A Valentine's Day Gift (Clover Park, Book 11)

by Kylie Gilmore

  Table of Contents

  A Valentine’s Day Gift

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  A Valentine’s Day Gift

  The Clover Park Series, Book 11

  © 2018 Kylie Gilmore

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  When Allie Reynolds strikes up an unlikely friendship with the contractor working on her house, Vinny Marino, she never expected how much he’d come to mean to her. So much separates them it seems impossible—he’s mourning his late wife, she’s trapped in a loveless marriage. Will they make the tough choices to give themselves a chance at love? Or will responsibility keep them from their happy ending?

  Author’s Note

  Welcome to Clover Park where everyone gets lucky! To find out more about Ryan, Trav, Shane, Rico, Gabe and other Clover Park hotties, check out the rest of the books in the Clover Park series:

  Get the entire Clover Park series

  The Opposite of Wild (Book 1)

  Daisy Does It All (Book 2)

  Bad Taste in Men (Book 3)

  Kissing Santa (Book 4)

  Restless Harmony (Book 5)

  Not My Romeo (Book 6)

  Rev Me Up (Book 7)

  An Ambitious Engagement (Book 8)

  Clutch Player (Book 9)

  A Tempting Friendship (Book 10)

  Clover Park Bride: A Clover Park Short

  A Valentine’s Day Gift (Book 11)

  Maggie Meets Her Match (Book 12)

  And don’t miss my spinoff Clover Park STUDS series:

  Almost Over It (Book 1)

  Almost Married (Book 2)

  Almost Fate (Book 3)

  Almost in Love (Book 4)

  Almost Romance (Book 5)

  Almost Hitched (Book 6)

  Click to see all of Kylie’s books on Amazon

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  Visit https://www.kyliegilmore.com for more fun stuff.

  Find me on Facebook and Twitter.

  Chapter One

  Allie Marino found herself tearing up over the happy chaos of their Sunday family dinner. Her fully grown children—three sons and three stepsons—valued this weekly time together as much as she and her husband, Vinny, did. Her sons rarely missed a dinner, and now they were so blessed to have six daughters-in-law, two seven-month-old granddaughters, and a three-year-old grandson.

  She exchanged a look with Vinny sitting at the head of the table next to her. His dark eyes warmed on hers. He was just as happy as she was to have this special time together. They were in the large Victorian in Clover Park, where their family began, only now it was her oldest son, Gabe’s house. Her Marino stepsons were dark-haired, olive-skinned Italians like their dad—Vince, Nico, and Angel—bonded like true brothers to her light-haired, fair-skinned sons—Gabe, Luke, and Jared. Not an easy path to bonding, but they got there eventually.

  Her youngest stepson, Angel, with his dark brown tousled hair and dimpled smile, looked over at her and then Vinny. “Julia and I wanted to talk to you guys.”

  Allie grabbed Vinny’s hand under the table in anxious excitement. Angel and Julia were newlyweds and had been open about starting a family. “Is Julia pregnant?” Her voice came out so loud the entire table quieted. Even her granddaughters stopped babbling.

  “No,” Angel said.

  “Sorry,” Julia said, pushing her long dark brown hair behind her ears. “We didn’t mean to get your hopes up. We’re hoping soon.”

  Allie worked hard to hide her disappointment. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes,” Julia said with a smile. “We were planning on surprising you with a keepsake book of photos and memories leading up to your wedding because you’ve been so supportive of all of us with our weddings. Cat’s out of the bag now, I guess. We couldn’t do it because no one had any pictures.”

  “And only you two have the memories,” Angel added.

  Allie tensed. Their relationship was not something she was willing to share with the kids. No sense digging around in the past.

  “Do you two have any pictures from when you were dating?” Julia asked.

  Allie turned to Vinny, hoping he’d shut down this whole line of questioning, but he merely shrugged one bulky shoulder. She didn’t want to sound like she was hiding a secret, but it was hard for her to outright lie. The way things had unfolded between her and Vinny might be seen, in the wrong context, as scandalous. Better not to open that can of worms at all.

