I suddenly wanted to cry, because I really was beginning to feel as if Joel and I were part of this big, wonderful, nosy, helpful family. Thankfully, I kept the waterworks at bay. Instead, I finished up and went home with Joel. Dom came to pick him up, and I thanked him, too. He grinned and said pretty much the same thing Nick had, except he added, “You’re good for him, Haven.”
“I think he’s pretty good for me, too,” I answered.
Once they were gone, I got to work. I had about five hours before Vinnie showed up, and I was going to need every minute to prepare.
Chapter Sixteen: Vinnie
There was something to be said for having a big family with lots of connections. Things, even big things, got done quickly. Dom, Joel, and Ramona were going to have a great time at the rock concert, and Haven and I ... well, we were going to have a pretty great time, too.
It was nearly midnight when I got to her place. A combination of anticipation and nervous energy had my body humming. That wasn’t something I was used to. Adrenaline rushes, sure; they were part of being a cop. But hoping to convince Haven that I was worth spending the rest of her life with? Not so much.
I squeezed the flowers in my left hand, feeling the stems crush in my grip as I raised my right hand to knock. I hadn’t even made contact when the door was opened suddenly.
My knees went weak, and I swear my heart stopped altogether for several seconds. I could only gape, slack-jawed, struck dumb by the sight of Haven in a sexy sheath of silk and lace.
She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
The way she looked at me sent shivers down my spine. Good shivers. The kind that told me in no uncertain terms that she was claiming me as her own.
I wondered if she knew I already was hers and always would be.
I wasn’t sure how long we stared at each other before the sound of feet coming up the stairs snapped us out of it. Then Haven wrapped her delicate fingers around my wrist and tugged me inside.
“You look ...” I swallowed hard, unable to come up with a word that could come close to describing how she looked to me. Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, amazing—those were the words that paraded through my brain, and all were woefully inadequate.
She stared up at me, eyes wide, lips slightly parted, waiting for me to finish. That was when I noticed something else in her eyes that I hadn’t seen before—uncertainty.
“... like mine,” I finally growled.
Just like that, the uncertainly vanished, replaced with triumph. It would have given me pause if it didn’t make me so damn happy.
I tossed the flowers aside and gathered her into my arms, descending on her lips, finding her hungry and intent on letting me know she was one hundred percent mine.
I’d had everything planned out in my mind. Slow seduction. Careful attention to detail. I wanted to make it so she couldn’t conceive of wanting anything else beside me and how I could make her feel.
All of that vanished the instant I felt Haven scraping her nails against my chest as she tried to unbutton my shirt.
I hissed and helped her along, then turned my attention back to her.
“This is so sexy,” I told her between passionate kisses.
“Glad you like it,” she panted in response.
“Take it off. Now.”
The skin to skin contact was more than I could bear. Like a match to dry tinder soaked in lighter fluid, I went up in flames. Thankfully, Haven was right there with me.
We stumbled toward her bedroom, shedding articles of clothing along the way. We almost made it, too.
It was fast. Furious. And so damn hot.
Had I been a lesser man, I might have been embarrassed by my own exuberance. Haven didn’t seem to mind, though, and hers was the only opinion I cared about. Now that we had taken the edge off, we could take our time. Maybe. Just crawling into bed with her soft, warm body pressed against mine was enough to have me readying for round two.
Haven curled up against me, and that felt almost as good as the sex.
“Thank you,” she said on a sigh.
I laughed. “Baby, you never have to thank me for that.”
She laughed, too. “I meant for this weekend. I can’t even imagine how much effort and expense it took to pull it off.”
Inwardly, I was pleased that she recognized my efforts, but what she didn’t realize was I would have done so much more for her. For me. For us.
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
She kissed my neck, right below my jaw. “Hmmm. And here I was going to spend the rest of the weekend expressing my appreciation.”
“In that case,” I told her, sliding my hand down the curve of her back, “you’re right. It was a very big deal. Huge, in fact.”
She laughed softly, and then, because she was a woman of her word, she proceeded to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was the luckiest man on the planet.
By the time Sunday rolled around, I felt we were both ready for the meet-the-family moment. Our thirty-six-hour, intense, getting-to-know-each-other weekend had done wonders for laying any doubts to rest. We talked. We cuddled. We made love often. We even managed to catch some of the Untouchables marathon on the classic movie channel while we replenished our energy levels with carb-laden take-out.
