The Love List (9 page)

"Deal. Dinner at Homer's is on me."

Colin extended his hand to Grey, who looked
down at the hand then grabbed his brother by the shoulders, pulling
him into a brief hug.

"We're good?" Grey asked.

"Yeah. We're good."

Colin smiled at Carrie and got up from the
sofa, heading toward the kitchen.

"Oh, Mom…you didn't?"

He smacked his forehead with his hand as he
left the room.

"I told you
not
to!"

Grey looked at Barbara and Jenna who were
giggling, holding matching teal blue and green plaid flannel
shirts. Bill tossed one soft package to Grey and one to Carrie.
They opened them to find the exact same shirts.

"The entire Andrews family will be putting on
these shirts and posing for a picture when Emma arrives," Fran
announced.

Carrie put her hand in front of her mouth but
couldn't completely stifle a giggle as she looked first at Grey
then at Jenna.

"Oh my God…"Grey exclaimed as he unfolded his
plaid shirt and held it up.

"Colin did tell me this wasn't a good idea,
but I did it anyway. Any objections?"

Her tone of voice silenced the room and one
by one they all shook their heads, avoiding eye contact with each
other, repressed laughter punctuating the silence from time to
time.

"Fran, you've outdone yourself this year,"
John said as he burst into laughter.

His pronouncement was followed by gales of
laughter from all the siblings and spouses. Fran smiled and Colin
returned with a glass of eggnog. He raised his glass.

"To Mom…still the most original and
surprising gift giver in the family!"

Everyone raised their coffee and tea to
complete the toast. Fran blushed a becoming shade of light pink and
the gift giving was over.

"Next on the schedule is brunch. John, you're
up!"

"Who's helping? Need table set, someone to
man the toast…"

One by one the siblings got up and
volunteered for tasks or offered the services of their spouses.

"Grey, would you and Colin please shovel the
path to the lake? We'll want to be walking that way later," Fran
asked, putting her hand on Grey's forearm.

"Thank you for the great gifts, Fran," Carrie
said.

Fran pulled her into a hug. "So happy to have
you in our family, Carrie. You add the touch of class we were
missing."

Carrie blushed and Grey grinned.

"Come on, Punk, get the shovels and let's get
going," Grey said, giving his brother an affectionate shove, "or
should we put on these shirts first?"

"Looking to disappear in your room with
Carrie? Can't wait an hour for you to tear yourself away from her
to shovel snow. Let's go," Colin quipped, grabbing Grey's sleeve
and pulling him toward the back door.

"There you go again. Do I have to smack some
sense into you?" Grey said heading toward the back door as Colin
eluded his grasp.

"I don't want anyone in those shirts until
after we eat anyway. Want them clean for the picture," Fran said,
twining her arm with Carrie's and moving them both toward the
kitchen.

Grey and Colin threw on coats, hats, gloves
and went outside.

Chapter Six

Meals for nine at the Andrews house were
noisy. Beginning with the clinking of knives and forks the mealtime
clatter rose to include laughter, voices raised in argument and the
hum of requests to "pass this" or "please pass that". Carrie had
worked on the toast with Bill. She got to know him better as they
joked and talked while toasting and buttering freshly baked
multigrain bread from the tiny new bakery in town.

"I'm starved. It's warmed up and the snow got
so damned heavy," Colin said before tucking into his plate piled
high with ham and eggs.

"Stuff is melting, all right. Made shoveling
much harder," Grey said.

"Poor baby brothers are tired…do they need a
nap?" Barbara teased.

Both men shot her cutting looks and continued
eating. Grey lifted a piece of bread to his mouth.

"You did the toast, didn't you?" Grey asked
Carrie.

She nodded as she munched on a piece of ham.
He took a big bite of the crispy, buttery bread and smiled while he
chewed. After swallowing it he said, "it's perfect."

Carrie leaned over and gave him a peck on the
cheek while her mouth worked on a piece of scrambled egg.

"How's the egg?"

She nodded, her mouth full.

"Can I have a taste?"

She shot him a quizzical look and started to
cut some off with her fork after glancing at his plate where he had
the same food.

