Vince shook his head. “We had a difference of opinion, not a fight.”
His father chuckled. “Yeah, your mother and I have those. She’s a little more…expressive in her irritation than I think Jules would be.”
His father had settled on the workbench, so Vince figured he was stuck talking to him. He was still a little too raw, but he knew better than tell his father to leave him alone. Instead, Vince opened the small refrigerator he kept in the garage and grabbed a couple of beers.
“Thanks,” his father said, twisting off the top and taking a long drink. All the while he kept his gaze on Vince.
“You need to talk about it, son, or it’s going to tear you up.”
“Jules told me some pretty horrible things.”
His father nodded. “About Mike I take it?”
“You knew?”
He shook his head. “No. Both your mother and I suspected and when her mother Margerie called your mother out of the blue and asked her to check on Jules, we knew something went on. When Jules first moved back, she was wounded. It was easy to see. All we knew was that they were getting divorced then he was dead. Plus, she said things that were odd.”
“Like what?”
“Your mother asked her how she liked living here and she said it was wonderful and she felt safe.”
“So?”
“Safe isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when talking about moving back. It was just an odd way of phrasing it.” He shrugged. “Her mother’s concern on top of that had your mother thinking she was hurt in some way.”
He nodded. They had talked about it. He told her that he accepted it, accepted what she had been through.
“Jesse knows.”
“Johnson? Interesting.”
“Apparently, he’s the one who took her to the hospital the first time.”
His father shook his head. “And she lost count after that?”
“No, that’s the worst part of the story. One slap, one beating, and she left. Filed charges, filed for divorce.”
“Always said that girl had a good head on her shoulders. I never understood what she saw in Mike.”
He glanced at his father. “What do you mean?”
Regret moved over his features. “Mike was a user. Always was. I know you were close friends with him, but there was something bad in him. He had a temper and let’s face it, your friendship fell apart when you left for Annapolis.”
“And he didn’t get in.”
“Yeah, he was pissed.” He took another drink. “What happened?”
“What?”
“What else happened?’
He sighed. “Mike got out on bail and found her. He almost killed her.”
“Damn shame he died in a wreck.”
“Yeah, I would like to kill him all over again.” He shook his head. “How is it I didn’t know him at all?”
“You did. If you had wanted to stay friends with him, you would have known what was going on.”
He shook his head. “That didn’t have to do with Mike.”
“No, it had to do with Jules.” He glanced at his father who shrugged again. “We all know you were in hung up on her.”
“I told her I loved her the day they got married.”
His father chuckled. “Son, you have horrendous timing. If you weren’t the spitting image of me, I would say you weren’t a Santini.”
He smiled. “Yeah. Well, she said nothing and that was the end of it.”
“Until now. What are you doing moping around here?”
“She won’t get married.” It hurt to think about it, but it hurt to admit that she would marry Mike and not him.
“You asked her?”
“No. We tripped over the conversation. Then, she was telling me she wouldn’t get married again and why.”
Papa studied him for a second or two. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I’ve given her space. And I told her I would accept what she could give me.”
His father sighed and shook his head. “What am I going to do with you and your brothers? Hell, MJ had to come here and get your brother.”
“Mom called her.”
“Well, that’s true, but still. Go get that woman. She loves you. You love her. You make it work.”
“But—”
“No buts. Go get her. You let her go once. Do you think you can deal with her getting involved with another man?”
“We’re still seeing each other.”
“Yeah. Well maybe she’s gonna find a man who has a set of balls on him to go after her.”
He frowned at his father.
“Exactly. Better get your house in order. Your mother will be thrilled.”
He handed his bottle to Vince.
“And now I get lasagna for dinner.”
“With meat and fresh mozzarella?”
“Yep. You’re mother promised if I came over here to poke at you she’d make that and cannoli. If you want a bit of advice about your mother?”
“Not really.”
His father smiled. “Don’t ignore her calls. It doesn’t work out well for anyone, especially for me.”
He nodded. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Just remember, Jules might be resistant to marriage, but then, she’s never had to deal with a Santini before.”
He waved as his father backed out and drove off. He was right. Vince had to deal with the problem head on. First though, he had some things to work out. Plus, he had a dog to kidnap.
Chapter Ten
Jules was tired. It was only four o’clock in the afternoon. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in five days. She’d grown accustomed to having Vince beside her in bed. Worse, Rufus had grown so attached to Vince that he howled every night for about an hour waiting for him to show up. It was endearing in a way, but she hadn’t gotten any rest.
The talks they had over the phone had been good. The space had given her time to think. He wasn’t punishing her, which she understood. But, she wasn’t sure where they stood. At some point, they were going to have to deal with everything that came up.
She knew she hadn’t had enough sleep when she thought she heard Rufus bark. She frowned and peered out the window of her office. There was a commotion at the front of the store. Worried what it could mean, she stepped out and started walking down the aisle. Then, she came to a dead stop.
Standing at the front of the store was Vince. He was in full mess dress complete with sword and gloves. Beside him at his feet was Rufus. The damned ornery dog was sitting there and she could swear he was smiling at her. He’d had a bath from the looks of it and he was wearing a red bow.
