Just Perfect (22 page)

“Way better than a Dream House from Santa.” Christine smiled at Colleen.

Alec stood as if turned to stone, watching her bubble over with happiness about a job offer in Austin. He was so screwed.

“Let’s see, what can I do?” She looked around, oblivious to the fact that everyone was giving Alec looks of sympathy. “Oh! Costumes! Linda, I found everything on our list.” Turning back to the pile, she extracted a long black wig and held it up. “Kreiger, I even found a Captain Hook wig for you, so no getting out of it, okay?”

He grumbled something under his breath and turned his attention to the mast. The others went back to work as well.

Alec cleared his throat, pretending she hadn’t just kicked him in the gut. “Sounds like you really want this job.”

“More than I can possibly say,” she proclaimed.

“Then we should celebrate.” He forced a smile. “How about I take you to dinner at Russo’s?”

“Oh.” That drew her up short. She gave him a startled look. “You don’t have to do that. We could just go to the pub.”

In other words, she didn’t think he could afford Russo’s either. “I’d really like to take you somewhere nice to celebrate.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.” He managed a smile even as he wondered if he’d lost all hope of getting her to stay. “I’ll make reservations for tonight.”

“Okay. Sounds wonderful.”

“First, though”—he looked around, trying to focus— “we need to finish this.”

“You got it, Peter.” She pulled a green hat out of her pile and plopped it on his head, then looked at Buddy. “And for you, my furry friend…” She tied a white cap to Buddy’s head, then clapped her hands together. “What a cute Nanna!”

Buddy gave her a doggy grin, completely unaware his masculinity had just been insulted.

“Did you find a costume for you?” Alec asked.

“Yep.” She retrieved a blue ribbon and tied her hair at the nape, then held an old-fashioned nightgown to her shoulders. “How’s this?”

He tucked a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. “You make a very sexy Wendy.”

“Thank you. Although, I should have arm-wrestled Colleen for the part of Tinkerbell. She’s a lot more fun.”

“Except Wendy’s the one Peter loves best.”

“Not enough to grow up and be with her in the real world. Not that I blame him.” She scrunched up her nose. “Wendy’s such a Goody Two-shoes.”

He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, “How do we know that when Wendy got older, she didn’t get a naughty pixie tattooed on her butt?”

“Ooh, I like that thought. Okay, I’ll be Wendy with an inner Tink.” She wiggled her brows and whispered back, “Maybe we can rewrite the story so that Peter does grow up. That way he and Wendy get kinky together.”

“Hmm, eternal childhood or kinky adult sex?” Alec weighed the two, then shook his head. “If he’d only known, he probably
would
have grown up. On the spot!”

She laughed and gave him that happy look that went straight to his heart. Fortunately, before he could blurt out anything stupid, she moved away. “Did you get the goodies for the lost boys, pirates, and mermaids to toss to the crowd?”

“I did.” He gave himself a mental shake and crossed to the back of the truck. In the bed were buckets of flashlights the same size and shape as credit cards. They had emergency phone numbers printed on one side and safety tips printed on the other. “What do you think?”

“Oh! These are the perfect thing for Peter Pan to hand out.”

“They are?” He frowned at the bucket. “I just thought they were the perfect thing for search and rescue to hand out. So what’s the Peter Pan connection?”

“You know.” She held one up at arm’s length and shined it back toward herself. “ ‘Second star to the right and straight on till morning.’ That’s how you find your way to Neverland.”

“I still say we won,” Alec grumbled for the hundredth time since the parade ended.

“I agree.” Christine struggled against a smile as they stepped onto the elevator that would take them up to Russo’s. Alec sounded as passionate as a sports fan whose team had lost on a questionable call from the officials.

“We were robbed,” he insisted, hitting the button for the top floor.

“Absolutely.”

“How could the judges pick Steve?”

“Look at it this way.” She wrapped both her arms about one of his, admiring how handsome he looked dressed all in black, from the leather jacket and tur-tleneck to the slacks and boots. “At least the firefighters didn’t win.”

“True, but
Steve
?”

“Come on, admit it. His entry was clever. The sheriff as ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas’? That’s funny!”

