Just Perfect (28 page)

Once you set a goal, stay true to your course.

—
How to Have
a
Perfect life

“I can’t believe how nervous I am,” Christine said as she turned into the insanely crowded parking lot for the Tex-Mex restaurant near Zilker Park.

“Well, I wish you’d cut it out, because you’re making me even more nervous.” Alec stared at her in the darkness of the car. “I mean, jeez, at least you know these people. I’m the one who has to pass the Friend Test.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She tried to reassure him as she circled around to the front. As usual, Chuy’s appeared to be packed, but this was where Amy had wanted to go for her send-off party before she left for her cruise. “I’ll try to calm down.”

“Do you mind if I ask why you’re so nervous?” Alec shifted in the passenger seat to face her as she snagged a rare space near the front door. “If there’s a serious chance they’re not going to like me and you’re going to call off the engagement based on their opinion, I’d like to know.”

“Of course they’ll like you, Alec. Everyone likes you. It’s just—” Turning off the car, she faced him.

The colored lights strung along the front of the old-house-turned-restaurant revealed the worry wrinkling his brow. “Okay, not to make you even more nervous, but you know I’ve always had really poor judgment where men are concerned. That’s made my friends extra critical.”

“Great.” He exhaled in a rush. “I always enjoy a little anxiety with my dinner. It aids the digestion so nicely.”

“It’ll be okay, though. They’re going to love you. They will.”

Alec tried not to panic as he followed Christine into the restaurant. He remembered the place from his high school days and was glad to see they still had the Elvis shrine at the front door. Inside was an explosion of clashing colors, music from the jukebox, and voices from the press of people waiting at the bar for a table.

Christine waved at three people seated on the far side of the bar. They headed that way, passing beneath hundreds of wildly painted wooden fish hanging from the ceiling.

“Sorry we’re late.” Christine hugged a redhead sitting on a stool. “I had trouble getting away from the hospital, and the parking lot’s a zoo, as always.”

“Not a problem.” The redhead eyed him with a smile. “I assume this is Alec.”

“Yes.” Christine slipped her arm about his waist, drawing him close enough that the group could talk over the noise. “Alec, my college roommates, Maddy Mills and Amy Baker.”

Maddy, the redhead, offered a friendly finger wave, while Amy, a plump but pretty brunette, gave him a shy smile.

“And this is Maddy’s fiance, Joe Frazer.” Christine gestured to a formidable-looking man with jet-black hair, deeply tanned skin, and the rock-solid body of a Special Forces soldier.

“Pleased to meet you.” Alec shook hands with Joe, then eyed the two women warily. “I think it best to tell you up-front, I’m absolutely terrified.”

Maddy laughed while Joe excused himself to tell the hostess their party was complete. They were seated a short time later in the intentionally tacky dining area. On the wall opposite a painting of Elvis on black velvet hung the quarter panels of three vintage Chevys.

“Well, Amy,” Maddy asked after they’d placed their orders, “are you nervous or excited about leaving tomorrow?”

“Both.” Amy laughed. “I’m all packed and ready to go, though, so I guess there’s no turning back.”

“Then we’ll wish you bon voyage.” Maddy lifted her margarita and they all followed suit and drank. Then she lifted her glass toward Christine. “And a second toast to Christine and Alec on their engagement.”

Alec breathed a small sigh of relief at that. A toast had to be a good sign. He hoped. His sigh came a bit soon, though, he realized, as Maddy and Amy started grilling him about growing up in Elgin and his work with search and rescue. He barely tasted his food as he answered every question.

Finally, in a desperate attempt to get the heat off of him, Alec turned to Joe. “Tell me about this civilian boot camp of yours.”

“Oh no.” Maddy rolled her eyes. “That will keep Joe talking for hours. I think I’ll go to the ladies’ room. Christine?”

“Yes, I need to go too.” Christine scrambled out of the booth.

“Me too.” Amy rose as well and the three women hurried off.

When they disappeared around a corner, Alec slumped in his seat. “Oh crap. There goes the jury.” His heart beat painfully as he eyed the man across from him. “How long do you think they’ll deliberate before coming back with a verdict?”

“Not long.” Joe dredged a chip through salsa. “And relax. You passed.”

“Really?” Alec straightened. “How do you know?”

“Maddy wiggled her brows and smiled at me about ten minutes ago. You’re in.”

“Jesus.” Alec pressed the heel of his hand to his heart to slow it down. “I hope you’re right. They’re really tight, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are, which has given me an idea. Did Christine mention that I’m handling all the plans for our wedding?”

“She did. Which has me wondering if you’re incredibly brave or totally insane.”

“Sometimes a man has to take things into his own hands if he wants action.” Joe’s expression was every inch the tough Army Ranger. “And since the women are off having their powwow I’ll run my idea by you first. I’d like to ask Maddy what she and Christine would think about a double wedding. They may hate the idea, since women are completely unpredictable on these issues, but I thought it would be worth bringing up.”

“What’s the date?”

“Second weekend in April, here in Austin, since Maddy’s family lives here.”

“Works for me. Actually, anything that gets Christine to the altar before she changes her mind works for me.”

“Okay, then we’ll ask them when they come back.”

“Assuming Amy and your fiancee aren’t telling my fiancee to ditch me right now.”

“I’m telling you, you’re in.”

“Well?” Christine asked the instant the restroom door closed behind them.

“Oh, Christine!” Maddy pulled her into a hug. “He’s wonderful!”

“Really?”

“Yes!” Maddy stepped back so Amy could hug her too.

“He’s absolutely perfect for you,” Amy proclaimed.

