Baby, Be Mine (Holiday Brides Series) Page 5

  “I’ll probably have to go straight there from work. Still got lots of catching up to do.”

  “Pick you up a six o’clock?”

  “Better make it seven.”

  Chapter Four

  Jack held open the door, and Nikki slid into the passenger side of his car. “Did you bring the list?”

  He sighed heavily. “Yeah, I’ve got it.” During the few days they’d been apart, Nikki had tasked Jack with making up a master list of all potential candidates. She was creating her own roster, and then they were going to compare.

  She set her bag on the floor and buckled up before studying his list. “Herbie McLondon? You’ve got to be kidding!”

  “You said to think back.”

  “Not back to the second grade. How did you remember him anyway?”

  “Because you told me he was your only redhead. Typically, you’re attracted to darker guys.”

  She tried not to look at him. “Dean was blond.”

  “Yeah, so? But how many others? Go on,” he said smugly. “Check the list.”

  Nikki stared out the window, where light snow was drifting. “That’s silly. I don’t even believe in that whole type thing.”

  “Me either.”

  “Right,” she said with a laugh. “Your type I could peg to a tee.”

  “Could you now?” He turned to look at her when he pulled up to a stoplight. “Let’s hear it.”

  “Blonde, skinny, and stacked.”

  “That’s patently unfair.”

  “The greatest predictor of future behavior is past, Jack.”

  What Nikki didn’t know was that Jack did have a type. Any type that didn’t remind him of her. It seemed better that way, keeping things completely separate. There were the girls he would date, the ones he would sleep with, and then there was—

  “Gosh!” she shouted suddenly. “I’d forgotten all about Brett!”

  “He was the banker, wasn’t he?”

  “Good call, Jack. He might have slipped my mind completely.”

  “Maybe that’s because you only went on one date.”

  “Yeah, but it was a good one.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You didn’t go on a second.”

  “That’s because he was allergic to cats.”

  “You don’t have cats, Nikki.”

  “No, but I might get one someday. Or I might have a kid who wants one.”

  “You always were a long-term thinker.”

  “I know what you’re saying. Maybe I should scratch him off the list?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Herbie too?”

  “Nikki, that was a joke!”

  “Oh.”

  She took a pen from her purse and drew a line through both names. Oops! She must have spotted Dean’s name there at the top. She lifted her pen and scratched his name out too. “You didn’t have to include this first one.”

  “You said to be thorough. Besides, I thought it best to keep a complete record.”

  “Why?”

  “Perhaps you’d like to share it with your kids someday. You know, those cat-loving kids? The names of all their might-have-been dads.”

  “Shut up and drive.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” But he was chuckling. Damn, she was fun to be around. If only some other guy didn’t have to be reminded of that fact.

  Nikki glanced over her shoulder at a brown paper sack on the backseat. “What’s in the bag?”

  “I brought a bottle of champagne along. It’s New Year’s Eve.”

  “That’s very sweet. I’m sure my mom will appreciate it.”

  “I was thinking we could pop it in the fridge when we get there.”

  “Better make it the freezer. It will chill faster.”

  A little while later, Emma opened the door to her brownstone. Nikki was struck at once by how thin she appeared. Since the last time she’d seen her, her mom must have dropped ten pounds, and that was only three weeks ago.

  “Nikki!” Emma cried happily. “Jack!” She gave them both warm squeezes and welcomed them inside. “I’m so glad you could make it. It’s the first chance I’ve had to see you over the holiday.” She took Jack’s coat as Nikki hung her own in the closet. “I hope you don’t mind Christmas dinner. Tony and I were waiting on you.”

  “I thought I smelled turkey roasting.”

  “Corn pudding and stuffing too,” Emma assured him.

  “Smells delicious.”

  “Yeah, Ma. Thanks.” She studied her mom’s face with worry, knowing she must have worked extra hard to pull off a full-scale holiday meal. “But you shouldn’t have gone to the trouble.”

  “I made the pies,” Tony said, appearing in the foyer.