  She turned back to Angel and Julia. “I don’t think we do.”

  “Not everybody had a camera in their pocket like they do now,” Vinny said.

  Allie glanced down the table at Gabe, who was staring at his plate, not eating. Gabe knew. He was the one who’d found the letters in her old art studio. He’d read at least one that she knew about, and had confronted Vinny about it. Vinny had gotten defensive, which probably told Gabe all he needed to know.

  “Any special memories from back then?” Julia asked.

  “Not much to tell,” Vinny said with a note of finality. “We met, we dated, we got married, same as most couples. End of story.”

  Yes. Some things were private.

  ~ ~ ~

  Back when it all began…

  Allie Reynolds hurried to answer the front door. The construction crew for her new art studio must be here. She could hardly believe it was really happening. Her husband, William, had always considered her art to be a frivolous hobby. They’d compromised on the art studio by having it made into a full studio apartment with galley kitchen and bathroom. She had no problem with the added amenities even if it was because, as he said, “at least they could get some rental income when she finally moved on to more important endeavors.” There was no love between her and her husband, an uptight workaholic lawyer. They’d married in a hurry when she got pregnant with her oldest son, and she’d been paying the price for her impulsive decision ever since. Not that William noticed she was unhappy, or noticed her at all, really. If it weren’t for her three boys, the light of her life, she would’ve left him long ago. But the boys were all in school now and, for the first time in years, she had her mornings to herself, which meant art time.

  She opened the door to two men wearing blue T-shirts that read Marino and Sons Construction, along with worn jeans and work boots. The older man, thirtysomething, definitely Italian, made a strong commanding impression between his massive size—over six feet tall and bulky with muscles—to his serious expression. She figured he was the one in charge. The younger man, early twenties, was thin and wiry and stood a little behind his boss.

  The large man spoke in a deep melodious voice that had her leaning in. “I’m Vinny Marino. We’re here to work on your garage.” Their eyes met, and her breath caught at the incredible sadness in his dark brown eyes framed with thick lashes. It was like looking in a mirror—the joy sucked out of him just like her. He was strikingly handsome otherwise with thick dark brown hair, chiseled cheekbones, strong jaw, and full sensuous lips. If he smiled, he would no doubt be stunning, but he didn’t smile.

  Vinny spoke again. “It’s the detached garage over there, right?” He gestured over to it.

  She snapped to attention. “Yes. I’ll get the key. Sorry.” She turned to get it and then stopped. “I�
�m Allison.”

  Vinny nodded. “Nice to meet you, Allison. This is Tony.”

  Tony lifted a hand in greeting.

  She grabbed the key from the kitchen hook and joined them outside. They walked over to the garage together. Vinny kept pace with her, Tony trailing behind. She was a petite five feet three, but next to Vinny, she felt tiny. Her head came up to his huge bicep, his shoulders were massive, his neck thick. She’d bet he used to play football. His stride was slow and easy, and she realized he’d deliberately slowed down to match her shorter steps. Her husband always strode ahead of her, leaving her behind with the kids.

  “We’re using the garage more like a shed right now,” she said. “There’s an access panel to get upstairs. It’s basically just storage on the second level, but the roof is high enough you can stand up.”

  “So you’re looking for it to be a rental?” Vinny asked.

  “Actually, it’s going to be my art studio,” she confided.

  “You’re an artist?” Vinny asked.

  She suddenly wanted to own it, to declare her real passion in life despite the fact that no one had ever bought one of her creations. “Yes. I paint.”

  “Very cool,” Vinny said.

  Warmth stole through her. His casual comment meant so much to her. “I love it,” she confessed.

  Vinny inclined his head. “That explains the oversized windows. You want lots of light.”

