Just a Taste (27 page)

“I'm rested. Now I'm ready to do.”

He handed her a basket of dinner rolls. “Take this to the table and sit. Send in everyone to help carry the rest.”

She left the room and Liam went to task getting everything else on plates and in bowls. He carved the roast and then the turkey as his siblings all filed into the small kitchen to grab the waiting food.

As he plated the meat, Liam suddenly realized this was the first time that he'd been in charge of not just cooking the meal, but carving the turkey. Their father had always done it, and when he passed, their mother took over, even though all of the boys were capable. Somehow this occasion felt momentous.

Until Colin came into the room and slapped his shoulder. “Let's go. The army is starving out there.”

Liam hefted the platter of turkey and when he walked into the dining room, his family greeted him with cheers. Comedians, all of them.

He set the plate at his mother's elbow and took his seat. Carmen was already beside him, and he looked over his shoulder to the small table where Michael and Brianna and Moira and Jimmy sat. He briefly wondered how they determined who'd get stuck there.

Eileen held out a hand to Liam. She nodded at Colin, who sat at the other end of the table, where their father used to sit. “Colin, say grace.”

Liam took Carmen's hand. He bowed his head while Colin spoke, but he kept his gaze on Carmen. She was calm, unfazed by his rowdy family. He really did love her. When Eileen released his hand, it was his cue that the prayer was over. He squeezed Carmen's hand before grabbing the plate of turkey to pass.

He loaded his plate and picked out a couple of pieces of white meat and set them on Carmen's plate. The corner of her mouth lifted, and she passed the plate to Maggie.

Even though it seemed like everyone spoke at once as they passed food and made requests, Liam was completely in tune with Carmen, knowing what she would want on her plate and what she wouldn't. At one point, Maggie did shoot him a look in question, but no one said anything, other than to include her in conversation.

Liam couldn't remember any of his siblings bringing a date home for dinner without a complete interrogation happening. Not that he'd complain about this.

CHAPTER 16

C
armen pushed back from the table and stood to help clear the dishes. She followed Liam into the kitchen and began to fill the sink.

“What are you doing?”

She glanced around. “There is no dishwasher, so I figured the dishes needed to get clean somehow.”

He turned the faucet off. “We take turns doing dishes around here. I cooked, so I don't have to wash. And since you're my guest, you don't have dish duty either.”

Maggie bounced into the room. “Time for presents!” she announced. She sounded more like a twelve-year-old than a world-traveling twentysomething.

Carmen had not been looking forward to this part of the night. Other than the fruit basket, she hadn't bought gifts for anyone. She didn't even know anyone well enough to think about a gift. How awkward would it be to sit around and watch everyone else open theirs?

Liam held her hand and led her into the living room. He sat on the floor with his back against the arm of the couch. He patted the spot between his legs for her to sit. Instead, she sat beside him. Sitting between his legs felt much too intimate for a family gathering. But she looked around and saw that while Jimmy sat on the couch, Moira sat on the floor, between his feet. His hands rubbed her shoulders and played with her hair. Quinn sat across from her with a baby in her lap, as did her sister. Carmen wondered if they intentionally timed their pregnancies to coincide.

Colin plopped on the love seat beside Maggie and pulled his fiancée, Elizabeth, down onto his lap. Although the woman laughed and slapped his chest, she didn't move.

This family obviously had no issue with PDA.

Ryan grabbed packages from under the tree and tossed them at their recipients. Sometimes, the gift was too heavy, so he actually had to walk it across the room. No one attempted to unwrap anything as they were delivered.

Much to her shock, Ryan called her name and then tossed a small box at her. She caught it and looked at Liam, who shrugged. They had exchanged gifts last night, but maybe he saved something small for her to open with his family so she wouldn't feel left out.

The two babies had a mountain of presents in front of them in a matter of minutes. Carmen felt bad for their mothers, who would get stuck opening all of them. The babies were barely old enough to sit by themselves.

Ryan called her again and tossed another package.

What the heck?

While the passing continued, Carmen looked at the tags stuck to the gifts. One was from Moira, which shouldn't have surprised her because through their brief conversations, Carmen had already discovered that Moira was one of the most open and friendly women she'd ever met.

