Dinner conversation centered around Teddy’s brother’s professions of surgeon, lawyer and optometrist, and the various charities her mother and sisters-in-law had donated their time to during the holidays. All in all, Austin found the discussions entertaining, shared his opinion when asked, and enjoyed the humor and anecdotes thrown in by Teddy’s brothers and sisters-in-law. It had been a long time since he’d been in a family setting, and it reminded him just how lonely his own life was when Jordan wasn’t around.
They made it all the way to coffee and a rich, decadent dessert of chocolate truffle cheesecake without incident, when Evan, Sr., leaned back in his chair at the head of the table and addressed Austin specifically.
“So, Austin, what are your intentions toward Teddy?” The question was asked congenially enough, but Austin didn’t doubt the seriousness behind the query.
Teddy stiffened beside him. “Dad!” she whispered harshly, obviously mortified.
Gloria, who sat on the other side of Teddy, patted her daughter’s hand consolingly. “Now, Theodora, your father is just looking out for your welfare.”
Austin smothered a grin as he watched that chin of Teddy’s lift mutinously and fire enter her eyes. “I’m a big girl, Mother, and more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“Well?” the senior Evans prompted, ignoring Teddy’s statement.
Austin did a quick survey of the other residents at the table, none of whom looked ready to jump to his defense. “Intentions?” He mulled over the word while taking a drink of his coffee. “Well, I hadn’t really thought of Teddy in those terms. I care for your daughter very much. I guess we’ll have to see where it leads.”
Evan, Sr., nodded and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Can you support her appropriately?”
Teddy nearly choked on the bite of cheesecake she’d been swallowing. Once her coughing fit was under control, she cast a beseeching glance her father’s way. “Dad,” she said between gritted teeth, the word sounding suspiciously like a warning.
“Now, Theodora,” her mother chastised. “These are perfectly legitimate questions for your father to ask of any young man who expresses an interest in you.”
“Or a woman who might express an interest in one of your brothers,” Susan added oh-so-helpfully, letting Austin know that no one was safe from the elder Spencers’ interrogation.
“I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination,” Austin admitted, pushing aside his half-eaten dessert. “But the house I live in is paid for, and I make a decent living, certainly enough to support a family.”
An inquisitive look entered Evan, Sr.’s, gaze. “I don’t believe you’ve said what you do for a living.”
“He’s an investment broker,” Teddy announced eagerly, the same moment that Austin said, “I own my own landscaping business.”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that Teddy had feared he’d reveal his Fantasy for Hire gig.
Dead silence followed, and everybody seemed to go perfectly still as eight pair of eyes scrutinized him like an insect under a microscope. Even Teddy seemed to stop breathing, and he couldn’t help wondering if she’d approve of what he really did for a living-digging ditches.
“You’re a busy man, Mr. McBride,” Brent said with some degree of amusement, breaking up the stagnant silence that had settled in the dining room.
“Certainly very enterprising,” Evan, Sr., agreed, sounding begrudgingly impressed.
“Actually, I’m no longer an investment broker,” he said, certain he saw Teddy’s shoulders slump at that announcement. “I’m concentrating on the landscaping business.”
“Oh,” Gloria said, and the sound wasn’t a complimentary one.
Austin knew if he intended to see Teddy again, he wanted the truth out on the table now. “I know landscaping doesn’t sound as glamorous as an investment broker. It’s a lot of hard work, and some days long hours, but overall I find it very satisfying.”
Evan, Sr., glanced from Teddy, then back to the man she’d brought to meet their family. Austin was certain he wasn’t what the elder Spencer and his wife had in mind for their daughter, but Austin was exactly what he said he was. What they saw was what they got.
“And your parents,” Evan, Sr., went on, as if striving to find some redeeming quality. “What do they do?”
“Both of my parents are dead.” Knowing he had nothing left to lose, he added, “It’s just me and my brother, Jordan, who is currently an unemployed architect.”
Dismay filled Gloria’s eyes as she looked at Teddy, as if she couldn’t believe her daughter had settled for less than one of the prominent businessmen in their league.
Teddy’s five-year-old niece, Katie, came out of the playroom at that moment, anticipation wreathing her pretty face. “Grandma, we all ate our dinner. When do we get to open our presents?”
An adoring smile softened Gloria’s features as she looked at her granddaughter, and Austin had the thought that this woman was a marshmallow beneath her haughty exterior. “I suppose now would be a good time, since you all have to get to bed soon so Santa can come visit. Why don’t you get everyone to wash up and meet us in the parlor?”
Katie raced from the room, her little-girl voice announcing to her cousins, “We get to open our presents!”
The adults laughed at the responding squeals of delight and “yipees” that drifted from the playroom, and they all moved back into the parlor. Austin made himself comfortable on the sofa while Teddy helped pass out the gaily wrapped Christmas presents under the tree, obviously having fun with the task. For as much as she’d claimed that kids weren’t her forte, Austin couldn’t help noticing how much she enjoyed playing the role of aunt, and how loving she was with each child. A smile played at the corner of his mouth as he watched Teddy divide her attention between helping Drew, her three-year-old nephew, put together a chunky wooden puzzle, and her six-year-old niece, Molly, diaper her new “Baby-wets-a-lot.” Her maternal instincts weren’t as suppressed as she might want to believe.
Susan settled herself next to Austin, and he smiled amicably at her. There was mischief in the other woman’s gaze, and a glint of determination. Leaning close, taking advantage of Gloria and Evan, Sr.’s, distraction, she said in a low voice, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, Austin. The Spencers are a different breed. Everyone goes through the initial interrogation process. What ultimately matters is how Teddy feels about you.”
Austin appreciated Susan’s encouragement, but after that enlightening dinner conversation, he wasn’t so sure fitting into Teddy’s life would be as easy as surviving the Spencer’s third-degree. Not only did he feel as though he’d never measure up, he honestly had no idea where he stood with Teddy-if what he did for a living mattered to her, or how she truly felt about him-beyond their “agreements.”
Maybe it was time he found out.
9
TEDDY LEANED her head against the passenger seat’s headrest and released a long pent-up breath-in relief, exhaustion and a good part frustration. Beside her, Austin was quiet as he pulled out of her parents’ driveway, the moonlight reflected through the windshield illuminating his pensive features.
“That was a disaster,” she said, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Not the entire evening,” he graciously conceded with a smile that wasn’t quite as sexy and breathtaking as usual. “I enjoyed watching the kids open their presents, and talking to your brothers and their wives.”
Her siblings seemed to like him, too, which pleased her. However, Teddy didn’t miss the fact that he had no compliments for her parents-not that they’d deserved any accolades after the way they’d grilled him. “I never would have thought my parents would behave so atrociously,” she said, her tone contrite.
He brought the car to a halt at a stop sign and glanced over at her, his gaze expressing an odd combination of understanding and regret. Reaching across the console, he gently brushed his fingers along her cheek. “I suppose they’re just concerned about who their little girl is getting involved with.”
Her skin tingled where he touched her, eliciting a sensual warmth that spread through her entire body. “As if they have any say in the matter,” she said, forcing an indignant note over the quiver of awareness infusing her voice. “If my parents had their choice, they’d have me married off to some stuffy blue blood, being a proper wife.”
“I can’t imagine it,” he murmured, a sly smile curving his mouth.
She exaggerated a shudder, adding to the humor of the situation. “Neither can I.”
