Mommy Loves The Military Man (Mommy's Little Matchmakers Book 2) Page 3

  Evidently the girls had an accomplice in Lizzie’s grandma. “It seems our girls have cooked this up. Get it? Cooked?”

  She laughed at his lame attempt at a joke. What else could he do but make light of the situation when he was standing in another person’s living room, clutching a bottle of wine and wishing he was anywhere but here?

  “The problem is,” She glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t have anything to offer you.”

  “I have something to start with.” He extended the bottle. “This is for you.”

  She grinned and grabbed the bottle. “Well, this takes care of us. What about the girls?”

  “I believe they’ve earned cold cereal for dinner.”

  “Works for me.” Cameron was being a good sport about this. Right now, he was cataloging a list of chores to give to Mariana for putting him and Cameron in this situation. What was she thinking, having him ambush Cameron like this? He knew she wanted to hang out with Lizzie after school, but this was not how to go about it.

  A huge canine rumble sounded behind Cameron. Boomer lurched out of the kitchen doorway with his face scrunched up.

  “Is something wrong with your dog?”

  “Boomer, no!” Cameron lurched forward and shoved him, just in time to keep the dog from puking on his shoes. “What in the heck have you eaten now? Lizzie, come throw this dog in the backyard. He got into something again.”

  Cameron inched the closet door open and stretched her arm in, coming out with a shirt. She slammed the door closed again and threw the garment on the floor, covering up God knows what the dog had managed to eat and regurgitate. “That should at least mask the smell until it dries and I can clean the carpet. It makes a much bigger mess to clean it up wet.”

  “You sound like you’ve done this a time or two?”

  “Or a couple dozen.” She ran her hand through her hair.

  He laughed. This scene was so absurd it was funny.

  Cameron’s eyebrows arched and that pink crept up her cheeks … and then she joined him. Practically doubled-over. She laughed until tears ran down her cheeks.

  Alex sucked in a few deep breaths. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I’m laughing. There is nothing funny about my daughter inviting you over under false pretenses and then my dog almost puking on your shoes.”

  “Well, the dog thing is kinda funny.”

  “I can see that. The first ten times. But still…”

  The doorbell rang.

  “What now?” Cameron pulled the door open and Alex stepped up behind her.

  “I have a delivery from La Cuchina for Baldwin.” A man with long, thick dreadlocks and a colorful hat extended three bags toward them.

  Maybe he and Cameron wouldn’t be drinking their dinner after all.

  Alex grabbed the bags out of the man’s hands and then reached for his wallet. The least he could do was pay for Cameron’s dinner. Although she didn’t seem to be expecting the delivery. “What do I owe you?”

  “It’s all paid for, man. Even a nice, hefty tip if I got it here before seven.” He flipped his wrist. “Two minutes to seven. Righteous. Thanks.” The man flashed him a quick peace sign and then ran off the porch. Alex shook his head and closed the door.

  Lizzie skidded into the room, Mariana on her tail. “Was that the doorbell? Great, dinner’s here.”

  Mariana and Lizzie grabbed the bags from his hands and darted into the kitchen. “Come on, Boomer, dinner.”

  Now that Cameron’s dinner was settled, Alex needed to formulate an escape. “I guess that takes care of your quandary about food. We’ll get out of your hair.”

  Lizzie poked her head out of the kitchen. “You can’t leave. We ordered enough for everybody.”

  Apparently, the girls had taken initiative on that whole “we need to get to know the other family first” restriction that he and Cameron probably placed on sleepovers. He guessed he couldn’t blame them. Mariana and Lizzie had been asking for playdates since the first day they’d met, and neither parent had pursued it.

  Now that he’d met Lizzie’s charming mother, he wished he’d contacted her about the girls the first time Mariana had asked. He turned to his fellow parent, raising his brows in a silent question.

  She shrugged and quirked her mouth. She had a much better attitude about this than he expected. Besides, what else could go wrong after him arriving unannounced, her flinging laundry in the closet, the dog puking at his feet, and an unexpected dinner showing up at the door?