  “Hey, buddy.” Jack shook his hand. “Cooking now, are we? That’s one way to impress the ladies.”

  “It’s also a way he can learn to feed himself.” Nikki hugged her little brother tightly. “Though, gosh, Tony, it feels like you’re eating enough! Are you working out or something?”

  He demurred but grinned proudly. “I’ve been pressing some, yeah.”

  “That’s another way to impress the ladies,” Jack said with a laugh.

  “Will you stop it already,” Nikki ribbed him. “He’s only seventeen. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”

  “Oh yes, he does,” Emma said sweetly, disappearing into the kitchen. Seconds later, she emerged with a pretty teenage girl. “Nikki, Jack, I’d like you to meet Holly.”

  Nikki’s jaw dropped. Jack reached over and shut it before speaking first. “Nice to meet you, Holly.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Nikki said, still a little stunned.

  “Let’s all go into the kitchen and catch up while I put the finishing touches on dinner.”

  “We’ll help set the table, Mrs. Constantino,” Holly offered helpfully. She shot a pointed glance at Tony.

  “Right,” he said, picking up on her cue. “We will. Right now.”

  Nikki’s mom’s face blossomed in a happy smile. Despite her wan appearance, she seemed content to be around her family. “Thanks, kids.”

  “Looks like he got a winner,” Nikki whispered to Jack as they entered the kitchen and the kids slipped away.

  “Yeah,” he answered. “But she’s pretty lucky too.”

  Jack handed his champagne to Emma. “I brought us some bubbly for after dinner.”

  “How nice, Jack.” She shot Nikki a look and clucked. “Looks like you nabbed a winner yourself.” She took the bottle from Jack and popped it in the fridge, and Nikki flushed.

  Her mom was always dropping hints about how she and Jack should be together. As if… Nikki wasn’t even Jack’s type! As long as Nikki had known him, Jack had jumped from one relationship to another like some kind of wild jackrabbit. Even if the girl seemed perfect, he always found some fault with her. And his faultfinding times generally coincided with the woman wanting to get too close. Go out for some laughs, have a great time… Sure. Ask Jack for his apartment key? Like that was going to happen. Nikki was surprised enough that she had it.

  I think we’d better put it in the freezer,” she said, taking the bottle out of the refrigerator and sliding it behind the door on top.

  “Might explode,” her mom cautioned.

  “We’ll watch it,” Nikki assured her. She turned her attention toward the stove, where a deliciously browned turkey sat cooling. “Yum! Should I make the gravy?”

  “That would be great.”

  “Can I carve the bird?” Jack smiled at Emma, and Nikki hated him for being so congenial. Every time he dropped by, her mom only liked him more. If she understood their relationship, that would be fine. But the fact was she didn’t. “In my day, men and women couldn’t be friends,” she was fond of saying. “At least not without one of them secretly liking the other.”

  Nikki stared at Jack, and he raised an eyebrow, like what’s up? But she just shook her head as if her mom’s suspicions were ridiculo
us. She and Jack, hoo! Jack and her? Ha-ha. He turned to pull a knife from the block by the stove, and muscles rippled beneath his button-down shirt. In a flash, Nikki was reminded of the feel of his body pressing hers. And the look in his eyes as his mouth hovered just above hers.

  “Nikki,” her mom said. “Didn’t you hear me? I asked you to get Jack the platter.”

  “The platter, right.” Nikki swallowed hard. “The big one with the turkey on it?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Jack glanced at her over his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

  Nikki brought her palms to her cheeks, realizing they had to be bright red. “No. Yes. I mean, I just had a flash of heat—”

  “You’re too young for that,” Emma cut in.

  “From the kitchen.”

  Jack eyes danced. “Well, you know what they say…”

  “I’m leaving!” Nikki blurted out just a little too loudly. “On my way to the sideboard.” But when she passed through the swinging door, she caught Tony and Holly kissing under the mistletoe. She coughed, and the kids broke apart. “Setting the table. Right.”

  Tony gestured to the elegant place settings the two of them had already laid out. “We’re all done.”

