Blind Date

Holding her purse by its straps, like a bunny by the ears, Meg made for the sofa, where earlier, she’d stashed the department-store bag that held the new red dress she intended to return. Somehow, it hadn’t looked quite as stunning at home. As she reached for the bag, though, she caught her reflection in the large, framed mirror behind the sofa. Straightening, she checked out her “studied casual” look. After all, a girl never knew who else might be at the mall on a Friday evening. Like maybe some exciting man exchanging a shirt he’d just bought?

Meg turned this way and that checking her makeup…her teeth…her outfit. She fluffed her hair—and stared in shock. “When did my hair start sticking out on the sides like that?”

She tossed her keys and purse onto the sofa, tucked her long, layered hair behind her ears and checked out the effect. “Sucks.” She freed her hair and ran her fingers through it, muttering, “It’s not my hair. It’s my ears. Dad’s ears. God, I could fly with these things, like Dumbo—”

The phone rang, cutting off her words. It was probably Mom, who had telepathically heard her daughter say something mean about her bank president father’s ears. Meg reached over to the end table to retrieve the phone and hit the talk button. “Hello.”

The voice at the other end of the line—definitely not her mother’s—raised Meg’s hackles and reminded her she really needed to get caller ID. “Hello, Carl. What do you want?”

She listened for a moment, and decided that was all she could take. “You know what Carl? It’s a little late to say you miss me. What happened to your other friend? You know, the one you had that nice little date with the other night? Yes, I am still mad. And no, I don’t think I’ll forgive you. In fact, I don’t even want to talk to you….” She paused for a minute, waiting for it to sink in. It didn’t. “No, Carl, you can’t come over and discuss this with me,” she said, trying again. “There’s nothing to talk about. Besides, I have plans.”

Shopping by one’s self could certainly be called plans. “No, Carl. Do not come over. I will not be here. I swear I won’t. What? Yes, you actually are that easy to get over. Shocking, isn’t it? Oh, but I do mean it—I’m over you. No, I won’t be here. Do not come over. And now I’m hanging up. Goodbye.”

Though she could still hear him talking, Meg angrily pressed the end button and plunked the phone back onto its base. “Take that, you cheating—”

An abrupt knocking on her front door cut off her unflattering sentiment. Instinctively, she headed for the door but stopped after one step and stood there, thinking. She looked at the phone and then the door. Could Carl have been standing right outside when he called on his cell phone? A cutesy trick like that was just like him, she decided, now striding stiffly toward her entryway. “Well, I’ll give him an earful he won’t soon forget. A real tongue-lashing, by God. And not the good kind, either.”

Muttering, her anger building, she stepped onto the tile squares of the minuscule entryway. Why it couldn’t be the nice, gorgeous, shirtless guy from the department store standing on the other side of the door when she opened it, she’d never know. Talk about your six feet of hunk with blue eyes and sandy-brown hair. Yeah, right. In my dreams. But who do I get? Stupid Carl and his little cell-phone trick.

Meg twisted the dead bolt and jerked the door open, already talking as it swung wider. “Look, I don’t think you’re one bit funny. I told you not to come over here, you big—” She came to an embarrassed stop as her disbelieving eyes and brain got together and made the connection. This wasn’t Carl. “Oh my God, I thought you were someone else—again!” she cried out. “What are you doing here?”

The six-foot hunk from the fitting room incident stared at her in shock. “You!”

“I know!” This was just too bizarre, and Meg’s mind wouldn’t process it. Feeling weak, as if she might faint, she jerked back and slammed the door in his face.

“NO, DON’T—” Too late. Joe knocked hard on the freshly slammed door. “Hey, are you okay in there?” He waited. No answer. Well, now what? He stood in the breezeway, feeling the warm evening air wash over him. “Hello!” he called out again, concerned. “Are you all right?”

While he worried, another part of his brain worked on the fact that it was her—the really hot woman from the dressing room. Man, she certainly hadn’t lost anything in the translation. But this couldn’t be right. Hell, if he played these odds in Vegas, he’d own the town.

Looking for help, Joe turned around and peered over the iron railing to the pool, four floors below. He glanced at the lush, tropical landscaping with its lighted walkway meandering through the generous grounds and the park benches set at intervals throughout. There wasn’t a soul in sight. He turned to the door again and knocked. “Listen, if you don’t answer me right now, I’m going to get the manager to open this door. So if you can hear me—”

“I can hear you” came a muffled voice from the other side of the closed door. “And I’m all right. I just wasn’t expecting you to be here. I thought you were stupid Carl.”

