sight of them. The youngest of the group, a woman who looked a fair bit like Leah, only shorter, stood and waved. He’d obviously gone too far, but there was nothing to be done about it now.
“We’ve been spotted. We better go in. Put a less terrified expression on your face and introduce me. It will be fine. Trust me.”
“Hey sis!” The young woman made her way around the table and pulled Leah in for a quick hug, then held out a hand to him. “You must be Michael, nice to meet you. I’m Cassandra, Leah’s younger sister.”
Leah snorted. “Yeah, younger by like fourteen months.”
“Still counts,” Cassandra shot back without taking her eyes off him as they shook hands. “You look different than I imagined.”
He resisted the urge to tug at his collar beneath her sharp gaze and was just about to ask “how so,” but Leah’s mother and father lined up behind Cassandra for hugs and introductions.
“Hi Michael, I’m Rita, Leah’s mom. So nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard good things!” She was a solid little soldier of a woman with a shock of hair so red it could only have come from a bottle, and when he extended his hand, she pushed it aside with a warm laugh. “My future son-in-law gets a hug.” She yanked him close, enveloping him in a vanilla-scented embrace. “I’m so glad you and my little girl found each other,” she murmured in his ear. “In spite of all the hustle and bustle, big cities can be so lonely sometimes and I worry about her here without any family.”
He returned the hug with gusto, liking her on the spot. “It’s my pleasure. Your daughter is a gem. And please, call me Mick.”
Rita released him and turned to Leah for a hug before pulling back and examining her face. “Sweetie, you’re looking tired.” She sent a frown in his direction. “Mick, I’d hoped you’d been taking care of my baby.”
He genuinely felt bad about letting her down, and grimaced. “Yeah, she’s been working too hard, but after tomorrow we’ll both have a little break to recharge. I won’t let it happen again, ma’am.”
She beamed and patted his cheek. “I like you already, son.”
“Well I might look crappy,” Leah cut in, “But you and dad look great.” She hugged her father tightly, giving him one last hard squeeze before stepping back. “The weather must really be agreeing with you.”
She paused and quickly glanced at Mick as if she’d forgotten he was even there. “Where are my manners? Dad, this is Mick. Mick, this is my dad, John.”
“Hey there, buddy. Pleasure.” John grabbed his hand in a firm shake and smiled. “I can’t tell you how happy we are that our girl has found her man. It gives me peace of mind. One day when you have your own kids, you’ll understand.”
Mick didn’t know what to say to that so he said nothing at all.
Thankfully, John jumped subjects. “I hear you’re quite the real estate agent.”
They all took their seats and ordered drinks, chatting amiably about work, where Mick grew up and his family. Safe subjects that took them through before-dinner cocktails, of which Leah had two, and some appetizers. When their entrees finally arrived, her father spoke up.
“Mick, tell me, how’s Petey doing?
Petey? Who the hell was Petey? He glanced at Leah and grappled for an answer.
Although she turned in his direction, she didn’t look him in the eyes. Not directly, anyway. Her gaze was decidedly askew. What the hell—?
Bang!
Her fist landed on the table and the vibrations from the strike appeared to make her tremble until her head jerked with a curt nod of finality. “Dead.”
Three collective gasps sounded. He would have said four, but his was more like a hiss. He studied Leah and waited to see if she was going to add more to this fascinating declaration. Petey…was supposed to be his grandfather? Father?
Clearly soused and unsure of where to take her little tale, she shrugged and turned to her dad. “It was the angina that got him. He’s in a better place. Poor guy. He was the cutest three legged sixteen-year-old you ever saw.”
Mick tried to make sense of that, but the accompanying visual was pretty horrific. Truth be told, he was glad when Rita put him out of his misery as she placed a gentle hand on his arm and whispered, “I’m sorry about the loss of your pet.”
Pet.
Leah’s dad cleared his throat. “Sorry, Mick,” he held up his champagne flute. “Here’s to Petey.”
Mick picked up his glass and turned to Leah, freezing mid-toast. The defeated look in her eyes stopped him cold. “Sweetheart?” Was her confidence in their plan fizzling? She wasn’t even trying.
“To Petey.” She waved her glass in a sloppy salute and then downed the contents in two cheek-bulging gulps. Then she slammed her glass back on the table, gave him a broad wink and mumbled, “Giddy up.”
Oh, he was going to ‘giddy up’ all right, but before he could, she yanked the tablecloth on either side of her cutlery, shifting everyone’s plates. The abrupt action forced him to make a grab to halt the slide, preventing complete disaster. Perfect. Tipsy and in panic mode. A dangerous combination. She needed to get in the game, drunk or not, but he didn’t get the chance to tell her because Cassandra tugged on his shirt.
