“I speak Italian. My parents weren’t fully fluent in English, so we spoke Italian at home,” he replied. “I’m conversational in Spanish and French, and have been studying Chinese with a private tutor.”
“Wow,” Jen said, somewhat at a loss for words. “Is the Chinese for business?”
“Yes. I find it helpful when I go there for business. I have an office in Hong Kong.”
“Where else does your company have offices?”
“Besides New York and Hong Kong, we’re in London, Geneva, and Mumbai.”
“I’ve been to London and Geneva, but never to Hong Kong or Mumbai,” Jen replied. “What are those cities like?”
“Instead of telling you about them, why don’t I show you? You should try to come with me next time I go, if you’re not too busy,” Vince said, as he paid the check.
As they walked along Main Street after lunch, they stopped into some of the stores, including Hildreth’s, where Jen pointed out the sign indicating it was the oldest department store in the country. As they browsed through the housewares section, Jen couldn’t help but smiling. This is so normal, and feels so right, she thought.
She picked up a large white platter with a raised leaf motif. As she admired it, Vince said, “Let me buy that for you.”
“Really? You don’t have to,” Jen replied. “I can buy it myself.”
Any other woman would want me to buy her everything in the store. “Jennifer, I insist. I wanted to bring you a gift for your home, but didn’t know what to get you.”
“Aww…thank you, Vince! I love it!” Jen impulsively hugged him, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, bringing a broad smile to his face.
After they exited Hildreth’s, Jen and Vince continued walking hand in hand along Main Street, until Jen abruptly came to a stop in front of an empty building with a double storefront, and sighed.
“Something wrong, Jennifer?”
Jen gazed at the storefront, before turning towards Vince. “You might not believe this, but it’s always been my dream to open a yarn shop here in Southampton,” she confided. “This particular storefront would be the perfect location.”
As Jennifer continued to stare inside the empty storefront, Vince asked, “Any reason why you haven’t done that yet?”
“Well, I’m so busy with my modeling career, I just don’t think I have the time to devote to starting a business and making it a success,” she said with a sigh. “Maybe someday.”
“I know you like to knit, and you’re very talented at it, but you never told me that you wanted to open a yarn store.”
“It’s just a silly dream of mine. I’d love nothing more than to live out here year round and run my own business.”
Vince put his arm around Jen’s shoulders, and pulled her close. “It isn’t silly at all. It’s important to have dreams.”
“I guess.”
They continued looking at the storefront for another minute. “You really should think about buying the building,” Vince suggested. “You can lease it out until you’re ready to open your store. There’s even an apartment upstairs you can rent out.” He took out his cell phone, and snapped a photo of the real estate broker’s information on the sign in the window. “It would probably be a good investment for you. Let’s reach out to the broker, and run the numbers together later on.”
When they arrived back at Deer Run, Jen and Vince sat side by side at her kitchen table, analyzing whether she could purchase the building on Main Street. “It just doesn’t look feasible at the current asking price, even if I manage to negotiate it down,” she said.
“It’s only been on the market for a month. If it’s still on the market in another few months, the price will probably drop enough to make it manageable for you, assuming you get a tenant for the upstairs apartment and the adjoining storefront.”
Jen nodded her head but said nothing in reply, as she looked over the figures she and Vince had worked on together. Finally, she spoke, “Maybe you’re right. I’ll just have to wait it out and see if the price drops in a few months.” She leaned over, and kissed Vince on the cheek. “Thanks again for trying to help me.”
“Anytime, Jennifer. I’m always happy to help you, my love.”
That evening, when they arrived at Almond, they were greeted by one of the restaurant’s owners, who hugged Jen and shook Vince’s hand. “Good to meet you,” he said to Vince. Gesturing towards the dining room, he continued, “Lots of LaBellas in the house tonight!”
Surprised to see her parents, who were seated at a table for four, Jen smiled and waved. “I didn’t know they were out here this weekend.”
Vince asked, “Do you want to join them?”
“If it is okay with you, yes, I’d love to,” replied Jen, as she entered the dining room.
Peter and Grace stood as Jen and Vince approached their table. “What a nice coincidence!” Grace said, beaming as she hugged her oldest daughter. “Would you like to join us?”
“We’d be delighted to,” replied Vince, as he kissed Grace on the cheek before shaking hands with Peter.
After their first course was served, Peter asked, “Any word from the police on the status of the investigation?”
Jen extracted a mussel from a shell and dipped it into the garlic, butter and wine broth. “Nothing yet,” she replied, before popping the mussel into her mouth.
“I hope they catch him soon, so you can have some peace of mind,” Grace said. “It must be awful, not knowing where he is or who he is,” she added, her voice trailing off.
