A Marriage-Minded Man / From Friend to Father: A Marriage-Minded Man / From Friend to Father

“No way,” Eli said, forking in a huge mouthful. “Nobody makes enchiladas better’n Evangelista.”

“Oh, and you would know this how? I love Eva with all my heart, but my grandmother’s recipe…People have been known to kill for her enchiladas.”

“Seriously?”

“Okay, not really. But close.” Tess took another bite. Then burped again. And frowned at her glass. “S’empty.”

Laughing, Eli stood, pulling a pitcher from the fridge. “How ’bout some tea now?”

“Hell, no. I can have tea at home.” She held out her glass, suddenly fascinated with the way it sparkled in the light from the chandelier. “Hit me with another Bud, bud.” She giggled. And hiccupped.

Eli got a funny look on his face. “You sure?”

She rolled her eyes. They felt a little loose. “Not driving, I’m good. Oh, come on—have pity on the poor divorcée, huh? What’s the worst that can happen?”

“You get bombed and puke all over my rug?”

Tess shook her head. Decided maybe she shouldn’t do that again. “I didn’t even throw up when I was pregnant,” she said, which made her sad, thinking about her babies and how much she loved them and how hard it was when they were off with their father, even though that only happened maybe once a month, if that, and that here she was, sitting in Eli Garrett’s kitchen, drinking his beer and not even thinking about them. Except she was, because she was always thinking about her babies.

She thought maybe she was getting a little…confused.

Nothing another beer couldn’t fix, right?

“Please,” she said, and Eli took her glass, pouring another beer into it, God bless his baaaaad self.

“Need any help?” Eli heard Tess ask when he went to clear the table shortly after they’d finished their meal.

“Nope. All under control. Soon as I give ’em a rinse, I’ll run you home. If you’re ready.”

She gave him a slightly guarded smile, then nodded. “Sure thing,” she said, getting to her feet. More or less steadily, he was relieved to note. Not that she was exactly sober—feeling no pain was the phrase that came to mind—but thankfully she’d stopped well short of stupid drunk. Eli’d been with his share of stupid drunk women over the years; whatever amusement he’d at one time found in those sorts of shenanigans had long since faded. And besides, Tess getting plastered…just didn’t seem right.

In any case, he got the feeling the beer had only been an excuse to let go—which something told him she hadn’t done in a very long while. Not that she’d gone all maudlin on him or anything; mostly, they talked about her kids, Miguel and Julia—pronounced with an H instead of a J—and his recently married and very much younger brother, Jesse, and his wife, Rachel, how they were dealing with being new parents, stuff like that. In fact, whenever Eli’d tried to steer the conversation in Tess’s direction, she’d steer it right back.

Because, okay, he was curious about what had happened between her and Enrique, who’d been deployed overseas for most of their marriage. Maybe more than curious—he’d watched his older brother, Silas, go through a nasty divorce, knew how hard it was. Especially on the good ones. Like his brother. Or Tess.

Still, the protective feelings boiling up inside him went way beyond your garden-variety gee-I-hope-she’s-okay concern. What did it matter to him whether she got drunk or not? Or made a fool of herself?

So why, as he stood at the sink, half watching her walk into his living room with her hands tucked into her jacket’s front pouch, did he feel compelled to make sure she wasn’t gonna keel over or anything?

“Everything okay in there?” he called over.

Tess nodded. A little too vigorously. “I like what you’ve done here.”

Stacking the plates in the dishwasher, he laughed. “I think ‘done’ might be overstating it. Unless you consider shoving around a bunch of castoffs and thrift store junk so I can walk through the room without injuring myself ‘done.’”

“It’s…” She gave him a puzzled look over her shoulder. “You.”

“Lot to be said for not having to consider anybody else’s opinion.” The dishwasher shut, he was about to say, “Ready?” when she spun around and collapsed into the couch, an old beige corduroy number that had been in his parents’ family room. The fluff was worn off in some places, and the cushions sagged from being crushed by a whole bunch of butts over the years, but it was still comfortable as hell—

“What’s wrong?” he said when Tess leaned into the cushions, her eyes closed.

“Probably shouldn’t’ve done that spinning thing.”

“You gonna be sick?”

She laughed softly. “Told you. I don’t do that.”

“Not even when you get stomach flu?”

“Nope. And by the way, technically that’s not the flu.”

“Technically, I don’t much care what it’s called. And how do you not throw up?”

“Sheer willpower,” she said, except the words seemed a little frayed around the edges. Eli crossed his arms, trying not to think how soft and vulnerable she looked, all sunk into those deep cushions with her eyes closed like that. “Comfy?”

“As comfy as one can be when your brain’s on the puree setting.”

“So you are drunk.”

“Maybe. A little.” Finally, she opened her eyes, frowning at him. “I didn’t expect you to be…nice.”

Eli frowned. “I’m always nice—”

“I mean really nice.”

“What that’s supposed to mean?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” Tess snuggled farther into the corner of the sofa, letting out a shriek when the mass of fur that owned the place jumped up onto the sofa arm beside her. “Dear God—what’s that?”

“A cat. What’s it look like?”

“Something from a ’50s horror movie. After the radiation experiment went horribly wrong. Wait—” She shifted her frown to Eli. “You have a cat?”

“Got a problem with that?”

“Geez, touchy much?” she said, then looked at the cat again. Leaning back a little. “He’s bigger than my two-year-old.”

“She. And big is a definite advantage when you live in the woods. Chased a bear up a tree once.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Wanna see the video?”

“No, I’ll take your word for it. Does she have a name?”

She would have to ask. Warmth prickled his cheeks. “Maybelline.”

Tess’s wide-eyed gaze flew to his; a moment later, she snorted out a very unladylike laugh. “You’re not serious.”