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

by Kylie Gilmore

  He lifted her hand to his lips and grazed a kiss across her knuckles, bringing a tingle of electric warmth up her arm. His dark eyes locked on hers. “But I’m glad we are.”

  Chapter Six

  This was only his second first date, and Vinny had the gift of money this time around, so he made reservations at a nice seafood restaurant, figuring Allie was probably used to eating at nice places. He wouldn’t even flinch if she ordered lobster. It occurred to him that she was probably used to having gobs of money from her lawyer ex, and while he was doing okay, he wasn’t exactly rolling in it. Once his dad retired next June, he’d be in a better position. His dad would name him partner, and Vinny would take over the business. His older brother would’ve gotten half, but he’d moved to Texas to work on petroleum machinery and never looked back.

  He was lucky Loretta had agreed to babysit tonight, though he hadn’t told her it was for a date exactly, he just said he was going to dinner. She knew what he was up to, dressing nice for dinner, a bundle of nerves, but she’d drawn the line—no talk of another woman—and he’d respected that. He couldn’t ask for more from his mother-in-law. So what if she gave him a curfew, saying he had to pick up the kids by nine since she needed her sleep. He couldn’t take that personally; she was an old woman with a sick husband. No way he was turning down free babysitting. If things with Allie progressed, well, he’d deal with the mother-in-law complication later. He clenched his jaw. Things could get very, very difficult with Loretta. The woman was a force and deeply involved in his family’s life. He blew out a breath. He couldn’t worry about that right now, he had enough to worry about just trying to pull off this date without making a fool of himself.

  He drove to Allie’s house in his minivan, the same house where they’d first met in what had been a much darker time for both of them. They deserved a little happiness, didn’t they? Nerves shot through him. He glanced around the minivan he’d recently cleaned. He’d debated taking his work truck, ultimately deciding neither one was a sexy option. The truck was too dirty for a classy woman like her. Besides, she had kids, she knew the drill. He turned the radio to the game, distracting himself from his nerves, managing to keep his cool.

  He parked in the driveway of her house, a large Victorian set on a huge lot with a six-foot privacy fence around the backyard. Great yard for the kids, he figured, maybe a dog too if anyone had time to take care of one.

  He got to the front door, rang the bell and, in those few minutes of waiting, completely lost his cool, breaking out in a sweat. He was really on a date. First time since he was a damn teenager and he near felt like one.

  She opened the door, standing there in a gray sleeveless dress cut low in front, ending mid-thigh. So sexy. She was tiny, but she had gentle curves in all the right places. Her blond hair was smooth and straight just past her shoulders. A colorful butterfly necklace caught his eye near her throat. Her pulse beat rapidly, visible under the fair skin of her neck. Maybe she was as nervous as he was. Silly when you thought about it. They’d been friends for two years now, though not much of that time had been spent in person.

  He lifted his eyes to her bright blues. She smiled, a small shy smile, looking up at him under her lashes. “Hi,” she said softly.

  “I changed my shirt three times,” he blurted.

  She laughed. “I like what you decided on. Black’s a nice look on you.” He wore a black button-down shirt with black pants and his nice dress shoes.

  “I love your dress.”

  Her cheeks flushed. “I bought it special. The necklace too. Symbolic for spreading my wings and living my life the way I want to.”

  Spreading my wings and other things. A vision of spreading her legs sent a surge of lust through him that he ruthlessly pushed down. Not cool to start a first date with a noticeable woody.

  He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s good. Ready?”

  She stepped out, locking the door behind her. “I almost didn’t have a babysitter tonight. My usual girl had a last-minute job interview at the mall. Then I was asking my friends for their babysitters, and no one was available. I had to drive an hour out to my parents’ house and drop the kids off with them.”

  He took her hand, walking her to his car. “You must’ve really wanted to go on this date.”

  She smiled. “I guess so.”

  “Me too.” He opened the passenger-side door for her, getting an eyeful of slim leg before closing it behind her.

  So far, so good. He got in, started the car, and backed out of her driveway. “I made reservations at a seafood restaurant. You like seafood, I hope?”

  “Yes.”

  Silence fell.

  He couldn’t think of a damn thing to say. He debated putting the game back on, but thought she probably wouldn’t be interested. He didn’t want to talk about the kids. He wanted this to be about them.

  “How was your day?” she asked.

  “Good. Usual Saturday runaround with the boys.”

  “You know what? Let’s not do the small-talk thing. I want to get to know you better than that.”

  “Fine by me, and let’s not talk about the kids. Ask me anything.”

  “Where did you grow up? What was your family like? Did you always want to work construction? What sport is your favorite? What would you do if you had all the time and money in the world?”

  He blew out a breath. “That’s a lot of questions.”

  “Just off the top of my head. You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable.”

  “I’m an open book. Let’s see, I grew up in the town I live in now, South Norfolk. It’s not as nice now as it was when I was a kid, more crime, the schools are going downhill, but I can afford a house there, and my mother-in-law lives in town, so that’s a big help. Yes, construction was always for me, it’s been in my family for three generations now, and I was taught from the time I could hold a hammer how to use tools. I like working with my hands, I like building something lasting.”