“I’ll follow up with the mayor and police commissioner again this week,” Vince assured Grace, as he took Jen’s hand in his. “In the meantime, I’m keeping my promise to you to keep Jennifer safe.”
As they drove home later that evening, Grace turned to Peter and said, “They seem happy together, don’t they? He’s very attentive towards Jen.”
“Maybe a little too attentive, don’t you think?” Peter went on to note that he thought there was something that he couldn’t put his finger on about Vince. “He’s very possessive of Jen, isn’t he? He was visibly distracted when she went to the ladies room, and kept looking in that direction until she returned to the table. There was something slightly ‘off’ about the way he acted while she was gone for those couple of minutes.”
“I think he is still very worried about her, because the police haven’t caught her attacker yet.”
“Maybe.” Peter said, as he turned onto North Main Street in Southampton. After driving a few moments in silence, he continued, “Don’t you think he’s too old for her?”
“I don’t know. She’s very mature for her age. Look at all she has accomplished, and she is only 24 years old.”
“And he’s 41, making him 17 years older than she is.”
“Vince has taken such good care of Jen since everything happened.”
Peter sighed as he turned left onto North Sea Mecox Road, before maneuvering the car up the driveway of the farm and towards their home. As they entered the house, he said, “You’re right, Grace. I’m just not crazy about her being involved with someone who is closer to our age than to hers.”
“Peter, I never thought I’d see you acting like the over-protective father. You know Jen can take care of herself. She has a good head on her shoulders. And, besides, I like the way Vince has a calming effect on her, and her anxiety issues. He’s been so generous, and has taken such good care of her since she was attacked.” Grace led her husband over to the sofa, where they sat down and snuggled together. After a moment, she turned towards Peter, and asked, “Are you ever going to like anyone she dates?”
Taken aback, Peter asked, “What do you mean?”
Grace chuckled, and said, “Well, you tried not to show it, but it was pretty apparent to me that you were not a fan of Chris.”
“Not really, but I wasn’
t going to stand in the way of their future. I know Jen was devastated when he cheated on her, but in the end it was for the best.”
“Why do you say that?”
Peter turned and, looking at his wife, took a deep breath before revealing, “I never told you, because Chris had asked me not to say anything to anyone, but he had asked for my permission to marry Jen. I wasn’t really in favor of the idea, and questioned him pretty heavily, but in the end I gave my permission. I agreed, not because I was happy about it, but because I didn’t want to alienate our daughter, if that was what she wanted.”
A look of astonishment registered on Grace’s face. “I never knew you had that conversation with Chris.”
“Like I said, he wanted to surprise Jen. And after they broke up, it didn’t make any sense to mention it. But I have to admit, I’m secretly glad it didn’t work out with them.”
“Hah! So it’s true—you don’t like any of the men she has been involved with.”
“No, that’s not entirely true. I liked that friend of hers, Drew. I wouldn’t have minded one bit if they had dated. He fit right in with the family.”
“Yes, he did,” Grace agreed. “I liked him too. It’s a shame that his father became ill and he had to move back home to California. I think that if he had stayed in New York, they would have become a couple.”
“Well, it’s a moot point now, unfortunately.” Peter was silent for a minute, before wrapping his arms around Grace. “And maybe I’m wrong about Vince. He has taken really good care of Jen since she was attacked, and for that I’m grateful. He’s been incredibly generous,” he sighed, before continuing, “and he does seem to love her.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The following afternoon, Vince pulled the Lamborghini in front of his apartment building. “Go ahead upstairs, Jennifer. I’ll be up in a couple of minutes, after I drop the car off at the garage.”
“Okay,” Jen replied. “I’m a little nervous going in by myself.”
“Don’t be. Alex is here,” he said, gesturing towards the large man approaching the car. “And Mary should be upstairs as well.”
I’ll never get used to having a bodyguard, Jen thought, as she stepped out of the car and handed Alex her tote bag.
Once inside the apartment, Jen took her bag from Alex, and walked towards the guest suite. She set her bag down on the bed, before opening the closet door, and finding it empty. “What the…where are my clothes?” she said aloud, before turning towards the dresser, where she found the drawers empty as well.
Jen stormed towards the foyer, and found Vince hanging up his coat. “Where are my clothes?” she demanded.
“In the master suite,” Vince replied. “I instructed Mary to move all your things into my room.”
Shocked, Jen asked, “Why would you do that without asking me?”
Vince’s eyes turned dark, and his tone became serious. “After this weekend, I didn’t think you would object to sharing my bed and my room with me,” he said, angrily, as he crossed his arms against his chest. “Or do you?”
Jen felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, as fear ran through her body. There was an edge to Vince’s voice and his body language telegraphed intimidation, which only eased when Jen re-assured him. “Of course I don’t object to moving into your room. It’s just that I’m a little taken aback, that’s all. I wish you’d asked me, or at least told me, instead of just assuming it would be okay.”
