HANDLE WITH CARE (The Ludzecky Sisters Book 5) (8 page)

Max was so turned on his mind was fuzzy. But he was happy, too, that he was going to get to spend more time with Sofia, even though there was no hope he’d end up in the sack. They rode their bikes to a deli five blocks away, bought food and went back to the park. More bikers had come, and some walkers, but the picnic table Sofia
had spotted earlier in the woods, about twenty yards in, was still vacant. So they sat on opposite sides and spread out the food. She’d chosen soft cheese called Brie that he’d never heard of, crusty gluten free bread and pears. He’d gotten a meatball sub. She looked up from the meal. “We couldn’t be much more different, could we?”

“Don’t keep saying that. Let’s talk about what we have in
common.”

She broke off a piece of bread, and since the deli had warmed the cheese up, she scooped out some and brought it to her mouth. Watching her teeth bite into the food, Max prayed he’d make it through this meal. “We both like to bike,” she said.

He cocked his head. “Even though it didn’t go so good meeting mine, we both love our families.”

She laughed and didn’t contradict him.
“They’re normal guys, Max, and they love you. But yes, they’re a little too rough for me.”

Bring her over here. Let her see us all together in our environment
.

“We should try again. My mother suggested it.”

Her eyes widened. “You talked to your mother about me?”

“Yeah. Oh, I guess it’s too soon for that. I mean, you and I haven’t known each other that long. But I’m really close
to my mom.”

Sofia seemed thoughtful. “I told
Matka
, too.”

Why did that mean as much as the earlier neck kissing? “What did she say?”

“I think the words were
carpe diem.
”

“I’m gonna like that woman. So, want to come over Sunday?”

Sofia frowned. “Sunday’s Mother’s Day.”

“Ah. That’s right. I already got my mom’s present. What’ll you do?”

“We spend it together. Luke’s coming
down from Binghamton. All my sisters and their various spouses or fiancés will be there. A big crowd.”

“Mine, too. Us four boys. Mom and Dad. And my aunt and uncle. They don’t have kids.”

“So we both have full days.”

“Maybe. Do you stay from morning till night?”

“No. I go over early and cook breakfast for whoever can make it. We eat dinner about three. That will be at Ana’s. By
six, we go home.” She shrugged. “And
Matka
has a boyfriend, so he’ll probably want some of her time.”

“We all go over to my parents’ house at four. Mom laughs at our shenanigans at cooking her dinner, but it works for us. I grill steaks and the other three do the rest. The evening starts at five. Wanna come for dessert?”

“It’s a pretty special day to horn in on.”

“My mother’s important
to me, Sofia. It feels right for her to meet you.”

“It’s kind of soon.”

“Well, doll,
carpe diem
.”

The Ludzecky homestead was quiet when Sofia arrived for Mother’s Day.
Matka
was on the phone—with guess who?—and Nia wasn’t up yet. Of course it was only 7:00 a.m. Sofia had seen Rafe’s car out front, too, and wondered if he was spending nights here. Sometimes, she thought her sisters worried too much about the proper thing to do in a situation like this.

As if she’d conjured her, Nia came into the kitchen, all sleep rumpled. “Hi, sweetie. You’re here early.”

“I always come early on Mother’s Day. I like to have some down time with
Matka
before everybody converges.”

“We won’t be in your way,” she said, getting a cup and filling it from the pot Sofia had put on. “Sal stayed over at Paulie’s house. He’ll come back with them later.”

“So,
they moved in?”

“Yeah, just this week. It’s stunning, of course.”

“I’m glad they’re close to the homestead.” She waited. “Is that why Rafe stayed?”

“Yeah. There’s a lot of room here now, and we’re thinking we might want to buy the house from
Matka
and live here as our Queens home and keep the loft. Of course, she’d live with us, but we haven’t asked her yet.”

“So you and Rafe are
talking future, right?”

“Uh-huh. It’s tough being apart now that we’ve decided we want to be together.”

Just then Rafe came through the door. Man, the guy was gorgeous in a classic way. Unlike Max, who was sexy and ruggedly handsome but not a movie-star look-alike. “Hey, Sofia.” He kissed Nia on the lips, then Sofia’s cheek. He got coffee and stood leaning against the counter. “Don’t let
me interrupt.”

“I was just telling her how we don’t like being apart.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Now his eyes lit. “So, Sofia Ludzecky, tell me who the guy was kissing you in the park this week.”

