Melissa Schroeder - A Santini Takes the Fall (The Santinis Book #9)

by Unknown

  “I thought we already had those.”

  She snorted and grabbed her phone off the table. She apparently had the number programmed into her phone. She ordered his Pad Thai, and some Thai basil for herself.

  “So,” he asked, still toying with the ends of her hair, “you order a lot of take out?”

  She shrugged. “It’s habit. Unless I have plans with my dad, I tend to grab something or order in a few times a week. I do like to cook, but sometimes it seems like a waste of time to cook only for myself.”

  “Yeah, I know that feeling. Before moving into the guest house, I did that a lot.”

  “New York spoiled me. I don’t know if I could live anywhere there wasn’t a decent delivery service, at least right now. It’s one of the reasons I was happy my uncle offered up his apartment. I definitely couldn’t afford something like this, not with the money I put into the studio.”

  “So, when is the recital?”

  “A week from tonight.”

  He detected something beneath the surface. It was there in the way her spine had stiffened slightly and the tone of her voice.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit. Something has you worried.”

  She shrugged. “It’s my first recital.”

  “It can’t be your first recital.”

  “I mean as a teacher. It’s the first time I have done this.”

  “And you’re worried about it?”

  She nodded. “It is more about me as a teacher, what I can inspire.”

  “You’re not worried about their abilities.”

  “No. It isn’t about how they perform. It is about if they enjoy performing. That is the most important thing.”

  He blinked at the passion behind the statement. He agreed with her, but he definitely didn’t expect it to come from an accomplished ballerina like Lalani.

  “Where did that philosophy come from?”

  “What kind of a question is that?”

  “A normal kind.”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s from my mother. She always believed that I should enjoy what I was doing. So, she never forced me into dance. That was all me. She never discouraged me, but she always let me know that it wasn’t the beginning and end of who I was.”

  He nodded. “I just assumed that you would be more strict about your students.”

  “I expect them to dance, but I also don’t expect them to live the life of a dancer. Teaching isn’t about having a prima in every class. It’s about teaching the things I love about dance. The music, the love of the actual dancing is more important than talent. You can have all the talent in the world but never truly be happy because you hate what you are doing. I saw it all the time in New York. People who did it as if it were an every day, run of the mill job.”

  “And so, this recital is free to the public?” he asked before he realized what he had just asked. The moment he did, he understood what it meant. This was a piece of her that he wanted to see, a glimpse into another facet of one of the most intriguing women he had ever met. It also meant he was about to expose her to his family in a way he had not expected.

  She smiled. “Yes, but I’m sure I can talk to someone about getting you a ticket.”

  He chuckled. “What about three?”

  “Alana already has her tickets.”

  “I was talking about for my folks. They’re going to be in town.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “My parents. They’re coming in Wednesday night.”

  “Your parents are going to be here?” she asked, her voice turning a bit shrill.

  “Yeah.”

  “How long have you known about that?”

  “Just a few hours. Mom called, said she wanted to get some Jon time in.”

  She nodded. “Can’t blame her there.”

  “Is there something wrong?”

  “Why would there be anything wrong?”

  “Because you’ve gone pale.”

  She gave him a look that would have terrified an ordinary man. Thank God he was a Santini.

  “I don’t do pale.”

  Oh, someone was really bothered by meeting his parents. It seemed odd because she seemed to have such a good relationship with her father. “I just don’t know why you are freaking about my parents coming.”

  “Mothers have a certain thing about their sons—especially their oldest.”

  “My father will be here too, you know.”

  She jumped up off his lap. “I don’t do the parent thing. Not really.”

  She started to pace.

  “Hey, why are you freaking out?”

  “I am not freaking out. I am…concerned.”

  Concerned wasn’t a word he would use for her reaction. She looked panicked. Waves of terror wafted off her as she continued to walk back and forth.

  “You don’t have to worry about my mother.”

  She slanted him a look and kept pacing.

  “What was that look for?”

  “You are her first born, and I am sleeping with you,” she practically screeched.

  With a crocked grin, he said, “I’m pretty sure Mom knows I’m not a virgin.”

  She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Anthony, you know what I mean. You’re at an age where your mother looks at every woman as a potential daughter-in-law.”

  Well, that much was true. From the time he had graduated from college, his mother had been hinting at marriage. It was a family trait. It wasn’t overt or even intrusive, and all of them knew it was done out of love. Of course, if he told Lalani that right now, she might have a full-blown panic attack.

  “Listen, Mom has three of us married and two grandbabies on the way. She might have been a little pushy before, but now, she’s calmed down.”

  He said a prayer for forgiveness.

  “Calmed down?”

  “Yeah. Two babies that are going to be born less than six weeks apart, are keeping her happy.”

  He made a mental note to talk to his mother and, more importantly, to his father. Anthony needed his father to keep everything calm.

  She sighed. “I just don’t do well with moms.”