The other gift was from Eileen. How had she been able to get Carmen a gift? The woman had been in the hospital yesterday. Before she knew it, two more gifts were passed to her. Tears sprang to her eyes. She'd wanted to be accepted by Liam's family because he was important to her, but she hadn't expected gifts.

She blinked rapidly, and Liam put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. “Getting presents is supposed to make you happy.”

“I am.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you,” she whispered.

He smiled one of those rare smiles that filled his face. He brought her mouth to his and captured it in a passionate kiss. Gifts fell off her lap as she twisted to deepen the kiss. She forgot all about being in a room full of O'Learys. Liam's kisses transported her to a place where no one but them existed.

A sudden, sharp whistle pierced the air, and Carmen jumped back from Liam. Heat flared up her cheeks, and she wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by a sinkhole. Liam turned back to face his family.

Jimmy called out, “I want to know what kind of present gets a thank-you kiss like that one.”

“That wasn't a thank-you. She kisses me like that because she loves me,” Liam responded.

“Get a room,” Maggie yelled from her perch on the couch.

Moira jumped in. “Don't be jealous, Magpie. You'll get your chance.” Her voice was sickeningly sweet, and Carmen couldn't hide her smile.

This family was a lot of fun.

The last presents were handed out and everyone tore in simultaneously. She took her time, relishing in the love she felt in the room. The presents she received weren't expensive or terribly personal: a scarf, a pair of gloves, some chocolate from Ireland (a shocking present from Maggie), and a pair of beautiful earrings from Moira.

Carmen took a few minutes to look around at everyone. They chatted as they held up presents. It looked like most people only had a couple of things to open. Then she heard them chatting about grab bags and who had who. Quinn and her sister, Indy, were still unwrapping presents for the babies while the dads watched with cameras poised.

Her heart squeezed at the sight.

“Griffin, what is this?” Eileen asked, holding up a piece of paper.

“We hired a cleaning service for you,” Indy's husband answered.

“I'm capable of cleaning my own house.”

“We know you are, and you've done it for many years. It's time for you to relax, and let us take care of you.”

“No one ever does it as well as you do it yourself.”

Griffin smiled. “If you're not happy with something, all you have to do is point it out and they'll redo it. They'll work until you're happy.”

Judging by the look on Eileen's face, that would take some doing.

“You like your presents?” Liam whispered in her ear.

“Yes. Not as much as I like what you gave me, though.” She fingered the necklace at her throat.

Quinn handed her son off to Ryan and stood, gathering pieces of wrapping paper. “I hope you all know that there will be payback. You all chose the noisiest toys possible. Someday, you'll have children, and I'll get my revenge.”

She waved scraps of paper as she spoke. No one took her seriously, or they didn't care, because they all continued with their conversations. Carmen pushed off the floor to help collect the trash.

Ryan stood with the baby. “You had to know that would happen. You and Indy gave birth to the firsts: granddaughter, grandson, niece, nephew. No one's used to having babies around.”

Carmen's heart gave another squeeze. Her parents had never had the joy of holding a grandbaby. The thought saddened her.

“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “It gives us a reason to go to the store and play with toys. Just wait until he gets bigger, and I get him his first football and teach him how to throw it.”

Quinn sighed but smiled.

As Carmen scooped up ripped paper, she thought about how spoiled her child would've been if she'd had one before her parents had died. A few other people began crawling along the floor to grab trash. Then of course, a couple of the brothers balled up paper and began to throw it.

Eileen stood. “Enough of that. You'll scare the babies.” She bent over to take the baby from Indy, but Griffin was at her side in a flash.

“Have a seat. I'll bring her to you.”

“I don't need to be coddled. I carried babies around for years.” She smiled at the infant. “And this little thing isn't much.”

Indy passed the baby up to Eileen. Griffin helped his wife off the floor and pulled her into an embrace. Carmen had no idea how long they'd been married, but they acted like they were still on their honeymoon. Carmen's parents had been like that.

It was a special forever kind of love. She stole a glance at Liam and wondered if they would have that.