Sofia dropped the knife she’d just gotten out of the drawer to cut fruit. “How…?” She knew she blushed. “I…”

Nia and Rafe laughed.

“It was Max. We went for a bike ride. How did you see
us? It was dark.” When he’d taken her in his arms, leaned her against the tree and kissed her soundly before they left.

“Not at five o’clock.”

“Five o’clock?” Hell he’d seen that sexy thing Max had done with her neck? “What were you doing there?”

“I took Sal and the twins for a bike ride.”

“Oh, no, did they…?”

“Nah. I just spotted the blond hair. The kids were too busy one-upping
each other. Even Sal,” he said with a grin.

“I’m glad Sal’s coming out of his shell.”

“Don’t change the subject.” This from Nia, who’d gone to Rafe and leaned into him. They were ganging up on her. For some reason, it felt good, maybe, to have something in her life to be ganged up on.

On Sunday, Max lay in bed, with thoughts of Sofia in his head. He stared out the
window at the clear sky, feeling the warm May breeze on his naked skin. He’d dreamed about her again, a hot experience that had made him hard when he awoke. After taking care of that, he let himself enjoy what he knew was happening between them. Reaching over, he picked up his phone to call her.

There was a text from Lauren Talbot.
Hey, handsome. After all the hullabaloo today, want to get
a drink tonight? My parents are out west. Lonely day.

He hadn’t seen Lauren outside of school since he and Sofia had decided to date. He wondered briefly if she’d seen Gus. Though he agreed to seeing others, he hadn’t pursued anything more with Lauren. And that wasn’t fair. He needed to think about this. So he texted back:
Sorry. Plans with Mom and the guys. Maybe this week?
Then he would
come clean with her. Despite what Sofia said, he wasn’t interested in spending time with another woman.

He punched in Sofia’s number. She answered right away, sounding a little breathy. “I dreamed about you last night,” he said by way of greeting.

“I was just talking about you.”

“Yeah, to who?”

“Nia and Rafe. Seems we were spotted in the park.”

“Holy shit. Which time?”

“Five o’clock. After the bike ride.”

“Ah. Your neck tasted so sweet.”

“Hi, Max,” he heard in the background. And he chuckled. He knew the Ludzecky family shared their lives, and it was okay by him.

“You’re at your Mom’s? At
Matka’s
?”

“I am. Are you home?”

“In bed, Sofia. And lonely.”

“Stop.” He heard a door open.

“Did you just go outside?”

“Yes. We have a deal. Take
this slow. It’s getting far too sexy, too soon.”

Laughter rumbled out of him. “Nothin’ in this world is too sexy, baby.”

“Oh, heavens. You have to desist with those sexist remarks. If you use one in front of my sisters, you’re dead meat.”

“I’ll be careful. So, we’ll be ready for dessert about seven.”

“Then, seven it is.” A pause. “Max, before you hang up, was the dream good?”

“Damn it, you’re killin’ me, doll.”

He hung up smiling.

Ana was radiant, sitting at her dining room table as Jared, the last of them, came in with his food. The Creswells had set up a buffet in the kitchen of ham, turkey, quiche and cheese, along with a variety vegetables and fruit. The only cheerier person in their midst was the little girl sitting next to Sofia. She
smiled over at Opal. “Happy, sweetheart?”

“Yeah.” She leaned in close and said softly, “I’m so glad they’re back together. And I’m gonna have a sister.”

“You know it’s a girl?”

“Nah. Just hoping it is.”

The meal was lovely, and
Matka
was pleased by the day. “The food is so fancy. But,
mio corka
, you should not be on your feet too much, even in the early stages of pregnancy.”

Ana’s joyful laughter tinkled through the whole house. “I remember a few of your pregnancies when you stood at the stove all day.”

“Bless the Lord, those were long days.”

Gerald covered her hand. “She just worries about all of you.”

“Me, especially,” Elizabeita declared.

“I wonder why?” Paulina said dryly.

When they were finished with the meal and Opal offered to put out the
desserts, which the twins had brought, Jared sat back in the chair and covered Ana’s hand with his. “I have something to confess. I had this whole thing catered.”

“By a business?”
Matka
asked. “Such expense.”

“Which we can afford. I was protecting your daughter,
Matka
. She said I could do dinner, but I knew she’d be on her feet regardless. So I did dinner—over the phone.”

Sofia thought
again how special it was to have Jared at family gatherings again.

