A man appeared, grinning a dimpled smile at them. “I’m here.”
Vince jerked his chin. “Angel.”
“Sophia, this is Vince’s youngest brother Angelo,” his mom said. He was about her height, five ten or so, lean and lithe, unlike Vince’s massive bulk. His hair was dark brown and rumpled adorably.
Angel shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
He sat next to her and looked around the table. “What’re we having?”
“Italian wedding soup,” their mom said.
Angel’s brows shot up. “Really?”
“Switch seats with me, Angel.” Vince got up and stood next to his brother, waiting. Angel switched without question. Vince dropped into the seat next to her, which put him between her and his dad.
“How’re you feeling, Dad?” Angel asked once he was settled again.
“Fine, fine,” Mr. Marino said.
“Do we need Gabe, Luke, and Jared to weigh in on Marino construction too?” Vince asked.
“Just the original three,” Mr. Marino said.
Vince grunted and turned to her. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m fine,” she said. As if she always sat at tense family dinners waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“You want some wine?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said.
Vince left the table. Sophia smiled tightly, darting a quick glance around the table. She could feel Mr. Marino studying her.
“You don’t look much like your father,” Mr. Marino said.
She nodded. “I took after my mother.” Vince, on the other hand, looked a lot like his dad.
Vince returned, handing her a glass of red wine. “Thank you.”
“What exactly do you do, Sophia?” Mr. Marino asked.
“Dad, don’t give her the third degree,” Vince said.
“It’s not the third degree,” Mr. Marino said. “It’s a simple question.”
“I work for a consulting firm that helps preserve historic homes and buildings,” Sophia said.
“I see,” Mr. Marino said.
“Business after dinner,” Vince said, shooting his dad a hard look.
His dad grunted, grabbed a piece of bread and took a big bite.
“I’m here, I’m here, you can eat!” a beautiful man announced. It must be Nico. He had the same dark good looks as Vince, but not as large in build. Tall and muscular all the same. He looked right at her, flashed a brilliant smile, and her breath caught. He had movie-star good looks.
“Hello,” Nico said warmly to her.
“No,” Vince said.
"Hi," she said.
Nico kissed Mrs. Marino’s cheek and took the seat on the other side of Sophia. “I’m Nico.” He shook her hand in a firm, warm grip.
“I’m Sophia.”
“What a beautiful name,” Nico said, still holding her hand. “So-phi-a.”
Vince reached over and smacked Nico upside the head. “Ow!” He dropped her hand and rubbed his head.
“Vince!” Sophia said.
“I knew it!” Mr. Marino said, pounding his fist on the table. “He couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
“It’s in my pants!” Vince exclaimed.
“Vincent Marino, not at the table,” Mrs. Marino said, glaring at both the senior and junior Vincents. She stood. “I’ll get the soup. Sophia, would you like to help?”
She got up. “I’d love to.”
She followed Mrs. Marino into the kitchen and waited while she ladled the soup into thick white bowls. “I thought maybe you’d like a break from the testosterone poisoning in there,” Mrs. Marino said. “You seem like a nice, sane woman.”
Sophia laughed. “Thank you.”
“Could you grab the tray?” She indicated a large tray on the opposite counter. Sophia brought it over. “So are you and Vince a couple?”
Sophia felt herself flush. “No, we just work together. I guess his dad wanted to meet me because of the library project.”
“Hmmm…” She set a bowl of soup on the tray. Sophia helped her arrange the bowls. “Did you know Vince was a star football player in high school? Wide receiver.”
Sophia shook her head. “I didn’t know that.” But it wasn’t a huge surprise, he’d mentioned playing football, she just hadn’t known he was the star player. Of course, given his size…and all that glorious muscle. Get a grip.
Mrs. Marino finished putting the bowls on the tray and lifted it, inclining her head for Sophia to follow her into the dining room. “He’s a little more…spirited than the others, but if you channel that right—”
“Ma, are you talking about me?” Vince boomed.
Sophia grinned, and Vince shot her a dark look.
Mrs. Marino set the tray on the table and gave Vince an exasperated look. “Lower your volume.”
Nico and Angel laughed. Mr. Marino remained serious.
Sophia took her seat next to Vince and leaned close. “I heard you were a star football player.”
Vince made a face. “Ma, no one cares what I did in high school.”
“Did you know Vince could’ve been a model?” Nico asked.
Vince scowled. “Shut it.”
Sophia grinned at Vince. “I’m learning all sorts of things about you tonight.” She looked around the table. “What else you got on him? Gimme the dirt.”
Vince jabbed his finger at his brothers each in turn, a silent warning. “Let’s eat.”
Everyone started eating, and Sophia figured the teasing had stopped.
“Vince taught me how to defend myself,” Angel said. “It came in handy, especially in middle school. I don’t know if I ever thanked you for that. Thanks, Vince.”
Vince waved that away. “He was a shrimp. Someone had to help him out. Jared looked out for you too.”
