Betty tossed the flask back to Bobbie Sue. “Don’t be such a killjoy, Luke, it’s my birthday. Besides, you and Parker could do with a nip or two yourselves, you know.” She shot him a grin. “Especially you, Mr. Priss. You were a whole lot more fun when you drank.”
Luke scowled. “And what’s with the ‘Mr. Priss’ stuff? It’s Parker who wears the starched shirts and aftershave that makes him smell like some rich-boy pantywaist.”
Parker appeared wounded. “Hey, McGee, I’m not the one attacking you here, remember?” He lifted his Bevo with a crooked smile. “Besides, my family may have money, but I’m a working stiff just like you. And since when does good grooming qualify as prissy? Let’s face it – you’ve earned the name fair and square with your obnoxious clerical demands on these lovely ladies.”
“Hear, hear,” Bobbie Sue bellowed with a tip of her newly spiked beer. “You preach it, Mr. Parker. This boy here’s given me more headaches than my eight kids put together.”
“I’m particular, so sue me,” Luke muttered in a hurt tone. He glanced past Bobbie Sue at Shirl, who was headed their way with a tray heaped high with dinner. “Good – now you people can chew on something other than my hide.”
Shirl plopped the hefty platter on the table and started unloading plates all around. She set Luke’s down with a wink. “Double bacon cheeseburger, extra bacon, just how you like it.”
“Thanks, Shirl,” he said with a ready smile, “and we have one more order, if you don’t mind, along with another round of Bevo. Tell her what you want, Bobbie Sue.”
Bobbie Sue glanced at Luke’s food and opted for the same, sending Shirl on her way with another over-the-shoulder smile at the man of her dreams.
Katie’s gaze flitted from the thick stack of bacon on Luke’s burger to the two measly pieces on each of hers. She frowned. And his pile of fried potatoes was downright obscene too. “You must have a pound of bacon on that burger. For pity’s sake, what’d you do, bribe her?”
He pulled several pieces of bacon off and handed them to Bobbie Sue. “This’ll tide you over till your food comes.” His eyes shifted to Katie’s plate. “Unless Miss-Eyes-Bigger-Than-Her-Stomach can part with one of her burgers till Shirl delivers yours.”
Katie pushed her plate toward Bobbie Sue, who grinned and took a sandwich. “Why, thank you, sassy girl, much obliged.”
Luke lifted the mammoth burger to his lips, pausing to give Katie a weighted gaze. “Bribe her? No, Katydid, because unlike you, some women actually enjoy doing what I ask.”
“Ask maybe, but force? Do they enjoy that?”
He bit into his sandwich and chewed slowly, a smile surfacing at the edges of his lips. “Sometimes,” he said, heating her with a shuttered look while he took a slow swig of his drink.
Katie’s cheeks flamed hot, and she itched to slap that smug smile off his handsome face. Instead, she turned to Betty while nibbling a scrawny piece of bacon. “So, how are the ribs?”
With a swipe of her tongue, Betty licked the remains of barbecue sauce from the corner of her mouth. “De-lish,” she said with a dreamy smile, “and well worth the money, especially since Luke and Parker are paying the bill.”
Katie grinned and popped a pickle in her mouth. Whether from Bobbie Sue’s vodka, Luke’s presence, or the company of good friends, a warm glow spread through her as the evening continued. Shirl kept them supplied with plenty of Bevos while Luke, Betty, and Bobbie Sue supplied them with plenty of laughter. With a contented sigh, Katie pushed her empty dessert plate away and sneaked a reluctant peek at her watch. No! She leaned back in the booth and closed her eyes, her friends’ laughter filling her with longing. It was eight o’clock, she thought with a wave of frustration, and Father had warned her to be home early. A silent groan lodged in her throat.
“Betty?”
Katie’s eyes jolted open as a tall brunette strolled over to their booth, scarlet lips agape and a glazed look in her eyes. The scent of alcohol clung to her like a cheap perfume as she waved on a group of lady friends who were heading toward the door. “What in the world are you doing here?” the woman asked, her bloodshot eyes narrowing. “And where’s Leo?”
Betty’s face leeched to the color of the napkin still pressed to her lips. Her fingers shook as she lowered it to her lap. “I’m j-just in town for the weekend, to visit friends.” She swallowed hard. “Leo had to work.”
