Chapter 3
"Neal, you have a lovely home. Here, we brought some wine."
Neal graciously accepted the bottle and said, "It's great to see you again Christina. Elizabeth, you look lovely, as usual. Peter's over there, if you want to go see him."
"Thanks, Neal." before going in to see Peter, El shot me a warning glare, reminding me of what we had spoken about earlier.
"So Christina, Peter tells me you're from Boston. But that's all he told me. Care to tell me a little more about yourself?"
"Well, I'm a corporate attorney in Boston. Graduated from Harvard Law and then jumped right into working at the firm I'm at now, and I've been there for about a year now."
"Harvard Law? That's pretty impressive. So tell me, what do you like to do besides working?"
"Well in my free time, I enjoy piña coladas and getting caught in the rain" I said with a roll of my eyes.
"What a coincidence, so do I!" exclaimed Neal. "How about this, next time it rains, you let me take you out for drinks?"
"My my Mr. Caffrey, a bit forward aren't we? We've known each other for a few hours and you're already asking me on a date?"
"You must think I have no manners whatsoever Ms. Burke!" said Neal with a glimmer in his eye. "I was simply requesting the gathering of two acquaintances, trying to learn more about each other."
"Well in that case" I said, reaching for my business card in my purse, "Call me next time it rains".
Neal smiled, and was about to say something else, when Peter came over to us.
Peter looked at us suspiciously.
"What are you two doing over here?"
"Just talking", I said casually.
"I better go check on dinner", Neal said quickly.
When Neal disappeared into the kitchen, Peter turned to me.
"Christina, I saw you give Neal your card. Why do you never listen to me?"
"Peter, we were just talking about going for drinks. We're not going off and eloping".
"Christina", said Peter with a sigh, "he's a con man, and he's damn good at what he does. I don't want you to get involved with him and end up getting hurt."
"Jesus, Peter. We're not kids anymore. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I appreciate your concern, but I don't need it."
With that, I stormed off into the kitchen to see Neal.
"Thanks a ton Caffrey, you got me in trouble" I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
He smiled at me and said, "I promise, it will be worth it".
Wow, he was charming. Just then, Elizabeth and Peter came into the kitchen to help with dinner.
Neal gave me another flirty wink before turning back to the stove.
"So Neal", Elizabeth said, "What's for dinner?"
"You'll just have to wait and be surprised. Now it's almost done, so why don't you three go and sit down, and I'll be out with the food in a minute.
El, Peter, and I sat around the beautifully set table in awkward silence. Peter was obviously still fuming, I was just annoyed, and poor El just sat there.
"Almost done in here!" called Neal from the kitchen.
El sighed, "Guys, c'mon. We can talk about this when we get home. For now, both of you just put on a happy face and enjoy dinner."
"Oh, I most certainly will. It's him you have to worry about", I said, nodding my head at my brother.
"Hey!" said Peter. "I-"
"Wow" Neal interjected as he approached the table. "Is this what your family dinners were like as kids?"
"Pretty much" I said.
Neal just shook his head. After that, we dug in to his delicious chicken risotto and made small talk. I don't know how many lawyer jokes Neal made, but at least they relaxed Peter a little bit. But still, Peter would look up from his meal, look at me, look at Neal, and shake his head and purse his lips.
After dinner we sat around and talked more. We all seemed to have a good time, but I swear Neal had the most fun. He subtly flirted with me the whole night. Peter was too oblivious to catch on, but not Elizabeth. Every flirty remark, every "accidental" arm bumping, none of it got past my sister in law. We said our good byes, and when Elizabeth and Peter turned to go out the door, Neal whispered in my ear, "I'm not forgetting about those drinks." It gave me the chills.
I basically had a date with the world's sexiest con man. Now the only problem would be making sure my brother didn't try and stop it.