“Best weekend ever,” she told me as she brushed her hair. Her eyes were shining, her skin was glowing, and her smile was radiant. I took great satisfaction in the knowledge that I was the one who did that.
“No argument there.”
“It’s going to be hard to top that.”
Oh, I had a couple of ideas ...
Epilogue – Haven
Attending my first Sunday dinner at Mama C’s would have been far more daunting had I not just had the best weekend of my entire life. Vinnie’s singular attention and pampering had done wonders for reducing my overall anxiety. My body was still humming with aftershocks, and Vinnie-induced endorphins had me feeling mildly euphoric.
I was still a little anxious about going to Mama C’s, though. The significance of having been invited to the weekly family dinner wasn’t lost on me. According to Kat, it was kind of a declaration of intent. I didn’t want to screw that up by saying or doing something to embarrass myself, or more importantly, Vinnie. I already knew I was falling hard for the big galoot, and when I looked forward, I just couldn’t envision my life without him in it. Since Vinnie’s family was such an integral part of his life, it followed that it would be part of mine and Joel’s, too.
Big, close-knit, Italian families like Vinnie’s weren’t something I was personally familiar with. I mean, I’d seen the Godfather several times, and that was the closest thing I had to a point of reference. Joel was able to provide some insight by working at the family-owned and operated restaurant, but he seemed just as mystified by the close-knit dynamics as I was. Neither one of us had experience with that sort of thing. I thought—hoped—it would work out well for both of us.
In addition to feeling physically and emotionally replete, knowing I would see some friendly faces also helped keep the anxiety at bay. Kat and Nick were going to be there, as well as Gina and Val and Sofia, if she wasn’t working. Mr. Cerasino, too, who insisted that I call him Nonno. And of course, Joel. Dom was bringing him and Ramona right to the restaurant.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I commanded Vinnie, though secretly absolutely loving it. He made me feel as if I was the most desirable woman in the world to him. That, too, was something I wasn’t accustomed to. No one had ever looked at me the way Vinnie did. Guys flirted with me occasionally, sure, but this was something different. Something that went far deeper than garden-variety hots. There was hunger in his gaze. Worship. Love.
I knew, because, that was exactly the way I felt about him.
In a way, I hoped I never did get used to it, because then I would forget how incredibly special it was. Just a look from those dark eyes and I was tempted to forget the dinner and spend our quickly dwindling alone time doing something else.
<
br /> “I like looking at you.” He grinned unapologetically, and that made it even worse.
I had always thought he had an amazing smile, and now that I knew firsthand what he could do with those lips ...
Yep, it was official. I was totally gone for this guy.
“I like looking at you, too,” I said, “but I don’t want to be late. First impressions are important, and I want your family’s first impression of me to be a good one.”
He got out of the bed, the picture of masculine, athletic grace, and I stopped breathing for a few seconds as he made his way over to me. That’s what he did to me. It was almost embarrassing. Probably would have been, if I didn’t see how watching me get ready wearing nothing but his shirt affected him, too.
“They are going to love you,” he said emphatically. “Stop worrying.”
“But what if they don’t?” I blurted out. I wasn’t sure where that came from; I usually kept those deep-seated insecurities well-hidden. I could only surmise that his nakedness had not only decimated my sexual inhibitions, but my personal filters, as well.
“They will.” He cupped my face and kissed me soundly. Then he palmed my backside with his large hand, and I felt him lengthening further against my hip.
“Is that a night stick, Officer, or are you just happy to see me?”
“Don’t change the subject,” he chastised, punctuating that with a light tap on my backside before lifting me upward so I could wrap my legs around him. “Besides, this is just a formality. Nonno is never wrong. If he says we belong together, they’ve already accepted you.”
“And what do you say?” I mused aloud.
“I say, he’s batting a thousand.”
Because Vinnie was a man who believed actions spoke louder than words, he spent the next fifteen minutes enthusiastically showing rather than telling. By the time we walked out the door, we really were running late, but as I was still reeling, I barely noticed.
Epilogue – Vinnie
When Mama caught my eye and winked, I knew she had just given me her seal of approval. As if there had been any doubt.
Haven seemed pleasantly surprised by how well things had gone. Nick had broken the ice a few months earlier by bringing Kat, so that helped lessen the novelty of bringing someone new into la famiglia. That didn’t keep them from telling embarrassing stories about me, but it was worth a few blows to my manly ego to see Haven smile like that.
