Begin Again (7 page)

“I have another date. With someone else.”

Blondish
eyebrows arched. “You work fast. Maybe you don’t need my advice.”

“No, I do. He’s the architect on the new music hall.”

“Conflict of interest?”

“I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“So, what’s got you concerned?”

“He seems interested sometimes and sometimes not. Plus we’re from two different worlds.”

“I assume you’re talkin’ about wealth and status. Does that bother you?”

“No, I don’t care about that crap. I am who I am. But a couple of times, I got the feeling that our differences were important to him.”

“Is he nice to you?”

“Very. And flattering.” She thought of the expression on his face when he’d seen her hair down. “And
he’s
not easy.”

“Paulina, I love you dearly, but that doesn’t color my view of you. Any man would be lucky to have you in his
life. You’re kind to everybody, and good-hearted, even in your grief. To hell with different life styles. Go after what you want.”

She gave him a little sister grin. “Like you went after Kelsey?”

A former Secret Service agent, Luke had been undercover as a high school student and his now wife had been his
teacher
. “Once she knew my real identity, yep, that’s exactly what I did.” He winked
at her. “And I got her.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks for the advice, Lukasz.”

After the pep talk, they headed inside to find Luke’s two girls wrestling with Tommy and Ben in the family room. Luke got right in the middle of it, so the four kids turned on him
.

Paulina went to the dining room, where she found her sisters and…well, when did
he
get here?

Nia leaned over. “He came while
you were outside.
Matka
invited him for dessert.”

“Huh.”

Gerald Callahan sat close to
Matka
, who’d dressed in a pretty skirt and blouse tonight. For him? Paulina watched as Callahan touched her hand when they spoke to each other. Then he noticed Paulina. “Here’s Paulina. Who won the basketball game?”

“Hello, Gerald. We were just shooting baskets.”

“I would’ve won if it was a game,”
Luke called out from the family room.

“How quickly they forget.” She’d beaten Luke many times.

“Nice to see you again.”

“You, too, Gerald.” Tonight, and the first time she’d met him, she’d thought he looked familiar. Tall, thin, with graying hair that had a lot of dark in it, he was handsome.

“Do I have egg on my face? Something in my teeth?” His tone was teasing.

“Sorry for
staring. But you remind me of someone.”

“That movie star you’re probably too young to remember, Richard Crenna.” This from
Matka
. “I finally figured it out.”

Somewhat battered, Luke entered the dining room. Held out his hand. “I’m Luke.” He gestured to his sisters. "The thorn among these beautiful flowers.”

“Luke. Nice to meet you.”

Sitting down, Luke glanced at Paulina. He winked
at her. “So, Gerald, fill me in on yourself. Who are you, and what are your intentions with my mother?”

Matka
blushed and everyone else laughed out loud. It was about time Luke picked on somebody besides his sisters, but poor Gerald
.

“I recently retired from my software firm and left my sons in charge,” Gerald told him. “I just brought a place in Hampton Bays but still have an apartment
in the city. I’m sixty years old.”

Paulina thought,
Talk about different worlds.

“And,” he added as he slid his arm around
Matka
, “My intentions toward your mother are forming as we speak.”

After Gerald left and the kids were settled in bed, Nia excused herself from Sofia, Luke,
Matka
and Paulie and went to her room. She was sad and she knew why. Everybody but her
was moving on. Even her mother. Truth be told, Nia thought
that
had been too long in coming.
Matka
had dedicated herself to her children, more so after their dad died. Just like Nia herself. Was she, too, going to wait twenty-five years to change her life, make it better?

Thoughts of Peter intruded. On their wedding night…

I love you so much, Nia. You’re my whole world.
Unlike Paulie,
she’d wanted to wait until they were married to make love. Peter had agreed, of course, as always, recognizing her shyness, her introversion. But along the way, he’d laughingly coaxed her into clothes off and some hot petting while they were still in high school, which she’d enjoyed. Now she wished she’d slept with him at sixteen, as Paulie had done with Donnie.

She stared at herself in the
mirror. “You’re an idiot. These kinds of memories are only going to hold you back.”

