Moonlight and Margaritas (34 page)

He nodded toward the ocean.  "He's checking out a potential job.  Can I help you with something?"

"No.  I really need to speak with him."

The kid eyed her picnic basket.  "You're the lady from Cabo, right?  The one who swam with the jellies.  The one he came back for." 

That made her smile, and her small tendril of hope blossomed.  "Do you know how long he'll be?"

He shrugged.  "Could be a while."

"The sun will be setting soon.  Do you think he'll be back by then?"

"Don't know.  He's got lights, so it won't make much difference to him.  Sometimes, he just sleeps on his boat out there.  Did he forget a date with you or something?"

"Or something."  She tapped her foot, thinking.  She'd come this far, she didn't want to turn back now.  "Do you know where he's at?  Can you take me out there?"

He glanced at the dock holding two small boats.  "Uh…I'm not sure if I should."

She sighed.  "I'd wait here, but I'm afraid he won't return tonight.  I hate to think I came all this way for nothing."  Plus, if they were stuck on the boat together, Joe would have to talk to her.  Elena smiled. "I'll pay you." 

That caught his attention.  "How much?"

"Fifty-bucks?"  She had no idea of the going rate for cajoling the younger generation.

He grinned.  "You got it."

In all actuality, it took them very little time to travel the short distance up the coast, and find Joe's boat anchored near some kind of underwater structure.  She climbed aboard to find another teenage guy, but not Joe.

Within a minute, she'd convinced the second kid to accompany the first back to shore, promising that if Joe ran into any trouble, she could handle it.

She nodded and waved good-bye as her water taxi head back down the shore. 

When she was alone, her nerves kicked in full force.  Needing something to keep her busy while she waited, she took the picnic basket below and put the perishables in the fridge.  The evening wasn't turning out exactly as she had planned, but that could very well be for the best.

She tried tugging on the line to see if that would get him to surface, but it didn't.  The next ten minutes dragged by as she anxiously watched for any sign of him.    

Elena gave up.  She'd waited long enough.  Without dwelling on her decision, she began going through the outdoor lockers, searching for an air tank.  If he wouldn't come up, there was no reason she couldn't go down and get him. 

She lucked out when she found a full tank along with a set of diving equipment.  In another locker, she located a wetsuit that looked like it might fit.

She was going after her man. 

Now that she'd made her decision to accept Joe, her vision of the future grew crystal clear.  With steady fingers, she undid the buttons on her shirt.  Her bra and panties would have to serve as her swimsuit, but at this point, she really didn't care.  She would have her say with Joe right now, and that was that.  If she had to wait for him any longer, her reserve would falter and her nerves would send her over the brink.

She tossed her blouse on a nearby chair and undid her jeans.  She shimmied them down her legs and bent over to remove them from her feet.    

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

She stumbled in shock as she tried to turn around.  Her feet tangled in her jeans, and after several attempts to right herself, she landed on her behind, staring up at him.

Joe watched her for a moment, water dripping from his wetsuit, and then he began to laugh.  She had to look like an idiot sitting in her bra with her pants twisted around her feet.  "Obviously, I came to see you."

"And you're taking off your clothes because…"

"I was going to dive down to find you."

"Uh-huh."  He searched the surrounding water as she got to her feet and pulled up her pants.  Half naked, sprawled on his deck was not what she'd envisioned when she pictured them finally meeting again.  She snatched her blouse and shrugged into it.

"How did you get here?"  He pinned her with a pointed gaze.  "And where's Travis?"

"Your employee at the dock brought me out.  Then I led them both to believe we had a date, so they went back to shore, knowing that I'd be here in case you had any trouble."  At least Joe hadn't tossed her overboard yet.

"Was it Paul?"

Joe was also speaking to her, which was another good sign.  "I didn't ask his name."  But she was pretty sure he'd been introduced to her on their dive trip as Paul.

"Did he ask yours?" 

"He remembered me from Cabo."  She didn't like the frown that settled on his face.  "Don't be mad at him.  What kid do you know who could resist a bribe?"  All in all, it was a brilliant move on her part.

"You paid him?"

"Fifty dollars."

A grin cracked his serious demeanor.  "You paid Paul fifty bucks so you could come out here to see me."  He sounded incredulous.

"I'm a desperate woman.  I didn't know what else to do.  You won't answer my calls." 

He studied her for a moment.  "What would be the point when there's nothing left to say?"

She took a step forward.  "That's where you're wrong.  I have something I need to say."

"I think enough has been said and done.  I gave you my heart, and you tossed it back and ran into the arms of another man."  He looked down as he unzipped his wetsuit.  "I should have listened when you said you weren't interested in a relationship."

"I love you."  There, she'd said it.

He pulled off his wetsuit and stepped out of it, without sparing her a glance.  She wondered if he'd heard her.

She took a step forward.  "Did you hear me, Joe?  I love you.  I know you don't want to talk about that kiss, but I did it because I was angry with Richard and scared of you, and all it did was prove to me how special our relationship was. 
Is
." 

She closed the remaining distance between them, watching him as he eyed her with a guarded gaze.  "You terrify me, Joe."  A tremble rocked through her.  "The feelings I have for you are so powerful.  I'm afraid they're going to swallow me."  She put her hand on his cheek still wet from diving, watching his expression for any sign of hope.  "But I can't lose you."

He wiped a trickle of water from his forehead.  "What if I want to get married?"

She inhaled a large breath and released it.  "I…I won't say it's out of the question."

He paused, his expression still void.  "What about living together until you decide you're ready?"

"Do you mean it?"  Was he really forgiving her?