  Cameron stared at the slip of paper she’d ripped off the bag. “This is interesting. The charge receipt has my mom’s credit card number on it.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this. Mom couldn’t get out of the house fast enough when I got home. Lizzie roped my mother into this.”

  “It seems that my daughter is right in the thick of it with Lizzie and your mom. It’s hard to be mad at her when I’m just so happy she’s made a good friend. I was worried when we moved that she’d have trouble fitting in. She’s so shy.”

  Cameron smiled. “Lizzie has been talking about Mariana since the day she met her on the playground. She always wants to make sure new students feel welcome and no one is left out.”

  “Show’s she’s been raised right.” He smiled at Cameron. Now that he had a decent idea what he’d been roped into, he couldn’t be too hard on Mariana. In her ten-year-old mind, this was a logical way to get what she wanted. And what she wanted was to have a sleepover with her new friend. Kids just couldn’t understand the implications of tricking people this way, but he could. “I hate that the girls have put you on the spot, and we just barged into your home. Why don’t we do this another time?”

  “Nonsense. You’re here now. The girls may not have gone about this the right way, and trust me, I have plenty to say to Lizzie and my mother later, but for now, I’m starved. And whatever the girls ordered smells delicious.”

  Cameron’s stomach growled. She slapped her hands over her belly and her cheeks turned pink… again.

  He was enjoying this. Now he had to think of more ways to get her to blush like that. He had a few ideas. “If you insist, we’ll stay. But please, let me pay for our dinners.”

  “Absolutely not. What kind of hostess would I be if I made you pay to eat?”

  “One who hadn’t planned on company.”

  “Well, you’ve got me there. But you brought wine, so we’re even. Besides, dinner is courtesy of my mother, so I suggest we enjoy it.”

  By the time they made it into the kitchen, the counter that circled the back wall was filled with opened Italian take-out containers. The scent of garlic and tomatoes filled the air and his stomach grumbled.

  The girls had had a little trouble getting the dinners out of the containers and onto the plates. Sauce had dripped in several places on the floor and counter and Boomer was sniffing a piece of foil that had tumbled to the floor. Lizzie slid the last plate of food onto the round table that dominated the other side of the eat-in kitchen.

  “Boomer, stop.” Cameron snapped her fingers and the dog raised his head, looking sufficiently chastised. He sulked across the room, stepped into a huge dog crate in the corner, and curled up in a ball.

  Mariana motioned to the table. “Come on, Daddy. Dinner’s all ready.”

  Ready, indeed. “I’ll be right there, honey.” He crossed the room to where Cameron had poured wine for them both. She held up her own glass for a toast. “To coming up with the perfect punishment for our girls.”

  Both of them turned to the table where they were met with the shocked faces of two ten-year-olds, one fair-skinned like her mother and the other beige, like him and Valentina.

  Trying not to smirk, he and Cameron joined the girls at the table. Steam wafted from a scrumptious-looking Italian dish in front of each chair, a basket in the center of the table overflowed with sourdough bread, and glasses of water sat in front of each place.

  Cameron settled into her seat and grinned at the girls. “Sounds like a plan. I bet we can
come up with all kinds of extra chores … like washing the dishes.”

  “And doing the laundry.”

  As they rattled off suggestions, the girls’ eyes grew wider.

  “And vacuuming the entire house.”

  “And changing the oil in my car…”

  The room fell quiet.

  A distressed expression crossed Mariana’s face. “Daddy, I don’t know how to change the oil.”

  “Guess it’s about time you learned.” He winked at Cameron.

  Now that they had a plan for how to deal with their meddling daughters, they could enjoy dinner. No one talked as they dug into the delicious entrées from La Cuchina. He could say one thing for Lizzie—she had good taste in Italian food. Although he imagined Cameron’s mom had a bit to do with the choices.

  “Lizzie, how was your day today?” Cameron asked her daughter.

  Alex studied the girl who had been instrumental in luring him and Mariana here tonight. Lizzie swallowed a huge hunk of sourdough bread and turned to Cameron. “Billy Adkins said girls couldn’t play baseball as good as boys in gym class today.”