  “Great.” Nikki grinned and took out the turkey platter. “Then join us in the kitchen. I’m sure there’s still lots to do.”

  As she got to know Holly over dinner, Nikki saw she was actually very nice, and appeared smart as well. Who would have thought it! Her baby brother, having a girlfriend already! Then again, when she looked at him, he suddenly seemed more like a man. He’d broadened across the shoulders and his face had matured quite a bit in these last few years. He could nearly pass for a college boy. Nikki’s heart sank at the thought, knowing how badly he wanted to go. She didn’t dare bring it up, because it was a sore spot. Most college admissions deadlines had already come and gone, and Tony had missed them all. He was determined to work a year or two after high school, save up money, and then apply. But Nikki knew the cold, hard reality. Most people who started that way never went to college at all. They got busy with day-to-day struggles in paying their bills. The last thing on their radar was taking out loans and becoming further indebted for undetermined results. But maybe she was projecting. Unfairly comparing her life to her little brother’s.

  Jack lifted the Chianti bottle on the table and offered to fill Emma’s empty glass.

  She declined with a shake of her head. “Thanks, I’d better not.”

  “No wine tonight?” Nikki asked her, noticing she hadn’t had a drop. While her mom had never been a big drinker, she often had a glass with dinner.

  “The medication,” she whispered softly. “Can’t mix it.”

  Nikki frowned as Emma motioned toward the mashed potatoes. “Mind passing those over?” she said to Tony, whose face also registered concern. Their mom had given herself a birdlike serving to begin with. At least she was attempting to have some more. Tony met Nikki’s eyes with a worried gaze and lifted the serving dish. But when Emma tried to take it, its weight sank heavily in her hands. “Oh!”

  Jack reached out and grabbed the dish just before it crashed to the table. He glanced at Nikki before returning his attention to her mom. “You okay?”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. “Just a little tired tonight.”

  No wonder, Nikki thought. She’d totally overdone it with the food. The portions were large too, which meant the baking pans and casserole dishes had been extra heavy to maneuver.

  “Tony, Holly, do you think you could clear the table?”

  “Sure,” Tony said, standing.

  “I thought you wanted more potatoes?” Nikki interrupted.

  Emma appeared defeated. “I’m done.”

  All of a sudden, Nikki felt like she was going to burst out crying. This wasn’t the mom she remembered. The one she recalled was a fighter. Someone who didn’t give up.

  Holly got to her feet as well. “Everything was awesome, Mrs. Constantino. Thanks so much.”

  Emma smiled weakly as the kids gathered the empty plates. When they’d gone, she spoke to Nikki. “I didn’t want to ask in front of the kids, but how were things at the farm?”

  Nikki’s gaze flitted to Jack, who sat there with his lips pressed tightly together. “Um, it was fine. Everything went fine.”

  “And the service?”

  “It was quiet.”

  This didn’t seem to surprise Emma. “Did Mallory make arrangements for her estate?”

  “Arrangements?” Nikki asked, purposely naïve.

  “She had quite a spread. A dairy, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Jack added helpfully. “Lots of cows. Some very big ones.”

  Nikki stared at him.

  “What’s going to happen to the cows?”

  Nikki returned her gaze to her mother. “I, uh… We’re hoping…”

  Jack could see Nikki was stuck. She’d never been much good at keeping things from her mom. “Seems like Mallory made some plans.”

  “What kind of plans?”

  “Plans to have the cows looked after,” Jack stated matter-of-factly.

  “Oh,” Emma answered, clearly not understanding. “Well, that’s good.”

  “Yes,” Nikki stepped in. “She made plans for settling her whole estate. Only, that’s going to take a while.”

  Emma’s eyebrows rose.

  “Probate,” Jack explained. “Apparently, these things can take months to work themselves out.”

  “That’s too bad,” Emma said. “For your sake,” she told Nikki, “I was hoping there’d be at least a little bit of money.”

  “Ma!”

  “You work so hard, honey. And for that horrible woman. What’s her name?”