  “Yes.” They reached the two-car detached garage and she unlocked it, opening one of the bays. It was packed full of stuff—lawn mower, shovels, rakes, the boys’ old crib, assorted boxes piled up. She belatedly realized she should’ve cleared it out, though some of the pieces were too heavy for her to manage on her own. Her boys—Gabe, Luke, and Jared—weren’t old enough to help much at eleven, seven, and five respectively. Her husband probably would’ve blown it off, saying he had to catch up on paperwork. Even when he was home, it wasn’t like he was really home.

  She turned to the men. “I’m sorry. We should’ve cleared this out for you.”

  “No problem,” Vinny said. “We’ll clear a path. Just show me where the access panel is.”

  She squeezed in between rows of crap to the center of the space and pointed up.

  Vinny smiled a little, the smile not reaching his sad brown eyes. “Thanks, Allison. We’ll take it from here.”

  She nodded and got out of their way.

  ~ ~ ~

  Vinny moved like he had lead in his limbs, but he had to work. He had mouths to feed. The small job converting a storage space to a studio apartment was ideal for his barely functioning state. He was sure that was why his dad, the owner of Marino and Sons Construction, had given it to him, knowing he couldn’t handle anything more complex while Vinny grieved his wife. Maria had died a little over a month ago after a long painful struggle with ovarian cancer. She was the love of his life, his high school sweetheart. They hadn’t married right away. She’d wanted to go to college, so he’d waited. She was book smart, in love with literature and poetry, beautiful inside and out. He was “hands-on smart,” as she always said. Sometimes he wondered why she didn’t just find some college guy more like her, but she loved him, and he loved her more than anything in the world. They married right after she graduated college. Vince Jr. was born four years later, Nico came along two years after that, and then two years later they had Angelo.

  His boys, now nine, seven, and five, were in mourning just like him. He worried especially over five-year-old Angelo, nicknamed Angel because he had the most angelic demeanor and had looked after his ma in his little-boy way, making her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fetching her water, reading his favorite books to her. Vinny swallowed over the lump in his throat. Angel was only in half-day kindergarten, mornings, and today was the first day Vinny wouldn’t be there with him after school. His mother-in-law, Loretta, would be home with him, but still. Vinny had even thought about taking his lunch hour at home with them, but he wouldn’t have that much time with the commute, and Angel wouldn’t understand why he had to leave so soon.

  He turned to his assistant, his young cousin Tony. “Leave the mower. We’ll stack the boxes against that wall.” He gestured where he wanted them, and they got to work.

  By noon, he had a pretty good idea what he was dealing with upstairs. He’d need to get the plumber and electrician in here. He and Tony had already reinforced the floor, working around the access panel. After lunch, they’d build the wooden stairs for an outdoor entrance.

  “Break for lunch,” he told Tony.

  They sat in the cab of the truck, windows rolled down on this sunny May day, and ate the sandwiches they’d brought. Vinny filled his cousin in on the next steps for the afternoon’s work. When he’d finished lunch, he told Tony, “I’m going to see about using their phone.”

  “But you said we shouldn’t go inside.”

  Mostly they worked commercial construction, but occasionally to fill in a gap, his dad would take on smaller residential jobs. The rule was to disturb the homeowner as little as possible. “It’s for Angel.” He’d considered driving to a pay phone, but there weren’t pay phones on every corner in a suburb like this. It could take a while to find one, and he didn’t want to rush through his call with Angel.

  He got out of the truck. Tony lit up a cigarette. Vinny leaned in the window. “Hey. Not in the truck. Go take a walk.”

  Tony huffed out a breath, but he complied.

  Vinny headed for the front door and knocked.

  Allison answered, opening the door fully to him, not just a crack like some homeowners did. “Hi! How’s it going out there?”

  He locked his knees, pushing down the urgent need to get to the phone and make sure his boy was okay. “Everything’s great. We reinforced the floor. The structure is sound otherwise. I’ll have electrician and plumber in early next week.”

