Lovers and Other Strangers Box Set: The Boston Stories (23 page)

"What?"

"Nothing, I just may have her check on some stuff for me. Nothing for you to worry about. We should get going if we want to get there before dinner time."

They didn't talk much on the way to the T station. It being Sunday afternoon the usual stops in Cambridge filled the cars with students from the universities around there but by the time they reached Downtown Crossing to change to the Orange line they ended up with a car all to themselves. Every time she looked at him her heart started pounding in her chest all over again. It felt like they had both run out of things to say. Maybe he was in the same boat she was. It wasn't like there weren't plenty of things she wanted to say it was just that unless she changed her mind all of those things were gonna get her in trouble. Wonderful, earth shaking, rock her world trouble but trouble none the less.

Joseph insisted on stopping at a package store to pick up a bottle of wine to have with dinner. In another couple of minutes they were at his house. It looked like all the rest on the block, three stories, probably built in the 'teens, steps led up to the porch. His had a ramp but it wasn't what you saw immediately. Who ever designed it made sure it blended into the architecture of the house.

"Your architect did a good job preserving the look of the house when they added the ramp."

"I tried."

"You mean you designed this?"

"Don't sound so shocked, I also was the general contractor for the rehab too. When I bought the place it had been chopped in to tiny apartments. I basically had them gut it and redid the whole inside. I wanted to keep the same feel as the other places in the area but open it up. Come on I'll show you around."

Evie followed him up and in through the wide front door that these houses were known for. Once inside she couldn't believe her eyes. All the period details were there but lighter and brighter. He had kept the entry way pretty much unchanged. With Boston's winters you needed that buffer between the cold and the rest of the house and somewhere to keep the coats and boots and stuff that always accumulated. Once they were beyond that, the traditional front parlors and dining room had been opened up to be one big room with multiple fireplaces. The wood work and lighting looked like it was original to the house but all the furniture was modern. It should have looked strange together but it worked, looking masculine and rich, a lot like the guy that lived there. If he had used period furniture it would have looked too overdone and dainty, this way it showed off his eye for design without being a museum piece.

"Joseph, its gorgeous! Did you pick out all the furniture too?"

"My sister helped some, mostly kept me from turning it into a very large man cave. But yeah, most of it is me." While Evie looked around Cam put on some music and headed to the kitchen to open the wine and get dinner started. After a minute she followed him in.

"For a guy that claims to know nothing about art, you've got a very good eye for design."

"Thanks, I guess. I didn't really think about it much just picked stuff I liked that looked like it would go together."

"So did you design this yourself too?"

"The kitchen? Yeah I sorta had to. I needed everything wheelchair accessible but I'm tall so the heights were wrong with the off the shelf stuff. I also didn't want it to scream 'a cripple lives here' so I decided it was easier to make it look like a garage instead of a straight kitchen."

"In the design world that 'garage look' is called industrial. My place was like that when I moved in. The bones of it were fine but I needed to soften it up some for me. Your place could be in a magazine, heck should be in a magazine. Everything looks just like it should, even the old concert posters framed on the walls look perfect."

"Thanks, but I don't think I need my place in any magazine. So Amatriciana sauce work for you?"

"Wha..."

"You really are as WASP-y as you look, aren't you?"

"I beg your pardon, I am one eighth German too."

"That makes you more English than most of the royal family. But I suppose the German is how you ended up in Catholic school."

"Um, no, we are what my father called 'Swamp Yankee'. We may have been here since the first boat came over but we didn't have any money then and still don't. Catholic school was better than going to the public school and not as expensive as going to the ritzy prep schools. So now that you know my gene pool is a little thin and we are cheap, what's in the sauce?"

"Thin gene pool or not what came out was gorgeous. As far as the sauce goes, Bacon, onions, tomatoes, some Pecorino, a little wine to get the good stuff off the pan, served over Penne if Delia didn't eat it all."

