by Joy Nash
“She was,” Leigh stammered. “She is. She just stopped over at the hospital to bring Tori some clothes to go home in. And anyway, we’re not even open yet.”
Her dad looked at Jason and frowned. “Shouldn’t you be on the beach by now?”
“It’s my day off, Mr. Santangelo.”
One of those awkward pauses followed. The kind that went on and on until it got so big and heavy no one could push it out of the way.
Her dad began to speak, then cleared his throat. He looked around the shop, back toward the door, up at the crystals hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere, it seemed, but at her and Jason. It was almost as if he were…nervous?
No. He couldn’t be.
He drew a breath. “Leigh. I have something for you.”
He took a key out of his pocket and dropped it on the counter.
She squealed. “My car? It’s done? I can drive it again?”
“Yeah. You can drive it.” He sent a pointed glance toward Jason. “No one else.”
She flung her arms around him. “This is amazing! No one else, I promise!”
He kissed the top of her head, just like he used to when she was little, and it felt so good that she gave him an extra hug. She felt him smile against her hair before he let her go.
She nearly lost it when he held out his hand to Jason.
“I want to thank you for what you did yesterday. Tori wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t been there.”
Jason met her dad’s eyes squarely as he shook his hand. Leigh saw something private pass between them, a man-to-man kind of thing.
“Anyone would have gone in after Tori, Mr. Santangelo.”
“Maybe. But not everyone would’ve gotten her back out again. Not in that surf.” He paused, clearing his throat. “Look, Jason, why don’t you come by the house for dinner tonight? Nonna’s making pizza.”
“I’d be glad to, sir.”
Leigh shook her head, not quite believing her ears. “Does this mean you’ve changed your mind about Jason?” she asked her dad. “You’re not going to stop me from seeing him?”
“Have I actually been doing that?” he replied dryly.
She ducked her head. “I never wanted to go behind your back.”
“I know. I didn’t make it easy on you.”
There was something sad in his eyes, something she couldn’t stand. She knew what it was.
“There’s another thing I lied to you about,” she said quickly, before she could lose her nerve.
His expression turned wary. “What now?”
She drew a breath. “Jason and I…we didn’t…we haven’t…” Oh, God. She was never going to be able to get it out.
Jason came to her rescue. “What Leigh’s trying to say is that she and I haven’t…” He blushed. Actually blushed. “We haven’t been, um, intimate. She…we’ve decided to wait.”
She dared a peek at her dad. He had the oddest expression on his face. Surprise—yeah, she figured that—but something else, too. Something that looked like…respect.
His gaze shifted to Jason. “Leigh cares a lot about you. And I’m beginning to realize that I’ve been wrong, keeping you two apart. I’d like to get to know you better.”
“I’d like that, too, sir.” Jason’s voice was low, and more serious than Leigh had ever heard it. It made her heart do a little flip in her chest.
“Good. Now, Jason, can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure,” Jason said. “What is it?”
“Do you think you could watch the shop alone for an hour? I need my daughter’s advice.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Each new branch on the family tree only makes it stronger.
Tori hated hospitals.
One night of muted walls and dinging call bells was more than enough to last her for a lifetime. She couldn’t wait to leave. She pulled on the tie-dye yoga pants and yellow smiley-face tee that Rita had dropped off. Then she sneaked out of her room to visit Sophie on the floor below.
Sophie was staying in the hospital another day, just to make sure everything was all right. Sophie’s mother, Alex’s ex, was asleep sitting up in the chair beside the bed. Tori hugged Sophie tight and sent up a prayer of thanks that she was alive and well.
Back in her own room, a doctor checked Tori over, then signed her release papers. Eleven o’clock approached. If Johnny wasn’t late—which he almost always was—he’d be here any minute to take her home.
She looked at the phone, hoping it would ring before she left. Hoping Nick would call. She couldn’t puzzle it out. If he’d been so worried about her last night, as everyone had said, why hadn’t he even stopped in to see her?
She missed him so much. She wanted to touch him, tell him she loved him, tell him it didn’t matter if they ever had a baby together. She’d lost her heart to him, and she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be getting it back.
Sighing, she stuffed the last of her belongings into her neon orange tote bag.
The door creaked just as the digital clock on the night-stand blinked eleven. Amazing. Johnny was right on time. She pasted a smile on her face and turned to greet him.
But it wasn’t Johnny in the doorway.
It was Nick.
Nick, looking tired and rumpled in torn jeans and a ripped T-shirt, a day’s worth of beard on his chin. He looked so handsome, her heart nearly stopped.
“I…I was expecting Johnny,” she stammered.
“I know. He’s not coming.”
“Oh.”
He moved closer. “This all you got?” He lifted Tori’s Day-Glo orange tote, looked at it, and winced. “What are you, going hunting after this?”
“No,” she said with a small laugh. “Just home.”
Her eyes teared up. She didn’t want him to see, so she brushed past him and out the door. The nurse came at her with a wheelchair, but she waved it away and all but ran to the elevator.
Nick followed, frowning. In the parking lot he helped her into his truck with a hand at her elbow. His touch was warm, and he kept shooting her quick glances that she couldn’t read. A couple of times, he started to speak, then stopped, letting out a long breath and clenching his jaw.
As they drove, the town whizzed past in a jumbled blur until Nick missed the turn onto her street.
Tori sat up. “You’re going the wrong way.”
He sent her another one of his quick glances. “No, I’m not.”
“But my house is back there.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”
He made a smooth turn off Atlantic. He pulled into his driveway, parked, and rounded the hood to open her door, all before she remembered to take a breath.