She looked back at Vince. He had no expression on his face.
“What are you doing here?”
Okay, that sounded rude. Really rude.
“I’m here for you.”
She swore she heard all the woman in the shop sigh. She ignored it.
“You think I’m going to fall for that?”
“Yeah. Because I love you and I’m not going to let you deny us happiness because of past experience.”
Her heart turned over and she blinked.
“You think you can’t make a good wife? That you’re not good at marriage? Rufus and I think you’re wrong.”
He stepped up and Rufus automatically followed. Both of them stopped right in front of her. Vince set a towel on the wet pavement then knelt.
“Julianna Erica Andrews, will you marry me?”
He opened the small ring case. In the white velvet sat an antique ring.
She said nothing. She couldn’t. There was a lump in her throat. Joey was right. Was she going to let Mike ruin her life? One that would be full of Vince and babies, and God love them, Santinis.
“I can get you a new ring Jules. This was my grandmother’s and I’ve had it for almost fifteen years.”
When she looked up from the ring to his face she realized he’d had it that day. The day he’d kissed her so sweetly and told her he lo
ved her. She was lost. There were hundreds of reasons not to get married again, especially to a man in the military. But none of them mattered because there was one important factor, the one thing that she could never replace.
Vince.
No one other than her parents had made her feel that good about herself. He made her believe in happy endings again…and she loved him. God help her, she was so damned in love with him. He had dressed himself in his mess dress, bathed her dog and proposed in public…in possibly the most romantic way. And with a ring he’d been carrying around for her for years.
Was there any way she could say no to a man who loved her so completely? The one man she was convinced was made for her?
“Oh, babe, don’t cry.”
She shook her head. “I just like the way you see me. You…ignore the things that I think are horrible and only see the good. It’s been so long.” She shook her head afraid she’d start balling in earnest. “Yes, Vicente, I’ll marry you.”
He rose to his feet and pulled her into his arms. With the flowers overhead again, he kissed her and she knew she had made the right decision this time around.
When he pulled back, she heard the howling. She glanced down at Rufus.
“What did you do to my dog?”
“Nothing. He just isn’t happy about that red bow.”
She chuckled. “I don’t blame him.”
“You’ve made me happy, Jules.” Then he smiled. “Now, do you want an ending like An Officer and a Gentleman?”
“Good lord, no.”
He laughed pulled her up against him. “Angela, you can close tonight, right?”
“Wait, you don’t run my shop.”
“Ignore her, Vince. I can close up. Go,” Angela said.
They walked down the aisle, the smell of roses in the air and a howling dog behind them.
There was one thing every woman knew: life with a Santini was never boring.
About Melissa Schroeder
From an early age, Melissa loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites, Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.
Since the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had close to fifty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the bestselling Harmless series. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with A Little Harmless Submission and the popular military spinoff, Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the best seller lists on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Since she spent her childhood as a military brat, Melissa swore never to marry military. But, as we all know, Fate has her way with mortals. She is married to an AF major and is raising her own brats, both human and canine. She spends her days giving in to her addiction to Twitter, counting down the days until her hubby retires, and cursing the military for always sticking them in a location that is filled with bugs big enough to eat her children.
You can connect with Mel all over the web:
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
HARMLESS ADDICTS
THE HARMLESS SERIES
THE CURSED CLAN
THE SANTINIS
Or email her at: [email protected]
Other Books by Melissa Schroeder
Harmless
A Little Harmless Sex
A Little Harmless Pleasure
A Little Harmless Obsession
A Little Harmless Lie
A Little Harmless Addiction
A Little Harmless Submission
A Little Harmless Fascination
A Little Harmless Fantasy
A Little Harmless Military Romance
Infatuation
Possession
Surrender
The Harmless Shorts
A Little Harmless Surprise-includes ALH Fling and ALH Kalikimaka
A Little Harmless Gift
The Santinis
Leonardo
Marco
Gianni
Vicente
The Cursed Clan
Callum
By Blood
Desire by Blood
Once Upon An Accident
The Accidental Countess
Lessons in Seduction
The Spy Who Loved Me
Leather and Lace
The Seduction of Widow McEwan
Leather and Lace—Print anthology
Texas Temptations
Conquering India
Delilah’s Downfall
Hawaiian Holidays
Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Sex on the Beach
Getting Lei’d
Bounty Hunters, Inc
For Love or Honor
Sinner’s Delight
The Sweet Shoppe
Her Wicked Warrior
Connected Books
Seducing the Saint
Hunting Mila
Saints and Sinners—print of both books
The Hired Hand
Cancer Anthology
Water—print
REISSUES
Telepathic Cravings
Her Mother’s Killer
A Calculated Seduction
Going for Eight
Tempting Prudence-The Sweet Shoppe
Cowboy Up-The Sweet Shoppe
Chasing Luck
Coming Soon
The Harmless Shorts
A Little Harmless Ride
Craving
Relentless
www.melissaschroeder.net 80
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
The Santinis: Vicente, Book 4 Page 7