“Maybe.” He scowled. “Our float was better.”

“I totally agree.” She took his face in her hand to get his full attention. “If I told you I wasn’t wearing any underwear, would you feel better?”

“Are you serious?” His gaze dropped to the long charcoal-gray coat she wore over an ankle-length dark blue dress. “You’re naked under that?”

“No, but I got your mind off the parade for a second, didn’t I?”

“Oh man, that bites, Chris. You build my hopes up, then lay me low. Now I’m even more bummed.”

Laughing, she laid her lips against his.
I love this man
. Startled by the thought, she jumped back and stared at him.

“What?” He frowned at her expression.

“Nothing,” she insisted as the elevator doors opened.

Her mind whirled as they crossed the hall to the maitre d‘ station just outside an ornate doorway. She couldn’t be in love. She enjoyed being with Alec, but that didn’t mean love. They barely knew each other.

And yet… at times she felt as if he knew her, understood her, and accepted her in ways no man ever had.

They lived in completely different states, though. Falling in love with him would be totally impractical.

“This way, please,” the maitre d‘ said, and led them into the softly lit restaurant that ran along the top floor. Private booths made of dark wood paneling lined the inside wall, facing a wall of glass. The ambience offered intimacy and old-world charm. The aroma of pasta sauce and freshly baked bread blended with the quiet strains of Italian folk music.

The maitre d‘ stopped at an empty booth. “Will this do?”

“This is perfect.” Alec nodded. “Thanks.”

“Very good.” The man laid menus and a wine list on the table and lit the candle. “Your server will be with you shortly. Enjoy your meal.”

“What a wonderful view,” Christine said as Alec took her coat.

“It really is,” he agreed.

The snow-covered mountains glowed a bluish white beneath a star-filled sky. In the plaza around the skating rink, golden light spilled from shops as people strolled about in their colorful winter clothes. The scene reminded her of a child’s snow globe after all the white flakes had gently settled.

After hanging their coats, Alec slid into the booth beside her.

A waiter appeared, wearing a crisp white shirt and apron over black pants. “Will you be having wine this evening?”

Alec reached for the wine list, frowning. “I don’t know much about wine. Maybe you should pick one.”

Christine didn’t have to see the list to know everything on it would be outrageously overpriced. She smiled at the waiter. “Actually, do you have any Italian beer?”

“Moretti,” he answered.

“Oh, that sounds good. I’ll have that and some water, please.”

“Very good. Sir?”

“I’ll have the same,” Alec answered, looking relieved.

As soon as the waiter moved off, she reached for the menu. “I wonder if they have authentic Italian pizza.”

“You don’t have to get pizza,” he assured her. Then he opened his menu and his eyes bulged ever so slightly.

Oh yes I do
, she thought, looking at the prices. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a real pizza?” She scanned the list and saw that even the pizzas weren’t cheap. At least they were better than lobster with linguini at triple the market price. “Aha! They have
quattro stagioni
, four seasons pizza, my favorite kind.”

He chuckled. “Bring the woman to a fancy restaurant, and she orders pizza and beer.”

“Aren’t those two of the four major food groups? So what are you having?”

“Good old-fashioned spaghetti and meatballs, if I can find it.” Alec stared at his menu, which had the names of all the dishes in Italian with English descriptions beneath.

“Don’t you hate it when restaurants make everything sound so fancy you can’t even order?” Christine wrinkled her nose playfully, which would have defused his embarrassment if he’d had any. He actually found the restaurant’s pretentiousness more amusing than intimidating. Christine leaned closer to read his menu. She smelled clean and simple, like she always did. No froufrou perfumes or clashing fragrances from too many scented lotions and hair goo. “Here you go.” She tapped the menu. “
Spaghetti e polpette
.”

“You speak Italian?”

“No, I speak food, in several languages. When you travel in Europe, you either pick it up or do a lot of pointing and praying. I’ve wound up with some really strange dishes using the point-and-pray method.”

“Okay, then you pick out an appetizer.” He held his menu toward her. When she took it, he draped his arm behind her along the back of the bench seat.

“Let’s see, I’d go with the
formaggi
, which is a bunch of different cheeses, or fried calamari.”

