“Nope, it spells 456 Hemi,” Loni replied with a grin.
“Well, at least it’s not boobs. The first time you park here, put in asterisk, asterisk, then the code. After that, follow the directions to open it,” Halligan said. Once she nodded, he waited while she programmed the code.
“I really don’t want to go through it twice, but you’ve got a lot of family. I’m not sure I’m comfortable sharing everything with them yet,” she said.
“We don’t need everything yet. I get that we don’t know each other, and it will take time for us to establish trust. But if you can’t share enough for us to keep the family safe, which includes kids, then you and I can leave. I’ll keep you safe somewhere else,” Halligan said.
“Let’s drop the bags off, then tell everyone. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to kids because I wasn’t forthcoming,” Loni said.
“All right. We’ll figure out a plan, and once everyone is safe, I will be begging to take my wife’s car out for a real ride where I can see exactly what that 456 Hemi can do.”
“That can be arranged.”
Halligan sat by Loni, waiting for everyone to get settled. His older nephews were watching all the younger kids while they watched a movie. None of his family wanted to miss his explanation of how a wife none of them knew about was inDodge City. He couldn’t blame them; he’d be doing the same thing if it were one of his brothers or cousins.
He’d had a little bit of time to think as he and Loni sat on the couch waiting for everyone to arrive. He’d promised Loni he’d keep her safe and he would. He just didn’t completely trust her yet because something wasn’t adding up. A one-night stand coupled with the wedding could be chalked up to impetuous decisions made while inebriated. But now, she was worried about her safety. He’d need more facts before he could relax and trust her. And he wanted to trust her because there was something about her that called to him—that part of him that wanted to cherish and protect someone.
“All right. Let’s settle down. Halligan, why don’t you introduce us to your wife,” his dad directed.
“This is…”
A slamming door and the exclamation ofholy shithad everyone turning.
Elijah stood, eyes wide and mouth open, staring at Loni.
“Did you need something, Elijah?” his mom, Ellie, asked.
“Yeah, the kids are hungry. I was going to get a bag of chips, but you didn’t say who you were meeting when you asked us to babysit. I would have said no,” Elijah said, his adoring eyes on Halligan’s wife.
“Who do you think she is?” Halligan asked.
Elijah walked forward, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry I cursed. You just surprised me. I’m sorry you lost your grandma. You always seemed so happy in pictures with her.”
“Elijah?” his dad, Hennessy, queried.
“She’s Apollonia Rossellini—of Rossellini Racing, Rossellini Motorsports, and Rossellini Classic Cars.”
It seemed his wife might have a couple more secrets that Halligan hadn’t known. If she was that famous, there was no way his private detective couldn’t find information on her.
Halligan turned toward Loni. “Did you bribe my private detective? He said he couldn’t find anything about you online. I couldn’t either,” Halligan said. The quick flash of guilt on her face told him that yes, he’d been duped.
“I expect a refund,” Halligan said.
“Oh, she’s only on the Rossellini racing sites and not on their social media pages. I just follow their racing information,” Elijah said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Elijah, and thank you. I do miss my Gigi tremendously,” Loni said, her voice quaking.
Halligan couldn’t bear her sadness, sliding his arm around her shoulders. If her family was that big in racing, he imagined they had a lot of private detectives on their payroll to not give out information. He was still going to ask for his money back.
“I’m sorry for your loss, too,” Halligan said.
“My grandmother’s death seems like a good starting point. She ran the corporation for years. Although I worked for a division of the corporation, she knew I never wanted to take over. I like the designing aspect—making the cars look good, helping them go faster. I haven’t been privy to any major business functions besides making the cars. She died two weeks before Christmas. She was sitting across from me at dinner, her face turned white, and she fell into her plate. No pulse, no breathing. I called 9-1-1. They came and couldn’t revive her. I was devastated,” she paused, and Halligan patted her thigh. He couldn’t imagine the pain and shock she’d felt.
I’m so sorry for your lossechoed from his family members.
“Thank you. At times, it still seems like a bad dream, and maybe if I pinch myself hard enough, I’ll wake up. We got through her funeral. I was grief-stricken and in a daze most of the time.
“It was a couple days before New Year’s. I’d decided I needed to pull myself out of just lying around. Gigi would have been thefirst one to walk into my room, her hand on her hip and the other one shaking in my face, saying, ‘Apollonia, it is time to get back to life. Things happen and our only choice is how we respond. Now, scooch.’ So I scooched. I showered and put on what I called my working clothes and headed downstairs. Gigi and I had talked over some new designs before she passed, and I’d left them in her office. As I got closer to the office, my brother’s voice drifted out. He was talking with someone in Gigi’s office. What he said scared me.”
