Just a Taste (26 page)

Crap. This was all getting way too intense. She just wanted to have a nice dinner with Liam's family. She wasn't looking for a lifetime commitment. She didn't even know where things were going with them. That was a lot of pressure.

“Score one for Rosa. I made Carmen speechless.”

“Yeah, whatever. I have to go. I'll call you later. We're still on for Monday?”

“If you need me, I'll be there, but won't Liam be ready to get back on the truck since his mom is home?”

“I'm not sure. A few more days can't hurt. They're all trying to figure out who's going to check on her and help her out and stuff.”

“Enjoy your dinner. If you need backup for a fight, you know who to call.”

Carmen laughed and disconnected. After deciding on a dark green sweater and her black jeans, she took a shower and tried to come up with an adequate gift to bring Liam's mom. She should've planned better. She usually did, but Liam had a tendency to throw her off balance.

Hours later, she stood in her living room, armed with a fruit basket, which seemed really lame, and stared at Liam's cheesecake. She'd give anything for him to come to the door right now and whisk her off to bed instead of dragging her to a family dinner. A family
holiday
dinner.

Liam opened the door like he lived there, and her heart lurched. It was so natural to see him walk through her front door that it took her by surprise. His cheeks were red from the minute run between the car and the house. While they'd slept, snow had fallen again, coating the old iced-over brown muck. The scene was picture perfect for Christmas Day.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I guess.” She handed him the cheesecake and followed him out. “Did Moira's plan work?”

“As much as we could expect. As soon as Mom walked in after church, she started telling me how to cook. Luckily, she needed a nap, so she went to bed.” He quieted as he climbed into the car.

He had the heat blasting and the space filled with warm air. He turned it down and she buckled up.

“How is she feeling?”

“Honestly, none of us know. She won't say. I think if a truck ran over the woman, she would tell us it was just a scratch and she was fine.”

“Parents are like that.”

They said nothing on the remainder of the drive, which allowed her nerves to go crazy. She'd never had to meet anyone's parents before. When Liam parked the car, he said, “It looks like everyone else is already here. There are a lot of us, but we're friendly.”

“A lot, like how many?”

“With us, thirteen, not including the two babies.”

She chuckled. “That's nothing. Thirteen doesn't even cover one side of my family.”

“We just stick with immediate family for stuff like this. Weddings and funerals bring out the extended family.” He opened his door and cold air rushed into the car.

She climbed out and met him on the sidewalk. He led the way up to a brick bungalow that looked like every other bungalow on the block. She hadn't paid much attention last time because she'd been worried about Liam. Liam held the cheesecake in one hand and put his other arm around her shoulder. She didn't know what to expect, so it was hard to prepare herself. He hadn't told her what they did for Christmas other than eat dinner. Plus, his mom didn't like her.

At the top of the concrete steps, Liam released her and pushed the front door open. Once inside, he handed off the cheesecake to Quinn and took Carmen's coat to hang up. Christmas music played in the background, and she surveyed the situation.

From the living room she saw the dining room table covered in a red linen cloth. A smaller card table was set up in the corner. She prayed she'd get stuck at the kiddie table. She could handle herself with only three other people.

With his hand on her back, Liam led her a few steps into the living room. People sat on the couch and love seat. Although Carmen had met most of them the other day, there were a few new faces. Liam pointed at people down the line and offered introductions. He saved his mother for last, where she sat on an armchair like a queen presiding over court.

Carmen went forward with her lame fruit basket. She almost felt like she should bow. She extended her hand. “Hi, Mrs. O'Leary. It's nice to meet you.”

To her surprise, Mrs. O'Leary stood to greet her. “Same to you.”

“I brought you this.” She handed her the basket and received a tight smile in return.

Mrs. O'Leary took the gift, turned it slowly in her hands inspecting it, and then nodded. “I remember as a girl getting oranges in my stocking Christmas morning. It was the best treat imaginable.”

Maybe her fruit basket wasn't so lame after all.

Moira took the basket from her mother. “I'll put this in the kitchen for you, Mom.”

The room had quieted with her entrance, which made Carmen feel self-conscious again. Someone needed to talk, so she did. “How are you feeling, Mrs. O'Leary?”

“Call me Eileen.” Then she sat back down in her chair. “I feel fine, regardless of what my children will have you believe. I'm strong as a bull. How's this business you roped my boy into?”

Carmen could almost hear the collective intake of breath in the room. Liam had disappeared from behind her, but from the corner of her eye, she saw him making his way back with a folding chair.

She accepted the chair from him and sat before answering. Liam said, “I have to check on the food. I'll be right back.”

She didn't know if Liam had heard the question, but she knew she needed to respond. “Well, Mrs.—Eileen, the truck is a solid business. My dad spent years making it successful. And for the record, I didn't rope Liam into it. My father left him half of the business. No one said he had to run it. That was his choice.”

Carmen almost faltered under the woman's stare. She thought about Liam and everything they'd done over the past few weeks. “But I have to say I'm glad he made that choice.”

“You don't have an accent.”

Carmen wasn't quite sure how to take the statement. “No. I was born and raised in Chicago.”

Whatever she said, it was enough for Eileen to offer a curt nod and maybe a hint of a smile. If that was the worst of the grilling, Carmen had no worries. The noise around her picked up again and Moira grabbed a chair and sat next to her.