The woman’s eyes shifted to Luke, and a sneer lifted the corners of her mouth. “With him? Does Leo know?”
Luke half rose to extend his hand with a forced smile. “Imagine running into you here, Roberta. Small world.”
She ignored him and returned her gaze to Betty, whose face looked as pale as if she had just thrown up. Or was about to. “Since I moved to Boston a while back, I don’t get to see Leo all that often. A pity, really.” Her black eyes glittered with scorn. “But maybe I’ll just have to give him a call soon . . . you know, to reconnect.”
Betty sat up higher, shoulders squaring and chin lifting despite the pallor of her skin. “You do that, Roberta. And I’ll be sure to tell him on Monday that I saw you.”
“Please do,” she said with a cold smile. Her eyes scanned the table with obvious disdain before she turned on her three-inch heels and traipsed toward the door to join her friends.
Betty sagged back into the booth with tears rimming her eyes.
Luke tapped Bobbie Sue on the shoulder. “Let me out.” Bobbie Sue complied and Luke edged out of the booth with suit coat in hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and tossed it on the table. “Pay the bill when Shirl comes, will ya, Parker? I’ll meet you outside.”
“What are you going to do?” Betty rose up in the booth, palms pressed tight to the table.
Luke slung his jacket over his shoulder with that annoying air of confidence that had once gotten on Katie’s nerves. “Gonna make a few amends, Galetti, that’s all.” He winked and shot her a wayward smile that wreaked havoc with Katie’s pulse. “I can’t abide it when a woman holds a grudge.”
“Leave it alone, will you, Luke? It won’t do any good – she hates you. Besides, it’s too late. Leo will know where I am by morning.”
A nerve twitched in his cheek despite the wide smile on his lips. “No, he won’t, Bets. Not when I get done schmoozing his cousin.” And with another smile that spelled trouble, he turned and strode toward the door.
Parker rose and scanned the bar. “I’ll go hunt Shirl down for our bill.”
“What was that all about?” Katie placed a gentle hand on Betty’s arm. “And are you okay? Who was that woman anyway, and what’s Luke going to do?”
Betty sighed and sipped more of her spiked beer, her eyes glassy over the rim of her mug. “My ex-boyfriend’s cousin. Used to have a thing for Luke before he gave her the brush. I guess he’s gonna smooth things over.”
“But, why?”
Betty blinked, as if to diffuse the tears in her eyes. She upended her drink and squinted at Bobbie Sue. “Got any more of that hootch, Miz Dulay? I could use a stiff one about now.”
“Sure thing, honey, here you go.” Bobbie Sue shoved the flask across the table, and Betty snatched it up, along with Luke’s unfinished glass of Bevo. She dumped half of his near beer into her glass and poured the rest into Katie’s, topping both off with a hefty dose of vodka. “Here, Katie, we might as well salvage this party. Things won’t look so bad once we finish these.” She tossed the flask back to Bobbie Sue who promptly strapped it back on her thigh.
The whites of Katie’s eyes expanded as Betty chugged her drink, and then with a bob of her throat, she stared at the glass in her own hand. She knew she shouldn’t drink it because she was already a little tipsy. And Luke would be livid if he found out, not to mention her father. She gnawed on her lip, craving more of the glorious warmth she was feeling at the moment. After all, it had only relaxed her, not made her drunk. And relaxation was a good thing, right? She released a silent sigh. Especially with Luke s
itting too close for comfort. She sucked in a deep breath and cast caution to the wind, finally bolting a hefty swallow as she sank back against the booth. The taste burned her tongue, and she wrinkled her nose. “But why does Luke have to smooth things over?”
“To seal her lips,” Betty said with a wry smile. “And trust me, nobody’s better at sealing lips than our Mr. McGee.”
Katie winced, Betty’s comment burning as much as the vodka glazing her throat. “But why? Seal her lips from what?”
Betty and Bobbie Sue exchanged glances before Betty downed another gulp. “From telling my ex-boyfriend where I am. He tends to get slap-happy, you see, especially when his punching bag disappears from New York.”
A second sip of vodka pooled in Katie’s mouth while her eyes flared in shock. She swallowed hard. “You mean he hit you?”
