Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) (4 page)

Once in the car, Maggie caught her breath. She had
to stop reacting so intensely to this man! Yes, he was handsome...and sexy...but
that didn't mean she had to act like a teenager.

"Maggie, how old are you?"

"What?"

"I think we should know each other's ages.
I'm twenty-seven."

"I'm twenty-two."

"The other thing I thought of today was that
we need to have a story about how we met--you know, where we were, who
introduced us, something like that."

"Well, let's see. We could have met at the
Lobster Shack. I might have gone up to you after hearing you sing, and
introduced myself."

"I suppose that would work. But it doesn't
have much flair or interest."

She turned in her seat to glare at him. "Okay
then, what's your idea for how we met?"

"I could have rescued you. You could have
been in the parking lot and had a flat tire and were being threatened by a
group of guys and I showed up in the nick of time and--"

"No, no, no! What are you thinking? Why do I
have to be rescued? I'm not helpless you know. I could have fought off any
unwanted attention. I am very proficient at Taekwondo."

"Yes, but I said a group. How about this--you
are fighting them off and I jump in and help. Then we introduce ourselves as we
stand victorious among the fallen prey."

She stared at him for a moment and then burst out
laughing. He began to laugh as well. "I may have gotten carried away with
that scenario."

"Yeah, we both did."

Eric said, "Let's go back to meeting at the
Lobster Shack. You start crying because of one of the songs I'm singing, so I
come to your table afterwards because I'm intrigued. You end up telling me how
that song was a love song on the radio when you first fell in love in high
school."

"Great. Now you have me crying." She
sighed. "I suppose that could work. I did have a first love, or rather a
humongous crush, on a guy in high school who didn't even know my name. Sam, my
brother, would remember that time. Then I guess you and I started talking, and
one thing led to another and we are now dating."

"It could be kind of romantic, that we meet
over a love song."

"Are you romantic, Eric?"

He turned his head to smile at her before facing
back to the street. Pulling into a parking space, he said thoughtfully,
"I've never really thought of myself as romantic, but with the right
woman, I think it just might be possible."

Maggie thought his emerald eyes were glowing as he
looked into her eyes. The right woman. She sighed. He reached out a hand and
smoothed one of her curls away from her face.

"Why such a big sigh?"

"Believe me, you're romantic. Me? Not so
much."

"We might just have to work on that."

She grinned at him. "You should probably know
that I was a tomboy growing up. I never played with dolls, never swooned over
the idea of any boy--until that stupid crush in high school--and I never
planned out my future wedding when I was thirteen."

"So you're saying, I'll have my work cut out
for me? I've always loved a challenge."

She got out of the car, as he was coming around to
open her door. Raising an eyebrow at her, he shook his head, and then proceeded
to take her hand in his.

"Hand holding is a good way to let everyone
know we're dating," he whispered into her ear.

She nearly fell over the curb as the effect of
that whisper made her shiver.

Eric paid for their tickets and they made their
way into the theater. He stood still in the elaborate foyer, staring around.
"This place is great. Somebody really took the time to restore it to mint
condition."

"Wait till you go further--it is pretty
amazing."

They decided not to get anything to eat or drink.
Eric marveled at the art deco style as they took their seats. Maggie had not
been so caught up in the decor, and had noticed three separate people watching
her with her date. Word was definitely going to spread quickly around town.

"You're going to enjoy this movie, I think.
Hitchcock did a great job."

Maggie turned to face him quickly. "Alfred
Hitchcock? We need to leave!"

Eric looked completely surprised. "Why on
earth--"

"When I was a little girl I saw a movie of
his,
The Birds
, and I was terrified by it. I had nightmares for
days."

Eric smiled at her. "Maggie,
Rear Window
is nothing like
The Birds
. Seriously, you don't have to worry. I'll hold
your hand the entire time, if that will make you feel better. But this isn't a
horror movie."

She sat back in her seat, reading his face for
truthfulness the whole time. Finally, she nodded, just as the screen lit up.