Joe weighed that for significance. “Carl must have really messed up.”

“Oh, he did. Big time.”

Acutely conscious of how their semi-shouting match might appear to the neighbors, Joe stepped in closer and said, “Look, I think I can explain this if you’ll just open the door. You already know I’m not Carl, and I swear I’m not a stalker. Maury Seeger sent me.”

A moment of silence ensued. “Are you a hit man?”

Uncle Maury had obviously been spreading his Mafia stories. “No.”

“Would you tell me if you were?”

“Probably not. But, look, think about it for a minute. Didn’t Maury tell you to expect a visitor, one who isn’t a hit man?”

“Yes and no. What’s your name and where do you live?”

This was a test. “Joe Rossi, and I live in Denver.”

“What do you do there?”

“I’m a construction foreman.”

“Okay, what’s my name? And, yes, I know what it is. I want to see if you do.”

“I figured.” He extracted a piece of paper from his pants pocket and consulted it. “Meg Kendall?”

“Right. So, what are you doing here, Joe Rossi?”

“We have a date at seven.”

The door opened and the sexy brunette stood there, frowning. “We do not. It’s tomorrow night. And it’s not really a date. It’s just an outing. So to speak.”

“No, it’s tonight…whatever it is.” He could not get enough of looking at her. She just oozed an appealing mix of humor and sleepy sensuality…like a lazy Sunday afternoon spent in bed teasing and laughing and making love. Joe exhaled loudly. “Are you all right? I mean, you looked so shocked a minute ago—”

“Yeah, I’m okay. It was just such a surprise. But our…outing is still tomorrow night.”

Just as she had in the fitting room, she roved her gaze up and down his length, making Joe feel like a stud in the show ring. Far from offended, he had all he could do not to strike a manly weightlifting pose and flex his biceps for her. “And yet, here I am. Tonight.”

“I noticed. And you’re Maury Seeger’s nephew? Really?”

“No. I’m his great-nephew. My grandmother was his late wife’s sister.”

Still holding onto the doorknob, she said, “Sounds complicated.”

“What hasn’t been so far?”

“True. But just so you know—” she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms “—I have pepper spray in my purse, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

That slowed Joe down for a second. “Okay. But you should know I carry a small Swiss Army knife, most of the functions of which I have no idea.”

While she digested that, Joe flicked his gaze up and down her, deciding she looked damn nice in pants. Long legs. She also filled out her T-shirt admirably. And her hair looked like she’d just climbed out of bed…and not in a bad way, either.

Because the silence between them was getting long and awkward, Joe said, “Tried on any good clothes lately?”

Her expression crumpled in amused embarrassment. “I cannot believe I did that. I am still absolutely mortified.”

Instantly charmed, Joe grinned. “It wasn’t all that bad, was it?”

She wagged a scolding finger at him. “Yes, it was. And I told you we couldn’t ever see each other again.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“True. But then you have to promise you will not, under any circumstances, ever bring up that incident again.”

Still feeling devilish, and pretty sure she could take a joke when it was on her, Joe replied, “You mean the part where you were half-naked in the men’s fitting rooms and poked your booty in my face?”

Crying out, she slapped at his arm—and missed because he danced back just in time. “I said don’t bring it up.”

Joe held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, it’s in the vault. I swear.”

“Good.” She relaxed enough to lean against the doorjamb and again cross her arms under her excellent breasts. He wished like hell she’d quit doing that and drawing his attention there. Or maybe he didn’t. “Seriously, what are you doing here tonight?” she said, drawing his attention back to her face. “Maury told me Saturday night.”

“And he told me tonight. He gets things wrong sometimes.”

Her expression radiated fond affection. “I know. But he’s such a sweet little man. Other than that, I don’t know what to say, Joe. I can’t really show you around Tampa tonight.” She turned just enough to look back inside her apartment before facing him again. “Or maybe I can. Or should. I don’t know. I don’t want to be here if…”

“Are we talking about Carl?”

She wrinkled her nose as if the man’s name smelled bad. “Yes. I told him not to come over, that I had plans—”

“Which didn’t include me.”

“Right. I have to return a dress. Which means I don’t have anything to wear right now. And that means we can’t go out tonight.”