"Not with your fork, like this," he said,
leaning over, his mouth aimed at hers.

Carrie shook her head rapidly, swallowed
quickly then started to laugh. Her huge guffaw got the attention of
the group. Everyone stopped talking to look at her and she couldn't
stop laughing.

"What's so hilarious?" Barbara asked.

Carrie's face started to burn as she kept
laughing, gasping for breath. Grey looked around.
Crap, don't
want to tell you what your brother did to me in the French
restaurant.

"Nothing, nothing. A silly stupid…private
joke." Carrie fanned herself for a moment.

The family continued to stare. Grey offered
Carrie his glass of water and she stopped laughing long enough to
take a gulp.

"What time is Emma coming?" Jenna asked her
mother.

That started conversation and attention
turned away from Carrie. She shot a dirty look at Grey.

"What?" He raised his eyebrows and turned his
hand palm up, feigning innocence.

"What? You know what. Don't ever do that
again…here, in front of your family."

"So I wanted to stick my tongue in your mouth
to taste the egg."

"Grey!"

"Okay, okay. Won't do it again. But you can't
stop me from thinking about it."

He flashed her a wicked grin and she chuckled
back at him.

"He's always up to something, isn't he?"
Barbara said stopping to lean over and whisper to Carrie as she
headed toward the kitchen.

"Who me?" Grey's look of fake naiveté caused
Barbara to laugh.

"Now you tell me," Carrie tossed off.

****

It seemed like every hour Carrie grew more
and more comfortable with Grey's family. She loved the big old
house, drafty and chilly in some places, too warm in others, like
when you're sitting too close to the fire or cooking in the
kitchen. She helped to clear the table while Grey went to poke at
the fire in the giant stone fireplace in the living room. When
Carrie peeked in, she spied the pugs, Daisy and Buster, stretched
out on the rug, warming their faces with the heat emanating from
the fire as they dozed and snored.

After he finished refreshing the fire with
new logs, Grey sat on the floor to pet the chubby pugs who rolled
over, baring their bellies for his special brand of belly-rub.
Standing in the kitchen doorway, Carrie watched him as she dried
her hands on a dish towel. She imagined him on the floor in front
of the fire in their townhouse playing with an infant, their
infant. She shook her head slightly to loosen the image.
Slow
down! Not even married yet.
But the image popped back up,
making her smile.

Grey turned his head toward her. A smile
spread across his face as his gaze connected with hers. She could
feel his love from across the room, its heat cutting through the
slight chill in the air to surround her, warm her and an answering
smile appeared on her face. She had never had such a strong
connection with a man before, even with her ex-husband. They were
kids together, rash, impetuous, leaping into marriage too soon.
There were plenty of men she was sexually attracted to since her
divorce but none who elicited feelings as deep in her as Grey did.
Not even close. It appeared to be so elemental. He was man. She was
woman and together they were an invincible team. Carrie's pulse
quickened as she gazed at the man she adored. Simply the grip of
his hand on hers spread happiness throughout her body.

The sound of the doorbell jarred her. Grey
popped up and crossed to the front door before Carrie shook off her
reverie.

"Carrie! I think your cake is done."

The call from Fran in the kitchen grabbed
Carrie's attention and she returned to take her spice cake out of
the oven. When she opened the oven door, her eyes inspected the
cake but her ears were listening to the exchange by the front door.
The voices were slightly muffled but Carrie detected a female voice
mixing with Grey's baritone. She took the confection out of the
oven and placed it on the window sill.

"That must be Emma. Where are the lemon
bars?" Jenna asked, her eyes darting from Carrie to Fran and back
again.

"Pour her some coffee and put these on a
plate, Jenna," Fran said, handing her the pan of the cooled
cookies.

Carrie watched as Jenna's hand shook slightly
and she avoided Carrie's stare.

Emma. Only a friend?

Carrie took off her apron and hung it on a
hook next to the refrigerator before she headed for the hall.

"Wait!" Jenna cried, putting her hand on
Carrie's arm.

Fran handed Jenna a small plate of lemon bars
and Jenna juggled it with the mug of coffee.

"Okay," she said, easing herself through the
arched entrance ahead of Carrie.

