HANDLE WITH CARE (The Ludzecky Sisters Book 5) (6 page)

Again, her inner self warned her to leave. And again, the little DA whispered,
Go. You could have fun
.

“All right. I’ll come.”

Max knew something was wrong even before she walked into Burger Heaven. When she’d faced the four of them outside, she had that expression quarterbacks got right after they’d been sacked—stunned,
and maybe in pain. Still, he’d pushed her to eat with them.

“Try to behave yourselves, guys,” he told his brothers as she scanned the restaurant. “Sofia’s pretty shy. Well, not shy, but—”

“Hi.”

All four of them scraped their chairs back, stood and greeted her. They sat down when she did and focused their attention on her. Today, the braid had given way to a long ponytail, but Max still
longed to see it down, preferably spread out across his pillow.

“Here’s a menu.” Jess handed her one.

“Thanks.” She scanned it. “Oh, they have veggie burgers.”

While she studied the menu, Deeks opened his mouth and put his finger in front of it as if he was going to gag.

Max kicked Deeks under the table.

When their meals arrived, he noticed she ordered hers without the bread.
She was silent as his brothers gobbled their double burgers down and swigged on some beer. In between bites, and sometimes with their mouths full, they talked about the game. They finished their food fast, while Sofia was still picking at hers.

Then Deeks belched. Sofia’s eyes rounded like disks.

“Excuse me.” He seemed to mean it.

She gave him a half smile and reached for her purse.

Max touched her arm. “My treat.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry, but I have to leave. I said I’d go over to
Matka’s
house tonight.”

“Matka?”
Deeks asked. “Is that a nickname?”

“No, it means
mother
in Polish.”

“You’re Polish? Boy that old joke sure isn’t true.”

“Joke?” Sofia asked.

“What do you call a beautiful woman in Poland?”

“Deeks,” Max warned. Too late.

“A tourist.”
Deeks laughed until he caught site of Max’s expression. “What? I said it wasn’t true in her case.”

“No harm done.” She slid back the chair. “It’s was nice meeting all of you.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

They got outside and started down the street. Max took hold of Sofia’s hand. His big one dwarfed hers, and despite her misgivings right now, the contact felt wonderful.
When they reached her car, he said, “So, when can I see you again?”

“At, um, yoga this week?”

His face softened. His eyes smoldered. “Any chance of some private time, too?”

She drew in a heavy breath. Though she wanted to say yes, to see him again right away, her rational self took over. “Look, Max. I’m not sure we should have any more time together outside of yoga.”

His jaw hardened.
And she realized he’d fight her on this. When was the last time a man hadn’t accepted her decision to call things off? “Why not?”

“We’re so different.”

“Did my brothers offend you? They can be jerks sometimes, but they’re good guys.” His defense of them, instead of turning her off, warmed her. Family stuck by family.

“Not
offend
. They’re just so physical.”

“So am I.”

“Your
black eye confirms that.”

His eyes narrowed now. “The game bothered you, didn’t it? Because it was rough.”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s best if we limit contact between us to class.”

“I see.”

Disappointment swamped her, but she pushed it away. “I’m glad you’re good with that. I wouldn’t want any hard feelings.” She turned to unlock the car. He tugged her around.

“I didn’t say I was good
with that.”

“No?”

“Uh-uh. I’m far from good with it. I want you to change your mind.”

“I don’t think—”

He encircled her waist. “Don’t think. Just feel.”

Gently, he pulled her fully into his arms. He’d never been anything but gentle around her, but memories of him on the court, sparring with others made her tense.

“Shh,” he said, his breath warm in her ear. “I’ll always
be this way with you.”

“I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of our completely different personalities and the way we live our lives.”

Without saying more, he lowered his head. Brushed his lips over hers. Desire slammed into Sofia as it never had before. She tried to fight it. She didn’t like overpowering emotions, whether they came from external forces or from inside her. But her body had
a mind of its own (who knew?) and she fell into the kiss. Looping her arms around his neck, she stood up on tiptoes. He picked her up, nestled her against him and kept up the gentle brush of his lips.

It was Sofia who asked for more. Against her will, her tongue probed his mouth. He stilled for a minute, then moaned and opened to her.

From there, the kiss spun out of control.

