A Santini Christmas (5 page)

“
What charade would that be, Joey?”

God, the way he said her name. It made her all squishy on the inside. Worse, it made her want to reach across the table and pull him closer for a long, wet kiss.

Fudge.

“
That you’re interested in me. You don’t have to try and romance me because there will be no romance. I don’t have time for it or for you.”

Pretending to be more interested in her menu, she picked it up off the table and blocked out the sight of him. It only took a couple of seconds before she felt a tug on the top of the menu. She looked up and found Santini looking over the edge of the laminated paper.

“
Everyone needs a little romance.”

“
I know that as a Marine, you’re only out for a good time. That’s great. But I only have time for work. Then, next semester, school.”

He nodded and looked at his menu again. “Sure. I get that. Not like I’m busy or anything protecting the world.”

She heard the sarcasm in his voice and couldn’t fight the chuckle that bubbled out. He looked at her and smiled the slow sexy smile that she already loved.

“
You should laugh more often. It’s a really pretty sound.”

She said nothing to that and thanked the good lord the waitress returned with their drinks. “Do you know what you want?”

“
Want me to order?” he asked. “You know, being the Italian.”

“
You’re not the only Italian at this table and I used to work in a pizzeria. Anything without peppers or anchovies is fine by me.”

As soon as he ordered, and the waitress left them alone, he kept staring at her.

“
What?”

“
Nothing. Nice to know you’re Italian though.”

“
So I passed some kind of test by accident of birth?”

For a second he didn’t say anything, then he laughed.

“
What?”

“
You have just the right amount of sarcasm to please me, Joey.” He took a sip of his soda. “So, are you going to tell me your full first name?”

“
You couldn’t charm it out of Thelma?”

“
No. She told me if you didn’t want me to know, I didn’t need to know.”

She bit her bottom lip and tried to keep from laughing, but it was no use. He sounded so irritated by the whole issue. His eyes narrowed when she snorted.

“
What?”

“
So…poor little Marine couldn’t get Thelma to tell him stuff?”

He made a face and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He looked so put out.

“
It didn’t used to be a problem.”

“
I bet it’s never a problem for you.”

“
What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

She realized then that she said it aloud. With a sigh, she decided to end any chance she had with the man—not that she wanted one.

“
Listen, I get it. You’re big and tough, not to mention you’re a Marine and gorgeous. Women are always falling over themselves to get your attention. I’m sure that Thelma’s reaction to you is rooted in your time together when you were a little boy, but I am almost positive you were probably a pretty little boy too.”

He blinked, calling attention to those large dark lashes and those impossible milk chocolate eyes. “You think I’m gorgeous?”

Of course, out of all of that, that is the one thing he remembered.

She shrugged. “You don’t make me want to vomit when I see you.”

There was another beat of silence and she fiddled with the edge of the sleeve of her jean jacket.

“
Well, that’s a good thing.”

He said it with enough self-depreciating humor that she had to smile. When she looked up from the table, she found him grinning at her.

“
It is a good thing. I would have never been able to suggest pizza otherwise.” He just kept grinning at her and there was a part of her that wanted to go with the flow. There was no way there would be anything between them. She didn’t know when she would trust a man that much again. Since he was a Marine who would probably ship out at some point, there was no reason to think there would be anything between them.

“
Listen—“

“
Oh, that doesn’t sound good,” he said easily.

She sighed. “I don’t date for a good reason. I don’t have time.” That sounded good. It was at least partially true.

“
Really?”

He sounded skeptical but not sarcastic. There was at least that.

“
Yes. I am trying to save up some money for school.”

“
Your folks can’t help?’

She shook her head. “No. They’ve got enough on their hands at the moment.” Her father’s illness wasn’t something to talk about or the fact that when they did have money, her parents usually gave it away to those who needed it more.

He nodded. “I’m not sure if I would have made it through without going to Annapolis.”

Of course, he was an Annapolis graduate. Then it dawned on her that he was a captain or O-3. There was a good chance he had been to Vietnam before coming there.

“
You’ve been in country?”

He nodded. “Just for six months though.”

“
And your brothers, none of them went?

He shook his head. “They all wanted to go. Mom was happy they didn’t. She doesn’t like her babies far from home.”

She rolled her eyes. “Your poor mother having to deal with four boys. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the server bringing them the pizza. When they were finally alone, she asked, “What?”