  “Your mother liked you.”

  She chuckled. “Yeah, and we would gang up on my father.”

  “I can only imagine what it was like living in a house as a minority.”

  “He handled it pretty well, considering he was a Marine.”

  Diverting her was the important thing. “So, why do you say you don’t do well with moms?”

  She shrugged and sat down on the barstool next to his. “I just never met mothers of the men I was dating. Well, not many.”

  Something in the back of his memory slinked forward. He remembered Marco saying something about a bad breakup.

  “Why not?”

  “Like I said, no dating in high school, so by the time I started really dating, men were on their own. Most of them were dancers living far from home.”

  He reached out and started to play with the ends of her hair again. He was definitely becoming obsessed with her hair. It was so soft, with just a bit of curl at the ends. She claimed it would get frizzy when she let it go, but he would probably like it just as much. Feeling it slide against his flesh when they were in bed together was going to go down as one of his favorite memories.

  “No serious relationships?”

  “One.”

  “One serious relationship, and the mother had something to do with it going wrong?”

  “Not really.”

  He hated that she was keeping things from him. It gnawed at his gut that there was something so personal she didn’t feel comfortable sharing it with him.

  “I’m just going to keep bugging you until you tell me.”

  “You are going to bug me. That’s rich. You’ve not told me one damned thing about your past dating experience.”

  He held his hands out and said, “Ask away. I’m an open book.”

  “Okay
, have you ever been engaged?”

  He shook his head. “Been close once, but that was before she realized being the girlfriend of a Marine who deployed constantly wasn’t that much fun. I think she realized that being a wife would be even worse.”

  She snorted. “Wimp.”

  “That’s what my mother said.”

  She didn’t smile like he wanted her to. For some reason, he had a need to make her happy. It was as if his happiness suddenly depended on it. He shoved that uneasy thought aside.

  “Got any other questions?” he asked.

  She crossed her arms and studied him again. “Why did you get out?”

  “Sick of it. I loved it when I got in. Loved my job, loved the difference I made. Then things started to change. Moving up in rank changed things, changed the way I could work. Soon, it wasn’t that much fun anymore and then, I started to dread going to work.”

  “And NCIS?”

  He smiled. “My friend JT had talked to me about it. He was in the same situation, and he wanted out. He’d already interviewed and I followed suit.”

  “JT? Isn’t he married to your sister?”

  He frowned. “Yeah, I’m trying to get used to that.”

  She chuckled. “How long have they been together?”

  “A few months. So, this one big relationship?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth and the buzzer sounded. “Oh, hey, our food. Could you buzz him up?”

  He nodded.

  “I need to go wash up.” She grabbed her purse, but he shook his head.

  “I’ll take care of dinner.”

  She frowned and he shook his head. “I’ll get dinner, and you can handle breakfast.”

  “You got it.”

  She hurried out of the room. He buzzed the delivery guy into the building and grabbed his wallet. He would have to deal with her past relationships at some point. Then, maybe he could find out why she freaked out the way she did and why it mattered so much to him.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Lalani stared at the woman in the mirror and came up for one word for her.

  Coward.

  She had always been someone who had prided herself for being an open book to her close friends. But her relationships, they were another thing all together. She had taken that chance once. It had failed spectacularly.

  She couldn’t lay the entire blame on Ron. He had been fun to begin with. They had met her first year in New York, and he had swept her off her feet. He had money, a lot of it, but that hadn’t been so important to her. She’d had a boyfriend or two at Julliard, and she most definitely wasn’t a virgin when she had met him. But she hadn’t been prepared for her relationship with Ron. When it had crashed and burned less than six months after it started, Lalani had been devastated and remained cautious until now. Well—until Anthony.

  She sighed and turned from the mirror. She needed to gain her balance again, but it was hard with Anthony. He kept her guessing about what he was up to. Hell, dropping the bombshell of his parents coming to visit had knocked her for a loop. She closed her eyes and set her forehead against the door.

  A Santini Mother. She had heard both Alana and Marco talk about Joey Santini. Alana had said she was a bit frightening, and the other three mothers were just like her. It was enough to make an ordinary girl have doubts. Big doubts. She had lost big when Ron’s mother had intruded on her relationship. It was the one time she had really dealt with that kind of insanity, and she didn’t want to experience it again—ever. There had been no benefit—just heartache and regret.

  No matter what Anthony said, she was pretty sure his mama would know what was going on between them. She also would want to know just what Lalani’s intentions were. Her father had said they were good people, but mamas and their sons made her nervous. Who knew how his mother would act? Lalani had learned with Ron that mothers had a lot of influence in their sons’ lives.

  She heard the door open, heard the low murmur of male voices. She waited until she heard the door shut before walking out.

  “Hey there,” Anthony said as he set the containers on the breakfast bar.

  “Hey. Why don’t we sit on the lanai? The trades are nice tonight.”