What to do? Tonight, she felt as if she had to change
something.
Rising, moving to the computer, Nia sat down and called up an email address for Vince Davidson, the man who owned an electrical firm. He’d been nice to her in all their dealings and at the game, too. Gritting her teeth, she went into her work
address book and got his contact information. She opened a new email. “Hi, Vince,” she wrote. “Any interest in a date if I’ve changed my mind?” Without rereading it, she moved her cursor to send.

She stared at the blinking cursor. Closed her eyes
.

And when she opened them, she pressed delete
.

Raising her gaze to the ceiling, she said, “Give me strength, God, to get out of this rut.”
No divine intervention came from heaven, though, so she stood and headed to the bathroom.

Adam looked at his hand. A flush. In five-card stud, that was more than a winner. Around a poker table in the basement of the Corleone house in the Bronx, Joe’s brothers and father were still in the game, and it was Adam’s turn to raise. “I’m in for one and upping you two.”

Joe’s
youngest brother said, “Shit, I’m out.” The next oldest followed him
.

With a gleam in his eye, Joe met the bid. And Gus, Joe’s dad, raised. Adam’s gaze narrowed on the older man. Still in great shape at seventy, he had a big build and sharp eyes.

“Don’t believe you got it, Gus. I match the bet and call.”

“When will you young ones learn?” Shaking his head, Gus laid his cards down. A
straight flush
.

“How the hell…?”

“You counted the cards.” His sons were used to his devious methods.

“I might have,” he confessed.

“All right, boys,” Joe’s mother, Patrice, called down the cellar steps from the kitchen. “Time for a break. I have snacks out.”

Adam knew from previous visits here what
snacks
in this Italian household meant. Sure enough, when he got upstairs, he
found crusty homemade pizza, its spicy scent filling the kitchen, piping-hot calzones, pepperoni bread and antipasto half the size of the table. Often, Adam could barely keep his pants buttoned when he left this house, and tonight would be a repeat
.

After feasting on the food, Adam went outside for some air and found Joe sitting alone on the stoop. “You got that big wonderful family in there
and you’re out here. Why?”

“They drive me nuts sometimes. All talking at once.”

Adam said, “I love it.”

“Glad to hear that.”

Suspicious, he asked “What do you mean?”

“Little Miss Spitfire’s got a huge clan.”

“Whoa, there. It’s only a date.” He’d told his friend he was seeing Paulina, but he would drive himself that night. “You’re right, though. Your family is probably a
lot like hers.”

“Then maybe
I
should take her out.”

“Like hell!” Adam stared at the trees, which blew gently in the early evening breeze.

“But I’m worried about our…differences.” Joe was silent.

“Joey?”

“You’re not bein’ a snob now, are you, Adam?”

“I hope not. I’m just concerned we live in two different worlds.”

“People who like each other create their own worlds.”

“Yes, I guess. You’re right. And anyway, it’s just a date. I shouldn’t worry about it now.”

“Nope, and have fun.” He stood when someone called out that the guys were ready to return to the game. “One thing, though, Mr. Armstrong. If you hurt her, I might have to get my extended family after you.”

Adam joked back, but inside his stomach tightened. The last thing he wanted was to hurt
Paulina Pettrone. God knew she’d had enough heartache in her young life. He tried to shake off the thought, but it bothered him as he played cards the rest of the night
.

She didn’t fuss. And she told Nia she didn’t want company while she got ready for her date. Choosing a pretty blue dress that nipped at the waist and flared out around her knees, with sleeves to her elbows,
she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and touched her hair. Down or pulled back?

Would you wear your hair down Sunday?

Why not? She brushed it out then twisted some locks on the sides and clipped them on each side of her head so her hair didn’t fall in her face. Magdalena had bought a bunch of makeup for her and Nia, and after brushing on some rouge and applying lipstick, she studied
herself in the mirror. “This is as good as it gets.”

Turning, she walked out of the bathroom and…heard a tear. Damn it, the skirt of the dress had caught on the door edge and ripped. Oh, hell. She liked this dress, felt pretty in it. But she couldn’t wear rags
.