He shook his head. “I just never thought about how being a mom of four boys would deal with it. I guess my mom just never really showed that it bothered her much. Of course, she is kind of the rock star of the family.”

“
Oh, so a mama’s boy?”

He blinked again, then he laughed out loud. “I can’t win with you. But no, I am not the mama’s boy. That’s Adam. He’s the youngest and he’s been babied his whole life.”

“
And I bet you and your other brothers made his life hell.”

“
It was our duty as older brothers.”

She grabbed a piece of pizza and bit into it. The moment the hot cheese hit her mouth she realized how hungry she was. It had been seven hours since she had last eaten. Joey hummed as the cheese and pizza sauce danced over her taste buds.

She didn’t realize that Stewart had stopped eating to look at her and then she realized how loud her moan had been. Her face heated with embarrassment.

“
Sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a piece of pizza.”

He said nothing to that as she took another bite. There were times he would just watch her, as if trying to figure her out. It always made her nervous.

“
So, you really don’t get out?” he asked.

“
I work over sixty hours a week. What do you think?”

“
Yeah, I get that, but I would think now and then you’d have a date.”

That was tricky territory for her. She had her reasons for not dating. Most people didn’t believe her or thought she was insane.

“
I don’t have the time or inclination. And while working at the bar gives me lots of choices, they aren’t that great.”

“
And your daytime job?”

“
What about it?”

“
Well, are there any men there you might be in contact with?”

He asked it so casually she realized he was trying his best to keep it light, but he was definitely feeling her out to see if she was seeing someone else.

“
No. Definitely not.”

“
Still not going to tell me what you do during the day?”

“
You’ve never asked me.” She knew she was pushing his buttons. Marines liked to be in control of the situation and he really didn’t like that she had power over him.

“
What do you do during the day?”

“
I work at that strip joint a couple streets over.”

Joey was proud of herself for keeping a straight face when she said it. His gaze shot up to hers then he laughed.

“
You definitely have a smart mouth.”

She shrugged. “Better than a stupid one.”

He chuckled. “Okay, so, what do you really do?”

“
I work at an art supply shop. Really, a hobby kind of shop where they have toy models and stuff to put together. I’m in charge of the paint area, plus I teach art classes to kids.”

“
You know about model airplanes?”

“
I do now, but I took the job to get the discount on paint supplies.”

“
You paint?”

“
Yes. That’s what I’m saving my money for. Art school.”

She waited for him to change the subject. Most men did. Hell, most people did when she started talking art. They would rather pretend she wasn’t some kind of hippy painter. She knew her parents would have been happy to pretend she wasn’t going to pursue a career in painting.

“
That’s pretty cool. So, what kinds of things do you like to paint?”

Joey didn’t answer that question. Irritation with him, with herself for “Why are you doing this?”

“
Doing what?”

“
You really want to know about my painting?”

“
Yeah. I do.”

He said it so naturally, she believed him. There had been no hesitation and his gaze was sincere.

“
Why?”

“
Because it has to do with you.”

Again, so simple to him and she relaxed.

“
I like to do mainly oils and landscapes, but not a lot of portraits except of people I care about. I have a lot to learn though. I have always wanted to try sculpting, but never have. Not seriously.”

And then she sat back and studied Stewart. He would be a perfect model in any medium. Of course, sculpting would be best. She hadn’t seen him with his shirt off, but she could imagine the sculpted muscle beneath the olive toned flesh.

“
Earth to Joey,” he said, his tone filled with amusement.

Joey blinked then refocused on this face. From his expression she could tell he knew what she had been thinking. Her face heated and she tried to pretend she didn’t know why he was amused.

“
You want to talk about it?”

“
There’s nothing to talk about, Santini.”

He sighed. “Now I know I irritated you. You use my last name when you’re irritated with me.”

But in her head she used his first name.

“
So, that’s why I always call you Santini.”

He chuckled. “At least you’re thinking about me.”

It would be better to change the subject and just move on from the dangerous topic of her liking him or that she thought about him…and his muscles.

“
So, what do you do in your job?”

He smiled.

“
What?”

“
Women usually don’t ask about that. Not really. Not like they really want to know.”

“
But I do.” And as soon as she said it, she realized she really did. She might not want a romance with the Marine, but she did like him. In a totally platonic way. Like a brother with a really sexy smile.