  He flashed her a smile. It was one she had seen from him before, but this time, something pinged in her heart. Just a little ping, but the effect of it rippled through her entire body. Her head suddenly felt as if it were on an unending pirouette. She drew in a deep breath, bringing the scene of their dinner into her body. Her stomach growled, and she realized her reaction was probably because she was hungry.

  “Do you want a fork or chopsticks?”

  “Chopsticks,” he said.

  “Drink?”

  “Water’s fine.”

  “Hmm,” as she grabbed the chopsticks, a spoon for herself, and then two glasses of water.

  When she joined him out on the lanai, he was already settled in the chair waiting on her.

  “What does hmm, mean?”

  She shrugged. “I see you as a beer after a long week of work kind of guy.”

  He took the chopsticks she offered. “Usually, I am, but I don’t want anything clouding my senses tonight.”

  She didn’t miss the small curve of his mouth. “And what makes you think I’m not going to kick you out now that I got dinner and sex out of you?”

  He snorted. “Give me a break. I’m a Santini.”

  Lalani fought a smile. The man really was too much. “And you think that’s all that needs to be said?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and nodded as he shoved some noodles into his mouth. She wanted to be disgusted—she knew she should be. Her entire career had been littered with big egos and men that thought they could charm her. While he had the big ego, he didn’t really try to charm her. If anything, he was an ass. But that crooked smile and the way his eyes danced with self-depreciating humor made her heart melt. Hell, all of her was melting, but that moment, her chest grew tight, her breath caught in her throat.

  Dammit. She had been trying to avoid this for a long time and had, up until now, been successful. Then, Anthony Santini had burst into her life and made her fall in love with him.

  She was going to kill him.

  “Are you okay?”

  She blinked at the spots in front of her eyes, then gulped in a big breath. She turned her head to look at him.

  “Lalani?” Great. Now he sounded concerned, as if there was something wrong with her. And there was. Something very, very wrong.

  When she blinked and focused on him, he looked like he was going to jump out of the chair and do something. She couldn’t have him touch her right now. She might just freak.

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” Not really, but she could fake it. Hopefully.

  “You look kind of dazed.”

  She sighed and settled back in her chair. “I’m really tired. It’s been a long week. And another one is coming next week.”

  “Right.”

  She glanced at him, but he wasn’t looking at her now. He was looking out over Waikiki. He didn’t look mad, but he definitely didn’t sound like he believed her. It was the best excuse she could come up with, and for right now it would have to do.

  She wasn’t that happy about it, and she was pretty sure Anthony wouldn’t be either. So she tucked her revelation away and would deal with it later. Tonight she just wanted to enjoy being with him.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Buzzing woke Anthony the next morning. He shifted his position on the bed and tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t stop. He opened his eyes and frowned when he realized there was a large window opposite of the bed. Where the hell was he? A split second later, the memories of the night before flooded his mind.

  Lalani.

  He felt a soft warm body against his chest and he looked down. She was snuggled up against him, her hand on his chest right where his heart was.

  The buzzing started again, and he realized it was Lalani’s phone on the nightstand. He reached for it and saw her f
ather’s picture on the caller ID.

  “Lalani.”

  “Muaphaphump,” was all she said before trying to burrow closer to him.

  “Lalani, baby, your father’s on the phone.”

  She sighed, and he could tell she was trying to get back to sleep. “What? Who?”

  “Your father.”

  Her eyes shot open. “My father?”

  He held up her phone as it started vibrating again.

  “I can answer for you.”

  She sat up and grabbed the phone.

  “Hey, Daddy.”

  She was quiet as her father spoke. Something in her voice told him that she wasn’t accustomed to answering the phone after a night in bed with a man. Anthony couldn’t help but be pleased by that little nugget of info.

  “Um, I’m sorry, I forgot. I can be there in about twenty minutes.”

  As she listened to her father, Anthony sat up and kissed her shoulder. She tossed him an irritated glance. Oh, yeah, this wasn’t something she had done on a regular basis.

  “I promise. Just busy this week and kind of stressed.”

  He trailed a finger down her spine, enjoying the way she wiggled when he teased her.

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  She hung up and slipped away from him. He frowned, but he couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of her gorgeous ass as she headed to the bathroom.

  “So, we’re having breakfast with your father.”

  She leaned out the door. “I’m having breakfast with my father.”

  “No. We’re having breakfast with your father.”

  “I—”

  “Either we are a couple, or we aren’t. There is no in between. I’m too old for games like that.”

  She didn’t say anything for a long moment, as he refused to break eye contact. He wasn’t going to walk away if she said he couldn’t come. He’d just have to fight her harder.

  “Okay, but it’s still going to be weird.”

  “You mean your father thinks you’re a virgin?”

  “No, but, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to be smacked in the face with the fact that I’m sleeping with you. Not right away at least.”

  “We’ll just act as if we had plans to meet. I’ll distract him with Marine talk.”