Page 19 of Mr. Dangerous

Grandmother hadn't thrown together this luncheon just that morning. She must have started planning when she heard I was here, maybe before she even bought a plane ticket outfromJFK.

"Hi, Kate," I said, hugging her easily. It wasn't her fault that Grandmother was beinganut.

Kate felt very thin, hard-edged, and she smelled like the perfume she'd always worn.Happy.I remembered picking up the bottle in her college dorm room, sniffing it, telling her,"You certainly make mehappy."

"Hi, Rob," she said. There was a mischievous bob in the way she launched herself onto her toes to hug me. "It's been awhile."

"It's been too long," I admitted, because no matter that we'd broken up, we'd been important to each other for a long time. I should have kept intouch.

Grandmother smiled at us and slipped away to chat with her other guests. Kate raised her eyebrows; she knew my family alltoowell.

"Sorry," I mouthed at her. I slid my arm around her waist to pull her to the deck railing, where the sound of the surf would give us privacy. "The lobster rolls should be good, anyway. She ordered fromMcLane's."

"I haven't had a lobster roll in ages," she said. "Your family's always thrown the bestparties."

"I thought this was just a quiet lunch," I said, bracing my forearms on the rail to look out at the bright blue ocean. "She surprised me with theguestlist."

"I thought maybe she had,"Katesaid.

I didn't want her to think I was disappointed to see her. "You know she just got in thismorning?"

"She’s a character," Kate said, a smile warming her voice. "Everyone in your family is acharacter."

"Don'tremindme."

"Especially you." She bumped me playfully with her hip. It felt comfortable being around her again. That seemed like a miracle, after how things hadended.

"So how's life in the teams?" sheasked.

"Hard to sum up pithily. How's life as a high-poweredlawyer?"

"Miserable. I can sum that up pithily." She glanced at the delicate rose-gold watch on her right wrist. "I'm taking an unusually long lunch before I blazer up again and get backtowork."

"Thanks forcoming."

"I thought you might needbackup."

“Thanks, Kate.” I smiled at her fondly. We had different life paths, but she’d always been a good friend. It was nice to know we could pick up a platonic friendship again after allthistime.

"Your grandmother's going to do this all over again with someone else tomorrow," she said, her voicemischievous.

"Oh, god, she probably won’t stop." I groaned. "She wantsgrandchildren."

Kate took two glasses of beer from a caterer, passed one to me. “Here. You best start day-drinking.”

* * *

When the guests had gone,I sat opposite my grandmother again as she poked at a slice of cheesecake. "You know I'm not the marrying kind," I said, "Even if you dangle Kate in frontofme."

"She is a lovelyyounglady.”

"Yeah. She is. She deservesbetter.”

“Better than my clever, cute, and occasionally charming grandson?” She shook her head. “What’s wrong withmarryingyou?”

“Being married to a SEAL. Being married to a Delaney. Takeyourpick."

Grandma huffed. "Would you give up this family curse nonsense ofyours?"

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