I had to admit that I felt slightly territorial when my cousin Lucia brought up that damn charity calendar and, with a wicked gleam in her eye, pointedly asked Haven what she thought of her work. Haven didn’t miss a beat when she answered that she really couldn’t offer a fair assessment because her calendar was pinned perpetually on October. I was going to thank her greatly for that one later.
I also freely admitted to a twinge of jealousy when it was brought up that I wasn’t the only Cerasino male to appreciate her mad coffee making skills. It was confirmed that Haven had been the barista at the café my brother Paulie so often bragged about. His comment that he missed his daily coffee fix earned him a warning glance from me. Judging by his subsequent smirk, he knew exactly what he was doing. Testa di cazzo.
Some of the attention was taken off me and Haven because of the rock concert. Ramona couldn’t stop gushing about the bands and the music. It looked like Dom had earned the “most favorite uncle” award with that one. Since I had gotten to spend the weekend with Haven because of it, I was perfectly okay with that.
Joel seemed pretty pleased with the weekend, too, though he was much more low-key about it than Ramona. He appeared content to let her do all the talking, smiling and nodding when she looked to him for confirmation and agreement. I didn’t miss the way he looked at her either. If I wasn’t mistaken, the kid was smitten.
I shot a questioning glance Dom’s way, and he answered with a smirk, confirming my theory.
After dinner, I picked up my plate and Haven’s so she could continue her conversation with Kat, Gina, and Val. “Stay here. I’ll bring you some espresso,” I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
Haven beamed at me. I loved how she appreciated such a simple gesture. She did flush a little, though, when the others made “oooo” noises. They were all grinning like Cheshire cats, and it was a measure of just how happy I was that I didn’t mind in the slightest.
I found Joel in the kitchen, rinsing off dishes with the power sprayer and loading the commercial dishwasher. Everyone else was occupied, so I took advantage of the opportunity.
“Hey, Joel, can I talk to you for a minute?”
He looked at me then nodded. His expression was more curious than wary, a far cry from the last time I had brought him here for a chat.
He finished up what he was doing, dried his hands, then followed me out back.
“What’s up? Something happen with Slash?”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” I told him. “This is about Haven.”
He narrowed his eyes, that protective streak surging forward and lurking just under the surface. “What about her?” he asked carefully.
“I really like her.”
“No shit.” He smirked.
“Don’t let my mother hear you say that,” I warned, “or she’ll wash your mouth out with soap like she did the rest of us.”
He shot a look toward the back door, then corrected, “No kidding.”
I laughed. “I knew you were a smart kid. Listen, I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“About what?”
“I’m going to ask your sister to marry me. Not today, but soon.”
His face went blank. “Congratulations,” he said carefully. “But, why are you telling me?”
“Because this is going to affect you, too.”
I could see his mind working, putting together the pieces and coming up with an image totally different than mine. The eyes didn’t lie, and Joel’s flashed with hurt, then resignation, before going flat again. I knew I was right when he offered a small smile and said. “Hey, no worries, man. I can find someplace else to crash. Is that it? I got shit to do.”
He tried to walk around me, but I reached out and stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. “Yeah, you do, starting with pulling your head out of your ass. You’re not going anywhere.”
“What the hell, man? What makes you think you can talk to me that way?”
“I talk to all my brothers that way. You’ll get used to it.”
He stilled.
“Yeah, that’s right,” I told him. “I’m going to marry Haven, and that means you and me are family. It also means that everyone here is your family now, too. Capisci?”
He didn’t say anything, but again, his eyes spoke for him. He blinked several times and swallowed audibly.
“The correct response is capisco. Hey, you’re famiglia now. Better start talking like it.”
“Capisco.”
“Excellent.” I grinned. “We good?”
“Yeah,” he answered with a slow, small smile as he nodded. “We’re good.”
Haven was waiting for us when we went back inside. She looked from one of us to the other. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, sharing a conspiratorial glance with Joel. “Couldn’t be better.”
Thanks for reading Vinnie and Haven’s story
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Abbie
About the Author
Abbie Zanders lov
es to read and write romance in all forms; she is quite obsessive, really. Her ultimate fantasy is to spend all of her free time doing both, preferably in a secluded mountain cabin overlooking a pristine lake, though a private beach on a lush tropical island works, too. Sharing her work with others of similar mind is a dream come true. She promises her readers two things: no cliffhangers, and there will always be a happy ending. Beyond that, you never know...
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