Gun Games - Faye Kellerman [39]
“Like ten in the morning.”
“The last time the lieutenant ate was at six in the morning,” Rina told him. “Dealing with two hungry males is not my idea of a good time.”
“I’ll try to behave myself.”
“I hold no great hope for either of you.” She tossed him the keys. “But . . . at least you’re both good-looking.”
Chapter Twelve
The key to hungry males was getting them fed as quickly as possible. So Rina was really in a bind when they walked inside the deli and Sohala Nourmand waved to her. Should she go over and make pleasantries for a few minutes, or should she wave back and risk being thought of as unfriendly?
Of course, Rina had to come to the table and say hello. Sage had been in Hannah’s class, and the two of them were friends. Plus, Daisy and Yasmine were students at the high school.
“Don’t do it,” Decker growled out a whisper. “I’m starved.”
“Just for a moment.” She tossed him a look that said, Be nice or there will be consequences. Then she went over to Sohala with a smile on her face.
Gabe had turned away, burying his face in a hand, hoping to keep his panic under control. Peter mistook his alarm as crankiness because he was grumpy himself. He threw his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “Just be very sure that you’re in love before you get married.”
Rina looked around. Peter and Gabe were in tow, her husband barely concealing his petulance. That was okay. Bakshar, the pater of the Nourmand clan, didn’t look too happy, either.
Rina gave Sohala a kiss on her cheek. “You look beautiful as always.”
“And you are gorgeous as well,” Sohala answered.
There were four Nourmand girls, each one as pretty as the next. Bakshar was considerably older than Sohala, always with a stern expression on his face. It couldn’t be easy raising four daughters. Rina turned to Rosemary, the oldest, noticing the rock on her finger. “So when’s the big day?”
“August second.”
Sohala said, “When Aaron finishes his residency.” Rosemary gave her a stern look that her mother ignored. “In dermatology.”
Rina smiled and said, “Congratulations, Rosie.”
“Thank you.”
Sage asked, “So how’s Hannah?”
“Loving Israel.”
“Of course.”
“And what are you doing?”
“I’m in Pierce College.”
“That’s great.”
Sage shrugged. “It’s school.” She looked up at Gabe. “Congratulations to you.”
Gabe had been hiding behind Peter. “Me?”
“You got into Harvard, no?”
Yasmine gave him a quick glance that he didn’t dare interpret before returning her eyes to her soup. Gabe knew he was blushing. “Uh, how’d you know about that?”
“Hannah posted it on Facebook.”
The teen looked pleadingly at Rina, who said, “I’ll have her take it down.”
“Why?” Sohala said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You should be very proud.”
With his heart going a mile a minute, Gabe was desperately trying to maintain composure. He shuffled his feet, feeling like a dork. “Uh . . . I kinda got in by cheating.”
Why the fuck did he say that?
“Cheating?” Bakshar said.
“Uh, not really cheating, cheating.” His face was hot. “I mean my scores were good, but I got in because I play the piano.”
The father perked up. “Yasmine play piano.”
“No, Daddy,” Daisy, the sixteen-year-old, said. “He really plays the piano.”
Yasmine’s face darkened. Poor girl, Rina thought. Sohala and her girls were a happy lot, usually smiling . . . except for the youngest. Yasmine carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Sage said, “Daddy, he played for graduation, remember?”
“Ah . . . yes.” The father looked at Gabe with newfound respect. “You were very good.”
“Thank you,” Gabe said. Can I go home and die now?
Rosemary said, “Yasmini, when you go to college, you should send them a CD of your voice.” She looked at Gabe. “The admissions board likes stuff like that, right?”
His eyes scanned Yasmine’s face for an explanation, but her focus was still on her soup. “Sure,” he answered. “Yeah, they like it a lot.”
“Yasmini has a beautiful voice,” Rosemary explained.
Sage said, “At least someone got Mommy’s talent.”
Daisy said, “Yeah, you can always tell when Yasmine is home. You can hear her down