  Alex nearly dropped his fork. Had he heard Lizzie right? What kind of punk kid would say something like that to her? Especially since Alex suspected the little mastermind had no problem standing up for herself.

  When his gaze locked on Cameron’s, he saw none of the distress that he felt. Her brows weren’t furrowed and she actually had a smile on her face. “And what did you do when he said that?”

  A huge smile broke out on Lizzie’s face. “I hit the ball so far over his head that he couldn’t catch it.”

  Cameron high-fived her daughter. “Atta girl. You show those boys girls can do anything boys can. Usually better.”

  She took another sip of her wine as if Lizzie’s pronouncement hadn’t rocked her world. Knowing Cameron, it hadn’t. She had clearly taught Lizzie how to stand up for herself with her actions and not her words.

  Had he done the same for Mariana? She hadn’t mentioned that she and Lizzie were having issues at school. Granted, Mariana wasn’t nearly as forthcoming as Lizzie seemed to be with Cameron. Maybe Cameron could share her secret to getting her daughter to open up. If he’d been more observant, he’d have realized how serious Mariana was about spending time with Lizzie outside of school.

  Instead, the girls had resorted to trickery. And he was glad. Not only was he getting to know the mother of his daughter’s best friend, but he was having dinner with an intriguing woman who he wanted to spend more time with.

  * * *

  Cameron brought her wine glass to her mouth to use as a barrier so she could sneak a glance at Alex. He was handsome in his uniform, but seeing him in a turquoise polo that accented his tawny skin and a pair of well-worn jeans? That, she really appreciated, and for a moment, she forgot that he was a soldier.

  Stop it, Cameron. You invited him to stay for dinner because it was the polite thing to do. No more day-dreaming about him. Stop it right now.

  “Mom? We’re done eating. Can we go play in my room?”

  As much as she wanted some time alone with Alex, she couldn’t let Lizzie go that easily. “What about these dishes? I wasn’t kidding about—”

  “I’ll do it later, Mom. Thanks.” Lizzie grabbed Mariana’s hand and the two girls ran down the hall before Cameron could end her sentence.

  Alex finished off his wine and swiped at his mouth with a napkin. “I guess they were done.”

  “I’ve never seen Lizzie eat so fast. I usually have to prod her to take a few bites so she’s not sitting here for hours.” After today, though, nothing that her daughter did would surprise her.

  “They had a huge motivation to get out of the line of fire after we figured out we’d been set up.”

  “Have I apologized?” He didn’t seem upset at all, so the apology was more to soothe her own humiliation when Alex had arrived and she’d realized she was having unexpected dinner guests.

  He reached out like he wanted to take her hand, but then didn’t. She wouldn’t have minded, even though she knew she shouldn’t be feeling this way.

  “No apology necessary. This was nice. Don’t be too hard on Lizzie. Their hearts are in the right place. And I’ve gained a new friend out of it. The glass is more than half full here.”

  Sure, dinner had been fun. That was the problem. She didn’t want it to be fun. Tonight might have shown her she was ready to start dating again, but she couldn’t date Alex. Not as long as he was in the Army and had a chance of deploying. Despite the fact that he was inching up her dateable list with every word he said.

  But since Lizzy and Mariana were friends, it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him. As her daughter’s friend’s father. It was practically a requirement, right?

  This was going to involve wine. Lots of wine.

  Alex leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Tell me more about yourself.”

  Cameron sputtered into her glass and then brought her napkin to her mouth. Oh, geez. She was like a teenager on her first date. “Sorry. That just sounded like a cheesy pickup line.”

  Alex’s expression did nothing to refute her claim. Oh, no, no, no. This was not a pickup. It couldn’t be.

  “You said you work from home. What do you do?” He took a sip of wine but didn’t look away.

  The intensity of his gaze had her squirming. She’d never met a man so comfortable in his own skin.

