Love by the Mile

by Heather Young-Nichols

  “You grab that,” Sal said pointing toward the front door. “I’ll take care of this.” He pointed to the table.

  I spun around toward the door and pulled all of my clothes straight before taking a step.

  Sal’s hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me back to him.

  “One of these days, I’m going to do this right. I love you, Bailey.” His brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight shining through the window making me want to have a redo of the breakfast table.

  Instead, I let him kiss me tenderly as the knocking on the front door became more insistent. He let me go so I could go see what was at the door.

  “Figured you’d be here.” Bianca pushed past me as soon as I opened the door, Gio right behind her, “We’re getting something to eat and wanted to see if you two wanted to join.” She kept going further into the house. “Where’s Sal?”

  “Kitchen.”

  She changed directions.

  I pushed through Gio and Bianca and stopped in the middle of the room where Sal was thoroughly washing the table down.

  “What happened?” Bianca asked her gaze focusing in on me. “Did you spill something?”

  I snorted then tried to keep from laughing.

  “I didn’t spill anything. Did you spill anything, Sal?”

  I fisted my hand against my mouth to keep a smile from spreading when Sal looked over his shoulder at me with a smirk.

  It was only about ten seconds into this before Gio chuckled quietly, but another thirty before Bianca groaned.

  “I’m never eating at that table,” she said shaking her head.

  “Why? They’ve eaten at ours,” Gio said as I laughed when Bianca slapped the back of his head.

  My mouth dropped open and formed an ‘o’ and my eyes bulged out of my head in mock outrage.

  “You whore,” I said knowing she’d get that I was joking but everyone laughed. “What? I’ve never been able to use that on someone else. It felt good.”

  We did decide to go out to lunch with them even though Sal had just spent a bunch of money on groceries. But being a foursome felt good. Talking and laughing about anything and everything especially since Bianca and I had a talent for turning anything dirty.

  The guys seemed to appreciate us. Sal’s phone beeped about a million times until he finally looked at it, replied to something then dropped it on the table with a groan.

  “I have to go to Chicago this week,” he explained.

  “How long?” Gio asked shoving a big forkful of food in his mouth.

  “Just a couple of days.”

  “I could probably go with you.”

  My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. Since Gio and Bianca reconciled he had not gone to Chicago for Trinity business once that I knew of. So this declaration from him was pretty surprising.

  “Really?” Sal asked.

  “Yeah. I mean we could get twice as much done in half the time.”

  “That’d be great.”

  I exhaled softly hoping they wouldn’t be able to hear it. If Gio was going to step up even once in a while, that meant less pressure on Sal, which was something I could get behind.

  “Good timing,” I said. “My parents are coming for a few days.”

  “You don’t want me to meet your parents?” Sal asked.

  “Not really.” I shrugged. “I don’t want to meet my parents, so why would I subject anyone else to them?”

  The whole table laughed.

  “Hey at least her dad isn’t going to want to kick your ass like Bianca’s,” Gio said.

  Tony had wanted to do some damage to Gio’s face for what he did to Bianca. When they got back together, Tony didn’t warm up for a while. I thought there was still a little something brewing under her dad’s surface no matter the face he puts on.

  “That’s true. Do they stay with you when you’re here?” Sal asked.

  “Yes. I sleep on the couch but it’s only a couple of nights. Since they sold our house they don’t stay here for very long. I love them but the generational gap is real.”

  “Generational gap?” Gio asked.

  “They’re older parents,” I told him then sighed. “It’s more like having your grandparents come to visit. I love to see them but they’re more comfortable in their own space and so am I.”

  “Just stay at my place.” Sal offered with a shrug. “I’ll get a key made today.”

  I thought Gio was about to choke on whatever he’d put in his mouth. My eyes narrowed at him for an explanation.

  “What?” Gio asked. “This side of him is gonna take some getting used to. This guy here—” he waved his hands up and down in front of Sal, “—is not the guy I grew up with.”

  “You know… maybe you two should buy the O’Malley house,” I said knowing that house was one of the reasons my parents were coming to town. They were thinking about buying it and splitting it into apartments. I didn’t want that to happen for several reasons. One it would ruin that big, beautiful house. Two it was right between Sal and Gio’s houses which meant a more crowded street and a likely drop in property value. “For Gemma.”

  “Why would we buy Gemma a house? She’s in college. What’s the O’Malley house?” Sal ran a finger over his top lip the way he did when he was heavily considering something.

  “Well… I heard it was for sale, and it’s the one between both of yours. It’s a little smaller, sure, but I hear it’s pretty decent on the inside and you could renovate it.”

  “Again, why?” Gio pushed.

  I hadn’t answered that because I hadn’t had one. But like divine intervention, the answer came to me.

  “I thought you might want her to have her own place when she moves here. Just in case either of you preferred a little privacy over her staying with one of you for the entire summer.”

  They guy’s eyes flicked to each other in the type of silent conversation that you can have with someone you’ve known a long time. Then without a word, Sal grabbed his phone off the table and started typing away.

