by Jane Graves
Kayla swung by their booth. “Sorry to interrupt, Tony, but there’s a beer salesman on the phone. Says he needs to talk to you right away.”
“Take a message,” he said, turning back to Heather. “I’m busy.”
“Go ahead and talk to him,” Heather said. “I have to go to the ladies’ room, anyway. By the time you finish with the call, I’ll be back.”
“Okay,” Tony said. “But I won’t be gone long, so you don’t be, either.” He gave her another dreamy little kiss before sliding out of the booth. Heather looked after him longingly, then slid out herself.
“Wait,” Regina said. “I’ll go with you.” She turned to Jason with a smile. “You know girls. They always go in pairs.”
Jason grunted and reached for his BlackBerry. Regina gave him a look that could have withered a redwood tree. He put his hand back into his lap as they walked away, waiting, Heather knew, until Regina was out of sight before grabbing for it again.
Tony had taken the call on the phone behind the bar, and as he was hanging up, Jason slid onto a barstool.
“Dude,” he said. “You gotta help me out with something.”
Tony walked over. “Sure. What do you need?”
“That call I got earlier. It was from a guy who was going to be one of my groomsmen. He’s getting transferred to Seattle and can’t be in the wedding.”
“Oh. That’s too bad.”
“Understatement. The wedding’s only a few weeks away. If I tell Regina, she’s going to freak out.”
“She has to find out sometime, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, but it’s better if I tell her after the problem’s already been solved. So . . . will you fill in?”
“You want me to be one of your groomsmen?”
“Yeah.”
“Why not ask another one of your friends?”
“Regina has six freakin’ bridesmaids. I used up all my friends. Will you do it?”
Tony’s first inclination was to say no, but then he thought what the hell? He was going to have to be there, anyway. The only difference was that he’d be wearing a tux instead of a suit, and he’d have a better vantage point for the ceremony.
“Sure, man. I’ll help you out.”
“Whew. Thank God.” Jason drained his glass, then set it down on the bar. “Better hit me again, dude. I’m gonna need it.”
“Thought the problem was solved.”
“That was only one of my problems. After we leave here, we’re going to Regina’s parents’ house for dinner.”
“Oh, yeah?” Tony said, filling another glass with Scotch. “That’s a bad thing?”
“You have no idea.” Jason looked toward the restrooms, then lowered his voice. “The women in this family will drive you nuts. Bev’s the mother-in-law from hell. She nags like you wouldn’t believe. And this wedding is making her even more insane. If you weren’t solving my groomsman problem, she’d be all over my ass right along with Regina.”
Tony slid the drink in front of Jason. “You must love Regina an awful lot to put up with a mother-in-law like that.”
Jason shrugged. “It’s just time to get married, you know? The big bosses at the firm expect it.”
So marrying Regina was simply something on Jason’s to-do list he undoubtedly kept inside that BlackBerry. How heartwarming.
“Besides,” Jason went on, “I figure any woman I marry is going to have a mother-in-law who’s a pain in the ass.”
Which Tony thought was an incredibly dumb statement to make. “Really? I like my mother-in-law just fine.”
Jason chuckled. “Yeah, I know you think that now, but trust me, Barbara’s as loony as the rest of them. You just haven’t been around long enough to see it.” He took a heavy swig of his drink. “So how are things going with Fred?”
“Fred? Fine. Why?”
“To tell you the truth, he scares the crap out of me. Glad he’s your father-in-law and not mine. Gene’s easy. All you have to do is talk golf with him, and he’s happy. Fred, though . . . He kinda freaks me out.” Jason looked toward the restrooms again, then leaned toward Tony and whispered, “Okay, man. Just between you and me. Why Heather?”
“What?”
“Marrying her in Vegas,” he said with a snicker. “That was a crazy thing to do. Were you dead drunk, or what?”
A week ago, Tony might have laughed off a comment like that, because that was exactly what he’d been. Dead drunk. But something had changed between then and now, and suddenly there was nothing funny about it.
Tony put his palms on the bar. “Jason?”
“Yeah?”
“It sounds to me as if you’re insulting my wife.”
Jason’s grin evaporated. “Hey, lighten up. It was just a joke, you know?”
“Uh-huh. You know what, Jason? In the future, when you talk about the women in this family, will you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Leave Heather and Barbara out of it.”
“Uh, yeah,” Jason said. “Sure, man.”
“And if you value your life, you might watch what you say about Fred, too.”
Jason’s throat convulsed with a hard swallow. “Yeah. I will. Hey, no hard feelings, okay?”
Tony gave him a tight smile. “Of course not. We’re family, right?”
“Yeah,” Jason said with a shaky smile. “Family.”
Tony walked down the bar to ring up the drink, leaving Jason sitting there looking exactly like the dumbass he was. He and Regina deserved each other.
Chapter 15
Heather came out of the bathroom stall to find Regina leaning into the mirror and dabbing on lipstick. As Heather washed her hands, Regina smacked her lips, then backed off to admire herself.