Carrie could see a black knitted hat being
removed to reveal dark auburn hair. She stopped in the doorway as
Jenna greeted the newcomer with a kiss on the cheek then went into
the living room. Grey took the young woman's black coat. While he
folded it over his arm, the woman put a package she had tucked
under her arm down on the small foyer table and threw her arms
around him, planting a big kiss on his lips. Grey fumbled with her
coat and stepped back, out of her embrace.

The hair on the back of Carrie's neck
prickled. She watched a blush start up Grey's cheeks as he
stammered a greeting to the impetuous woman. Carrie sauntered into
the entryway and stopped. The woman turned to face her, a big smile
lighting up her pretty green eyes. She offered her hand.

"Hi, I'm Emma and you are…?"

"Carrie." She took Emma's hand and gave it a
polite shake.

"This is my fiancée, Emma," Grey said over
his shoulder from the coat closet where he hung up Emma's coat.

Emma stepped back as if someone had slapped
her across the face. Color drained from her peaches-and-cream
complexion except for two small spots of red high on her cheeks.
Her eyes widened.

"I thought you were Colin's girlfriend."

"I thought I told you Grey got engaged," Fran
put in as she walked through the foyer to the living room. "I guess
not."

There was silence in the entryway as Grey
came up behind Carrie and put his hand on her shoulder. Emma forced
a small smile on her face.

"Congratulations, you're a lucky woman."

"I am, thank you."

"Where's Matt?" Grey asked.

"Matt volunteered to stay home 'cause Bobby's
sick."

"Too bad. I want him to meet Carrie."

"I hope your son is feeling better soon,"
Carrie said, inching closer to Grey.

"Lemon bars await! It's cold by the door,"
Fran announced, waving her hands, urging them into the living
room.

Emma headed directly to the fire to warm her
hands, turning her back to everyone. Carrie kept her gaze on the
newcomer. Grey sank into the comfortable sofa and motioned Carrie
to join him. She sat up close to him and he draped his arm around
her shoulders. He moved his hand to the back of her neck where his
fingers rubbed her skin in a light massage then rested against
her.

"What's new, Emma? Where's Matt?" Jenna asked
from her perch on the ottoman, close to the coffee table. She
lifted a lemon bar off the stack and took a bite.

"Bobby's got a cold. Stuff goes around
school. Grey, when did this big event happen?"

Emma turned from the fire to face the sofa,
her gaze on Grey as she moved toward the coffee table.

"Thanksgiving."

"Not long then, eh?" Emma moved a wing chair
closer to the sofa, sat down and picked up her mug.

"Nope. Newly engaged and the happiest man on
Earth."

Carrie felt him move his hand to her shoulder
and squeeze slightly. Emma's cool gaze sent a chill sweeping
through Carrie causing a tiny shiver to rush up her spine.

"Are you pregnant?" She asked Carrie.

Carrie's eyes widened at the audacious
question. The rest of the family in the living room stopped what
they were doing and watched Carrie.

"Why do you ask?"

"Seems pretty fast to me. Last time I saw
Grey, he was a swinging bachelor and now he's engaged. Thought
there might be some…uh…reason for the rush."

"No, she's not pregnant…you aren't, are you?"
Grey asked, sitting up straight.

"Of course not. Not that it's anyone else's
business," Carrie replied, her stare directed at Emma.

"Oh," Emma looked around, "my package?"

She got up and retrieved a square package
from the table in the foyer. Walking over to Fran she handed the
package to the older woman.

"Merry Christmas, Andrews family," Emma
said.

"Let me guess, your famous blondies?" Fran
said, a smile on her lips but an anxious look in her eyes.

"Yep. Again this year."

"But I love them so," Fran said, tearing the
wrapping paper.

"I love to make them. Do you cook,
Carrie?"

Emma wheeled around to face Carrie and arched
an eyebrow.

"I do."

"She's a great cook!" Grey put in.

"But can she bake? Men love these blondies.
Right, Grey?" Emma turned to face him.

"They are fantastic, Carrie. You should try
one," he said.

"Does your husband like them, too?" Carrie
asked, sitting up straighter.