  “Good call,” Bianca said over the table and winked.

  A couple of days later, Sal and Gio left for Chicago.

  I had moments of worry because of the last time we spent time apart after he freaked out. I didn’t want him alone with himself for too long. He was making progress in letting go of some of his guilt, he still had a ways to go. It was better if I was around to distract him when he got hit with some memory or guilt. Though having Gio go with him did make me feel somewhat better. They could keep each other on track.

  He must have been feeling the same apprehension as I was because the first night he was gone, I got a text around midnight that simply read ‘miss you’ and made my little heart melt. Also, I had to call him because that couldn’t go unacknowledged.

  “Hey, I thought you’d be asleep,” he said when he answered on the first ring.

  “Well your bed is pretty big so I’m kind of lonely here all by myself.”

  It turned out to be an excellent idea for me to stay at Sal’s house because my parents were unusually busy. My dad clunked around my apartment like he owned the place. Which he did. But I swear those two never slept. Or rather they slept when everyone else was awake.

  “Trust me when I say I’d love nothing more than to be there sharing the bed with you right now. I hate coming back here. Too many memories.”

  There was some rustling in the background that sounded like Sal had dropped onto a bed and pulled the covers around him.

  “Even at the hotel?”

  “Yeah. It’s just… you know what, never mind.”

  “Hey. Next time I’ll go with you. I’m pretty sure I can distract you better than Gio.”

  “You got that right.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Gio’s voice heavy with sleep asked too close to the phone.

  “Get… the fuck… off me.” Sal’s words came out in grunts.

  I had this image in my head of Sal in his bed with the large mass that was Gio on top of h
im. An image of them just being playful. We didn’t get to see that a lot.

  “Are you having phone sex with Bailey?”

  Some movement and a grunt later, Sal’s voice was back to normal.

  “Anyway, I better go.” He didn’t sound like he wanted to at all.

  “Yeah. I’ve got plans freaking early with the rents, so… ”

  “How early?”

  “Like nine in the morning. I have to be there dressed and everything.”

  “Why so early?” He chuckled like it wasn’t even that early.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Baker rise with the sun and go to bed two hours before it does. I was a change of life baby, remember?”

  “Well, all right then. Have fun.”

  I didn’t hear from him for the next couple of days except for a text here or there. When I asked Bianca, she said it was the same for her. They were busy. We knew that. Didn’t mean we liked it. Though if the work got done quicker, they’d be back home faster.

  Sal and Gio returned on the fourth day, the four of us having survived our first trip apart. Bianca and I acted like they’d come back from war with the way we attacked them on sight. My parents had already left when they found out they couldn’t buy the O’Malley house.

  Sal DeLuca worked quickly, I’d give him that.

  “Come with me,” he said after I’d kissed every spot on his face and squeezed his body so hard I thought I might break something. He took me over to the couch and positioned me next to him so we were facing each other.

  “You’re freaking me out,” I said.

  “Not trying to.” He shook his head. “But listen. Gio and I had a few talks while we were gone. Actually, we were like a couple of teenage girls.”

  I laughed louder than I meant to but that was a funny image.

  “He’s been through what I’m going through with you right now. He verbally kicked my ass.” He took a deep breath. “I told you once that I was going to do this right and now is that time. I love you, Bailey. I’m not going to run ever again. You’re what I want in my life.” He swallowed. “I love you.”

  My heart was pounding so hard. I was worried that his little speech was going somewhere else. But it didn’t. The crushing relief over him just wanting to tell me he loved me washed over me. I almost wanted to cry or vomit or climb him like a tree. I wasn’t sure which.

  “I know you do,” I said back. “But more importantly, Sal, are you ready to let me love you? I mean really love you because I do.”

  “So fucking ready.” He crushed his mouth into mine, taking possession as if I was already his.

  Which it was.

  No one could compare to him and Sal DeLuca was my future.

  We felt our way along the walls in the living room then shuffled and stumbled as we clumsily climbed the stairs to his room so we could properly show each other just how much we meant those words.

  Epilogue

  Romano’s was hopping with the just out of college for the year crowd. The tourist season wouldn’t actually kick off for a few more weeks but the college kids were celebrating the end of having to study. With the end of classes at the college two towns over, some were headed home and came in for their last taste of the best pizza in the world until they came back to school.

  Things were about to be kicked into high gear for me as well. Delivery was in high demand already with the real test still coming. Once the tourists descended on the town, it was going to get tricky. We’d manage but logistics would be an issue for a while with delivering to hotels.

  Bianca and I had already hired a bunch of extra employees in preparation, and Gramps gave up a lot of the responsibilities that came with running the place. Just the ones he didn’t need to be doing. He and Joe still came in most days each week but they were taking more time off, which was exactly what we all wanted.

  They needed a break and they’d earned it.

  Sal finally got his home office set up the way he wanted with everything he could possibly need. The kinks that came with running such a large corporation from afar would still have to be smoothed out as they popped up.

