Chapter 10

Steve

My mind is going a thousand directions at once, and I’m not even sure I said a proper goodbye to Eliza. What the hell? I mean, this is the twenty-first century. Who tells a woman she needs to be married to take over a business? I’m angry for Eliza, and I want to help her, but playing this game does not seem wise.

After pacing around my living room for a while, I text Davis, Michael, Jack, and Griffin. It’s not late, so maybe I can get them to come over for an emergency drink.

Me: It’s an emergency.

Davis: I’m on call so I can’t drink.

Michael: I need to hide. Count me in.

Griffin: I’m on my way.

Jack: Be there as soon as I can. I’m on a date.

Jack’s statement sparks several comments about at least letting her finish before he leaves her stranded. This is a classy bunch.

I finally sit down and read the list of things Eliza’s father says she needs to do.

By the 1 st of January, you need to have a thriving social life and be in a serious relationship, engaged to be married.

We need to have spent time with your fiancé.

He needs to pass muster with Laura, Minni, Charles, and me.

I love you, and there is more to life than work. This is designed to show you that.

Love,

Dad

This is bigger than she indicated. This means at least six months. I can’t do this. This is ridiculous. No way.

I’m literally shaking my head when Michael walks in, and I can hear Jack’s motorcycle out front.

I get out a stack of glasses and set them on the coffee table, along with a full bottle each of Johnnie Walker Blue and Woodford Reserve. I have this crowd covered.

I leave Michael in the living room and go to the kitchen for ice. From there, I hear Davis. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know yet,” Michael replies.

I’ll tell everyone at the same time.

“I like the living room furniture. It’s new, isn’t it?” Davis says when I return.

I nod. “My mother insisted I have this place professionally designed.”

Davis laughs. “I love that. When Paisley and her sister moved in, they redecorated my place. It seems someone else is always in charge.”

I nod. “It took some time to get the couch in. It was on back order forever.”

Before too long, everyone has arrived. We’re sitting in the living room, and all eyes shift to me.

I clear my throat. I tell them about my dinner tonight with Eliza, and then I read the email she printed for me.

There’s a stunned silence when I finish.

“Are you thinking about it?” Griffin finally asks.

“I guess so…”

“Is the job with the Tigers that important to you?” Jack asks.

I shake my head. “It’s not that at all. I want to help her. Her dad is dictating that she needs to be getting married to inherit a business he’s known, since she was little, that she wanted. I get that he wants her to be happy, but his approach is just crazy. She’s worked hard for this, and I want her to reach her goal.”

“Sounds to me like you feel more for her than the usual women you meet.” Davis stares down at his water.

I shrug it off. “I don’t know her well enough to know that. I like hanging out with her.”

“What do you want to do?” Michael asks.

“I think I need to date her a little first.”

“Are you going to introduce her to John and Mary?” Davis asks.

John and Mary are my very dysfunctional parents. I think for a moment. What would that feel like? “If I could guarantee they’d behave, I would.”

Jack pours himself a carbonated water. “You know being serious means she’ll have to meet your parents, who, by the way, will want a huge Catholic wedding, Mass and all.”

I groan because I know Jack’s right.

Griffin’s beeper goes off. “Sounds like you know what you’re going to do,” he says as he stands. “I’ve gotta jet. Catch up with you guys for golf this week.”

He waves goodbye, and Jack turns the television on.

I guess that’s settled then. Or we’re not talking about it anymore, at least. “How was your date?” I ask Jack.

He shrugs. “I met her in India last year. We’ve been talking, and she’s in town from Australia.”

“Wait…” I sit up and look at him. “She flew in all the way from Australia and you’re here?”

“You needed me, and she’s hoping for more than I can provide.”

“Wow,” Davis says. “She spent a lot of cash to get here, and that’s sixteen hours in the air.”

“She has some friends she’s traveling with. They’re going to the States to hit San Francisco and New York City. She’s good.”

The guys stay and chat for an hour or so while we watch the Blue Jays game. I find I’m adjusting to the idea of exploring things with Eliza. I’m just not sure how she actually feels about me. Am I just a means to an end? It kind of feels that way. But I do want to help her.

When the guys finally head out, it’s after midnight. I text Eliza.

Me: Let’s have dinner at my place and talk tomorrow night.

Eliza: Are you sure?

