Page 14 of Just for Her
Chapter Six: Paulie
Allison Kearney waslooking at me with those pretty eyes, now filled with hope. I much preferred that to the disappointment I’d seen earlier. In fact, that burden I’d been carrying around on my shoulders seemed to have lifted in the last few minutes.
She looked different than she had in my office, but I would recognize those eyes anywhere. As attractive as she was in conservative attire, she was even more so in her faded jeans and hoodie.
My feet didn’t want to move, but I forced myself to walk away. A clean getaway was not in the cards. Mynonno, no longer busy assisting customers, waved, beckoning me over toward the register with undisguised interest. I knew if I didn’t answer the summons, he’d cut me off before I made it to the door and start chastising me loudly in Italian.
“Nonno,” I greeted.
His eyes flicked to Allison and back to me, dancing with a gleam I knew all too well. Did I mention that my grandfather considered himself quite the matchmaker?
“She a pretty girl, no?” he asked.
I pretended I didn’t know who he was talking about and turned around. Miriam had sat back down, but Allison was still watching me—or more specifically, my ass. A surge of manly triumph rushed through me when her gaze moved upward, and the look on her face turned from one of undisguised interest to embarrassment. She quickly spun around and sank into one of the comfy chairs but not before I saw the glow of a blush blooming on her cheeks.
“She is,” I agreed.
“She like-a you.”
Another frisson of pleasure zipped through me, but it was short-lived. I had to set my grandfather straight. “She’s only in town for a few days, and her interest is purely professional.”
“You change-a her mind,” he said, nodding with certainty.
I chuckled but said nothing. There was no use in trying to reason with him. The man believed true love was the solution to the world’s problems.
He narrowed his eyes. “You no believe me.”
“I believe that you believe.”
“You bring-a her to Mama C’s. You mama will tell you same.”
Yeah, I couldn’t let that happen. My mother also fancied herself a matchmaker, and when she and Nonno joined forces, resistance was futile. Allison Kearney wouldn’t stand a chance.
“I’ve got to get back to work. Give Nonna Maria a kiss for me.”
“I give her more than that, eh?” he said with a devilish grin. “But no from you.”
I laughed. “You do that.”
I left the bookstore, feeling remarkably lighter than I had when going in.
I was going to see Allison Kearney again.
* * *
BY THE END OF THE NEXTday, my excitement had waned somewhat. Neither Allison nor her sister had called for an appointment. Had they changed their minds? I knew Allison was only in town for a short while, and the clock was ticking down.
By Wednesday morning, I was feeling downright cranky. Not just because I hadn’t heard from Allison or her sister, but also because nothing was going right. I’d nearly missed a court appearance because I’d overslept after working until three a.m. Again.
I didn’t know how long I could keep up the pace. I wasn’t getting enough sleep. I couldn’t make heads or tails of Stella’s filing system. I wasn’t making enough of a dent in my to-do list. Allison hadn’t called. And Irene, the woman who kept my office running like a well-oiled machine for several hours each day, was home with a sick grandkid and probably would be for the rest of the week.
To make matters worse, in Irene’s absence, Stella was acting like a teenager whose parents had gone away for the weekend. Her clothes were racier, her behavior flirtier.
I really needed to do something about that.