Then she mentally shook herself. She was getting caught up in the excitement of the holiday. Liam was the first real relationship she'd had. There was no need to push it to be anything else. Besides, who knew where they'd be in a year? Most likely, they'd be parting ways because they'd be able to sell the truck.

Liam had mentioned he wanted to open a restaurant, that the truck was a stopping point on his journey. She very well might be just another stopping point for him. As she filled a trash bag with paper, she looked over the room again and decided she could live with that. A year of this kind of happiness after so many of sadness was well worth it.

After a luxurious day in bed with Liam on Sunday, her week began with an argument with him about the truck. She'd told him she already had Rosa scheduled to work so he would have time with his mom.

“My mom is fine. What am I supposed to do, sit and watch her?”

“I'm sure there are appointments with the doctor or trips to the grocery store you can help with. Your mom had a heart attack. It's not a cold. Take all the time you need to be with her.” Carmen got ready and poured herself a cup of coffee before heading out into the cold.

Liam followed her into the kitchen. “What do you want me to get for the party on Friday?”

“Nothing. I'll figure it out later. Did you invite your brothers and sisters?”

“Yeah. Moira has a work thing she needs to do. Ryan and Griffin are both staying at home because of the babies. Colin has to run his bar. Maggie said she'd come, and Michael might, unless he has the chance to pull an extra shift at the firehouse.”

Carmen tried not to be disappointed. It was a little last minute, but after they'd all been so nice to her this weekend, she really wanted to include them.

“What are you thinking about serving?”

She sipped her coffee. “Pizza?

“Forget it. I'll plan the menu.”

“I don't need you to play chef, Liam. It's just a casual party with my family. Trust me, they aren't picky.”

He pulled her close. “I don't get to do chef-like things too often. Let me do this.”

She smiled. Working on a taco truck was a step down for someone like him. Sometimes she forgot. “Fine. But nothing too weird.”

By the time she got to the first stop with Rosa, Liam had called her three times with reminders about the food or the menu or the grill. All things she knew how to do on the truck. Didn't the guy know how to take a day off?

He claimed that he could multitask. He called her while running errands for his mom. The whole day reaffirmed her knowledge that Liam was the kind of guy who liked to run things.

They weren't as busy as they had been the previous week, but not slow enough to consider closing early. Although Rosa and Carmen worked well together, it wasn't as much fun as working with Liam.

As they closed up at the first site and readied for the second, Rosa asked, “So where did you decide to go on vacation?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were going on vacation. What did you finally decide?”

“Nothing. I had some ideas, but then everything happened with Liam's mom and it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.”

Rosa stared at her, but didn't say anything.

What was she supposed to do? Leave Liam and the truck when his mom was in the hospital? Even if she put the business aside, she cared about Liam. He needed her here. But she had no way to explain that to Rosa. Rosa had never been in love.

Carmen smiled thinking about how much she loved Liam. She started the truck and pulled out into downtown traffic.

“What's that smile for?”

“Nothing.”

“Liar. You're thinking about getting it on.”

“Am not.”

“Then what?”

“I love Liam. I really do.” She sighed. “I dreamed about finding some special guy one day, but it was always somewhere down the line, in the future, never now. It's like I looked up, and he was just there. It's better than I thought it would be.”

“He like this too?”

“Like what?”

“All mushy and shit.”

“He told me he loves me, if that's what you're asking. I spent Christmas with his family. Even I know a guy doesn't do that unless he's serious.” She rounded the corner near Monroe and slowed. A truck was already in the spot they usually took. Crap. Now they'd have to go somewhere else.

She tossed Rosa her phone. “Check the food truck finder site and see if this guy is on there. We already posted we'd be here today, and he swooped in and stole our spot.”

Rosa clicked away on the phone. “Nothing.”

Carmen sighed. She didn't know what to do in this situation. She drove at a snail's pace down the block and considered a different location.

“Let's try farther north,” Rosa suggested. “Why stay in the middle of downtown? There are some spots on the Northside we can try.”

“Yeah, but those spots are usually taken.”

Rosa's focus was on the phone's screen. “There should be a spot opening on Lincoln. One of those cupcake trucks will be leaving soon if they haven't already.”