"That sounds wonderful, okay now I am officially starving." She also was blushing. They had been so tense on the way here that it had been a whole hour since he complimented her. She was starting to think he might be merely human after all.

"Sit down and relax. Thankfully, this is a quick sauce." He got two glasses and poured them some of the wine. Then he went to work on dinner. She loved watching him, he looked like a surgeon or a master chef, all precise movements and instantaneous decisions. Once he had the sauce simmering she really was starved, it smelled so good. While they waited for the pasta to cook she asked him about some of the concert posters.

"So I saw a small poster that didn't look like it could be right." He got a wide grin on his face.

"Oh its right. It was before they were even that big in Ireland. I suspect they were over here meeting with record companies or something. My grandfather knew the guy that owned the bar so I heard about it and dragged my buddy Michael along. We were under age but Michael was not above using his wheelchair to get sympathy or get him into a bar he shouldn't have been in. So yeah, we got to see one of the last great stadium bands in an Irish pub that held maybe 300 people. It was pretty amazing."

"So you were in high school still?"

"Yeah, we had to promise not to drink in the bar but Michael and I drank the whole way home on the T singing at the top of our lungs."

"You really were a bad boy. So just a guess, mom's Irish and dad's Italian?"

"You think? With this pale Irish skin but greenish not pink and the blue eyes but the black hair and Roman nose"

"Your nose doesn't look that Roman."

"They don't play ice hockey in Rome but they do in Boston."

"Ouch!"

"And then some. Dinner is served madam. Would you do the honors of bringing the wine?" The back of the kitchen looked a little like a very classy diner booth. She slid in and realized it was the perfect set up for him. Everybody could sit comfortably and he could still maneuver around in the kitchen. Just as they sat down, the front door banged.

"Delia, easy on the door!"

"Hey, Cam! Did you save me some? God, I'm hungry." Hurricane Delia blew in the kitchen. Joseph didn't even turn around but Evie got the full effect. The girl would have been adorable if she looked at all like a girl. As it was she had on a huge baggy T-shirt and cargo pants that were two sizes too big. The combat boots looked authentic government issue. Her dark wavy hair was pulled back into a scrunchie. She was all of five feet tall and looked like a human firecracker.

"Oh, you have company. Female company." Delia looked her over while Evie tried not to flinch. Evie definitely thought she was being assessed as to her worthiness. After a minute, Delia smiled at her. "You're not like the usual women he brings home." Joseph looked like he was going to kill someone. Evie knew she shouldn't but the temptation was too great not to.

"Really, and what kind of women does he usually bring home."

"Ball busters mostly, women that look like they've been around too long. Not so much in a skanky way as just jaded, like they've seen a little too much of everything to have any dreams left."

"Yo, Miss Freud, there is still some pasta and sauce on the stove. Make up a bowl and get out. I have something I'll need you to do tomorrow too.

"I live to serve. I'm working at Jonah's tomorrow."

"Even better, you can practice being a big bad investigator."

"Ha Hah, I know you love me even when you act like a pain in the ass."

"Go away, Now!"

Delia stomped around getting her food and then clomped upstairs. "Your niece is... interesting."

"ugh, She is a good kid, never in any real trouble, never done drugs, doesn't have guys hanging around. My sister and I raised her after her father split. My sister would do all the mom things with her and I was the bad influence. I took her to the track, the kid is a whiz with numbers and odds. She used to go over the racing forms while I drove. I'd place the bets when we got there and then we'd split the winnings." Evie felt like she should mention that he had a huge smile on his face but maybe not. "Now she does stuff in the stock market that blows me away. We paid for her to go to college and she's racked up enough money to start her own company doing internet security for businesses. She also has her mother and I well invested even with all the ups and downs lately, we've been doing well. I'm really proud of the little pest." Evie saw the smile hadn't budged. She had a flash of him holding a kid of his own and being a great dad. Her next thought was, Hey girl, way ahead of yourself there. But still the image was so warm and sweet she couldn't resist.

