Janet Evanovich - Love in a Nutshell

“There is the sexual connotation,” Rachel said. “I don’t think that applies.” She paused, then added, “My university is teaching a class on the Grateful Dead as part of its cultural anthropology curriculum. Groupies would be an interesting topic, too.”

“Rachel is working on her master’s degree,” Anne said to Kate.

Matt looked just a little annoyed. “All the same, they’re not groupies. The thought of Harley and Junior as groupies could mess up a perfectly normal guy for life.”

“I could pour your beer and hang your banner,” Kate said.

“Actually, you can’t pour his beer off-site since you work for him,” Lizzie said before Matt could speak. “It’s against state law for microbrewers.”

Rachel pointed her finger at Lizzie. “Exactly. Which is why Matt has the groupies. Or sometimes one of us goes along, but with Maura due any second now, we’re not up for a road trip.”

“Other than Harley and Junior, who are your roadies, if I’m not allowed to call them groupies?” Lizzie asked.

“Mayor Mortensen and a couple of others have mentioned they’ll be there, though they plan to catch a Pistons game, too, so I’m not sure how much actual pouring help they’ll be.”

“I could at least hang your banner,” Kate said.

Anne smiled. “That definitely sounded suggestive.”

“Okay, here’s another thought,” Kate said. “I could sell Depot Brewing merchandise.”

“I don’t bring merchandise,” Matt said.

“You should,” Kate told him. “If you sold hats and tees downstate, you could really get your name out there.”

He nodded. “I’m betting you’re right.”

“Where in Royal Oak is the event?” she asked.

“In the Farmers’ Market building, downtown.”

“I used to work a few blocks east of there, on Washington Avenue.”

“One street away from most of the restaurants and bars, right?” Matt asked.

“Exactly.”

“They’ve mixed it up some this year with a private charity party thrown in on Friday night. Great for them, but I lose my whole day on Friday now, since I have to be set up earlier.”

“So an extra set of hands would be good. I could help.”

Kate wanted this so much, and not just to see Royal Oak, either. Kate wanted to be wi sntet of hanth Matt.

“I’d like that,” Matt said, and their eyes held for a long moment.

“But really, guys. They’re not dating. Not even a little bit,” Lizzie said in a deadpan voice. “Can’t you tell?”

Maura made an odd sound. “Okay, and I’m about to be not pregnant. Not even a little bit.”

“What do you mean?” Lizzie asked.

Maura settled a hand on her belly. “I’ve been trying to be cool about it, but all of a sudden my contractions are getting pretty aggressive.”

Matt stood up. “Contractions, as in labor?”

“Bingo. I thought it was just Braxton Hicks lead-up stuff, or we would have stayed home. After all, who wants to disrupt a perfectly good Spaghetti Tuesday?” She closed her eyes for a moment and blew out a slow breath. “Guess I was wrong. If this is anything like last time, it’s going to be fast. Lizzie, could you go outside and round up Todd?”

“Sure,” Lizzie replied, then headed out through the kitchen doorway.

“You can still take the girls for the night as we’d planned, right, Anne? They’re upstairs playing in my old room.”

Anne pushed back in her chair. “No problem. Let me get Jack and we’ll go take care of things at your house.”

Lizzie reappeared with a tall, dark, and semi-worried-looking guy Kate knew had to be Maura’s husband.

He rounded the table and took Maura by the hand. “I told you those contractions were the real deal, babe. Your suitcase is in the trunk, right?”

“Todd, this is Kate. Kate, this is Todd,” Maura said.

Kate had to give Maura major props for having good manners during childbirth. She doubted she’d be able to show the same grace.

“Nice to meet you,” Todd said to Kate, but his eyes never left his wife.

Kate gazed at the empty doorway after Todd and Maura left the room, smiling at each other, holding hands, and Kate realized she’d wanted that love and connection when she’d fallen for her ex. She might not have gotten it quite right back then, but she recognized a solid relationship when she saw one.

When she glanced away, she caught Matt watching her, and the warmth in his eyes had her heart skipping beats.

Matt’s mom leaned her head out of the kitchen, ending the moment before Kate was quite ready to have it over. “Matt, could you and Kate take care of putting away dinner before you come over to the hospital?”

And then, suddenly the house was empty of Culhanes, except for Matt.

Th s=”jed witey moved into the kitchen, and Matt began putting plates away. “This is a new twist on Spaghetti Tuesday.”

Kate helped him with the plates. There was something intimate about the two of them being alone in the house, she thought. A little exciting, too.

“Silverware goes in the drawer second down from the end,” Matt said.

They worked in silence for a minute or so, then he asked, “So you’ve seen my crew. What’s yours like?”

“Smaller. Different.”

“Any sisters?” Matt asked while digging through the contents of a lower cupboard.

“One sister and one brother. Bunny and Chip.”

“Seriously, those are their names?”

“Well, actually Barb and Larry, just like my mom and dad. Everyone calls them Bunny and Chip to save confusion.” She pointed to a harvest gold-colored plastic bowl filled with salad greens. “Do you know where the top to this is?”

He rummaged through the bottom drawer, then paused to look up at her. “So among you summer people, when do adults become too old for names like that?”

“Never. The same holds true in the townie set. Witness Junior Greinwold.”

Matt laughed. “Point taken.”

He handed her the bowl’s lid. “So how’d you luck out and end up without a nickname?”

Kate returned the salad to the fridge. “It was a near miss. Since mom and dad had already used up their own names, they could have moved on to the family parakeet’s.”

“Which was?”

“Spike.”

Matt smiled. “I kind of like it. I think there might be some Spike in you. Remember, I saw you take down the fire chief,” Matt said. “That was definitely a Spike moment.”

Kate squelched a groan. “What should I do with the garlic bread?”

He handed her a box of aluminum foil. “How about if we take the bread and spaghetti to the hospital crew? I know Maura thinks this is going be fast, but I remember what it was like in that waiting room last time.” He smiled. “All the same, it’s totally worth the wait.”

Kate hesitated in her wrapping.

“What?” he asked. “Maybe just the spaghetti should go?”

“No, definitely the garlic bread. But how about if I just help you get things packaged up? I’d feel a little intrusive being there. I mean, Maura and I just met.”

Kate loved what she had seen of the Culhanes, but whatever she and Matt had going on between them didn’t make her family.

“Huh. I guess I wasn’t looking at it that way,” Matt said. “I was thinking more about how I’d like you to be there.”

“You would?”

He came closer and tipped up her chin so that their eyes met. “I like being with you. I like having you next to me. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” Matt lowered his mouth to hers and brushed a light kiss across her lips.

Kate had become a human battlefield. Ten days of excitement over heading home to Royal Oak warred with ten nights’ worth of nervous insomnia produced by the same trip. She’d been tempted to go with Matt to the hospital or his bedroom or wherever their kiss might lead, but in the end, she had him drop her off at her house before he went to find Maura and the rest of his family. The sun hadn’t completely risen when Matt pulled up The Nutshell’s drive. Kate, however, had been packed and ready for a good couple of hours. Preloaded with caffeine, she was waiting by the front door with her suitcase in hand. Matt exited the truck, took the suitcase, and stuck it in the backseat.