* * * *

The audience applauded the end of the movie, which
Eric thought showed class. It had always been one of his favorites. Maggie was
bubbling with energy as they got up from their seats.

"It was great! You were completely right
about it."

Her eyes were sparkling, her rose-colored lips
curved into a pretty smile. Eric was surprised by how much he wanted to kiss
her.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He helped her
put on her jacket and they walked out to the car. "I guess we're ready to face Frank. Who is the father of Anna, Holly, and Cody. His wife is Betsy. They only just got married a few months ago. Have I got that straight?"

"Yes," she said, surprised. This time she waited and let him open the car door
for her.

As they drove to the Grainger house, Maggie began
feeling anxious. "I don't know why I'm feeling so nervous. I guess I'm not
sure I can pull off the act."

"Maggie. It's not that much of an act. Did we
not go see a movie? Isn't that a date activity? Therefore, we are dating. Sure,
we may have an ulterior motive, but you can't say we aren't dating. I like you,
and I think you like me. See? Not that big a stretch, really."

"I guess you're right. I didn't think of it
like that. Here we are. Pull into that driveway there."

They got out of the car and walked up the front
steps. Frank opened the door as they arrived at it. "Come in, come
in."

Eric leaned in close and whispered in her ear,
"Showtime."

* * * *

 Maggie sat at the dining room table with Eric next
to her. Frank and Betsy were on the other side, handing out plates of pecan pie
and cups of decaf coffee.

"So where did you two meet?" Frank
asked.

"The Lobster Shack--"

"I was playing at the Lobster--"

Maggie and Eric looked at each other as they spoke
at the same time. Frank laughed.

"I guess we can be pretty sure of where you
met. But Eric, you say you were playing there? Are you a musician?"

Eric smiled. "For right now, yes. I've always
loved playing guitar, and it's a kick to perform and see people moved by the
songs I sing."

Betsy said, "You say 'for right now.' Does
that mean you have other skills besides singing?"

Eric chuckled. "Yes, ma'am. I'm twenty-seven
years old, so I've had a while to do other things. I've mostly worked with
computers."

Maggie looked at him in surprise. "I didn't
know that," she blurted out.

Eric shrugged. "You and I've had other things
to discuss. Like the merits of Alfred Hitchcock films." He took a bite of
pie.

"Will you both be at Thanksgiving
dinner?" Betsy asked.

"It will be here, right? With everyone?"

"Of course, Maggie."

She smiled at Betsy. "I thought maybe you'd
convince one of the others to host it. You guys always end up having the big
dinners here."

Frank shook his head. "It's no trouble at
all. I always like to have the house full on the holidays."

"This pie is delicious," Eric said.
"It makes me look forward to the big meal on Thanksgiving. And yes, I'll
be there with Maggie if that's fine with you. My parents are away this holiday
season, so I'm at loose ends."

"The more the merrier," Frank said
heartily.

Maggie looked at Frank suspiciously. "I kind
of expected to see some of the others showing up here tonight, you know, like a
random coincidence."

Frank turned a bit red and Betsy laughed.
"You've caught us out. We did happen to mention to the rest of the family
that you and your date would be stopping by tonight. However, we made it clear
that we didn't want them all barging in."

"Thanks, Betsy."

"Come into the kitchen with me, Maggie. I
want to put this pie away."

Maggie stared at her, thinking that was about the
lamest excuse she'd heard to get someone alone. But she followed Betsy into the
kitchen.

Betsy turned to her once she had put away the pie.
"My dear, he's quite good looking."

Maggie blushed. "Yes, I know."

"But...a musician?"

"He's between jobs right now, Betsy. You
heard him--he works with computers. He has a nice car and dresses well, so I
don't think you need to see him as some musician-bum."

"Oh no, I'd never think that. Are you happy
with him?"

"Yes," Maggie said, before even thinking
about it. Then she realized that being around him did leave her feeling rather
happy.

"I'm sure your brother will be glad to hear
that."