  “Like building my art studio.”

  He inclined his head. “That was good for you, but not real challenging. The office building we’re doing now is cool, building from the ground up. Now that’s a challenge, and it’ll stand the test of time. What else? Oh, my family. Just my dad locally now. We get along well. My older brother lives in Texas. My ma, she passed away when I was fifteen.”

  “Oh, Vinny, I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah. It was sudden, one of those freak things. Brain aneurysm. She didn’t suffer.”

  “Gosh, I didn’t mean to bring up a painful subject.”

  “It’s okay. It’s part of me, and you wanted to get to know me. Keep going with the questions.”

  “You sure?”

  He gestured her on. “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Favorite sport?”

  He grinned. “Football. I was varsity as a freshman. I fucking loved it.” He checked in with her right quick. “I mean frigging.”

  “You don’t have to censor yourself with me.”

  “Allie, you’re a classy lady. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear.”

  “Fucking, fucking, fucking.”

  He got hot hearing that come out of her sweet mouth. He stopped at a stop sign and looked at her. She was beaming, looking proud of herself despite her bright pink blush. “You’re so damn cute.”

  She giggled. “And you’re so damn handsome.”

  He smiled. “Breathtaking?”

  She bit her lip, nodding and smiling.

  He shook his head, still smiling. Sweet and sexy. He hit the accelerator.

  “What would you do if you had all the time and money in the world?” she asked.

  He thought about that. “I’d build you the house of your dreams.”

  “Get out! You would not.”

  “I would.”

  “This is supposed to be about you.”

  “I like building stuff. And I like making you happy.”

  She sniffled. He glanced o
ver to find her digging a tissue out of her tiny purse and wiping under her eyes. “You’re crying?” he asked. “Geez, I lost my touch.”

  “No, you’ve got it just fine.”

  “Okay, tell me about you. Answer all the same questions.”

  She looked up before turning back to him. “My life is so boring. I grew up in a middle-class suburb of Connecticut, went to college, got pregnant, dropped out and spent the next several years taking care of kids and the house. I’m terrible at sports. I used to love dance, in fact, I was a pretty good ballerina, but my legs and arms weren’t long enough for the ideal. I was always in the background, never the principal dancer.”

  “You were part of the team.”

  She laughed. “In a way, I guess. I get along with my parents okay. I have a younger sister who lives in Rhode Island. She’s a jewelry designer.”

  “So artists run in your family.”

  “I never thought about it like that before. I guess so. And if I had all the time and money in the world, I would just create art all day long.” She paused. “Sorry, mine’s a lot more selfish than yours.”

  “Building stuff makes me happy, creating stuff makes you happy. We’re alike that way. It’s not selfish to do what you love.”

  She sighed.

  “What’s that sigh about?” he asked. Sometimes a woman’s sigh could have all sorts of hidden meanings.

  She sat straighter. “I just really, really like you.”

  He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Me too. Like you, that is.”

  They exchanged a quick smile, and he knew this date was going to go great.

  ~ ~ ~

  How such a macho-looking, manly man like Vinny could be such a sweetheart astounded her. But he was. He held doors open for her, pulled her chair out for her, and expressed himself so openly, so warmly. All of that and he was breathtakingly gorgeous, sexy too, though she wasn’t ready to go there yet.

  They’d both ordered the lobster, a special treat, and now their plates were just shells from their delicious meal.

  “You want dessert?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m really full between the bread, the lobster, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. It was all so wonderful. Thanks for picking such a nice place.”

  “I figure you’re used to nice places.”

  “Oh.” Shit. Maybe he couldn’t even afford this place. She didn’t know how much he made, but he’d said he lived in a town that was going downhill, but he stayed because he could afford it. And they’d ordered the most expensive things on the menu. “I do like nice places, and this place is really nice…why don’t we split the bill?”

  “No way. I asked you to dinner, I’ll pay.”

  She wasn’t surprised at all. In some ways, he was very traditional, but not in a stuffy way. More like good manners and a strong sense of right and wrong. “Thank you.”

  He grunted, looking a little offended.

  She tried to smooth things over. “I’m out of practice with dating. I thought people split the bill more nowadays.” He gave her a skeptical look. “Anyway, for future dates, I mean, if you want to go on more dates—”

  “You kidding me? Course I do.”

  “Okay, okay.” She laughed a little because he looked so disgruntled. “For future, we don’t always have to eat at a fancy place. I’m good with pizza, subs, burgers, whatever. I mean, that’s what my kids like, so we have it regularly.”

  He took her hand and leaned close, his voice husky. “I wanted it to be special for you.”

  She melted. This man was nothing short of amazing. “It will be special as long as we’re doing it together.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted, his dark eyes glinting with a mischievous look. She blushed, suddenly realizing what that sounded like—“doing it together.” She really had to stop blushing like a schoolgirl every time she thought of getting physical with him. It was just that she was so out of practice.

  He said nothing, only leaned back with a small smirk on his face.