Rafe stood. “Excuse me a minute.” He left the room and Nia frowned. “Maybe he’s thinking about Jonas. He never celebrated Mother’s Day with his mom, but Jonas had tried to fill her role on special occasions. They went to a movie or did something else.”

“I know the feeling.” Adam nodded to his dad, who’d joined them. “You
always scrambled to keep me busy on days like this after Mom died.”

Andrew said, “I did, son.”

Rafe returned. He didn’t seem upset. And he winked at Sal, who beamed back at him. He crossed to Nia’s chair and pulled it out. Turned it a bit. And then…oh, wow, oh, geez, he knelt down.

“Nia Ludzecky Pettrone, I love you with all my heart. Thank you for all you’ve done for me over the last
year. Today, I’m asking you to be the mother of my children.” He held up a Tiffany box.

Nia surprised Sofia by not crying when she opened the box. Her face lit from within. “Oh, Rafe, it’s beautiful. Will you put in on me?”

Rafe removed the ring and winked at Sal. “Think that’s a yes, buddy?”

“Yeah, Rafe. Yeah, it is.” Ah, so the kid had been in on it.

He slipped a band on Nia’s
finger. She held it up. From where she sat near her sister, Sofia could see it was a band of diamonds. Perfect for Nia. And so different from the solitary diamond she’d gotten from Peter. Sofia was glad Rafe had thought of that.

Sal squirmed in his chair. “Tell `em the rest, Rafe.”

“I’d like to divide our time between the house in Queens and our loft in New York. If
Matka
agrees.”

Matka
glanced at Gerald and gave him a small smile. “Oh, yes, I agree.”

Huh! Sofia wondered what that meant.

Rafe looked to another sister. “I didn’t mean to steal your thunder, Magdalena, because you two got engaged, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Are you kidding?” Magdalena threw her chair back, circled the table and hugged the couple. Then everybody did, except Luke, who sat silently
by his seven-months-pregnant wife.

Matka
said, “Lukasz?”

At her question, people turned to him. “What’s wrong, big brother?” Elizabeita teased. “You mad because he didn’t ask your permission?”

“Adam didn’t,” Paulie added.

“You should have, both of you, and you, Jared, should have consulted me before you two got remarried.”

Matka
said, “There is still time for Logan.”

Magdalena
cleared her throat. “No, not for us. Logan and I got married last weekend.”

The grilled steaks were tender and juicy, alongside baked potatoes that flaked at a touch, and the corn on the cob had been perfectly cooked. Max was proud of his part of the Mother’s Day meal. Ronny had made a salad and Deeks brought dessert. Jesse provided wine. All was right with the world when
he saw his mother ooh and ah over the food.

Almost. He checked his watch. Sofia would be here in ten minutes. She’d texted him. All he’d said to his brothers was “Sofia’s coming for dessert. Try to behave yourselves.” He didn’t ask for them to…change. They could just be careful, for once in their lives. Nobody balked, though they all played innocent to what might be the problem.

“So, when’s
the girl getting here?” Deeks asked, as if reading his mind.

“Soon.”

Jess, the more sedate brother asked, “Is it, like, serious between you two?”

“No, we haven’t been dating that long. But I like her a lot.”

“Why?” Deeks asked.

“She’s sweet and loving and kind.”

“So totally not your usual squeeze.”

You have to stop those sexist remarks. If you use one in front of my
sisters, you’re dead meat.
He’d have to remember to tease her with that one.

Finally, the doorbell rang. Max popped up and heard, “Yeah, sure, it’s not serious. He’s actin’ like a kid.”

“Can it,” Max said and hurried to the foyer. When he opened the door, he sighed. “Hey, pretty lady.” And she
was
pretty today. Her hair hung down to her rib cage, but today, the ends had been curled. She
wore a simple navy-blue skirt with a sparkly top and flat black shoes.

“Hi.” She held flowers. “These are for your mother.”

“How sweet.” Stepping back, he let her inside, closed the door and kissed her raisin-colored lips. “Hmm.”

Her hand had gone around his neck. “Yeah, hmm.”

“I hope today goes well.”

“Don’t worry, Max. It will. I’m glad to be here.”

Preceding her into
the dining room, he stopped short. Where…what the hell? Only his mother and father, aunt and uncle were around the table. Where were the guys? And what were they up to? Clearing his throat, he tried to sound normal when he said, “Sofia Ludzecky, meet my mother, Lil, and my father, Bob.” He introduced his aunt and uncle.