He paused and then nodded.  "You know I love you.  Even if sometimes I'd like to throttle you."

Yes, she could handle that much of a commitment.  Her heart swelled with love for her dear, dear man.  The thought of waking up next to him each morning filled her with happiness.  "I'd like that very much.  Living together, not the throttling." 

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him, the warm skin of his bare stomach touching hers.  "What if I want to have kids?"

She sucked in a surprised breath.  "That might be a problem."

He chuckled then and kissed her.  "I'm teasing.  We'll both love Cassie and wait for her to give us grandkids."

She couldn't help the grin that dashed across her lips.  "That sounds wonderful."  She hugged him, happiness welling inside her.  Now that she'd decided to keep him in her life, everything seemed perfect.  This was a love like she'd never known.  Honest, well-grounded, passionate.  Something she could treasure forever.

"I love you, Joe Stephens."  She meant it with every fiber of her being.

"I love you, my sweet Elena."  He gave her a kiss that left her sizzling.  "Let me take you below and show you how much."

"Only if you'll let me show you how grateful I am that you took care of the big hole in front of my shop."

"Heard about that, huh?"

"Renee."  She grinned as they headed inside.  "She also sent me with food for later."

"Renee, huh?"  He rolled his eyes.  "I'll never hear the end of how she was right, and I was wrong."  He grinned at her, his smile warming her inside and out.  "But it'll be worth it."

Later, as they lay sated in his bed, Elena rolled over on top of him, trapping him with her gaze.  "Joe?"

He leaned up and kissed her.  "Hmm…"

"Tu robaste mi corazon."  She recited the words he'd written on the card he'd given her in Cabo, meaning every one of them.  She placed her lips against his in a soft kiss.  "You've stolen my heart.  Forever." 

She was nineteen and pregnant.

Could things get any better?  Allie Jordan didn't think so.  Excitement bubbled in her like the fizzy Coke she held in her hand while she waited outside the local bowling alley after finishing her shift.  She watched for her boyfriend's face among the few stragglers who walked Chicago's darkened west-side streets.

Sure, her friends thought she was crazy for wanting a baby and a family right out of high school, but they didn't know lonely like she did.  They had families who waited for them to come home.  Allie was lucky her aunt still let her crash on the rotted couch in the basement.  She desperately wanted someone she could love forever.  Now, she'd found him.

Half the marquee lights above her were burned out, leaving a soft, protective glow around her.  The summer temperatures had come early in May, giving warmth to the evening and coaxing the hoodlums out of their hangouts.  Being out alone in that part of town was not for outsiders, but this was her small section of the city.  She knew how to avoid the dangers.  Besides, nobody messed with Joey Pagano's girlfriend.

She took a sip of Coke and rocked on her heels in anticipation.  Once she told Joey about the baby, she knew he'd want to get married.  Then she'd finally have the family she longed for.  An odd kind of energy swirled around her, and Allie knew this was a night she'd remember forever.

Her heart rate jumped when Joey came in to view as he hurried toward her, his dark hair and jacket making him seem part of the night.  "You're late again."  Allie wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.  His breaths were quick and deep from exertion, but he was there, and everything was perfect.  The world lay at her feet, and she couldn't wait to grab it and run.  "Someday—"

"Allie, stop."

The fear in his voice surprised her.  Her happy mood dropped like a block of cement in the nearby Chicago River.  When she looked closer, she realized he had a black eye and his beautiful lip was cut, leaving a bit of dried blood on his mouth.  His injuries struck a chord of fear that had long been dormant inside her.  "What's wrong?"

She'd never seen him with his dark eyes so full of anxiety.  "We've got to get out of here," he said.  "I'll take you home.  You need to stay inside your aunt's house as much as possible.  I don't think anybody will mess with you there."  He pulled her along the street into a deserted alley, tugging her harder and harder until they were nearly running.

"What do you mean, nobody will mess with me?"  The sound of their feet smacking the pavement echoed around them, leaving the other noises behind.  "Is somebody messing with you?  Is it Benny?"  Anything that was bad, wrong or dangerous in Joey's life was because of Benny Trasatti.

Joey didn't answer.

He slowed as the eerie darkness enveloped them, allowing her to catch her breath.  A cat dashed behind one of the few parked cars on the deserted street.

"You're not talking to me.  Why won't you tell me what's happened?"  Couldn't he see she was freaking out?

"I can't right now.  Just—don't worry.  Everything's cool."

They reached the end of the alley, and she wanted answers.  She dug in her heels and forced him to a stop in front of Newman's Jewelry store, the place she'd intended to tell him about the baby.  She'd dreamed about it all day.  On their way home, she'd tell him her news.  He'd propose.  They'd look at rings, and her future would be set.

"Joey, please.  I love you.  Tell me what's wrong.  Who hit you?  Are you in danger?"  She gestured with her hands, her fingers spread wide in frustration.  "Please, I can't stand this."

Joey glanced in both directions before pulling her into his warm embrace.  "It's fine.  Just a little misunderstanding with the boys." 

The boys.  The term he'd given to Benny and his delinquent friends.  The same boys who had deep family connections to the mob.  Benny, himself, was the grandson of a notorious mob boss.  And this was supposed to reassure her?  "You know those
boys
are trouble.  I wish you'd stay away from them."

He pressed his warm, firm lips to hers.  "It's no big deal.  As soon as I give 'em what they want, they'll be happy."

His words sobered her.  "What do they want?"  She recognized the threat to her future happiness.  Benny dealt in drugs and guns, so it was pretty obvious he wasn't asking for Joey's lunch money.

"Nothing you need to worry about."  He tried to kiss her again, but she refused to be distracted.