Me: I’m not committing to anything. I said we could talk. You didn’t even show me your panties today.

Eliza: This is what I wore today.

She sends a picture of a black lace bra and thong.

Me: It’s hard to tell exactly what that looks like. Can you put it on?

Eliza: I’m already dressed for bed. Plus, isn’t it unfair to try to bribe you with sex?

Me: Dinner my house tomorrow night, 7 p.m.—panties optional

Me: I’m at the Surrey training facility tomorrow.

I send her my address.

My phone pings again, but it’s not Eliza. It’s Chloe, someone I’m definitely not interested in seeing.

Chloe: The cheerleaders are having a fundraiser on Saturday night. Hope to see you there.

Nope. No way.

After a long day on Monday, I’m running behind, but I make it home before Eliza arrives, and that’s all that matters.

I change into jeans and start my oven. Thank God for my mother and her frozen meals. Every few months, she shows up with a batch of freezer dinners for me—her home-cooked food she’s put in foil pans and frozen. I pull out a lasagna casserole, which has small shell pasta instead of lasagna noodles. All I need to do is pop it in the oven with the garlic bread.

I slide it in just as Eliza rings the bell.

When I open the door, she’s in tight jeans and a red furry sweater that I immediately want to touch. She looks fantastic, and despite what she’s told me, my lower head still seems to think this fake-engagement thing could be a lot of fun.

“Come in,” I say.

She walks in and stops. “This place is incredible.”

“Would you like a tour? We have some time before dinner. I was late getting home tonight, so it’s going to be about an hour before everything is ready.”

“I’d love a tour. I want to hear everything you did.”

I pull a book from my bookshelf. “My sister talked me into doing before and after photos.”

Eliza gasps. “She’s so smart.”

I show her the run-down apartment building this was when I bought it. “See? It had great bones.”

“And you know bones.”

I grin. “There were two first-floor apartments. I didn’t want to play with too much of the plumbing, so the kitchen and bathrooms are still in the back, but you’ll see it’s better that way.”

She flips through the before pictures, and then I walk her around. The concept is mostly open, but the kitchen is more separate. When we walk in, I show her how all the appliances have cabinet covers so they blend in.

She nods her approval. “And I love the sunroom. How perfect is this on a Sunday morning to read the paper over a lazy breakfast?”

“My favorite thing to do.” I smile.

I point out that the claw-footed bathtub in the bathroom is original to when the house was built, but I’ve updated it with a modern shower head. I love this bathroom.

She’s very appreciative. My heart always soars when people compliment the work I’ve put into this place, and it feels especially good when it’s Eliza.

I show her the alternate first-floor bedroom, which I use as my home office. It’s covered in Tigers paraphernalia.

She studies my collection. “You have something signed by the whole team each year for over a decade?”

“Actually, I have something from every team since nineteen seventy. I’ve been watching the online sites to get things that go back to when the team was started in ‘fifty-four.”

She smiles. “Does my dad know this?”

“Probably not. I’ve never told him.”

She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and takes a picture. I hear a whoosh as she sends it to someone.

“I just sent it to him and told him you were looking for early stuff. We have tons of things in storage. I bet he can get it for you.”

“Wow, that would be great.” Then my heart stops. “Did you just slyly tell your dad you’re at my house on a date?”

She turns as red as her sweater. “I guess I did.”

“What if I’m not interested in the deal you’ve suggested?”

She shrugs. “It still shows him I’m getting out and having the life he thinks I need to have.”

There is a lot I want to say, but I just nod. She’s got to navigate this the way she feels is best. “Follow me. We’ll go up the front stairs to the second floor.”

She follows me as we climb. “Each of the steps is made with a solid piece of maple I got in Quebec,” I tell her.

“How did you find such old trees?”

“A maple syrup farm lost a good part of their orchard because of wind and rain, so my sister and I flew out and bought the downed trees. They were expensive, but it was worth it for Canadian maple.”

She nods. “That’s something my dad would have done.”

“I’ve always liked your dad.” I direct her down the hallway. “Upstairs, I now have five large bedrooms, each with their own en suite bath.”

“I love the decor.”

“You can thank my mother for that. She’s been the lead designer in all of Dad’s buildings. She does the welcome centers and all the show units. ”

“She’s very talented.”