"What does Sam have to do with who I'm dating
or whether I'm happy?"

"Now don't get all riled up. You know Sam
worries about you because he's your big brother. He's hated seeing you all
alone. We all have."

Maggie threw her arms up in the air.
"Honestly! I'm only twenty-two years old. It's not like I'm an old maid or
something. You guys need to all get a grip. Anyway, you can stop worrying. I
have Eric now. Nobody needs to do any more matchmaking, okay?"

"Of course. Let's get back to the menfolk.
I'm sure Frank has finished grilling Eric by now."

Upon hearing that, Maggie walked quickly back into
the dining room. She entered to hear the two men engrossed in a conversation
about football, and let herself relax. Eric seemed to be having a good time,
and Frank was fully into a description of a play from Sunday's game.

Betsy sighed. "I should have known. Put two
men in a room alone at this time of year and the conversation will inevitably
turn to football."

Maggie laughed. Before they sat back down at the
table, she asked, "So, what you said earlier means you guys told everyone
about Eric?"

The older woman nodded. "Afraid so."

"So I can expect dinner invitations all
week?"

"I'd think so. Maybe not from Jason and
Holly. I know they're staying in the city right up until the day before
Thanksgiving, but then they're taking a week off."

Maggie nodded and they sat down with the men. She
and Eric left shortly after, with Eric thanking Frank profusely for the piece
of pie he'd been given to take home. At last they made it to the car, and
Maggie sank with relief into her seat as Eric turned the key in the ignition.

"That went well," he said. "I think
it helped that I had my football credentials."

When she looked at him blankly, he said, "I read
up on sports in the paper this morning, so I could converse intelligently about
them. I had a feeling that would come in handy. Once I dropped a few football
tidbits, Frank stopped asking me other types of questions and we only talked
football."

"Did you tell him anything I don't know about
you?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. How about you and
Betsy in the kitchen? How was that?"

"She was fishing for what you really do for
work, other than being a musician. I told her you were between jobs with your
computer work. She also said we should expect a couple of dinner invitations
this coming week."

"Well, I am between jobs. I'm trying to
decide if I'm going to stick with computers or go into something completely
different."

Maggie glanced at him. "Basically, you and I
are in the same boat. Both trying to figure out what to do with our lives.
Interesting."

"At least we know what we'll be doing for the
holiday season. We can worry about the rest of it afterwards."

She agreed. "Hey, do you want me to show you
around town tomorrow?"

"Sure, that sounds good."

He parked the car in the lot behind her apartment.
"I'll come up with you. I don't like the idea of just dropping you off at
an empty place."

Maggie shrugged, but felt protected by what he'd
said. Not that she needed protection, she thought quickly. But it was nice to
have someone caring about her safety like that. Well, not someone, but him
specifically. Once they were upstairs she asked if he wanted a drink.

"Do you have any brandy?"

"I might. Sam stocked the bar when I moved in
here. Let's see...ah, here we go." She handed the bottle to him while she
went into the kitchen to get brandy snifters from the cabinet. When she
returned she saw him staring at the bottle.

He looked up at her. "Maggie...do you have
any idea what this is?"

"What is it? Isn't it brandy?"

"Yes, the world's finest brandy, a French cognac, Cuvee 3.128. Where did
your brother get this--and just how rich is he? There were only 3,500 bottles of this for the year."

She laughed. "Leave it to Sam. He always buys
the best. And he's very rich. He's a best-selling author of the psychic
detective series--"

"He's that Sam Carter? I saw the most recent
movie only a month or so ago."

Maggie took the bottle from him and began to open
it. Eric stopped her by putting his hand over hers.

"Are you sure you want to break the seal on
that?

"If there's anything I've learned from Sam,
it's that money is there to be used. He gave me this bottle, which means he
expects that I'll drink it or serve it to others."

She poured the cognac, and then motioned for them
to sit down. He sat one end of the sofa, and she sat at the other. She'd only
turned on one lamp, so the light was a bit low in the room, giving it an
intimate feel.