Joe made it a rule never to try to understand or argue with feminine logic. Still, he stopped short of saying that she could go naked, for all he cared. “Well, if it makes any difference, you look great to me just as you are.”

She glanced down at herself. “I don’t know. I was going to wear—I mean tomorrow night—this little red, sleeveless linen sheath with tiny rows of embroidered stitching all around the hem that I bought. But then I decided I didn’t really like it and should take it back—” She cut off her own words. “You don’t care, do you.”

Joe shook his head apologetically. “It’s not that I don’t care. It’s just that, like most men, I’m genetically programmed to understand only football rules and beer commercials. All I heard of what you said was la-la-la-linen, la-la-la-stitching.”

She laughed. “You poor Neanderthal. It’s lonely out there in the cave, isn’t it.”

“It is. And it’s cold. But we have great hopes for something called fire.”

Certain they were now on better footing, Joe added, “So, here’s a plan. We go out tonight and tomorrow night. That way, neither one of us has it wrong. Or has to admit it. Or will be here should Carl show up.”

“He’d better not.” But still, she stood there as she looked up at him with those big, brown bedroom eyes.

“So, what’s Colorado like? Lots of cowboys and snowmobiles?”

All right, she was still undecided and this was a stall tactic. Joe wondered, though, if she felt the same subtle force he did, the one that urged him to step closer to her. “Let’s see…Colorado. Well, it’s rocky, like you’d expect. Mountainous. Trees everywhere. And cold. Lots of snow. A few cowboys. Now it’s your turn. Where are you from? Uncle Maury didn’t tell me much about you, except that you are beautiful and have a great personality.”

A tinge of pink stained her cheeks as she shook her head. “Maury exaggerates.”

“Not in this case.”

“And now you’re just being nice. I’m a native Floridian, from Gainesville, where my family still lives. And I teach third grade.”

“Gainesville, huh? Go ’Gators. But third grade? Suddenly, I understand your need for pepper spray.”

Again she laughed. “They’re not as bad as all that. But their parents…” A dramatic roll of her eyes completed her joke.

Joe didn’t know what to say next, so he just stood there grinning and nodding—like an idiot, he feared. An awkward silence fell over them and slowly became painful.

“So,” he said abruptly, causing Meg to blink, “is this the actual date? The two of us standing here, you inside, me outside, talking?”

“Oh. No. Sorry.” She stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. “It’s not a date, but come in.”

He took a step forward.

“Or should I just get my purse?”

Joe stopped, waiting for her to decide.

“No, come in.”

Joe started forward again.

“Oh, darn, I still need to return that dress to the store, and I was on my way out when you knocked.”

Wanting to forestall any further doorway do-si-do, Joe suggested, “Why don’t we just return the dress when we’re out on our not-a-date?”

She brightened, smiling. “You wouldn’t mind? Really? Or maybe I should just wear the new dress.”

Joe thought he had her figured out well enough by now to say, “But you hate the new dress. And don’t go change clothes. You look fine to me in what you have on. Besides, I don’t have any big, fancy plans for this evening.”

“You don’t? Why not?”

Clearly she meant, Am I not worth it?

Joe thought fast. “I just meant it’s your town, Meg. I thought I’d be ready for anything you might want to do. That’s why I dressed like this.” He indicated his casual attire—jeans, neatly belted, and maroon knit shirt.

That seemed to satisfy her. “Okay. I was going to suggest dinner and then I’d show you the city…but tomorrow night, so I’m kind of disappointed.”

“I still don’t understand why we can’t do it tonight.”

“Because the free concert at Centro Ybor isn’t until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that makes it hard.” Joe’s frown was for the unfamiliar term. “What’s Centro Ee-bore? Where’s that?”

Her expression brightened. “Oh, it’s fun. All kinds of stores, restaurants and clubs, and even a movie complex. It’s close by, just the other side of the Cross-town Expressway in Y-B-O-R City. Anyway, it’s the Latin Quarter of Tampa. Really historic. All about Cuban cigars. You’d like it.”

“Sounds like I would. We could still go tomorrow night…if you want. If we still like each other.”

“If we still do? So you think we like each other now?” Flirtatious best described her crooked grin.