  “I’m out of practice with that too,” she said.

  He winked. “Like riding a bicycle.”

  Sure, if your bicycle was a massive hot rod between your legs. She felt herself flush again. Don’t think about it.

  “So damn cute,” he said, getting a kick out of all her blushing.

  “Once I’m back in the saddle, I swear I’ll stop all this embarrassing blushing.”

  He smirked again, and she realized “back in the saddle” also sounded dirty. She waved that away. “You know what I mean. Dating is new.”

  He gave her a knowing look. “I get ya.”

  The undercurrent of sexual tension was new between them and exciting. She wanted to match him but had no idea what to say back. “I get ya too.”

  He gave her a slow sexy smile that had her breath catching. “Ya know, that sounds real good.”

  Maybe she was good at this sexy flirting because there was definitely still a tension in the air. “It would be real good,” she returned. Okay, so she was out of practice.

  His expression was part amused, part intrigued.

  The waiter arrived with the check, and Vinny quickly pulled out his wallet and handed over his credit card. Allie thanked Vinny before excusing herself to the ladies’ room. Once there, she retouched her makeup and popped a breath mint in preparation for a goodnight kiss. And maybe more. Her belly dipped at the thought, but things just felt right with Vinny.

  She returned to the table, catching Vinny carefully wiping his mouth with a napkin. Maybe he was making sure there was no leftover butter from the lobster in case they kissed. She smiled to herself and took a seat.

  He held out his palm. “Mint? I had one. They’re good.”

  She smiled. “Got one already.”

  He tore open the wrapper and popped it in his mouth.

  Two minty mouths plus a kid-free night sounded very promising. She leaned across the table and gave him a brazen hint. “The kids are spending the night at my parents’ place, so I have the house to myself.”

  His eyes were hot on hers. “You inviting me in?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  He checked his watch and shook his head. “I don’t have much time. My mother-in-law said I need to get the kids by nine. She needs her sleep; she has to take care of my father-in-law.”

  She pushed down her disappointment. It wasn’t like she was going to sleep with him on their first date, but she’d hoped for a little intimacy, a tiptoe back into the lust pool. “How is he?”

  “Surprisingly, he’s hanging in there. I think being home has been really good for him. Maybe he’ll live longer than the doctors said. They only gave him a week.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Rain check?”

  She tried to hide the disappointment from her voice. “Sure.”

  “I already paid. Ready?”

  She nodded, and then they were on their way. So much buildup of nerves and anticipation for this date, and now it was almost over. She should be happy not disappointed. It was a good sign that she enjoyed his company so much that she didn’t want it to end. There was absolutely no rush. They were getting to know each other, and that took time.

  He took her hand, and the small gesture reminded her she could still look forward to a goodnight kiss. She quickly chewed her mint and swallowed, hoping it would give her maximum mintiness. They arrived at his car parked in the lot behind the restaurant. He opened her door and closed it behind her. She leaned her head back on the seat and sighed.

  He got in, but he didn’t start the car. “Allie.”

  She turned. “Yeah?”

  His big hand cradling her jaw, he slowly leaned in, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her mouth. Her pulse beat rapidly, her body tingling in anticipation. His lips met hers in a soft kiss before he pulled back. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”

  “Do it again.”

  He did, grazing his lips over hers, once, twice, and she lea
ned in for more. He pulled back, dropping his hand from her face. His voice was husky. “We’d better go.”

  She faced front, embarrassed by how much more kissing she wanted when he was done. She glanced around. They were in a parking lot, other people coming out to their cars nearby. “Yes, of course.”

  He chuckled and started the car.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  “I like how you sound so pissy that we have to stop kissing. That means you want more.”

  “Maybe,” she allowed.

  “Definitely. You want me.”

  Now he was getting arrogant. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Kiss me again if you want to find out.”

  He flashed a smile. “You bet I will.”

  She smiled to herself, pleased with his assurance.

  “You want to go out again next Saturday night?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied immediately.

  “That was a fast yes.”

  “I’m of an age where I know what I want,” she said.

  He smiled, his dark eyes sparkling with good humor. “I like the sound of that. See? There’s benefits to dating at our age. We know what we want; we know when it’s good.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m lucky to have a second chance at dating with you.”

  “You’re my second chance too. My first try was pretty bad.”

  “I’m sorry to hear it, but glad at the same time, ya know? Because now I get to be with you. You know what they say, second time’s a charm.”

  “Is it? I thought it was third time.”

  His voice was warm and full of good humor. “Pretty sure it’s second time.”

  He was joking, but she liked the sentiment. “You know, I think you might be right about that.”

  They drove back to her house, talking and laughing about the kids, hard not to when they were both single parents, but it was nice to share. He pulled into her driveway and shut off the car. For a moment, she thought they might have a makeout session in the car, but he got out, walked around and opened her car door.

  “I was raised to walk my date to the front door,” he said.

  “Good with me.” She got out and he took her hand, his larger hand enveloping hers in warmth, walking her to the front door. Both of them were quiet. Maybe he didn’t want the night to end either.