Chapter 17
Elenie
Coming down the stairs, Elenie bumped into her mother in the hall.
“I didn’t see you in the dark,”
she said uneasily.
“Has the bulb blown again?”
Athena gave her a look she couldn’t read.
“No idea. I didn’t try it.”
Her mother weaved into the kitchen and placed two bottles of vodka noisily on the table. Coordination taxed by the removal of her cardigan, she saved herself from overbalancing by grabbing the back of a chair.
Christ. One of those nights.
“Want some toast?”
Athena waved her away, reaching for a glass instead.
Elenie pulled a loaf of bread out of the cupboard, checked it for mold, and dropped two slices into the toaster. Her hope of grabbing some food and retreating upstairs faltered as the front door opened and slammed.
Frank was on the phone.
“I’ll take a Navigator or an Escalade. Whatever you can get me by next Friday. I can change the plates myself. Let me know when and where for the pickup.”
She heard Ty hack up a cough and someone else’s voice in the hall, drowned out by Frank’s conversation. Elenie made a conscious effort to look relaxed as she watched the doorway.
The third person was Craig Perry.
“Hello, ladies!”
His greeting was smooth. The smarmy douchebag crossed the crowded kitchen to take Athena’s hand for a kiss. Elenie gave an internal eye roll, shoving both of her own hands behind her back and shifting up against the counter.
“Hey, babe.”
Athena dropped onto a chair, her body listing toward Frank.
He grabbed a four-pack from the fridge, popped the top of one and dumped the rest on the table. Laying broad hands on her mother’s bony shoulders, he gave them a surprisingly gentle squeeze, pressing his mouth to the top of Athena’s head. Elenie looked away, a pain throbbing in her damaged jaw from the clenching of her teeth.
“Elenie.”
Craig nodded in her direction. He gave no reaction to the bruises on her face, even though his snitching had put them there.
Her toast popped up. Tyson, standing nearest, swiped a slice and took a bite. You are a cretinous asshole, she told him with her eyes. Ty grinned, a diamond stud glistening in each ear. Elenie grabbed the other piece of toast, reaching for a plate from the cupboard and a knife from the drainer.
“I’ve got a business dinner next Saturday, Ellie. Wanna keep me company?”
asked Craig.
She didn’t bother to look up as she buttered her toast.
“No, thanks.”
Her knockback in the Rusty Barrel hadn’t made a lasting impression then.
“Have a think about it and let me know tomorrow,”
Craig pushed.
“Don’t need to,”
she told him around a mouthful.
“I can’t make it.”
Frank stepped between Elenie and the doorway as she tried to leave the kitchen. The scent of strong bar soap scoured her nostrils. Her pulse raced.
“Don’t tell me you have a better offer.”
His eyes flicked over the marks on her face.
“It’s not that,”
she said, taking courage from the number of people around her, friendly or not. The handle of the knife bit into her palm.
“I’m just choosing to focus on myself right now.”
“Be careful, darlin’. Be very careful.”
Frank spoke the words quietly against her cheek. His breath brushed her ear.
Elenie’s stomach rolled like a washing machine on a slow cycle. Pushing past him, she headed for the stairs, blocking out the sound of Craig and Tyson laughing as she hit the first step.
It was a bolt from the blue when Roman sent a text the following afternoon, asking if she’d like to have Sunday lunch with his family.
After a shift that had crawled by, she was waiting in Mocha Magic—a cute little café in sorbet colors—for Summer and Caitlyn to arrive. Seven hours of carrying trays had made her bruised ribs ache and her feet hurt. It was good to sit down.
She stared at her cell, debating so long over how to reply that a second message pinged through.
Thea (Roman):
I can hear you thinking from here
An echo of the words he’d said to her on Otto’s porch. Elenie gave a silent laugh and another text followed.
Thea (Roman):
Just say yes
Oh, God. She wanted to.
That’s not a good idea.
