"But the door wasn't locked. So, here we are."
"Yes," Joe said, "here you are."
"Well." Susannah cleared her throat. "Look, we can come back later, when you, uh, when you and, uh, and-"
"Lucy. My, ah, my new cook."
Matthew's eyebrows shot towards his hairline. "That's not the way we hear it, pal."
Joe felt his heart plummet towards his feet. "You spoke with Nonna?"
"Uh-huh." Matt tugged on the string of one of the balloons. "That's how we heard that congratulations were in order."
"Yes," Susannah said brightly. "What lovely news, Lucy."
"News?" Lucy parroted.
"About you and Joe being engaged. It must have been very sudden."
"Very," Joe said. His fingers tightened around Lucy's wrist.
"Isn't that right, honey?"
"No," Lucy said, "no, it-"
"She's right. It wasn't all that sudden." Joe cleared his throat. "I mean, it seems that way but, ah, but we knew, the minute we met, how it was between us."
"Oh," Susannah said, and sighed, "that's so romantic. Matthew? Do you remember when we fell in love? That weekend in Paris-"
"We fell in lust in, Paris," Matthew said, but his heart was there, for all the world to see, in the smile he gave his wife.
"He's such a tease," Susannah said gently, and smiled, as well. "What I meant is, it's amazing how quickly these things can happen."
"Lust?" Matthew said politely.
"Love," his wife replied, ignoring him. "Just look at you two. Strangers, a couple of day ago, and now you're engaged to be married!"
"That's just the point," Lucy said quickly. "We're not-"
"It's okay, honey." Joe's fingers tightened in warning again. "Now that Nonna's let the cat out of the bag, we might as well admit it." He gave Lucy a quick look. She'd managed to tug down her dress and close her jacket. The buttons were in the wrong holes, but who cared? He flashed her a big smile, slid his arm around her shoulders, and drew her down the steps with him. "It's true. We're engaged."
Susannah sighed. "How lovely."
"How sudden." Matthew's teeth glinted in a quick smile. "You didn't say a word yesterday morning when we spoke."
"I hadn't popped the question yet." Joe said.
"Seems to me you hadn't met, either."
The brothers looked at each other. "Your timeline must be wrong," Joe finally said.
Matthew raised his eyebrows. "Must be," he said lazily. "Anyway, once we heard the news, we figured we'd stop by and help you celebrate."
"I said we should have called," Susannah hissed.
"No," Joe said with a forced smile, "not at all. It's great, seeing you guys."
"Well," Susanna said after a pause, "tell us everything. Where did you meet? And when? Have you set a date for your wedding? We're dying for all the details."
"There aren't any de-"
"It's too soon for details," Joe said before Lucy could finish the sentence. "That's what she means. Isn't that right, honey?"
Lucy glared at him. "I meant what I said, Romano. Actually-"
"Actually, we're still debating things." Joe pulled Lucy close and kissed her. "Big wedding, small wedding. Evening or afternoon. That kind of thing, you know?"
Matthew nodded. "Oh, yeah. I know."
Susannah looked at her husband. "I thought you liked our wedding."
"I did," Matthew said quickly. "Of course, I did."
"Well, that's not how you sounded."
"But that's what I meant," Matthew replied even more quickly. "Listen, why don't we clear out so you two can, uh, can do whatever you were going to do. I mean, uh, what about having dinner together?"
"No," Lucy said.
"Great," Joe said. "Tonight. The club. Drinks at seven?"
"Seven's fine." Matthew drew his wife closer. "Okay, sweetheart?' '
"You told me you liked all the plans I made for our wedding, Matthew. You said-"
Matthew rolled his eyes, turned Susannah towards the door.
"See you later," he called over his shoulder.
"Later," Joe said cheerfully. The door swung shut.
Joe let go of Lucy, hurried to the door, locked it, leaned back against it and blew out his breath.
"Hot damn," he said, and shut his eyes.
"Hot damn, is right. How could you, Romano?"
Joe swung around and looked at Lucy. Her jacket was still buttoned wrong, her hair was hanging in her eyes, her cheeks were pink and her mouth was softly swollen. She looked like a woman who'd been doing exactly what she had been doing before they were interrupted-but her words rang with indignation.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said, how could you? Lie that way, I mean. To your brother. To his wife. Letting them think we're engaged..." She took a deep breath and slapped her hands on her hips. "How could you?"
"What would you have preferred I tell them?"
"The truth, of course."
"The truth," Joe said coolly. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Sure. Why not? I should have said, well, we met yesterday. Or you might say we met Friday night. We didn't like each other terribly much, but yeah, we couldn't keep our hands off each other." His mouth twisted. "Is that the 'truth' you wanted me to drop on my brother and his wife?"
Her color deepened. Did he have to put it so bluntly? "Everything is accurate except the last part." Her eyes flashed. "But that last part is incorrect. I'm not the one's having a problem with my hands, Romano."
Joe thought about pointing out that it was she who'd been begging him to take her when Matt and Susannah had come bursting in, but why bother? She was back to being a Boston Ice Queen.
Which was the real Lucinda Barry? Was sh
e the world's greatest actress, or could she turn on and off as fast as a light bulb?
Not that it mattered. Thanks to his brother's unscheduled appearance, Joe could damned near feel his hormones scuttling back into place.
Sex was great-but sanity was better.
A man could always find a woman to bed, but finding your mind after you lost it was a different matter entirely. And he'd definitely gone 'round the bend there, 'round several bends, or so it would seem, coming on to Lucy with all the subtlety of a moose on the loose.
He wasn't blameless, but the fault was mostly hers.
Even dressed in that wacky cook's outfit, she was a woman who could drive a man crazy. Surprise, surprise, he thought grimly. Hell, that was her profession. It was her specialty. She drove men nuts, for a living.
That was why he'd lost control, because she was good at what she did.
Damned good.
Wanting her was axiomatic. It had nothing to do with the soft, warm feel of her in his arms. With her tasting like milk and honey against his tongue. With the way she trembled when he touched her, and whispered his name, as if no man had ever made her feel these things before ...
Hell, Joe thought, and scowled darkly.
"Go upstairs, fix your hair, change your clothes."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said-"
"I heard what you said, Romano. What makes you think you can keep giving me orders?"
Joe looked her up and down. His eyes met hers.
"The fact that I'm the man who has to be seen with you at my club tonight," he said politely. "Any other questions?"
"You've got to be joking! If you really think I'm going to play this game-"
"I don't think it, Blondie, I know it."
Lucy flushed. "I told you not to call me that!"
"And I told you to get out of that ridiculous get-up!"
"No." She folded her arms, angled her chin upward. "This has gone far enough. I should never have agreed to help you torment your poor, sweet old grandmother."
Joe laughed.
Lucy gritted her teeth.
"My poor, sweet old grandmother, huh?"
"Yes."
"I don't recall twisting your arm to get you to go along with me."
"Never mind that. You had the chance to tell your brother the truth, and you didn't."