“I noticed neither of you is wearing a wedding ring,” Regina said.
“We just haven’t had the time to shop for them.”
“Well, let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll put you in touch with my custom jeweler.”
Yeah. Uh-huh. I’ll be sure to do that.
“Tony is an interesting man,” Regina said, capping her lipstick tube.
“What do you mean?”
“Does he always act like that?”
Heather turned off the faucet and reached for a paper towel. “Like what?”
“You know,” Regina said with a roll of her eyes. “Like he’s going to die if you’re separated for, like, five minutes.”
Only when he’s trying to get your goat. “Tony’s just a demonstrative person.”
Regina did the eye-roll thing again and tossed her lipstick into her purse.
“What’s wrong?” Heather asked.
“Nothing, really.”
“Okay.” Heather dried her hands.
“Well, if you must know . . .” Regina faced Heather, folding her arms. “I think his public displays of affection are a little . . . excessive.”
Okay. Now Heather was really pissed. Only Regina could find a way to turn Tony’s affection into a bad thing, and Heather had had just about enough of it.
“To tell you the truth, Regina, I think it’s a little excessive, too.”
Regina drew back. “You do?”
Heather drew her face into a worried frown. “Yes. And I’m starting to get concerned about it.”
“Concerned?”
“Yeah. What you’re seeing today . . . believe me, that’s nothing compared to how he usually is.”
Regina’s eyes grew wider. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Nope. Like, whenever we’re in the car, he won’t keep his hands off me. He’s always touching me and kissing me and heaven knows what else. Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t like it. Tony is a good kisser. I mean, a really good one, and what he can do with his hands . . .” Heather closed her eyes with a heavenly little sigh. “But yesterday he came this close to sideswiping another car.”
Regina’s face was frozen, her mind clearly still focused on Tony’s hands and lips. Then she shook her h
ead a little and said, “Well, I can certainly see why that would worry you. He could get you both killed.”
“And he always insists I take a shower with him. Yesterday I was trying to squirt some shampoo, but then his hands were all over me, and then he was kissing me, and things got really hot, if you know what I mean. Some shampoo ended up on the floor. I slipped on it and almost fell.”
“See, now, that’s dangerous, too. If I were you, I’d tell him to take showers by himself from now on.”
“And those aren’t even the worst things,” Heather said.
Regina’s eyes widened. “What else?”
Heather leaned in and whispered, “He has discovery fantasies.”
“Discovery fantasies?”
“You know. Of making love in a public place.”
“A public place? Like where?”
“Well, we went to a movie a few days ago, and he wouldn’t be quiet. He kept whispering in my ear all the things he wanted to do to me in the back of that theater. You wouldn’t believe his imagination. It was all I could do to talk him out of it.”
“Are you telling me he wanted to have sex right there in the theater? You could get arrested for that!”
“Exactly! Now do you see why I’m worried?”
“Heather, you tell that man that sex in a movie theater is completely out of the question.”
“I can’t say that he’d actually do it. But he sure likes to talk about it. All the time. In lots of detail.” She blew out a breath. “Sometimes for hours.”
“Hours?”
“Oh, and speaking of talking, he’s really into phone sex, too.”
“He talks dirty to you on the phone?”
“Yeah. That’s one of his favorite things.”
“Well, you need to tell him to stop it. You never know what that might lead to!”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. You really know nothing about the man you married. Contrary to popular belief, normal men don’t think about sex every single waking moment. Didn’t I tell you in Vegas that you needed to watch out for him? He could be some kind of . . . of . . . pervert for all you know!”
“God, Regina, do you really think so?”
“It’s a distinct possibility. And someday he could snap.”
“Snap?”
“Snap.”
Heather put her hand against her chest. “Oh, my. I really hadn’t considered that. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I did marry a sexual deviant.”
“Maybe you did,” Regina said with a look of smug satisfaction.
Heather zipped her purse, then looked up and gave Regina a sweet smile. “Or maybe he’s just a man who’s crazy in love with his new wife and takes every opportunity he can to show it.”
Regina opened her mouth, only to clamp it shut again. A speechless Regina was a sight to behold.
“Shall we go?” Heather said.
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked out of the bathroom. Regina trailed along behind her.
“Jason is very affectionate, too,” she said.
Heather gave her an indulgent smile. “I’m sure he is.”
“Just not . . . you know. Excessively so.”
“Right. Men as important as he is have a lot of other things on their minds.”
“Of course.”
“Tony only runs a bar. Jason is an attorney.”
“Exactly.”
“Of course he’d have a lot to think about besides sex.”
“Yeah,” Regina said, looking positively ill. “Of course.”
Heather turned the corner, surprised to see Tony behind the bar and Jason sitting on a barstool. She put her elbows on the bar, and Tony leaned over and gave her a kiss. She stared dreamily into his eyes. “Did you miss me?”
“Every moment. Don’t ever stay gone that long again.”
Jason turned to Regina. “Come on, babe. We’re leaving.”