One edge of Betty’s mouth curled in disgust. “That’s putting it mildly. You might say I was his own personal boxing gym.”
“No,” Katie whispered. She took another quick gulp of her drink, and then another. A thick, languid warmth began to creep through her veins. “Will he come after you?”
“Not if Luke has anything to say about it. Seems he’s appointed himself chief bodyguard and friend.” She finished off her drink with a stiff tilt of her glass just as Parker returned.
“The bill has been paid and Shirl amply compensated,” Parker said. “Although she was disappointed that Luke’s flown the coop. Let’s go.” He lifted his coat from the seat and helped Betty from the booth. His eyes flicked in Katie’s direction. “You coming back to the house with us, Katie? We play a pretty mean game of Pinochle.”
Katie upended the rest of her drink and tried to stand, but her legs felt as limp as the soggy potatoes at the pit of her stomach. She blinked several times to clear her eyes, but Parker seemed to be swaying. “’Fraid not, Parker. Father said dinner only, then straight home. I’m to be back before he and Mother get home from a wedding.” She put a hand to her forehead, suddenly feeling woozy. She squinted at her watch. “What time izz it, anyway?”
Bobbie Sue laughed and tucked an arm around Katie’s waist, helping her out of the booth. “Eight-thirty, sassy girl, and way too early to go home drunk.”
“Drunk?” Parker grabbed her shoulders. “Katie, look at me!”
Her head bobbed up. “Mmm?”
He groaned. “Tell me you’re not drunk, please.”
A silly smile eased across her face. “Okay. I’m not.” She hiccupped.
His gaze darted from Bobbie Sue to Betty. “Tell me you didn’t give her more to drink.”
Betty wrapped an arm around Parker’s shoulders. “Come on, Parker, it’s a party. We hardly gave her anything – she’s just a lightweight.”
Katie nodded slowly. Her eyelids fluttered closed as warmth seeped through her body.
He groaned. “So help me, Galetti, I have a good mind to fire you. She’s only eighteen, for pity’s sake, and her father’s as tight with Harris Stowe as this noose you’re trying to put around my neck. Luke is going to cinch me up.”
“No, he won’t. You’re the boss. Besides, Luke is all bluff when it comes to you, and you know it. Relax – it’s my birthday. What you need is a swig of Bobbie Sue’s flask.”
“No, thank you,” he said in a clipped tone. He leveled an arm around Katie’s waist. “Come on, Katie, we’ll take you back to the boardinghouse. You need some strong coffee.”
Katie’s eyes popped open. “Uh-oh, can’t, Parker. Gotta go straight home. Or I’ll never see Jack again.”
He sighed and rubbed his forehead, which was pinched in a frown. “What time will your parents be home from the wedding?”
She blinked several times. The warmth purling through her body suddenly ran cold. “Soon,” she muttered, “so I haf ta-go – now.” She started forward, weaving on her feet.
Bobbie Sue and Betty shored her up on either side, looping their arms through hers. “Come on, Sass, we’ll take you home,” Betty said with a chuckle. “Although you’re going to miss the fireworks between Luke and Parker.”
“Oh, drat,” she muttered, “I loooove fireworks.”
Betty and Bobbie Sue dragged her through the noisy pub and out the front door. She was met with a glorious blast of cooler air, which restored her good humor. Euphoria swelled in her chest as she stared up at the sky. “Oh my, look at that moon, will ya?” She giggled and broke free from Bobbie Sue and Betty, extending her arms in a joyous twirl. “Makes me wanna fly!”
“Whoa, girl,” Betty said with a chuckle as Katie teetered on the cobblestones. She snatched her at the waist. “You’re already flying pretty high, honey.”
Katie giggled. “Whoops, thank ya, Bets, but ya hafta admit, it’s a beauooootiful night!”
“It won’t be so beautiful if we don’t get you home before your parents,” Parker grumbled. He cinched an arm to her waist and scoured the street. “Where the devil is Luke?”
Betty motioned her head toward a nearby alley. “Over there, in the shadows. With her.”
Katie looked up, and suddenly her elation fizzled faster than foam on a warm Bevo. Heat stung her cheeks as she stared, stomach clutching at the sight of Luke McGee’s broad back bent over a shadowed woman butted against the alley wall. It wasn’t difficult to see that she was locked in his arms, and Katie felt a sharp jab of jealousy.
