Amy was sure they would. As good as her mother and aunt were at getting into trouble, they were equally adept at talking themselves out of it. Or letting Amy do it for them. And to think, she’d been so anxious to start her new life, she’d let her mother remain in Florida unsupervised. She’d underestimated the older woman yet again.
Roper handed his ticket to the attendant and within minutes they were in his car and on their way. Amy finally started breathing again.
“I almost took the Porsche but I knew with all the stop and go traffic, there’d be no point. It was a good thing, too. At least I can fit them in the backseat.”
She nodded, grateful. Even in the midst of her panic, she could see how quickly, calmly and efficiently he’d taken charge. What a guy.
“Why are they being held by security?” he asked.
“Uncle Spencer didn’t give me a straight answer, which isn’t surprising given my mother and aunt. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”
There was some traffic, but it moved at a decent pace and soon they’d pulled into the airport.
“I’ll drop you off, park and meet you in there,” he said, easing the car to the curb in front of the terminal.
She bit down on her lip. “You can drop me off and leave. I’m sure you have somewhere more important to be and-”
He placed his hand on hers, his touch doing more to calm her than anything could. “Nothing is more important than helping you through this,” he assured her.
Strong and capable. Roper had to be the perfect man.
For the first time, she could understand firsthand how and why his family had come to rely on him for everything. She couldn’t allow herself to do the same, especially since she’d faulted him for responding to them on cue.
“Really, I’ll be fine. I can take them home with me in a cab and-”
“I will be inside in five minutes. You’ll get to them sooner if you stop arguing and go,” he said, giving her a gentle yet firm push.
She inclined her head. Then, knowing she should just turn and head inside, she acted on impulse and placed a thank-you kiss on his cheek.
At least she meant for it to be on his cheek. But the scoundrel anticipated her move and with a quick shift of his head, he caused her lips to land squarely on his.
She didn’t pull away. Instead she leaned in closer. Her eyes closed, and for a sweet short time, she was back at the lodge, where real life couldn’t intrude. His lips parted, and his tongue swept over her lips, her teeth and then tangled with hers. Warmth eased from the pit of her stomach, shooting outward, overwhelming her senses…until a car honked, startling them and breaking the intimacy of the moment.
Flustered, she gathered her bag and darted out of the car.
ROPER MANAGED TO PARK and catch up with Amy before she was allowed in to see her relatives. A stiff man in a suit, who turned out to be the federal marshal on the plane, escorted Amy and Roper to the area where Darla and Rose were being held. The marshal explained that he worked with TSA, a component of the Department of Homeland Security and they were trying to assess whether Darla and Rose were terrorist risks.
More like attention seekers, Roper knew.
First, Amy introduced Roper to her family and they shook his hand, but they were too impatient to tell their story to spend time on pleasantries.
“So we were talking about how what happened with my luggage reminded us of the movie Meet the Parents,” Amy’s mother, Rose, said.
“And I said it wasn’t Meet the Parents, it was the second one, Meet the Fockers,” Darla said.
“It was Meet the Parents and the stewardess-”
“They’re called flight attendants now,” Darla interrupted her sister.
Rose rolled her eyes. “The flight attendant had taken my carry-on and gave it to the handlers to put it in the cargo area. I forgot, and when the plane landed in New York, I opened the top compartment to take out my luggage and Darla reminded me that my bag wasn’t there. So I said, I thought it was stupid. I could so have fit it on top.”
“But the flight attendant wouldn’t even let her try,” Darla said. “So we were reminded of Meet the Fockers.”
“Meet the Parents,” Rose interrupted. “And I said, in a complete and perfect impersonation of Ben Stiller, It’s not like there’s a bomb in it.”
Darla and Rose both spoke with animation, hands waving in the air. “Then some woman obviously misunderstood us and yelled, ‘that old lady said she has a bomb.’ Do I look old to you?” Rose asked Amy.
“No, Mom,” Amy said through gritted teeth. “Go on with the story.”
Roper held back his laughter because he could see how obviously stressed Amy was. But the women, with their bright red lipstick, overdyed hair and deep circles of rouge on their cheeks, looked more like Kewpie dolls than terrorists. And Roper thought the way they each argued their point was hilarious.
“Of course we don’t look old to you,” Rose said, ignoring Amy’s request. “You see us all the time.” Rose then took Roper off guard by walking up to him. “You’re a young, handsome man. Do I look old to you?” She nudged him with her elbow and batted her thick eyelashes.
“No, ma’am,” he said, holding back a chuckle. “You’re beautiful.”
Amy shot him a warning look that clearly said don’t humor them. He couldn’t help it, they were so cute.
“Why, thank you,” Rose said. “You see, Darla?”
“What about me? Do I look old?” Darla asked him, pushing her sister out of the way.
Roper grinned. “You’re absolutely breathtaking, too,” he told her.
Pleased, both women relaxed and smiled. “So anyway,” Rose continued, “someone yells, ‘The old lady has a bomb!’ And all hell broke loose. That man who brought you in here had been sitting in front of us and he turned around and practically dove over the seat. The rest of the passengers went into utter panic.”
“There was nearly a stampede thanks to that crazy woman,” Darla said, nodding.
Amy raised an eyebrow. “You think she was the crazy woman?” she asked.
Both relatives ignored her. “Next thing you know, they evacuate the plane and corral everyone into one area, except for us. They brought us in here. Apparently they had to check all the carry-on bags underneath the plane to make sure they didn’t miss something in security the first time around. They thought we were planning to blow up the airport!”
“They can’t be too careful these days,” Roper said seriously.
Rose and Darla nodded. “We understand. If only that woman hadn’t made a scene, nobody would have been detained.”
“And you don’t think you had anything to do with that little scene?” Amy perched her hands on her hips and confronted her family.
Roper thought they blushed, though it was hard to tell beneath the heavy rouge.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Darla said. “Not that your uncle Spencer thought so. He was furious, but he promised us you’d be here to handle things.”
“Of course she’s here. My beautiful, smart girl always rescues us,” Rose said, pulling Amy into a hug. “I’ve missed you.”
Amy hugged her mother back. “I missed you, too.” She turned to her aunt. “You, too,” she said, wrapping her arms around the other woman, as well.
For all her frustration, Amy obviously genuinely adored the women in her family.
Roper watched the byplay with interest. This was the only real firsthand glimpse he’d gotten into Amy’s family and background, and a few things jumped out at him immediately. Her home situation wasn’t much different from his. Her mother and aunt created situations and she rescued them on command.
It didn’t take a psychologist to figure out that Amy dove into handling his family so methodically not because she was used to handling her own, but because she couldn’t control them. In managing Roper’s family issues, she’d been able to take charge in a way she hadn’t been able to with her own family. She saw herself in Roper, and when Roper fell back into old habits, she’d backed away.