“Well, thank you.” I smile, basking in her praise until my gut lurches. “I didn’t offer you a drink when you came in. I just showed off my house.”

“No worries. I love it. Now, I want to look at the book you made again.”

“Well, come on downstairs. I’ll check on our dinner and get you a drink.” I start us down another hallway. “What would you like? We’re having a lasagna dish. I have a pretty full bar and all sorts of wine.”

“Were you thinking of wine with dinner?”

“Yes. I have a great merlot if that works for you.”

“Perfect. I’ll have a glass of that.”

“Here’s the best part.” We walk down the back stairs.

Eliza laughs, and the sound washes over me. “Don’t tell me you have a basement?”

“No. Dig two feet and you’d hit water, but this was the entrance for the back apartments, so now it leads out to the backyard and garage.”

She nods, but it’s dark now, so she can’t tell that I have space for four cars back there.

We return to the kitchen, and I pour her wine and seat her at the table while I pull out plates and silverware.

“How much of this did you do yourself?” she asks.

“Not much. I’m pretty scheduled with work, so I didn’t have the time to do the labor. I did the tear-down in some places so I could see the quality of the floors, which were terrible, and look at the plumbing, also a patchwork of bad pipes. I paid people to do that part.”

“Well, what they did is fantastic. I still can’t believe you got all that maple.”

“It was a friend of my sister’s parents. They were upset about the loss, but we helped ease the blow for them.”

“That was kind of you.”

The timer dings on the stove, and I open the oven to uncover the dish and put the bread in. “We have another twenty minutes.”

“It smells fantastic. You made dinner tonight?”

“I heated it up. Don’t think I’m a terrible person, but I don’t do nearly enough with my parents, and my mother often has free time, so she does things like make meals to put in my freezer. She made our dinner tonight. I couldn’t decide between lamb stew or lasagna casserole. I hope you enjoy it.”

Eliza is laughing hard. “You are so flippin’ spoiled.”

I look at the floor. “True. When I went to university down in the States, I missed her cooking so much that she flew in for a week and cooked like a hundred meals for me. She fed me and my roommates for the rest of the year. It was great. And I’m so grateful she still does it.”

“Does she do this for your sister?”

“No way. My sister goes to my parents’ house to eat. My schedule doesn’t allow for that. Plus, my sister has the grandkids.”

“I still think you’re totally spoiled.”

“I never said I wasn’t.”

Eliza sets her joined hands on the table. “So… After you raced off last night, I didn’t think I’d hear from you again.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure you would either. But I’m upset that your dad has pushed this requirement on you. I do want to help.”

“He means well, but I think he and Laura are so blinded by their love that they can’t see anything else. I mean, my dad has been married four times. It’s not like he has all the answers.”

“This is a huge commitment for you, even if it’s not real. What are you going to do if he actually wants you to get married in the coming year?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think he will. I think I can put that off. He just wants me to prove to him and to myself that I can have a life outside of work.” Eliza stares at her glass. “It is a huge commitment. But I really think it’s the only way. My dad is stubborn, and he has other options for the team, so he doesn’t have to compromise. This will be worth it. If I run the team, you’ll have a job. And after that, we can break up and remain friends.”

“As I’ve told you, I like the job with the Tigers, but if I do this, it won’t be because of that. I’d be doing it so you can reach your goal. And hopefully, you can show your dad it’s not an either-or situation. You can have a family and a job you love. Your parents sucked at that, and frankly mine did too, but it is possible.”

“I thought you said your parents were still together?”

“They are. They hate each other’s guts, and it wouldn’t surprise me if my mother didn’t spike Dad’s food with rat poison every now and again. But they’re good Catholics and don’t believe in divorce.”

“Ewww,” she says as she laughs.

I sigh. “I don’t feel like we really know each other, so I thought we could start off just by dating.”

“Well, I see what you mean. I want to keep our relationship professional. I think being friends at the root of things is our best bet.”

“I’d like to revisit that. This Sunday night, there’s a fundraiser at Julia Martin’s home. It’s a bachelor auction. If you’re available, we can go together, and maybe you can bid on me for a date. I guarantee there will be press there, and we can make sure our picture makes the newspaper.”

She nods slowly. “So, you’ll really do this?”

“I think we should date and see how we feel about it after some time together.”

“Okay.” She looks at me carefully for a moment, and then nods again. “I like that idea.”