Sophia looked at Vince, seeing him in a whole new light. One who cared deeply about his family. She should’ve known when he showed her the ultrasound of his godson that first time they’d had dinner, but she’d been distracted by his aggressive player persona. A surge of affection ran through her. She kinda wanted to hug him. Aargh. She was toast—burned by proximity to the fiery way-too-sexy Italian lumberjack.
“The soup is really good,” Sophia told Mrs. Marino.
Mrs. Marino beamed. “It’s Mr. Marino’s recipe. He’s the genius chef around here.”
“Oh, now, Allie,” Mr. Marino said affectionately, looking cheerful for the first time all night. Clearly Sophia was putting a damper on his evening. She hoped she could smooth things over for her dad and work something out with Vince’s dad. “You’re becoming a genius chef in your own right.”
“You know who can make a great steak?” Nico asked, jerking a thumb in Vince’s direction.
Vince groaned.
Angel chimed in. “One time I dropped my double-scoop ice cream cone and Vince gave me his.”
“They’re really singing your praises tonight,” Sophia said with a smile.
“And they can stop,” Vince said. “Nothing’s going on with me and Sophia; nothing’s going to go on no matter how many Vince stories you tell her. It’s a professional relationship. End of story.”
Sophia stared at her soup, surprisingly disappointed. Vince couldn’t have given her a clearer message than that. He’d just been playing around with her before with the flirting and teasing and…butt rub. He probably acted like that with every woman he met. She was nothing special. She’d wasted too much time fantasizing about those large hands and that body. She straightened and gave herself a mental slap. The business was all that mattered, not her inappropriate lustful feelings. Not her misplaced affection.
“Eat more soup, Vince,” Mrs. Marino said. “You too, Sophia.”
Sophia complied. It was really good. Growing up, she’d had to teach herself to cook because her dad was always busy with work and her mom was more interested in her social life than her children. It was either that or live off crackers. And she had her younger
brother to look out for too.
“Face it, Vince,” Nico said. “You need all the help you can get.”
“Butt out,” Vince said.
“You don’t get this kind of girl ever,” Nico said, looking right at Sophia. “She’s a classy lady.”
Sophia was about to thank Nico for the compliment when Vince leaned across Sophia and grabbed Nico by the collar. “You’re going to be kissing this table in a minute.”
“He needs taming, Sophia,” Nico said with a big smile, not seeming at all worried about kissing the table. “Save us all.”
She flushed. She wasn’t sure what to say. She had no influence over Vince whatsoever, but it seemed his family thought differently.
Vince dropped his brother’s shirt, stared at his plate for a minute, and then shook his head. “Sorry my family is so embarrassing, Sophia. I had no idea they were going to try to convince you of my virtues.”
“Did you know Vince can ballroom dance?” Mrs. Marino asked.
Vince groaned and looked to the ceiling. Sophia couldn’t help but laugh.
“We all can,” Angel put in. “We had lessons.”
“I’m done with you all.” Vince went back to eating.
Sophia grinned. “How did that happen?”
Mrs. Marino told the story about how she sent the boys, along with Mr. Marino, to dance lessons before their wedding. Mr. Marino filled in some of the blanks about the boys’ antics in the dance studio while everyone laughed and talked over each other. Even Vince joined in. For a short time, Sophia felt like she belonged to a real family.
~ ~ ~
Vince cleared the table, more embarrassed than he’d ever been in his life. He couldn’t believe the way his family went on and on about him. Like Sophia cared about double-scoop ice cream cones and high school football. He’d never brought a woman home before, and tonight just proved why that had been a smart move.
“Let’s walk, son,” his dad said, pulling a jacket on. “You too, Sophia.”
“Sure,” she said.
Vince helped her into her jacket. The minute they hit the sidewalk, his dad started the questions.
“Sophia, what exactly do you have in mind for Capello Construction, and why do you need us?”
“Well, as you might’ve heard, Capello has been struggling for a bit. I thought our two companies working together could help both of us stay competitive.”
“We’re already competitive,” his dad said. “The way I see it, you need us. We don’t need you.”
“Sophia has ideas for a historic architecture department,” Vince put in. “A whole new market we could reach. And we could get into residential construction too.”
“We don’t need that,” his dad said. “Commercial sector is plenty.”
“It reduces competition for bids if Capello and Marino aren’t always trying to underbid each other,” Sophia said. “It would keep the bid high. And I already have a very wealthy donor lined up to help with the library fundraising, so it’s looking better than ever that they can reach their goal and release the municipal bond.”
Vince turned, surprised. “You do?”
She nodded. “He’s a friend.”
Vince narrowed his eyes. “Who?”
“He wants to remain anonymous.”
His dad stopped on the sidewalk. “Sophia, your dad and I have a history. Not a good one.”
Sophia cringed. “I know.”
“It didn’t have to be that way,” his dad said. “We used to be best friends.”
“What!” Vince exclaimed. “You never told me that. I thought you always hated him.”
“We played football together,” his dad said. “We were close. Until Maria.” Vince jerked at the mention of his mother. “She picked me. Joe was so angry. He did everything he could to sabotage me. Slashed my tires when I took her out. Stole my football jersey before the game. He was unstoppable. That man can hold a grudge.”