  “Okay, great.” She beamed a smile so bright it broke through his dark haze for a moment. How long had it been since he or anyone around him had smiled like that? Days? Months? Years? Five years of increasingly bad news, a slow build of despair.

  “I need to use your phone,” he said urgently. “My son just got home from kindergarten, and I need to check in.”

  “Oh. I’m actually heading out to pick up my son from the kindergarten bus stop. Can you wait twenty minutes for us to get back?”

  She didn’t want him in her house alone. He understood; they’d just met. Didn’t mean he didn’t have the urge to shove her out of the way and find the phone on his own. But he knew better. Besides, Angel wasn’t expecting his call. It was more to put Vinny’s mind at ease. Angel was probably happily eating whatever his Nonna made him for lunch. But would she ask Angel how he was doing? He didn’t volunteer everything right up front.

  “Twenty minutes,” he said, turned and went back to his truck. He’d use the time to line up the lumber they needed. He checked his watch twice, shook it to make sure it was still working, and then finally it was time.

  He jogged back to the door and knocked. Thankfully she answered. “It’s in the kitchen.”

  He left his work boots on the front porch and followed her inside, down the hallway to the kitchen on the right, where a little boy with light brown hair and a smudge of dirt on his face stood on a step stool at the sink, where he was probably supposed to be washing his hands, but was instead staring at the strange man in his kitchen, his green eyes too big for his face.

  Vinny lifted a hand in greeting.

  “Can I try your tools?” the boy asked, staring at Vinny’s toolbelt.

  Allison spoke up. “Jared, wash your hands. I told you the workers are very busy.” She crossed to Vinny and handed him a cordless phone. “You can take it in the dining room for privacy if you’d like.” She gestured to an adjoining formal dining room.

  He nodded and went into the other room, quickly dialing home. His mother-in-law, Loretta, answered. “Hi, it’s Vinny. I just wanted to say hi to Angel, see how his day went.”
>
  “I’ll get him.”

  A moment later, his sweet boy’s voice came through the line, earnest and pure. “Hi, Daddy! I got a loose tooth!”

  He nearly collapsed with relief. He was okay. He sounded happy. “That’s great, bud. Did ya have a good day?”

  “Uh-huh. I’ve been wiggling my tooth all day, but it won’t come out.”

  “Don’t force it. It’ll come out when it’s ready.”

  “Nonna says we can tie a string to my tooth and the doorknob and slam it. Pow! Tooth out.”

  “No. That’s the old way. Now we leave it until it’s ready.”

  “Okay. I hope I get a lot of money from the tooth fairy. Robbie got five dollars!”

  “Last time I checked, the tooth fairy left one dollar.”

  Angel whispered loudly into the phone, “I think the tooth fairy got richer.”

  “I’d expect one dollar. I think maybe Robbie’s parents added some because they got richer. That’s not us. How’s your lunch?”

  “Good. Nonna made my favorite, ziti with cheese dots. When’re you coming home?”

  His heart clutched. He wanted to drive home that very minute. But he knew he had to prepare Angel for the way things were going to be, back to the normal routine. “I’ll see ya at dinner.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “I love you.” The phone made a banging noise. He’d probably run off.

  “It’s me,” Loretta said. “Don’t worry, he’s doing just fine.”

  “Okay, thanks again for your help. I’ll see ya later.” He disconnected and stared at the ceiling, trying to pull it together. Angel was fine. Vince and Nico were still at school, but he knew they’d come home and be fine too. They would all keep going just like they always had. It had been him and Loretta keeping the family going for the past year, taking care of the kids and Maria.

  He went into the kitchen. Jared wasn’t there, but he could hear the TV in another room. Allison stood at the stove, her back to him, cooking lunch.

  “All done,” he said.

  She whirled. “Oh, hi. Didn’t hear you come in over the exhaust fan from the stove. Grilled cheese.”

  He set the phone on the counter, keeping a polite distance. “Thanks for letting me use your phone.”