Donuta was happy to see Sofia when she came into the house Sunday night. She’d had a dream about this daughter, not a horror dream like she’d had about the Pettrone boys, but one that concerned her as a mother.“
Kochanie
.” She kissed Sofia’s cheek. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,
Matka
.”

That was a lie. Her face was flushed, her breathing not as quiet as usual.
“Come sit with me in the family room. Your twin sisters are making the Pettrone recipe for marinara sauce.”

When they reached the kitchen, Nia and Paulie were laughing their heads off. “What is so funny?”
Matka
asked, smiling at seeing their good humor.

They turned from the stove in unison. Nia said, “Hey, Sof.” To her mother, “Paulie was just telling me a Polish blonde joke.”

“Oh,
heavens. Not you, too.”

Brows raised at Sofia’s comment. “What do you mean? We love the ethnic jokes because the seven of us prove them so wrong. Caterina throws that in their faces when the O’Neils tease her with the stupid things.” A frown. “Do they upset you, honey?”

“Somebody told me one tonight.”

“The jerk.”

“Not exactly. He said I didn’t prove it true.”

She repeated the
joke. The twins laughed. Donuta did not find this funny, but life was too short to take offense.

“I can’t believe sweet Gus would say that.” Paulina was fishing for information.

“He didn’t. It was someone else.” Sofia nodded to the stove. “I already ate. But did you save me some without the meat in the sauce?”

“Of course. You can take it home with you.”

Grasping Sofia’s hand, Donuta
announced, “We are going to talk in the family room.”

Paulina and Nia exchanged glances. “Not without us.” She studied Sofia. “I can tell something’s wrong.”

“Not wrong, exactly.”

Nia poured wine for her, Donuta and Sofia, beer for Paulie, and they all sat down across from mother and daughter.

“What happened?” Paulina asked.

“I’m…rattled!”

Nia’s face filled with concern.
“Since you’re so unflappable, it must be a big deal.”

“And it must be a man.” Donuta recognized the signs.

Paulina studied her sister. “And not the VP.”

“Nope. It’s Max Walker.”

Sitting back, Paulina tucked her feet under her. “I knew it. Even though we haven’t met him, I can almost feel the chemistry when you talk about him.”

Briefly, Sofia described the afternoon with Max
and his brothers. They all listened without commenting. Donuta heard the words, but also the tone beneath them. Longing.

“Wow. The kiss at the car sounds hot.”

“Yes, Paulina. Unfortunately, it was.”

“I wonder if he is the guy for you, honey.” Nia sounded concerned. “You’ve chosen your lifestyle very carefully.”

“So had you, Nia.” Paulina shook her head. “And you took a chance.”

Like a baby sister, Sofia asked, “Do you think I should?”

“For a lot of reasons.” Paulina’s face was sincere, and Donuta believed she would give sage advice. “First, I’m a lot like those guys, sweetie. I’m rough-and-tumble. I was a tomboy; I adore sports. I’m competitive. And you love me.”

“She has your DNA, too.” Donuta’s words seemed to astound the girls. “From the bone marrow.”

Sofia blew out a heavy breath. “I never thought of that.”

“It
is
an interesting idea.” Nia smiled. “For what it’s worth, I like that Rafe is different from me. He makes me…bigger, by expanding my world.”

“Are you afraid of Max?” Donuta asked.

“Physically, I’m not afraid of him. I am intimidated by his size and strength. All four of them are big men.”

“Big, huh?” Paulie joked.

All the women laughed, even Donuta, who often did not get innuendo.

“Something else, Sof.” This from Nia. “Donnie and Peter were physical guys. It drove me crazy when they belched or farted. But they’re guys. At least they didn’t do it in public.”

Paulina rolled her eyes. “No, but when they got together, they could be disgusting.”

Silence. They were remembering the guys. And their
loss.

Time for their mother to intervene. “Sofia, I am not taking a side. All I want is for you to be happy. But we must…seize the day…what is the Latin term?”

“Carpe diem.”

Donuta gestured to the twins. “No one knows that better than they do.”

“You’re right,
Matka
. So the question is how do I let him in my life without counting on this relationship too much?”

“Maybe we can
set up parameters.”