Wear something nice, but no ball gowns.

Quickly going to her closet, she found another outfit: not quite as pretty. But it
was pink, and the two pieces flattered her figure. She had to change shoes, so she wasn’t downstairs in time to answer the doorbell. She reached the foyer of the house and found Adam talking with
Matka
.

“Sorry, I meant to be here when you came, to make introductions.”

Adam gave her an easy smile. “We managed without you.” His gaze went back to
Matka
. “I hope we get to know each better,
Mrs. Ludzecky.”

Matka
raised her chin. “We’ll see, Mr. Armstrong.” Turning to Paulina, she said, “You’re lovely,
kochanie
.”

“Thanks,
Matka
.” She held her purse and sweater close. “See you later.”

The day had been warm but now was cooling down, and a small breeze ruffled Adam’s hair. He kept his hand at her back. Paulina had forgotten the feeling of that male protective gesture. She
still liked it.

“Oh,” she said when she saw his car. “Where’s Joe?”

“Sometimes I drive myself, especially on personal occasions.”

They reached the silver Porsche just as the wind picked up, and she went to put on her sweater. “Damn.”

“You okay? You seem rattled.”

“Sorry. I ripped the first dress I put on, just before you arrived.” She held up the sweater. “This matched the
other one.” But she slid it on anyway. “Now I look like Easter eggs—pink and blue.”

“Your mother was right. You look lovely.”

She scanned him. “You, too.”

“I spilled coffee all over the shirt I planned to wear tonight. So I’m not exactly put together, either.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I don’t usually care about those things.”

“I’m afraid I care too much. About appearances.”

“It’s a hard thing to ignore.”

“How do you? Ignore it?”

“We were brought up valuing other things. Even when Pa was alive, there was never enough money for new clothes, the latest sneakers.
Matka
worked hard to make us see family and friends and what we did in life was more important than our looks.”

“That’s nice. My parents were great but took pleasure in extravagances.”

“There’s
nothing wrong with that, Adam.”

Like the gentleman he was, he opened the car door for her. Once she was settled, he got in on his side and headed out. Paulina watched the road ahead and wondered if she believed what she’d told him. Did she think people concerned about appearances were shallow? Actually, she’d never had reason to think about it. “Want music?”

“Sure.”

“What do you like?”

“Anything.”

He turned on classical jazz. She never listened to it but liked the sound, especially of the saxophone. It reminded her of Luke practicing it in their childhood. After about ten minutes, drops of rain started to fall on the windshield. They drove farther to the lulling back-and-forth whisper of the wipers.

“The restaurant is up ahead,” he said. They pulled into the parking
lot. Before he parked, the heavens opened up and it began to pour
.

“An April storm,” he uttered. “Wouldn’t you know?”

“I like walking in the rain.”

“Really?”

“Yep.
Matka
used to let us play in it if there was no lightning out.”

He shut off the engine. “I’m sorry, I don’t see valet parking tonight. They usually have the service.”

“Cutali’s. I think I’ve heard of the place.”

“Shall we sit the rain out?”

“Sure.”

They made small talk until the drops dwindled.

“I’ll go get an umbrella.”

“No, Adam, that’s not necessary.”

“Sit tight.” He exited the car and strode to the door. Paulina watched as he made his way through puddles. Then—oh dear Lord in heaven!—his feet slid out from beneath him. Without thinking, she bounded out of the passenger side
and hurried over to him. Where she promptly slipped, too, and came down right in a puddle, which splattered all over them both.

Tony, the owner of Cutali’s, handed them each a towel when they finally made it to the back door in one piece. He led them into a small break room and said, “I’ll be right back.”

Paulina’s pink outfit had turned a muddy beige, and Adam’s suit
was soaked from the pants down. His shirt had gotten drenched, too, when she’d fallen on top of him, and he’d taken it off to dry himself. Despite the circumstances—Paulina didn’t know whether to joke or be serious— she was mesmerized by the muscles of his chest, how the darker hair meandered over it. She hadn’t expected him to be so buff. Her whole body reacted to all that gorgeous male flesh.