After dinner they went out to the living room. Joseph played with some switches on the wall and the fireplace roared to life, most of the lights dimmed or turned off and others came on highlighting some of the posters.

"This is very jazz club seductive."

"Your wish is my command." and Charlie Parker started playing softly from the speakers.

"A little Bird for my little bird."

"That, was awful." But she was smiling at him anyway.

He settled himself on the couch. "Come here, its been hours since I kissed you properly."

Evie gulped in a breath of air and managed not to squeal out loud at the thought of being kissed properly. She plopped down next to him and kissed him. She had intended to give him a quick peck but once his arms were around her she wasn't going anywhere. He trailed kisses across her jaw and down her neck till she was turned around in his arms with her back against his chest. He held her with one hand splayed against her hip. With his other hand he lifted the hair off the back of her neck and started nibbling on the sensitive spot. She tried not to whimper or pass out.

"You have such beautiful hair Evie. Like a thick curtain of silk. I could get lost in your hair." One small whimper escaped. "I meant what I said about washing your hair when we are in the tub." She felt all of her bones go soft as she leaned back against him. When she did, he turned to nuzzling aside the collar of the flannel shirt she still wore and started nipping at her shoulder and neck. She was burning up and it had nothing to do with the fireplace. His hands slid up the sides of her body. As his fingers grazed her breasts she moaned and he stopped then he took his arms out from under hers and wrapped them around her holding tightly against his chest. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as they both tried to catch their breath.

Delia walked in at that moment. "Don't you two look cozy." Evie could feel the growl in his chest more than hear it. She also heard him mumbling under his breath. Wise ass was what she caught though there was a lot more. "I'm going to meet some friends at a pub. Don't wait up but I suspect you'll be in bed as soon as I leave." Evie heard more mumblings followed by a dammit.

"Way to kill a moment squirt! Hey isn't it late to be going out? Don't do anything stupid and if you need me, call."

Sidestepping the question, "You won't be busy?" Delia was actually grinning at the man. Evie had to guess that this had happened before.

"No, she is going to be sleeping in your mother's old room. And I am not."

"Hey, you don't have to get all puritanical on my account, I don't care if you guys share a bed."

"Out. Now."

"Ooh, now he's pissed. See ya!"

Evie couldn't help but smile. "Well, she seems to like me." Joseph growled out loud this time and playfully bit her shoulder.

"Yeah, actually she does, or at least doesn't think you'll be bad for me."

"Did you bring home a lot of women that were bad for you?"

"I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole, except to say that if they weren't you then they must have been bad for me."

"You always did impress me with your intelligence."

"Smart aleck." He punctuated that with a pinch to her butt that made her jump out of his arms. She stood up rubbing her ass.

"Hey! that wasn't nice." She made a comical hurt face.

"You're lucky you didn't get spanked." There was something about the way he looked when he said it that made her feel tingly all over.

"Um, not happening."

"Not tonight anyway, besides its is late and we'll need to get up early tomorrow. You want to take the stairs or the lift?

"You have an elevator?"

"Yeah, when I pulled out the back stairs I used the space for an elevator, How did you think I'd get to the bedrooms on the second floor?"

"Truthfully, I didn't think about it. Sorry."

"Don't be. I like that you don't think of me being in a wheelchair." She wondered what he'd think if she told him about her thinking he was a super hero. Probably laugh his ass off.

"Anyway as to your question, I guess I'll ride up with you."

"I was hoping you'd say that. The elevator is small so you'll have to sit on my lap." He was grinning like a wolf.

"That was all just a trick to get me back on your lap!"

"Damn right."

"Evil man."

"You bet. Now grab your bag and let me take you upstairs to bed."

He showed her to her room. There were four large bedrooms, each with their own bath.

"This is a like a hotel."

"I knew I was going to be living here with two women from the beginning. No way was I going to be sharing a bathroom with either of them. You've met Delia, she's a chip off my sister so in order to head off their fights, they needed separate bathrooms. So, everybody gets their own. I figure it kept me sane for the last 5 years. Well, good night."