Paulina snorted. “Like she’ll stick to them in the heat of passion.”

“Not those kind. I’m thinking she should date others while she’s…trying Max on for size, so to speak.”

Again, laughter abounded and some joking followed. Sofia loved her sisters for it.

o0o

After school midweek, Max walked into the kitchen of his parents’ home and found his mother at the
breakfast bar, drinking tea and reading a book. Her light brown hair was highlighted by the afternoon sun coming in the window. When she glanced up, her dark eyes filled with joy. Lil Walker was Max’s favorite person in the world, probably would be until he had his own wife and child. “This is a surprise.”

She always said that even though he came by at least once during the week to see her,
except during football season. Then he made a point of visiting on Sundays. He kissed her cheek. She smelled of Jean Naté as she always had. He knew what it was because he’d bought it for her in the past.

“How’s my oldest—and sometimes favorite—son today?”

Max had never given her any trouble as a teen, and when he’d graduated from college, they’d become closer than ever. Then they totally
bonded when he was twenty-five and she got sick. He pushed he thought away, like he always did.

“What are you reading?”

“Eckhart Tolle’s
A New Earth
. It gives advice on how to live in the present.”

Like Sofia.

“Who’s the woman?” Lil asked as he poured himself some coffee.

“What woman?”

“The woman who’s put that scowl on your face, when you just thought of her.”

“God,
Mom, you could always read my mind. I
hated
that when I was a kid.”

“I know, dear.”

“Sofia. Ludzecky. She owns a yoga studio.”

“The one who’s going to teach at Eastside next year?”

“Yeah. I like her.”

“So Deacon and Ronny said.”

“Did they tell you about Sunday?”

“Only that she was put off by them. The woman must be shallow not to recognize their inner goodness.”

“You got that wrong, Mom. She’s anything but shallow. She’s smart and makes you calm just being around her. She—” He stopped suddenly when she arched a brow.

“I thought so. You like her.”

“You tricked me into that admission.”

“Ha.”

“But, yeah, I like her.”

“Tell me more about her.”

So he did. Her big family. Her yoga classes. Her inner Zen, as she called it, and her outlook
on life. But he didn’t reveal her cancer. He didn’t want to talk about that.

“Sounds like you know her pretty well.”

“I guess I do, though we haven’t spent that much time together.”

“What’s the problem?”

He was thoughtful. “I intimidate her. Mostly physically, but my competitiveness, my screwing around with the guys…”

“Ah. Sounds familiar.”

“With who?”

“Your dad. My
big Italian family scared the pants off him.” She slid off the stool and went to get more tea. She seemed healthy, happy today in black slacks and a light pink top. Over the past ten years, she’d gained the weight she’d lost when she was sick.

“Dad? He’s not like that now. And, geez, he had four boys who he wrestled with—literally and figuratively—all our lives.”

“He got over it.”

“How?”

“I was patient. Mostly. Once, I got exasperated, told him to man up and deal with all my crazy sisters. He laughed at me.”

“I never knew. So you think if I’m patient, careful, I could see if we might have something together?”

“I do. Bring her to dinner. Let her see everybody in their family unit. You said she’s close to hers. Then I’ll decide if she’s good enough for you.”

“You’ll love her. Everybody seems to.”

“I always reserve judgment when it comes to the most precious things in my life.”

“Which are?”

“My boys, of course. All five of you.”

The following week, she texted him.
Would you like to meet me for dinner?

Hmm,
he responded.
That depends.

The shit!
I’ve given what you said about us some thought. I’d like to…negotiate
terms.

Hell, Sofia. This sounds like a business deal.

If you’d rather not, it’s okay. I understand.

You know I want to see you again. (You waited long enough.)

I had to think about it.

I told you not to think. Just feel.

I guess I’ve felt, too.

A pause.

When? Where?

Now, Sofia sat at a table in Tut’s Bar and Grill, close to Eastside High School. He’d said the
teachers celebrated Fridays by coming here, but since it was Thursday, the place probably would be quiet. That way, he could meet her right from school. She drummed her fingers on the table. Few things made her anxious these days. When a family member had a trauma, like Opal, Ana’s daughter. When
Matka
had a bad dream. Even money or any material things didn’t cause her concern. Life would unfold
the way it should.