  “Marilynn,” Jack filled in.

  “Yes, her. She’s done nothing but ride you since she took over. I know you try to hide it, but I can see how miserable you’ve been.”

  A lump welled in Nikki’s throat. “It’s not so bad.”

  “Baloney! I wish you could leave that place.”

  “That makes two of us,” Jack added.

  Nikki felt on the verge of tears. Here her mom was worried about her, when Emma was the one who really needed the money. “I’m going to hit the restroom real quick,” she said, rising from the table. She passed Tony and Holly in the kitchen. They had on their winter coats. “Leaving already?”

  “There’s a New Year’s party at Rick’s,” Tony told her. Rick was Tony’s best friend, and forever getting him into mischief. Nikki just hoped tonight wasn’t one of those times. Then again, her little brother had matured quite a bit and seemed like he could take care of himself.

  “Oh, okay. Have fun.”

  “Nice meeting you, Nikki,” Holly said with a pleasant smile.

  “Yeah, Holly. You too.”

  Then, while the kids went to say good-bye to the others, she hightailed it to the bathroom. Once there, Nikki caught her breath and leaned into the counter. Falling apart now wasn’t going to help anybody, least of all her mom.

  She slowly raised her eyes to the mirror and spied the arsenal of prescription bottles lined up before it. It had to cost a fortune to keep her mom in all those pills, and none of them appeared to be working. She didn’t know how she was going to get through the rest of this night without breaking down. But she needed to be strong for her mom’s sake. Nikki thanked the heavens she had Jack there beside her. At least she wasn’t going through this by herself. Jack would never leave her to face something like this alone. While he’d resisted the idea of her going along with her aunt’s demands in the beginning, he seemed to be coming around. He’d gone with her to the park, hadn’t he? He’d even thought hard over compiling that list. After seeing her family tonight, Nikki was convinced more than ever that she was doing the right thing in trying to secure her inheritance. That money could help so many people in so many ways. Plus, it would help Big Mama.

  When Nikki returned to the dining room, she was stunn
ed to see Jack standing and holding both their coats. “What’s going on?”

  “Your mom needs to rest,” Jack said with a worried frown. “I told her we’d push off and let her have some quiet.”

  “But the dishes?” Nikki protested.

  “Those can wait,” Emma answered. She seemed to be holding things together as best she could, but Nikki could see her mom was ready to break down herself. She obviously didn’t want Nikki and Jack to see it, which was why she was urging them to go.

  “Well, if you’re sure?” Nikki asked uncertainly.

  Emma nodded, and Jack held up her coat so she could slip it on.

  “Don’t forget about that bottle,” Jack warned Emma.

  “Oh no!” her mom cried. “The champagne!”

  Nikki dashed to the kitchen and pulled the icy bottle from the freezer. The cork had tried to push itself out but was prevented from popping by the twisted metal wires that held it in place.

  “Better take that with you,” Emma said. She looked at Jack. “It was a very sweet gesture. Thank you, but I won’t be having any myself.”

  Jack held the champagne bottle under his coat as he and Nikki walked through the snow toward the park. It was coming down harder now, pelting their hats and shoulders with heavy wet flakes. Nikki’s cheeks were flushed, her nose crimson. Still, when he’d asked where she wanted to go, she said she needed some air. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked. “I’ve got a gas fireplace back at my place.”

  “If it was a real one, you might talk me into it.”

  “What do you mean by real?”

  “The old-fashioned kind, wood burning.”

  “Those suck the heat out of the building and pollute the air.”

  “Yeah, but they’re much more romantic.”

  “You’re in the mood for romance?” he asked playfully.

  “Ha-ha.”

  His fingers were starting to feel numb clutching the chilly bottle, even through his warm leather gloves.

  “Let’s head over there.” She pointed to an isolated bench at the hill’s crest. It afforded a view of the outdoor skating rink ringed by lights. Couples glided across the ice hand in hand while groups of children clomped awkwardly past them. From this vantage point, they looked like miniature people in a snow globe, with white streaks raining down all around them.