Parker handed her over to Betty while his gaze shot to the alley. “Bets, you need to duck out of here before that dame sees you again, and Katie needs to get home. Because if Luke sees her like this, your birthday’s not going to be so happy. We’ll meet you back at the house.”
“You got it, Boss,” Betty said with a chuckle. “But what if her daddy’s home?”
“Then you have no choice but to take her to Robinson’s for as many stiff cups of coffee as it takes to sober her up. But whatever you do, do not let her father see her this way, understand?”
Betty planted a kiss on Parker’s cheek. “Sorry for all the trouble, but isn’t this fun?”
“Loads,” he said in a droll tone. “Now, get her out of here – fast.”
“Yes, sir. Tell Lover Boy he can drop the act. It’s making me nauseous.” Betty latched on to Katie’s arm and hauled her down the street.
Bobbie Sue hustled to keep up. “Hold on . . . this ol’ body has a few years on it, you know.”
Katie jerked her arm free and dug in her heels, swaying on her feet. She glowered at Betty, hands balled into fists at her side. “Was Luke necking with that . . . that bimbo?”
Betty’s lips pressed tight. “All in the service of a friend,” she muttered.
“But that’s diz-gusting! And sick!”
“Not as sick as you’re going to be if that giggle water takes a turn in your stomach, sassy girl,” Bobbie Sue said between heavy breaths.
“Or if Luke or your daddy catches you drunk,” Betty added with a lift of her brow. She clamped a firm arm around Katie’s waist. “We need to get you home before it’s too late.”
“Katie, wait up!”
“Uh-oh,” Betty said with a quick glance over her shoulder. “We got trouble.” She pressed her lips to Katie’s ear. “Let me do the talking, you hear?” She slid her arm from Katie’s waist to hook it around her elbow instead.
Luke huffed to a stop, hands on his knees while Parker trailed behind with a grim look in his eyes. “Bets, Bobbie Sue – Parker’s going to walk you back to the house while I take Katie home. I need to speak with her father.”
Betty and Parker exchanged glances. Betty pursed her lips and tightened her hold on Katie’s arm. “He’s at a wedding tonight, so no need. And Katie wants to show me something at her house, so we’ll walk her home.” She perched a hand on her hip and gave him an off-center smile, obviously to divert his attention. “So, you engaged or what?”
He grinned and wiped his mouth with the side of his hand. “Pert near. What took you so long, anyway? My lips are chapped raw.”
“So, did it work?”
Luke tucked an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to deposit a kiss on her forehead. “Like a charm. Silence – bought and paid for with a promise to call when I’m in town again.” He grinned. “Consider it a birthday present, Miss Galetti, although I wasn’t planning on spending that much.” He patted her cheek and pushed her back, then tugged on Katie’s arm. “Come on, Katie Rose. I promised your father I’d get you home safe and sound.”
Katie stumbled against him, nose flat against his rockhard chest. The faint smell of musk and peppermint and Luke teased her senses, forcing the blood to warm beneath her skin. She closed her eyes and emitted a soft, little moan, wishing she could stay there forever.
He clutched her with a low chuckle. “The near beer set you on your ear, Katie Rose?”
“Luke, I told you, Bobbie Sue and I can walk her home.” Betty made an attempt to peel her from Luke’s chest, but Katie only released a languid sigh and curled her arms around his waist.
Instantly, his muscles tensed beneath her hold. “Katie?”
She slowly lifted her head and blinked, lost in the hard chiseled line of his jaw, that dangerous cleft in his chin, and those incredibly blue eyes that always pierced right through her.
Like now.
He held her at arm’s length, scanning her face with fatal accuracy. His eyes darkened to pewter in the lamplight. “Are you drunk?”
“She’s just feeling the effects of that first drink,” Betty said quickly. She tugged her out of Luke’s hold, causing Katie to wobble on her heels. “I’m taking her home, now.”
Luke yanked her back with a hard grip. “Get your hands off her. I want to see her walk.”
He let go of her arm, and Katie swore that the group of them were running in circles. She closed her eyes, but the spinning only got worse, forcing the food in her stomach to begin to rise.