It had an immediate—and elevating—effect on Joe. He stuffed his hands in his pants pockets to keep from grabbing her and kissing the hell out of her. Man, he just kept digging this hole of attraction deeper and deeper, didn’t he. Sure, he’d come here to visit his favorite relative, but also to take time away to think about his relationship with Linda, a really fine woman he’d been with now for about six months. She wanted things to get more serious…but he didn’t. So these ten days in Florida—three of which had already passed—were his chance to decide what he should do.

“You’re awfully quiet, cowboy. I mean, if you have to think about it that long, then—”

“Sorry.” Snapped back to the moment, Joe pulled his hands out of his pants pockets. Cowboy? Gazing at Meg Kendall’s pretty face, he decided he liked her teasing reference to his home state. This woman was going to keep him on his toes, he could just tell. “Yeah, we do. We like each other.”

Her attractive grin widened considerably. “Cool.”

Feeling way too warm, even for Tampa’s temperate evening air, Joe searched for something neutral to say. “We’ll be taking Uncle Maury’s car. You still want to go?”

She made a face. “Yes, but we can take my car, if you want.”

Smiling, Joe said, “So you’ve experienced the black and chrome monster. Personally, I would love to take your car, but we’d better take his. Evidently, he spent a whole week before I got here cleaning and polishing it. He’s pretty proud of it, and I’d hate to hurt his feelings.”

“Aren’t you a good nephew.”

Embarrassed, Joe feigned immediate insult. “Now, don’t go around saying things like that. If you ruin my reputation as the tough guy, cowboy type, I’d have to beat someone up all over again.”

“Really? Because there’s a guy named Carl I’d like to nominate for that honor. He’s kind of big, but I think you could take him.”

“Ah, yes…Carl. What did he do, exactly?” Joe couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed just standing here talking to her. Who cared if they went anywhere?

“Carl was a jerk, that’s what,” Meg said.

“Well, then, we don’t like him.” He gestured toward the door. “So, are you ready? Uncle Maury is bringing his car around from the parking garage. Once we’re on our way—with everyone in Tampa staring at us—we’ll go find this Carl and I’ll take care of him for you. How’s that sound for a start to a nice evening?”

Meg grinned. “I’ll go get my purse.”

“And the dress.”

“Right. And the dress.”

2

“SO, HOW ABOUT this little beauty, huh, Joey? It’s part of my legacy. When I die, it’s all yours.”

“You’re not going to die, Uncle Maury. The way things are going, you’ll be around longer than I am. You and this…car.” Standing in the apartment complex’s parking lot with Meg at his side, Joe looked over the black and chrome behemoth that could have been a prop in a James Cagney gangster movie. But his great-uncle was so proud of the car that Joe had no choice but to voice excitement. “Still looks like it’s in mint condition.”

“It’s better than that. Got a new engine. And I put new tires on it and installed seat belts. It’s gassed up, street-legal and ready to go.” Wearing striped and rumpled shorts, a loud Hawaiian shirt and scuffed deck shoes, the short, stocky, cigar-smoking and toupee-topped octogenarian indulgently patted the car’s fender. “This baby saw me through many a scrape up in Jersey in the old days. What a machine. It’s not the same now—the cars and the gangsters today. They don’t have anything on us old guys. We were the real deal—you know, kid?”

“Yes, I do, Uncle Maury.” As an aside to Meg, Joe whispered, “He was never in the Mafia. Not really. I’ll tell you more later.”

“Okay,” she whispered back, “but I didn’t really think he was.”

“Before I got out of the mob,” Maury continued, “we were really something. But these goons today, all dressed in black, so slick and educated? Hooey! A bunch of empty suits. Got no morals. No respect.” He wagged a stubby index finger at Joe. “A man who don’t respect his family is no kind of man at all. You remember that, Joey. And you take good care of my little Meggie here. She’s a gem, ain’t she?”

Maury cupped her chin in his hand and grinned proudly. “Beautiful, like I told you, huh? She teaches little kids. Tells them what they need to know about life—don’t you, Meggie?”

“I try, Maury.” Her voice sounded funny since she had to speak with her cheeks pooched between his big thumb and thick fingers.

Maury released her, leaving red marks on her face. Joe didn’t know what to do or say as she worked her jaw, but she she acted like this was an everyday occurrence that didn’t upset her.

“That’s my girl.” Maury dug through his pockets, obviously searching for something. “You need any money, Joey, to show this lady a good time? She deserves some fun.”