“We are?”
“Your parents are expecting us.”
“Not for another hour.”
“Traffic might be heavy.”
“Their house is only three miles away.”
“I said we’re leaving.”
Tony gave them a dazzling smile. “Sorry you can’t stay. But I hope you’ll be back soon. And, Jason?”
“Yeah?”
“Get back to me about that tux rental. I want to make sure I look my best for the big day.”
“Uh . . . yeah. Sure, man. Regina will talk to Heather.” Jason grabbed Regina’s arm and ushered her toward the door.
“What’s he talking about?” Regina said.
“Shut up. I’ll tell you in the car.”
Tony continued to smile and wave until the door was closed behind them, and then his face fell into a frown. “Asshole.”
“Oh, you got that already?” Heather said. “It took the rest of the family at least a couple of hours to figure it out. What was that about a tux?”
“One of Jason’s groomsmen backed out, so he asked me to fill in. Regina doesn’t know it yet. He wanted to solve the problem first.”
“So she doesn’t freak out?”
“Exactly.”
“And you’re going to do it?”
“Why not? I have to be there, anyway.”
“They sure did leave in a hurry,” Heather said.
“I think Jason was feeling a little sick. What took you and Regina so long in the ladies’ room?”
“Just a little girl talk. I led her to believe you’re a sex maniac. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
“I got all kinds of satisfaction out of that,” Heather said. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“If it does, then we’re both bad people.”
“They bought it.” Heather laughed a little. “Can you believe it? Regina thinks we’re going at it like rabbits. She has no idea it’s all a lie.”
“Heather?”
“Yes?”
Tony leaned his forearms on the bar and fixed his gaze on hers. “It doesn’t have to be a lie.”
Heather slumped with frustration. “Tony, please—”
“Look,” he said, lowering his voice, “I know we’re splitting up soon. That this marriage isn’t forever. But in the meantime . . .” He shook his head. “God, Heather. The fun we could have together.”
Given the never-ending repertoire of sexual talent Tony was alleged to have, she could only imagine what kinds of things he was talking about. Suddenly her cheeks felt hot. She only hoped she wasn’t blushing.
“No matter how much you deny it, you want me as much as I want you. There’s a wild woman inside you who’s just dying to come out and play.”
“It’s the hair. It gives you the wrong impression.”
“It’s more than the hair, and you know it.”
“Happy hour is about to gear up. We need to get back to work.”
“You’re staying? Sunday evenings tend to be slow.”
“Danielle called earlier and asked for the night off. I told her I’d fill in.”
“Well, then,” Tony said with a smile, “I suppose I should give you fair warning.”
“Fair warning?”
“My mind isn’t going to be on this place tonight. It’s going to be on you.”
Great. He’d done it now. By telling her he was going to be thinking about her, he’d accomplished his goal. She was going to be spending the rest of the evening thinking about him.
Over the next several hours, anytime Heather got near Tony, she could feel his eyes on her. It got to the point that she couldn’t bus a table or deliver a tray of drinks or just punch the cash register without him watching every move she made, and it grew harder and harder to ignore him.
Later in the evening, she stopped to talk to him about a problem with a customer’s food. He leaned in close, as if he couldn’t hear her over the music, even though the music wasn’t all that loud.
“I think we should just comp his meal,” she
said. “Yeah, he ate the whole burger before he complained about it being too rare, but in the interest of public relations—”
“You know what?” Tony said.
Heather stopped short. “What?”
“I never noticed that before.”
“What?”
“You have a mole on your earlobe.”
“Tony? Will you pay attention?”
“I am paying attention. It’s shaped like a half-moon.”
Heather grabbed him by the arm and hauled him into the kitchen, then opened up the storeroom door and dragged him inside. She spun around, her fists on her hips. “You have to stop this.”
“Stop what?”
“You know what! You should be concentrating on business.”
“Have there been any problems tonight?”
“Yes!” she said, waving the check. “This guy’s burger needs to be comped!”
He slid the check out of Heather’s hand. “Consider it done. Is everything else running smoothly?”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“No other problems?”
“No, but—”
“You know what they say about all work and no play. It makes Tony a dull boy. And to tell you the truth, it doesn’t do much for Heather, either.”
“You can’t do a decent job and stare at me at the same time.”
“You know, I would have thought that, too. But you know what I discovered tonight?”
“What?”
“I’m very good at multitasking.”
For the umpteenth time that evening, his gaze dropped to her breasts. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “Tony. Take care of the check. Now.”
“You bet. I’m on it.” He started out of the room, then turned back. “Oh, yeah. While you were dragging me in here, I saw Alison come in.”
“Was she smiling?”
“Not that I noticed.”
“Great. Another bad date.”
“Things have slowed down,” Tony said. “Why don’t you go have a drink with her?”
“Not a bad idea. Maybe we should go to Chantal’s to do it.”
“Now, Heather. Mustn’t patronize the competition. What would people say?”
“Are you going to quit staring at me?”