Vince knew all that. Sophia looked shocked. Guess she’d heard a different version of things.
“I’m so sorry,” Sophia said.
“He underbid every project I went after,” his dad informed Sophia. “He stole so much business from us. He couldn’t stand that Maria and I were so happy. Guess he got the last laugh. She died young. I was devastated.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t laughing,” Sophia said. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
His dad shook his head. “Let’s just say I know what kind of man he is. Not the kind I would ever do business with. How could I trust him?”
“You can trust me,” Sophia said. “I’ll retain control of the library project. It’s an area he knows nothing about.”
Vince looked to his dad, who seemed to be thinking it over.
“You got any skeletons in your closet?” his dad asked. “Tell me about you.”
“What would you like to know?” Sophia asked.
“Who you spend time with, what your parents were like growing up, where do you see yourself in five years.”
“Oh.” Sophia glanced at Vince. “That covers quite a lot.”
“Dad, be serious.”
His dad held a hand up to shush him.
They resumed walking. “Start at the beginning,” his dad said.
Chapter Ten
Sophia began to talk, and Vince listened as her answers revealed a very different side to the sophisticated woman he’d been sparring with these last two weeks. “I have friends in Brooklyn I spend time with,” she said. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my friend Laura’s house. Her mom was always there after school, ready to feed us a snack and ask us about our day.”
“Where was your mom?” his dad asked.
Sophia waved her hand. “In and out. She had a very busy social life. My little brother, Mike, went to a babysitter after school, but my parents let me go to Laura’s. Mike’s five years younger.”
“And your dad?” his dad asked.
“Busy. Very busy. I’d see him on the weekends. He’d give me gifts and then head out with my mom. They were very close.”
But what she didn’t say was that they were very close to her or her brother. In fact, she sounded like she was on her own a lot.
“My brother was very busy with sports,” Sophia said. “I didn’t have a thing, you know? I mean, eventually I discovered art and history and architecture, but they don’t have much of that for kids. It was fine. I had Laura and I was close to one of my teachers.”
Holy shit. That was it? One friend and a teacher. She sounded practically like an orphan.
“Your dad ever mention me?” his dad asked.
“Only when he was mad,” she said. “He thought you had it out for him.”
“He had it out for me.”
“I know there are two sides to every story¸” Sophia said diplomatically, which Vince thought was awfully big of her. He wasn’t so quick to forgive a slight against his family.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” his dad asked.
“Dad, you sound like you’re interviewing her.”
“Maybe I am.”
“I hope to still be doing what I’m doing,” Sophia answered. “Working on interesting historic projects.”
His dad grunted. “Vince, did you bring the library plans like I asked?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go look them over.”
They went back to the house. Vince laid out the blueprints on the dining room table, which had been cleared while they were out. His dad turned to Sophia. “Tell me what you see here. Tell me about the history too.”
Sophia launched into a long explanation on the history of the library and how the new section would complement the old and bring so much to the town. Her passion for history and architecture came through loud and clear. And she knew a helluva lot more about construction than he’d realized. He thought maybe his dad was surprised too because he raised a brow at Vince over Sophia’s head. Vince shrugged.
“Thanks for answering an old m
an’s questions,” his dad said to Sophia. “Could you give Vince and me a moment alone? Get yourself some dessert if you want.”
Sophia nodded and headed for the kitchen. Vince followed his dad to the living room, where Nico and Angel were sprawled on the sofa, feet up on the coffee table, watching the Red Sox game. Vince wished he could join them. His dad checked the score, picked up the remote, and muted the game.
“Vince, take a seat,” his dad said.
Angel scooted over, and Vince sat next to him. Three Marino brothers sitting at attention on the sofa waiting for the proclamation from the boss. Why were his brothers here? Vince tamped down his irritation. Now that he knew the history with his dad and Joe Capello, how they had once been close, he was more determined than ever to end this nonsense between them. They didn’t have to be friends, just stop being enemies long enough for their businesses to do better.
“What’s up, Dad?” Vince asked. He hoped this wasn’t related to the cancer. He’d thought they wouldn’t hear any news until his three-month checkup.
His dad stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Nico, what’d you think of Sophia?”
Nico lifted one shoulder up and down. “I liked her. Too good for Vince over here.” Vince leaned over Angel to give Nico a shove. “But she’s cool.”
“Angel?” his dad asked.
“I think she’s a good person. Direct and honest. What did you think of her?” Angel often turned questions around because of his social worker training. So annoying.
“Dad, why’re you asking them about Sophia?” Vince asked in as quiet a voice as he could muster. He didn’t want Sophia to know they were talking about her. “This doesn’t concern them.”
“If I’m going to consider partnering with Capello Construction on this project—” his dad made a face “—it does concern them. When I go, my assets go to the three of you, including the business. Gabe, Luke, and Jared wanted it that way. They already inherited a good amount of money from their biological father.”
“I thought I was taking over Marino and Sons?” Vince barked. “You’re talking about selling it off as an asset?”
His dad put a hand up. “Calm down. You can still be partner, but your brothers also get the chance to join the business.”
Not My Romeo Page 9