Vince narrowed his eyes, and sternly asked, “And why wouldn’t it be okay, Jennifer?”
Jen felt her stomach churn, and she unconsciously began to tremble and wring her hands. “When I told you I loved you this weekend, I meant it, but if we’re going to have a successful relationship, we need to communicate with each other. I’d really like to be asked about what I want or need, instead of you deciding for me.”
Vince uncrossed his arms, and appeared to relax. “You’re right, Jennifer. I shouldn’t dictate the terms of our relationship, and I should consult with you. I guess I’ve been single far too long, and so accustomed to being in charge of everything, from my personal life to my business, that it didn’t occur to me to ask you.” He extended his arms and wrapped them around Jen’s body, holding her close. “I really just thought it would save you the trouble of moving everything yourself.”
In the weeks that followed, Jen began traveling again for work. She flew to Paris, Milan, London and the Seychelles for photo shoots, and each time she returned home to New York she was peppered with questions by Vince about what she did and who she spent time with while she was away.
Although he was able to hire investigators or off-duty detectives to follow Jen while she was in Europe, he found that he had no ability to have her watched while she was in the Seychelles, and during the week she was there he was unable to sleep, and barely able to eat. He called and sent her text messages constantly, and when she didn’t immediately reply, he became increasingly more agitated, to the point where Marianne, his long-time assistant, threatened to quit her job. I’ve got to get a hold of myself, but I can’t bear not knowing what she is doing, he thought, vowing that the next time Jennifer traveled to a remote location, he would go with her.
When Jen returned home from the Seychelles, Vince was waiting for her in the apartment, even though it was the middle of the work day. When the doorman rang to let him know she had arrived, Vince waited for her in the gallery.
After hanging up her coat, Jen turned the corner from the foyer to the gallery, where Vince snuck up behind her, grabbing and kissing her.
Jen let out a blood-curdling scream, and wrestled herself away, before turning around and realizing it was Vince. “Oh my God, you nearly scared me to death,” she exclaimed. “Don’t do that to me again!”
Alex bounded into the foyer, gun in hand. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, Alex. I just surprised Jennifer, and she was frightened.”
After Alex turned and left, Vince said, darkly, “I thought you’d be happy to see me, Jennifer. I worked here today, instead of going into the office, so I could be with you the moment you got home.”
“Of course I’m happy to see you,” Jen said, still shaking. “But please don’t sneak up behind me. It brings back too many bad memories of when I was attacked in my apartment.”
Vince looked long and hard at Jen, and for the first time noticed how frightened she was, that all color had drained from her face and her hands were shaking. I did this to her, he thought. She is terrorized by me. What have I done?
“Jennifer,” he half-whispered, “I’m so sorry I frightened you. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He reached out to her, and held her tenderly in his arms, stroking her hair, until she stopped trembling. “I love you so much, and I missed you so much. I hate it when we’re apart.”
“I missed you too,” Jen replied quietly, her heart rate slowly returning to normal. They continued to hold each other for a few more minutes, before Jen said, “Come with me, and let me show you just how much I’ve missed you.”
She took him by the hand and led him to their bedroom, knowing that some quiet intimacy would be the best way to get beyond the awkward moments that had just passed. Jen kicked off her shoes, and slowly removed her clothing, piece by piece, while Vince watched, transfixed. She turned down the bedspread and the sheets before lying down on the bed, with her long hair fanning out behind her, framing her face. She looked up at him, and asked, softly, “Aren’t you going to join me, Vince?”
That combination of sexy and innocent gets me every time, Vince thought, as he quickly undressed and joined Jen on the bed. He climbed on top of her, and tried to enter her, but Jen resisted and rolled over on top of him.
“What’s the rush, Vince? Slow down,” she said, as she caressed his face and ran her fingers through his hair. “Just relax, and savor the moment. I want to make love to you, not just have som
e quickie sex.”
Vince moaned, protesting “But I’ve waited an entire week. I can’t wait any longer for you.”
“Let’s take our time with each other,” Jen insisted, as she began to explore every inch of Vince’s skin with her lips, tongue and fingers.
Each time he reached for her, each time he tried to take the lead, she said “shhh…” and “be patient.” She let her tongue trail down his stomach, until she reached his manhood, hot and hard, and took him deep within her mouth, causing him to moan even louder than he had before. Jen released him from her mouth and quietly said, “Shhh…you don’t want Mary and Alex wondering what is going on in here, do you?”
Jen’s tongue continued to tease Vince and he moaned again, softly this time, before begging her to let him make love to her. “Please, Jennifer, I can’t wait any longer. Please let me have you now.”
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