Thea (Roman):
It’s just lunch. I can get you there safely
She closed her eyes.
Sunday lunch was not an occasion in the Dax household. No one ate together. In fact, Elenie couldn’t remember the last time the oven had been used. The stovetop maybe. Fried foods and pasta with jars of sauce were how Frank and the boys stayed alive. Elenie, too. Her mother existed mainly on booze.
The idea that Roman Martinez even wanted to ask her for lunch, after everything she’d told him, spread like hot buttered rum beneath her skin.
Was it so bad to want to see what normal might feel like?
Just once.
Thea (Roman):
Please
Your family will hate me.
Damn. Why had she sent that?
It was her biggest fear. Even bigger than inciting Frank’s wrath. Roman answered immediately.
Thea (Roman):
Unlikely
“He’s right.”
Summer’s quiet voice behind her made Elenie start.
“Sorry for reading over your shoulder but I totally think you should.”
She sat down, dropping a cute corduroy tote bag onto the floor.
“Should what?”
Caitlyn—louder, bolder—pulled one of the remaining chairs out far enough to leave room for her stomach and sank into it with a huff.
“What have I missed?”
“An invitation from the chief to join the Martinez family for Sunday lunch,”
Summer told her.
“You should go. It’s a thing they do. Roman’s probably been given an open invitation to bring whoever he likes. Milo and I will be there.”
Caitlyn sounded so matter-of-fact it took Elenie aback.
“But they don’t know me.”
“Strangers are just people the Martinez family haven’t met yet. They’re pathologically friendly.”
Caitlyn shed her cardigan and looked around.
“I wonder if they’d boost the air conditioning in here if I asked?”
“I can see why you might be worried.”
Summer brought the conversation back to Elenie.
“But they’re really nice people. Dougie and I went a couple of weeks ago. It’s usually ‘the more, the merrier’ in the Martinez house.”
“I just . . . don’t know. I can’t see why they would want me there.”
Caitlyn fixed her with a steady look.
“How will people see you differently if you don’t give them the chance?”
Elenie glanced away.
“I don’t remember anyone giving me much of a chance.”
“That’s a fair point. But maybe this would be a good place to start.”
Caitlyn leaned back in her chair, her hands on her bump.
“It isn’t really you that people object to, anyway. Not the real you. Just the connection to your family. At least, it was for me. Summer, too. You’ve just ended up as collateral.”
Summer nodded, chewing her lip.
“I assumed you were like them.”
“It’s OK. I get it. I’ve always got it. But I’m hardly the poster girl for someone you want to introduce to your parents. Especially right now.”
Elenie circled a self-conscious finger around her face. The girls exchanged sober glances and Elenie’s cheeks heated.
“Was it Craig?”
Caitlyn asked.
“No.”
Elenie kept her eyes on her empty mug.
“I pissed off my stepfather by talking to Roman at the fair. Another reason to bail on the lunch invite.”
Summer laid her hand on Elenie’s arm.
“I’m so sorry.”
“None of us were gossiping, I swear to you, but Milo told me you were hurt,”
Caitlyn admitted.
“Roman was on the warpath about it and it’s not often Ro shows his emotions. He wanted info on Craig Perry because of what happened in the Barrel.”
“How are you feeling?”
Summer asked.
“I’m fine, thanks,”
Elenie lied.
“You know Roman’s folks live at the back end of town? Milo and I could pick you up and either stop for Ro on the way or see him there. It would just look like you were going out with us,”
Caitlyn offered.
“It’s madness. Seriously, the guy could take his pick from anyone else in Pine Springs. I don’t understand why he’s asking me.”
She tried to explain her doubts. The fear of Frank finding out was a whole other matter. It curdled in her stomach like spoiled milk.
“Well, he doesn’t seem to want to pick someone else.”
The redhead gave a shrug.
“Roman’s super private. He only brought the snotty lawyer he was seeing in Detroit back home once—and they were engaged.”