  When she and Josh met, both young and inexperienced, they’d fumbled their way into marriage. Josh was rarely serious. He was all about fun and games and being the happy, go-lucky guy. Even if it meant traipsing around Asia, or wherever he was right now, instead of helping to raise his daughter.

  She didn’t doubt that Alex could have fun. Heck, he’d rolled with the punches with the best of them when he arrived tonight. But he also had an intensity to him. And he clearly played an active role in Mariana’s life. Isn’t that what she wanted? A serious man… someone who wouldn’t chase a new adventure all the time. Someone who would stick around.

  Alex looked at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking. Focus, Cameron. Focus. Answer his question.

  “I design web sites. I run my business out of my house…” She drew in a deep breath. What was that smell? It was so strong it burned her eyes. But Alex didn’t seem affected. “I take client appointments from time to time.” Her eyes began to water. Alex wiped his mouth, but he held the napkin under his nose for far too long. “That’s why I’ve been hesitant to move away from Mom. I wouldn’t be able to handle it all without help. Oh my gosh, what is that smell? Boomer?”

  A grumble sounded behind her and she turned. Boomer was sprawled on the cushion inside his crate, his huge, round white head resting on his equally enormous paws, like he hadn’t just contaminated the entire kitchen.

  She leapt up and grabbed him by the collar. “Boomer, out.” She threw him into the back yard and pulled the door, waving it open and closed several times. At least it gave her a distraction so she didn’t have to face Alex. First Boomer almost threw up on Alex’s shoes, and now he poisoned them with his toxic farts. What in the heck had that dog eaten?

  “Might want to keep it open.” Alex appeared at her elbow. “Better yet, how about we take this conversation outside? I could use some fresh air.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” He was being so nonchalant about the entire situation. She didn’t want to be this person, a disorganized woman who slammed into his chest, dumped the contents of her purse at his feet, stumbled around the house, hid the clean laundry that she hadn’t bothered to put away yet, and suffered through a flatulent bulldog-retriever mix because she hadn’t found the right food for his sensitive stomach.

  She grabbed her wine glass, and Alex snatched his and the bottle, and they headed onto the back porch. It was better this way. Standing beside each other. In the dark. Okay, maybe this wasn’t better. But at least she didn’t have to hide from his intense gaze.

  “If you don’t mind my as
king, is Lizzie’s dad in the picture?”

  “Alive, I presume. In the picture, no.”

  “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

  “Oh, yeah. There’s a story, all right. Tackling his next adventure was more important than his wife. Certainly more important than his daughter.” Until she’d met Alex two days ago, it had been so long since she’d even thought about Josh, much less talked about him. Did the fact that she kept comparing Alex to her ex mean she was ready to date again? “I have to give him credit. He tried for a couple of years. But then he packed up his things and left us. Said he wasn’t cut out to be a dad.” And left her with more questions than answers about her role as a wife.

  “I didn’t think it was a choice. You’re either a parent or you aren’t.”

  “Right?” She gulped the rest of her wine and Alex extended the bottle. She shook her head. “Last I heard, he was climbing one of the peaks of Annapurna or something. He does a fly-by about once a year. Lizzie is always happy to see him, but she doesn’t really know him.”

  “Jerk.”

  Cameron laughed… and then she snorted. See, this was why she didn’t drink more than one glass of wine. She hid her face in her hands. Maybe if she covered her eyes long enough, Alex would disappear and she could be mortified in silence. But she wasn’t an infant playing peek-a-boo, so that wouldn’t work.

  Just in case, she peeked through her fingers. Still there. Drat.

  Alex raised his eyebrows. “Hi.”

  “Please tell me you’ll forget that just happened.”

  “Forget what?” He flashed her a grin and brought his wine glass to his mouth.

  “Thank you. But that’s enough about me and my dysfunctional ex. What about you?”

  His laughter died. Oh, no. She’d done it again. Open mouth, insert foot. “Sorry.”

  “No need to be. Mariana’s mom died when she was five. I was overseas at the time.”

  With just a few words, she was reminded of why her interest in Alex and his hazel eyes had to be strictly Mariana-related.