“So, Mick, where did you and my sister meet?” Her assessing eyes roving over him sent a warning bell ringing in some corner of his brain.
“Meet?” Shit. They’d gone over this, as well as where he’d proposed and where their first date had been, but the pressure was getting to him. He couldn’t for the life of him remember which was which. He willed Leah to look at him, because as long as she paid attention and went along with what he said, it didn’t really matter what their story was. Consistency was the key. But in spite of the covert SOS he was throwing her way, he was out of luck. She was too busy hunched over her champagne glass, with one eye closed, and her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she attempted to ref
uel. Fantastic.
“We, ah, met at the bowling alley.”
“Bowling alley?” Cassandra scowled.
“Um, no we didn’t.” Leah dropped the bottle so it made a splashing clunk in the bucket and snapped back in her seat so fast her bangs fell in front of her eyes. He waited until she blew them out of the way before he spoke.
“I think we did, sweetheart. Don’t you remember? It was during a tournament between the local real estate offices?” He was giving her a hard core “work with me” glare, but she repaid the effort with a blank stare that let him know she was there, but nobody was home. Not good.
“I distinctly remember we were at the coffee shop.”
Ah. Now he remembered. He scrambled to salvage things. “Maybe that was the first time I saw you, but—”
Leah shook her head so quickly she looked like a bobblehead doll. “Nope. Java Palace. You came up and introduced yourself to me. I was reading Shakespeare, ‘member, like you said?” Sitting straight up, she slapped both palms down on the table and scrunched her nose. “I don’t even like Shakespeare, but he said—”
“Sweetheart, that wasn’t me.” He really hoped his tone conveyed to her just how thin the ice they were skating on had gotten. “Maybe that was Ken, your last boyfriend.”
She slumped forward with a noncommittal shrug and pleated and unpleated her napkin. Hallelujah. An opportunity. He gave her parents a helpless smile, flicking a pointed glance at the champagne bottle and then back to Leah.
Rita chuckled and leaned up to whisper in his ear. “She’s not a big drinker so I imagine all the bubbly is getting to her. Believe me, I’ve never heard of this Ken and she talks about you all the time, so no need to feel jealous.” She sat back with an encouraging smile and spoke more loudly. “Now Mick, did I mention how magnificent this room is? It was so nice of you to reserve it.”
“Thank you.”
He’d twisted to give Rita a smile when Leah muttered under her breath. “Yeah, super nice. He’s a prince.” She snatched up her flute and looked confused to find it empty. “Hey,” she turned the glass upside down and gave it a shake, “Who drank my—”
“Sweetheart, maybe you should slow down on the champagne.” He kept his tone even. Soft. She was fragile right now. She was never any good at deception, which was one of the many things he liked about her. It was hard to fathom how she’d managed to fool her parents on the boyfriend front for as long as she had. He hated to see it all go to shit now on his watch.
“Why?”
He held her gaze, hoping she’d come back to her senses and realize that, if she just committed to it, they could still pull this off. He hoped she would because guilt was stacking up on him. She was already buzzed when they left the house and then he’d sprung all the fancy restaurant stuff on her. That might have been ill-advised, especially if they were going to fake-break-up soon, only her eyes were doing a slow crazy eight. “Are you talking about that Halloween party? I so did not set fire to that woman’s tail. It was an accident. Besides, she was hanging it all over the place.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I saw it get dragged through the s’mores that Joe Mallack ate.”
Well, this was interesting and the first he’d heard of it. Maybe there was an upside to her being soused after all.
She nodded like he’d said something to her—which he hadn’t—and then spanked the table, “There were bits of fake fur, caked in filth from being dragged on the ground all night, stuck in the melted marshmallow part.”
He couldn’t help his grin. Drunk or not, she was adorable. Especially when she confessed, “And I never said a word. Not one. I just watched that guy eat shit like he made us eat—”
“Leah!” Her mother gasped.
Her father sighed. “She gets that from you Ri.”
Unfortunately her sister remained quiet, which to Mick’s way of thinking spelled trouble.
Before he could turn to see what Cassandra was doing, Leah announced, “I’m not sorry, either.”
She may have sounded dead fucking serious, but the fact that she brought this up now meant she was still feeling guilty over it. Was this her way of coping with the guilt over the present situation?
Spying the glassy sheen in her eyes, he gauged she was losing the battle. “Leah, trust me, I understand.”
“Do you?” She tilted her head and gave him the old “puppy dog” expression. “Why’d you have to buy wildflowers, Mick?”
He sat back. This was about the flowers? The ensuing silence was palpable as they eyed one another. Now he’d done it. She was going to come clean, he could tell, and who would blame her? He couldn’t deny that he’d taken advantage of the situation a little to get her to see him in a different light, and that probably added more stress to an already stressful situation. Add in nerves and her guilt over their deception, and it was no wonder she was falling apart. Damn.