Elenie blinked rapidly, a chill spreading through her bones.
Summer’s mouth fell open.
“He has a fiancée?”
“Had. They broke it off before he came back.”
“I need coffee. And I need details.”
Summer scooted out of her chair.
“Don’t start without me!”
Elenie brushed at some dust on the screen of her cell. If the chief was getting over a breakup, this was a pity invite. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Caitlyn kicked her under the table.
“Say yes. What’s the worst that could happen?”
I could fall for him. Elenie shoved that thought way down where she didn’t have to acknowledge it.
“Um, they might not let me in. Or they might let me in and then be rude to my face. Or they might be icily polite but take Roman to one side where they know I can still hear them and ask him what the hell he’s thinking. And then kick me out.”
Caitlyn just stared at her.
“But apart from all of that, it could be fun. Just say yes.”
Elenie stared at her phone for so long the screen went blank. Eventually, she swiped back to her messages. Nerves cramped her stomach as she began to type.
OK. I’d like to meet your family.
Roman’s answer was immediate.
Thea (Roman):
Fantastic. Let me know where I can pick you up and I’ll see you at midday on Sunday
“What have I missed?”
Summer dumped a tray holding two coffees and a hot chocolate onto the table.
“She said yes.”
“Good.”
Summer smiled, dimples flashing.
“Now, dish the dirt on the chief’s ex, Cait. We need to know what you know.”
“You’ll be disappointed, I’m afraid. I could tell you more than I ever wanted to know about Zena’s job. She didn’t shut up about that when we met her. But she wasn’t exactly open about anything else.”
Caitlyn dumped extra sugar into her hot chocolate.
“I’m not even sure they had a life outside of their work while they were together.”
“Describe her,”
Summer demanded.
“Tall. Long blond hair. Pointy features. Beautiful clothes. Very elegant. Legs up to her ears.”
Caitlyn gestured vaguely with her hand.
“She sounds stunning,”
said Elenie, battling the sensation of barbed wire around her lungs.
“They weren’t very touchy-feely. No public displays of affection that I saw. Roman mainly caught up with Milo. He looked tired. A bit remote.”
Elenie knew the look she meant. She’d seen the shadows in his eyes. Reserved, professional, contained, Roman was still undeniably, underwear-meltingly handsome. But when his face relaxed and his eyes warmed with humor, he was a whole other level of delicious. Something in him called to every part of her. She could still feel his hand on her shoulder in Otto’s foyer. He’d literally just touched her shirt and every ounce of her focus had centered on his fingers. Elenie, lost in the memory, almost choked on absolutely nothing.
“They met through mutual friends. Zena’s a corporate lawyer with a big firm. I think she advises on mergers and buyouts. And she’s very ambitious.”
Caitlyn was still talking. Elenie felt like a small and pathetic underachiever; it was an embarrassing nudge from reality.
“I don’t know if they ever set a date, but I can’t imagine having a family would feature any time soon in her plans.”
“What went wrong?”
Summer asked.
“Milo said things went sour before Roman came back home. Zena wasn’t on board with his decision to leave the city, I know that.”
“Dougie says Roman doesn’t talk about his old job.”
Summer fiddled with her mug.
“He doesn’t really talk that much at all.”
“For someone who looks like they have everything under control, I don’t think Roman is as together as he seems.”
Caitlyn propped her chin in her hands.
“It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking. He used to tell Thea everything but she says he’s more closed off now. He’s always been the quietest one in his family. The rest of them are lovely but full-on.”
“As you’ll find out on Sunday.”
Summer nudged Elenie, who gave a nervous swallow and sipped her coffee.
“Let’s talk about something else.”
They chatted all things work and babies for the next hour, sharing stories and finding out more about each other. Elenie, more grateful for the company and burgeoning friendship than Summer and Caitlyn would ever know, deliberately pushed Roman’s invitation and his previous relationship from her mind.
There would be time to worry about that again later.