“I’ve got plenty, Uncle Maury. Keep your money.” But Maury pressed a big wad of bills into Joe’s hand anyway. “Well, in that case, thank you. That’s really nice of you.” He tucked the money into his pocket. It was just easier. Tomorrow he’d find a way to put it back on his uncle’s dresser. The top of it was such a mess he’d never notice a few loose dollars added back to the mix.

“Hey,” Meg said suddenly. “Why don’t you come with us, Maury?”

That surprised Joe. Sure it was nice that she’d want to include the old guy. But did she offer because she didn’t want to be alone with him?

Uncle Maury, God love him, came through. With broad gestures and an adamant shake of his head that left his toupee slightly askew, he waved Meg’s suggestion away. “No, you two go. You don’t want an old man tagging along. Go enjoy a little adventure. Maybe tomorrow when I’m not so tired, we can do something, the three of us. How does that sound?”

With the words no more than said, Maury was suddenly seized with an episode of coughing and wheezing that had him clutching at his chest.

Concerned, Joe took up position beside his uncle. At the same time, Meg took his elbow at the other side. Really liking this woman for her warmth and caring, Joe turned his attention to Maury. “You’re tired? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” he groused, shaking off their hands.

Joe stepped back, exchanging a look with Meg, who looked every bit as worried as he felt. The old guy might be a kid at heart, but Joe had to remind himself that his great-uncle was well into his eighties. “Why don’t we just stay here with you tonight, Uncle Maury?”

Seeking her approval, Joe again met Meg’s eyes and saw her nod. “We’ll call out for a pizza and you can tell us all about the old days. How does that sound?”

“Boring as hell. You go paint the town with the young lady. Me, I got some people coming over tonight. We’ll sit by the pool, have a few drinks, play some cards and tell lies. I’ll be fine. Now, go. Get outta here.”

Joe frowned, suddenly worried about leaving Maury alone. Maybe moving from the active-seniors complex where he used to live hadn’t been such a good idea for his great-uncle. The family had taken it as a good sign when Maury left last year, saying he didn’t want to be surrounded by old people. Now, Joe wasn’t so sure.

“Why the long face, Joey?” Maury chided. “I said I was fine. Now, you kids go have fun. And make sure Meggie here cuts loose a little, Joey. But be a gentleman, or you’ll answer to me.”

Joe held his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. We’ll go, and I’ll behave.”

“Darn, Maury, why’d you have to make him promise to behave?” Meg pouted, clamping her hands to her waist. “Are you just trying to take all the fun out of this evening?”

Meg’s teasing sentiment—though Joe suspected she’d said it mainly to make Uncle Maury laugh, which he did—nevertheless riveted Joe’s attention on her. She boldly met his gaze, but only for an instant before she leaned in to kiss his elderly great-uncle on the cheek. Watching her, Joe again had the sense, deep inside, that she was not going to be an easy woman to walk away from.

A LITTLE MORE THAN three hours into their not-a-date, as they motored down stately Bayshore Boulevard with the un-air-conditioned jalopy’s front windows rolled down, Meg found herself looking over at Joe. Though he was seat-belted in behind the wheel of the Mafia-mobile, he wasn’t all that far away. For all its chrome and length, the car’s interior was fairly compact. No more than a foot of empty bench seat separated her from this fine specimen of maleness.

“How long have you been here visiting Maury?” she asked, deciding a little conversation might break the ice.

“Three days now.”

“Really? I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around the apartment complex.” Meg loved that Joe was driving. This way she could look at him all she wanted, without worrying about where they were going. The man had a killer face—high forehead and cheekbones, deep-set blue eyes, a straight nose, sensual lips and a firm jaw. He looked like a tough-guy movie star. But most of all, she liked how a lock of his sandy hair, which looked darker in the night, fell over his forehead. “Where have you been—camped out by the pool so you could check out all the bikini babes?”

“Only for about the first twenty-four hours.” He grinned over at her, showing beautiful white teeth, then returned his attention to the traffic. “I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you, either. But I guess it’s because Uncle Maury’s place is so far away from yours. You’ve got a whole other entrance and street address.”

“Yes, the stinker has the best apartment in the complex. But I was at work all this last week. And except for Wednesday evening when I went shopping—as you well know but aren’t allowed to talk about—I was home grading papers. Anyway, all I can say is thank God this upcoming week is our spring break.”