“That’s squid, right?” He frowned. “Will I like it?”

“I don’t know, but I
love
it.” Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight.

“Then order both.” He toyed with her hair. “I’m starved.”

“You’re always starved.” She laughed.

He felt an odd mix of arousal and nerves as he remembered why he’d brought her here. But he couldn’t very well blurt out “So what would you think about moving here” before they’d even ordered. He needed to bide his time. Wait for the right opening. Then bring it up slowly.

Unfortunately, the nervousness grew during dinner. He could barely even focus on her words as she regaled him with stories about family trips to Europe while she was growing up. Instead, he sat staring at her, thinking about how badly he wanted her to stay with him forever. To live together and grow old together. Good Lord, he sounded as sappy as Will.

When their dessert of tiramisu and cappuccino ar-rived, he stared at it and realized his time was running out.

“You’re awfully quiet,” she said, tipping her head to catch his eye. “You’re not still brooding over the parade, are you?”

“No. I was… thinking about… something else.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” This was it. He took a deep breath and laid his hand over hers. “I was thinking about how much I enjoy spending time with you.”

She sent him a smile as if she’d just melted inside. That was a good sign. He hoped. “I enjoy spending time with you too. In fact, I’ve never been so…
comfortable
with anyone before.”

“Same here.”

Her hand turned over beneath his and she squeezed his fingers. “I’m going to miss you when I leave.”

“Ah. Well. Hmm.” He cleared his throat. “About that, I was wondering… how serious is this job offer from the hospital in Austin?”

“Very serious, I hope.” Elation made her face even more beautiful.

“The reason I ask is because, well—” A fist of tension squeezed his chest. “The thing is, they have hospitals here.”

“I know. But none of them are St. James.”

“Yes, but if you found a position somewhere nearby, you wouldn’t have to leave.” He watched a frown dimple her brow, as if she were trying to decipher his words. He tightened his grip on her hand. “I don’t expect you to make a snap decision or anything. You’re going to be here another week, but…

well, see, I’d like you to consider moving here. So we can keep seeing each other.“

He watched as understanding hit. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“I realize we met only two weeks ago, but the deal is—” He lifted her hand and kissed her finger. “You have completely blown me away.” He wanted to say he loved her, to let everything inside him come spilling out in a rush, but the stunned look on her face stopped him. His heart raced as she continued to sit there staring.

Then with a breathy laugh she settled back and stared out the windows. “This is so my life! I can’t believe this.” The words sent a streak of fear racing through him. It mounted toward panic when she turned back to him with regret in her eyes. “Alec, I… I really will miss you, but this job is important to me.”

“If you need more time to think about it—”

“No,” she interrupted. “I don’t have to think about it. Nothing in the world could make me turn this job down. Please don’t take that personally.”

“How can I not take it personally?” His voice rose slightly as he realized she was turning him down, just like that, without even a second’s hesitation. “I say I want to keep seeing you, and you won’t even consider it? How is that not personal?”

“It’s—” She searched for words, then gave up. “You know, never mind. You wouldn’t understand, so maybe we should just drop it.”

“To heck with that!” He leaned forward when she tried to look away. “Talk to me. Make me understand.”

“Alec…” She shifted to face him. “If I could pick one hospital in all the world to work for, it would be St. James.”

“Why?”

“Because…” Frustration lined her face. “All my life, I’ve wanted to prove myself to my dad. To make him proud of me.” She took his hand in both of hers, her eyes pleading. “If I get this position, I’ll have that chance. I’ll be working with colleagues Dad respects. I’ll have the chance to show them I’m good. Really good. Every bit as good as Robbie.”

He stared at her in confusion. “You’re going to take a job simply to impress your father?”

She looked away. “I told you you wouldn’t understand.”

“Christine…” He put a finger to her chin to turn her back. “I’m probably overstepping my bounds here, but it sounds like you want the job for the wrong reason. You do know it’s never going to change, right? This weird triangle between you and your dad and your brother, it’s never going to change.”

“It’s already changing.” Some of her earlier excitement returned. “Don’t you see? This morning, after Dad told me about Ken Hutchens and what good things he’d heard about me, he said he was impressed.”