“Oh, thank God.” Closing her eyes, she tightened her arms around her friend. “I was so scared you wouldn’t approve. Like him, yes, everyone likes Alec, but I worried you would think he wasn’t right for me. He’s younger, he comes from a really different background, and he’s so…” She tried to think of the right words and couldn’t. “So Alec!”

Maddy ripped her head. “Actually, I thought he was quite reserved compared to what you’ve told us.”

“Only because you two had him sweating bullets.” Christine laughed. “I kept expecting one of you to break out a bare lightbulb.”

“We weren’t that bad.” Maddy laughed.

Christine rolled her eyes.

“Has your family met him yet?” Amy asked with a worried frown.

“No.” That let some of the air out of her elation. “Well, they sort of met him in Colorado, but I haven’t told them we’re engaged.”

Maddy frowned at her. “You’ve been engaged two days and you haven’t told your family.”

“To be honest”—she took both their hands—“I wanted to see what you thought first and get some advice on how to handle it. I’m really worried they won’t approve. At least not at first.”

Maddy snorted. “I can promise you they won’t approve—at all. I think you need to trust your heart on this one, though, and go for it. Don’t let your family ruin this for you, because they’re going to try.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

Maddy gave her a “get real” look.

“Okay, so what do I do?” Christine asked. “How do I get them to approve?”

“You don’t,” Maddy answered. “You ignore them.”

“I can’t do that.”

Amy squeezed her hand. “Do you want my advice?”

“Are you kidding?” Christine laughed. Amy always had wise insights on everything, as if she were an old soul who had wisdom beyond this lifetime. “I’d love your advice.”

“Okay, here goes.” Amy turned so serious, she looked almost stern. “The very things that make Alec perfect for you, his youthful attitude and lack of polish, are the things that are going to drive you crazy at times. Don’t let them, Christine. Don’t obsess over little things and pick fights over nothing just because you’re wound up and worried over what your family thinks. If you love him, love him just the way he is. The way he loves you just the way you are.”

“You really think he loves me?” Her heart fluttered at the words. “I mean, he certainly seems to, and he says he does.”

“Oh, honey.” Amy smiled at her. “That man lights up every time he looks at you.”

“But I didn’t do anything to make him love me.”

Maddy laughed. “If Mama Frazer were here, she’d tell you love doesn’t have to be earned. It either is or it isn’t. And it doesn’t come with a list of conditions that say ‘I’ll only love you if…’ ”

“What scares me most, though, is all the things he’s sacrificing to be with me,” Christine admitted. “I keep waiting for him to look at me and think, ‘Am I crazy? I’m giving up everything for
her?’ ”

Maddy plopped her fists on her hips in disgust. “Okay, that right there deserves about an hour-long lecture. We don’t have time, though, so I’ll leave it to Alec to explain why you’re worth any sacrifice. For now, let’s get back to the table, before your fiance has a nervous breakdown wondering what we’re saying about him.”

When they returned to the table, she saw Alec and Joe talking. The mere sight of him set off a warm glow inside her. Then he looked up, saw her smiling at him, and he visibly relaxed. The worry was still there, the questioning look in his eyes, but as Maddy had said, he lit up at the sight of her.

“Hi,” she said as she slid back into the booth beside him. What had she done to deserve this wonderful man who so clearly loved her?

“Hi.” He smiled back at her.

Across the table Joe turned to Maddy. “Alec and I were just talking about the wedding.”

“You were?” Maddy looked baffled by the thought of two men sitting around discussing wedding plans.

“Yep.” Joe nodded. “And we have an idea to toss out. If you hate it, no problem.”

“Okay…” Maddy looked wary. “What’s your idea?”

“What would you two think about a double wedding?”

“A double wedding?” Maddy tipped her head, then brightened. “I think that’s a fabulous idea! Christine?”

Christine tried to absorb it. She’d only agreed to marry Alec a couple of days ago, and now they were talking actual plans. “I—I don’t know.” She looked at Maddy. “You wouldn’t feel like I was horning in on your special day?”

“Actually,” Maddy said, “I’d feel like you were sharing it. What about you?”

“Yes, I suppose. Can I think about it?”

“Of course,” Maddy assured.

Joe snorted. “You two women think about it all you want. Alec and I will get started planning it.”

Maddy rolled her eyes, laughing. “Never get between Joe and a plan.”

“Well, one hurtle down.” Alec sighed in relief as they climbed into Christine’s car to leave the restaurant. “Two more to go.”

“Two more?”

“You meeting my family, and me meeting yours.”

“Oh, yes.” Her stomach tensed as she tried to imagine how her family would react to Alec. Surely they wouldn’t be as disapproving as Maddy feared.

Alec seemed equally thoughtful as she drove through Zilker Park toward the highway. “I don’t suppose we could skip over that first one.”

“Hmm?” She glanced at him in the dark. “You think your family won’t like me?”

“I have no idea what they’ll think, and frankly I don’t care. I’m much more worried about what you’ll think of them.”

“Oh, come on, Alec.” She managed a teasing smile. “Do you think I’m such a snob that I’ll break up with you because your family is…”

“Poor white trash?”

“Culturally challenged.”

He laughed. “They have a politically correct term for everything these days.”

She glanced over again and saw the worry in his eyes. “Are you really that ashamed of them?”

“In a word?” He arched his brow. “Hell yes!”

“That’s two words, and I thought you didn’t cuss.”

“I stand corrected, and I was showing my roots.”

“Hey, I cuss.”

“When you do it, it’s a funny quirk of character. When they do it, it’s a basic form of communication.”

“You know, if you’re serious about us getting married, I’ll have to meet them eventually. Wouldn’t it be better to find out how I’ll react now?”

“Good point.” He let out a loud sigh. “I’ll call Mom and tell her to expect us for lunch on Saturday. I assume you like barbecue.”

“I love barbecue.”