  He kept saying he needed to hire an assistant locally, to manage his schedule but hadn’t done that yet. I suggested Gemma for the job, at least for the summer, which they all thought was a good idea. She knew next to nothing about the company she was part owner of, and this way, she could learn through doing.

  He still had to go to Chicago a couple times a month and sometimes Chicago people came to him, but he always made sure the trips were quick unless I could go with him.

  Sal didn’t like being away from Harbor Point any longer than he had to be and was making progress in cutting those few visits down.

  His guilt was less, too.

  Again not perfect but so much better. Him no longer thinking he didn’t deserve to be happy made things a lot easier for us.

  He and Gio also spent a good chunk of time overseeing the remodel of the O’Malley house for Gemma. They really wanted the project done by the time she got out of school so everyone would have the privacy they needed or wanted while still being there for each other.

  Which is what brought us all to Romano’s for Pizza and beer.

  We’d spent a good portion of the day moving Gemma into her house. Gio and Sal wanted to fly up to escort her home, but we talked them out of it. They had a need to protect Gemma in a way they hadn’t been able to before, but they had to take a step back and let her find her own way. Which included making the drive from school to her new home.

  After a day of manual labor, we were hungry and in desperate need of a beer. The new guy took our order before Gemma showed up so we ordered for her.

  “We got a pizza that we could all love and a beer for you, which should be here any second,” I answered as soon as she dropped into a chair.

  The new guy stopped at our table, his tray full of our drinks. He was able to deliver them without incident until he got to Gemma.

  The bottle slipped right through his fingers, hit the table and sprayed all over her.

  Gemma yelped and jumped up.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said pulling his towel out to dry off Gemma’s wet shirt.

  “I’d watch where you’re touching her if I was you,” Gio growled when the guys’ towel brushed over Gemma’s breast.

  “Gio.” Bianca sighed.

  The new kid basically ran from the table the Gemma walked toward the restroom.

  “Well, I think it’s a fair bet that Gemma will be very popular this summer.” I took another long pull from my bottle.

  “She is beautiful,” Bianca agreed trying to keep her smile from growing too wide.

  “Oh fuck no,” Gio interjected said as he slapped his hand on the table.

  “Ok, one, you know you’re not the boss of her. She’s a grown woman.” My finger hit the table just a little harder than I wanted it to. “And two, she not a virginal school girl who’s going to be taken advantage of in the backseat of some horn dogs’ car. If anything, she’ll make him work harder for it than anyone else just like the two of you.”

  “That is true. Calm the fuck down, Cujo.” Bianca kissed his cheek for good measure.

  “She’s not that grown.” Sal decided to put his two cents in.

  “Really?” I looked at him, and he nodded. “You do realize that she is one year younger than I was when we met, right? Are you saying I am or was too young to make my own decisions?”

  “Me, too.” Bianca agreed. “I was only twenty-two when you came into my life, Gio.”

  “You were too young to make those decisions, Bailey.” Sal kept his intense eyes on me. “The fact that you’re with me proves it. I was a horrible decision.”

  My eyebrows shot up.

  That’s when he softened. “I’m so thankful that you made that decision but it’s true.”

  “Yeah, I was the worst,” Gio agreed, watching Bianca closely and waiting for her reaction.

  She didn’t give him one. This is one area it was
hard to disagree with either of them. They made things difficult but they were worth the trouble.

  “Well guess what?” I couldn’t care less if people around us heard me. They needed to get their heads on straight. “Not everyone was raised by The Trinity Corporation. Some people have the potential to be normal.” The corners of my mouth turned up and Bianca covered a laugh with her hand.

  But Gio and Sal couldn’t disagree with me this time and when Gemma returned, it was as if nothing had happened.

  “You look like you’re leaking.” Bianca giggled pointing at Gemma’s top.

  “I know, right. I should be pissed,” Gemma said back.

  I snorted.

  “He’s kind of too cute to be angry at, though.”

  Sal and Gio groaned in unison, making Bianca and me giggle. We couldn’t help it.

  “I say we toast to something,” Gemma said.

  It was going to be weird having another girl in our little group. She’d been part of it going back to when she started working for Romano’s and there’d been quite a few bumps in the road but we would have smooth sailing from here on out. We each raised our bottles off the table as she’d suggested.

  “New beginnings?” she asked.

  “The best worst decisions,” Bianca added, and then kissed Gio’s cheek again.

  “I say we toast summer projects.” I giggled, which led to Bianca joining me.

  Poor Gemma just looked confused. The guys sighed in frustration.

  Our bottles clinked together signaling the end of some things and the beginning of others. We still had so far to go but couldn’t forget how far we came.

  And for all of us, it really was a new beginning without the guilt, without the regret but with love and complete understanding.

  Coming Soon! Preorder Love by the Rules now!

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  There are bunches of people who need to be acknowledged once a book is ready for the world.

  Nancy Colbert Hardy, you make all the best covers. I love all of mine (remember the original Up for Forever cover? Thank the universe I had you to make it gooder). And Nancy always reminds me how easy I am… to work with… I think. You’re stuck with me and not just for your mad graphic skills.