A Vow to Love. Sherryl Woods

      He bit off a retaliatory comment and said simply, “I’m sorry.”

      Her gaze locked on his and his heart took an unexpected leap. He got the distinct feeling he was in over his head and sinking fast.

      “I suppose it was partly my fault,” she admitted grudgingly. “But dinner’s really not necessary.”

      “Maybe not for you, but I’m starved.”

      “I meant, it’s not necessary that you take me out. We’re only distantly related by marriage. It’s not like there’s some family obligation at stake.”

      Sam grinned ruefully. “Wanna bet? If I tell Granddad Brandon that I have terrified and deeply offended his precious granddaughter for a second time, he’ll call the chief and have me busted back to foot patrol.”

      Penny regarded him with evident fascination. “Interesting,” she declared.

      “What?”

      “Apparently you spend your life chasing bad guys without fear, but Brandon Halloran terrifies you.”

      “He doesn’t scare you?”

      She shook her head. “He’s a pussycat.”

      “Obviously he hasn’t gotten around to meddling in your life yet.”

      “Sure he has,” she retorted. “Who do you think sent me to those self-defense classes so I could handle the likes of you?”

      Sam chuckled. “Remind me to tell him he wasted his money.”

      “I’d take a look at my shin and think about the timely arrival of the police before I made cracks like that, if I were you.”

      “Touché. Now, how about dinner? There’s a cute little Italian place just down the street. Rosie makes a ziti with vodka sauce that will bring tears to your eyes.”

      Penny seemed to be considering the invitation thoughtfully, before finally shrugging. “I suppose it would be worth it, just to see the big, tough policeman cry. Let me grab my purse.”

      Sam was pleased to see that she did just that. She didn’t waste time running off to primp as if this were a date. She just hauled her two-ton purse off the sofa, draped it over her shoulder and followed him from the apartment. He was astounded she didn’t walk lopsided.

      “What’s in that thing?” he asked, trying to peer inside its mysterious depths.

      She tugged it away. “A wallet, a brush, makeup, a book, a bottle of mineral water.” She shrugged. “You know, the usual necessities.”

      He shook his head. “Hell, short stuff, next time just take a swing with that thing. It could knock somebody out cold.”

      “I’ll remember that,” she said, giving him a look that suggested she still wouldn’t mind experimenting with the technique on him.

      Sam prided himself on not giving a damn what anyone, except for a handful of family members, thought of him. It worried him that he was beginning to care that Penny Hayden continued to regard him with suspicion even now that she knew who he was. An unfamiliar desire to win her over made him irritable all over again.

      Without another word, Sam led the way down the stairs without bothering to check to see if she had any difficulty keeping up with his long stride. If she did, she never complained.

      And she was right there beside him when he reached Rosie’s, where the bouquet of garlic and tomatoes was more alluring than any expensive French perfume he’d ever encountered. He drew in a deep, satisfying breath and felt some of the tension ease out of him.

      “Sammy!” Rosie cried when she spotted him. She enveloped him in an enthusiastic bear hug, then pinched his cheek. “You are too skinny. It has been too long since you have been by to see me. Do I have to be robbed to get you inside my restaurant?”

      “I was here two weeks ago,” he protested.

      “You expect my pasta to sustain you for that long? This is the food of life, caro. Pasta and red wine are meant to be eaten every night.”

      “If I did that, pretty soon I wouldn’t be able to haul myself after the criminals. I’d be too fat and lazy.”

      Rosie waved her hand dismissively. “Always the jokes. I know the truth. You have some other cook you adore. That’s it, isn’t it?”

      “There is no other woman in my life. I swear it,” he told her emphatically.

      Just then, though, Rosie spotted Penny. “And who is this, then? You pretend that she is not even here, when I can see for myself that she is.”

      “Rosie, this is Penny Hayden. She has just moved here from Los Angeles. Penny, this is Rosa DiMartelli, who makes the best pasta this side of Rome.”

      Rosie’s dark eyes scanned Penny from head to toe. A worrisome beam of approval spread across her face. Only one person in Sam’s life could match Brandon Halloran when it came to meddling and she was regarding Penny with a very speculative gleam in her eye.

      “You live in the neighborhood, yes?” she said to Penny. “I have seen you at the produce stand next door.”

      “I have an apartment a few blocks away,” Penny confirmed.

      “Then you will come here often for dinner. That means I will see more of my Sammy.”

      “Don’t go getting any ideas, Rosie,” Sam warned.

      “What is the fun of life without ideas?” she retorted. “Besides, I can see these same ideas in your eyes.”

      Sam started to deny it vehemently, but decided to save his breath. An argument would only lend too much weight to Rosie’s romantic observations. She grinned as if she’d guessed his thoughts.

      “Now, come, sit,” she ordered. “I will bring you a bottle of my best wine and I think the ziti with vodka sauce. I will make it special for you, since it is your favorite.”

      “I could sacrifice and have the lasagna,” Sam offered.

      “Sacrifice!” She huffed. “Since when is it a struggle to eat any of my food?”

      She was still muttering under her breath as she left them to place the order in the kitchen.

      “Obviously you’re a favorite of hers,” Penny noted.

      She sounded amazed that anyone could be genuinely fond of him. To his surprise, her astonishment cut. He tried to ignore how much it hurt. He shrugged. “I’m a challenge. She’s been trying to fatten me up and marry me off for several years now. The fact that she’s still batting zero on both counts makes her crazy.”

      “I’m surprised you tolerate her interference.”

      “Wait until you taste her pasta. It’s worth any price. Besides, Rosie and I go way back.”

      “Oh?”

      “She helped Dana and I foil the system by playing guardian whenever we needed an adult to keep the social workers at bay.”

      “You mean, after your mother died?”

      Sam nodded. “Dana was determined that the system wasn’t going to split us up, even though I was just a kid and she was barely into her teens.”

      Penny looked fascinated. “Your sister must really be something. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better. We didn’t really have nearly enough time together at the christening and I haven’t been East since then. Grandfather adores her. He credits Dana with giving him the gumption to go after grandmother one last time when she was resisting all his attempts to get her to marry him.”

      Sam vividly recalled Brandon’s depression during that time. The whole family had been worried sick about him. Dana had taken matters into her own hands.

      “She could see how much your