An interminable hour later, with dessert plates cleared, plans made for the coming days, and Cassandra escorting Rita and John to the valet, he and Leah sat waiting for her doggy bag.
“So, that went well,” he said dryly.
She looked so miserable, he almost felt sorry for her. “They think you’re great and I’m nuts. I’m their daughter, for heaven’s sake.”
“You should have eased up on the champagne, and we would’ve been fine.”
“You should’ve eased up on the brownnosing.”
He leaned forward, laying his arms on the table. “I overdid a few things, and for that I’m sorry. But tomorrow when your head is clearer you’ll see. We did all right, considering.”
“When you were talking to Cassandra, my mother told me you were a prince among men. You want to know why?”
He nodded.
“Because.” The way her lip quivered tugged at his heart. “You were putting up with a grumpy frog like me.”
The tension went out of him and he grinned, “You’re not a grumpy frog. Drunk skunk, I could see. Frog? Nah.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working. At this rate, our breakup is going to be harder on my parents than it is on me. Not what I was going for.”
He winced. That hadn’t been his intention. Or had it? After he considered it for a moment, he realized maybe a small part of him wanted to make it hard for her to “break up.”
“Leah, I—”
“Hey, guys.” Cassandra swept back into the room. “Sorry about taking so long. Mick, I decided to take you up on your offer. I sent Mom and Dad back to the apartment.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I should’ve rented a car, but how was I supposed to know Eva and Ted would be in town? They usually go away for the holidays.”
It was like Cassandra wasn’t even there. Leah turned on him. “What offer?”
He cleared his throat. Shit. This wasn’t going to go over well. “Your sister wanted to meet up with friends tonight, sweetheart. With your car in the shop and your mom and dad’s apartment being across town, Cassandra borrowing the company car made the most sense.”
“But we’re driving the company car now…”
“Right, so I’ll drop you guys off at your place and bring it back in the morning,” Cassandra said. Her sharp eyes never wavered as she studied them. “Unless you guys need to go your separate ways tonight, for some reason?”
Mick knew what to do. He shrugged. “Of course not. Why would we?”
She turned her gaze on Leah. “Then it’s no biggie, right? I promise I’ll bring it by early.”
Leah’s eyes had taken on the wild look of a trapped animal. “What about a cab?”
Her sister frowned. “Yeah, right. That would cost me a fortune.”
Mick shook his head and tried not to tug at his collar, not that it mattered. Cassandra wasn’t paying him any mind. She was too busy using her x-ray vision on Leah, who was too busy offering excuses to avoid their impending sleepover to notice that her sister was on to them.
Time to man up. He slipped an arm around Leah’s
shoulder and gave her a warning squeeze. “We wouldn’t hear of it. I stay over most weekends anyway, but didn’t want to intrude if you wanted some girl time with your sister.”
Leah stiffened, but to her credit, she nodded. “Exactly. So, um, yeah. No big whoop. He’s, you know, just going to stay over with me.” Leah picked up her glass and took a big, audible gulp.
“Good thing he bought all that champagne you’re enjoying.” Cassandra gave Mick a wink and chuckled. “From where I’m standing, I can safely say you’re gonna get lucky tonight.”
Leah gasped and Mick did the only thing any self-respecting guy in his position would do. He leaned back and grinned like an absolute fool.
He probably should have felt bad. After all, poor Leah was caught in the middle here. She deserved a little sympathy, didn’t she? He tried to muster some, but all he kept thinking was that things were turning out rather nicely for him. Now he had more time with her to explore whether or not this—whatever it was between them, was worth taking the risk. A risk that was twofold, he reminded himself. A friendship and business partnership were on the line.
“Yeah, trust me on this,” Cassandra snorted. “A few drinks and she’s a total pushover.”
Screw the line.
“I’m hoping so,” he said to Cassandra. Braving Leah’s mutinous expression, he smiled right at her and added, “Drink up, sweetheart. Suddenly I’m dying to get home.”
Chapter Three
Leah stared in the mirror, taken aback by both the state of her hair—was that sauce from the pork?—and the bleary but bewildered look in her eyes. She felt hunted, and her appearance reflected that for sure.
What the hell had just happened? The past four hours had been the strangest of her life. She had to get her priorities in order, and priority one was her father’s health. She couldn’t lose sight of that. No matter what emotional turmoil she was experiencing with Mick right now, she needed to remember her parents living in Phoenix was her end game. She knew they wanted her to be happy, but she wouldn’t be happy if something happened to her dad on account of her. A definite possibility if they stayed in this cold climate. Not good.
White Lie Christmas Page 3