“Thanks again for all the help you've given us with spreading the word about the truck. Your brother was right, you have the social media stuff down.”

“It's easy. It's just chatting.”

From across the room, a big guy leaned forward. “And if anyone loves to
chat,
it's Mouthy Moira.”

Moira shot him a smirk. “That's Jimmy. He loves to hear me talk. Isn't that right, sweetheart?”

“Boyfriend?” Carmen asked.

“Fiancé,” Moira said and held out her left hand. “As of last night.” She wiggled her fingers, and Carmen stared at the beautiful ring.

Instead of the usual diamond, an emerald sparkled on her finger. Moira's face lit with a gorgeous smile. From the corner of her eye, Carmen saw Eileen lean back in her chair slightly. For a moment while watching her daughter, she looked completely thrilled.

“How exciting! Congratulations!” Carmen said. “Liam didn't say anything.”

“I'm sure Liam knew before anyone, but he doesn't give up secrets.”

“Not surprising. He's a quiet guy.”

Moira leaned closer. “How the hell do you work with him? Doesn't it make you crazy?”

Carmen thought about it. “He's not terribly quiet when he's working. In fact, he barks a lot of orders.”

“That sounds like Liam.”

“But you know when we were competing earlier this week? The guy versus girl thing? He spent the whole day talking. Not conversation, but trash talking and teasing nonstop. It was a lot of fun.”

“I forgot about that. How did it work out? Who won?”

Carmen shrugged. “We decided it needed another day to really take effect. We did our first stop and I was way ahead in the votes, but we never made it to the second stop. You know . . .” She looked over her shoulder to Eileen and lowered her voice. “That's when you called about your mom.”

“Excuse me, Carmen. Can I get you a drink? We have wine, beer, water, pop . . .”

Carmen looked up at the man in front of her and tried to remember which brother it was.

Moira spoke first. “Ryan is putting on a good show. He never plays host for anyone, so lap it up. I'll have a beer as long as you're going that way.” She swung a look to Carmen.

“That would be fine for me too. Thanks.”

He stepped away and Carmen asked, “Do you have a date set yet?”

“No, we're waiting for Colin and Elizabeth to decide since they got engaged first. And with him being my older brother, it's probably the right thing to do . . .” As Moira talked, Carmen settled in. Liam's family wasn't all that different from hers. She could totally handle this.

Liam stood at the kitchen counter drinking a beer and waiting for the potatoes to be ready for mashing. Ryan came in and grabbed three bottles of beer from the fridge. “Your girl is doing well out there.”

“I figured she would. How's Mom?”

“Quiet as usual.” Ryan popped the tops off the beers. “So it's really serious between you and Carmen?”

Liam shrugged. “I think so. It's hard to tell, though, since we've been dealing with so much. First, her dad, then setting up the truck, then Mom. If life was normal, would we be together?”

Ryan smirked. “One thing I've learned is that there's never a good time to fall in love. It happens and you either accept it or you don't. Your choice. There is no waiting for a better time.”

Liam accepted the words. Ryan knew what he was talking about. He'd almost given up on Quinn a year and a half ago. Now they were married with a baby. Liam knew he loved Carmen, and he didn't care that it had happened fast. His life was moving forward, which was what he'd wanted.

He just wasn't sure if Carmen wanted the same things.

“Does Mom seem to like her?”

“You know Mom. She won't say much. But don't worry about Carmen. She's talking with Moira. She'll be fine. Remember when I brought Quinn here the first time? It'll all work out, especially if it's right. I need to go deliver these before Carmen and Moira come looking for me.”

Ryan left and Maggie came in. She looked at Liam for a minute and then said, “She's okay.”

Liam leaned closer and put his hand to his ear. “What was that?”

“I said, Carmen is okay. I shouldn't have been so judgey.”

“You come by it honestly.” He pulled her into a quick hug. “Just be nice to her.”

“I will.” She stepped back. “Need some help? It's all touchy-feely couply out there. Damn, I haven't been gone that long, but all of a sudden, everyone's in looooove.”

He chuckled. “It happens.”

He pointed to the potatoes, which were finally boiling. “You can mash those.” He polished off his beer and checked the oven. “I have to run downstairs and grab the roast out of that oven.”

When he returned, he peeled back the foil and sniffed the roast. It was perfect. He'd tried for a positive mix of his recipes and his mother's. Although she wasn't a horrible cook, her food tended to be bland. And sometimes overcooked. Seeing pink in the roast might send Mom into a tizzy.

He covered the roast again and began pulling the rest of the food out. Just when he thought he'd escaped, Eileen came into the kitchen. She moved slower than usual, but she was as nosy as ever.

“Did you get the vegetables on in time?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I don't think you had the roast in long enough. People don't want raw meat.”

Liam sighed and struggled for patience. “Mom, you do know I'm a chef, right? I know how to cook. I might do things a little differently than you do, but I know what I'm doing.”

“Bet you did some fancy thing to the stuffing as well.”

He turned to look at her with a smile. “Actually, the stuffing was one thing I didn't change at all. Your recipe is perfect.” Simple and reminiscent of her early life of poverty, but tasty. The stuffing had become one of the foods he associated with family holidays, so he couldn't change it. He would probably never serve it in a restaurant, but he'd always make it for his family.

“Go sit down, Mom. We've got this taken care of.”

“I've done nothing but sit for days. It's not good for a person.”

“The doctor said you needed to rest.”