He scooped her off the passenger seat and into his arms.
“What…what are you doing?”
He held her tight, his lips touching a quick kiss to her forehead. “You’ll see.”
He carried her into the house and straight up two dizzying flights of spiral stairs. Shoving a door with his hip, he moved inside a large room and set Tori’s feet down on a pale Berber carpet.
Her gaze traveled the room. She was in a bedroom, and it was obviously Nick’s. The furnishings were sparse, masculine. The walls were white. The carpet was the color of sand.
The whole setup desperately needed some color.
Then again, maybe it didn’t. Maybe she liked it just the way it was.
“You know,” he said, “I’ve never brought a woman up here.”
Her heart seized. “Didn’t your wife live here with you?”
“Our room was downstairs back then. Ma and Pop had this room. A couple years ago, Ma insisted I take it. Said she was sick of climbing the extra flight of stairs.”
Tori ventured a few steps into Nick’s private sanctuary. A king-size bed commanded the center of the room. It was spread with a truly hideous beige-on-black comforter.
One corner was turned down, revealing…
She turned and gaped at him. “You have pink satin sheets?”
He nodded toward his dresser, where a bottle peeked from an ice bucket. “And champagne. Dom Pérignon.”
She sat down—hard—on the bed. Her trembling fingers brushed the pink satin pillowcase.
“Is this…Did you buy them for me?”
“The champagne, I had in the house. Leigh bought the sheets this morning. She said you had to have them.”
She splayed her fingers on the pillow. “What else did she say?”
“Enough,” Nick said quietly. “Enough to make me realize I went about seducing you the wrong way.”
“There was nothing wrong with the way you seduced me. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.” She studied him. “So…does this mean you and Leigh are back on speaking terms?”
“Yeah, we are. In fact, I’m on speaking terms with Jason, too. He’s not such a bad kid.”
“She hasn’t slept with him, you know.”
“I know.” He grimaced and dragged a hand down his face. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Leigh’s careful. Like you. She’ll wait until it’s right.”
“I know that, too.” He let out a sigh. “I can’t keep her young forever.”
“No. But…I shouldn’t have given her those condoms, knowing how you felt about Jason. I’m sorry I interfered.”
“Don’t be. I’m surrounded by interfering women. Maybe I should even listen to them once in a while.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Maybe you should.”
He took a step closer. Then—and her eyes widened when he did it—he went down on one knee.
He took both her hands in his, and brushed his lips over the backs of her fingers. “Do you think I could persuade you to interfere in my life on a permanent basis?”
Her heart gave a little jump. “How permanent?”
His eyes didn’t leave her face. “Marry me, Tori.”
She stared. “But…you don’t want a wife. You don’t want another child.”
His grip tightened. “I know I said that, but the truth is…I do want those things. I’m just scared. I’m scared to death. When you were in that water and I knew I couldn’t save you…” He met her gaze, not hiding the wash of moisture in his eyes. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up last night. Do you want to know why I stayed away?”
She nodded.
“I was here, throwing up. Crying like a baby. Loving you the way I do, knowing how much I’d love our child…it frightens me that much, Tori.”
“Oh, Nick.” She drew him into a hug. He pressed his cheek to her breast, his arms wrapping tight around her torso.
“I know you want a baby soon,” he said. “But I gotta tell you, I don’t think I can handle it right away. I want some time for us, alone, first. A year, maybe?”
“You can have it. You were right to want to take things more slowly. I went to my doctor last week. I told her I’d have the surgery.”
He lifted his head and looked up at her. “Really? You’d do that?”
She nodded. “It’s already scheduled. For the first week in September.”
“I’ll be there,” he said. “We all will. You won’t be alone for a minute.” He kissed her, drawing out the sweetness. Then he pulled back, his gaze serious.
“I want you to marry me, Tori, but before you give me an answer, you should know up front what you’re in for. I can be hell to live with. I’m too serious, and I have a quick temper. You’ll hate it. I’ll get crabby and yell at you, and then when you want to talk about it, I’ll run to the office.”
She smoothed the hair from his face. He turned his head and kissed her palm. “But, please, if you marry me, keep after me, Tori. Make me face myself. Make me talk. Because I’m telling you right now, I won’t ever let you leave me the way I let Cindy go.”
“I’ll never want to leave you.”
His eyes flared dark. His lips curved in the slow, sexy smile she loved. His gaze dropped to her breasts. He moved over her, urging her legs apart with his knee.
A hot, restless ache lapped at her belly.
“I love you,” she said.
“A lot of people fall in love. Then they fall out again just as easily. I love you, too, Tori, but we’ll need something more than love when the storms come. We’ll need a commitment, and a promise. Promise to be my wife, Tori, and I’ll promise never to give up on us. Never.”
“Oh, Nick. Of course I’ll be your wife. There’s nothing I want more.”
He kissed her. At the same time, he smoothly reached past her to yank down the comforter. He tumbled her onto the pink satin sheets. His hands were already slipping under her shirt.
Before long, they were both naked.
“Wait,” Nick said suddenly, pushing himself up and off the bed. “I almost forgot. The champagne.”
She admired his butt as he strode across the room and popped the cork. He returned with two flutes and handed her one.
She took a sip, sinking back onto satin pillows and twirling the glass. “Champagne and pink satin sheets.” She smiled. “Two out of three items on my ultimate fantasy list. Does this mean I’m going to get the poetry, too?”
Nick plucked the flute from her fingers and set it on the nightstand. He rose over her, pressing her down into the slippery, pink sea.
“Anything you want.” He waited a beat. “But I gotta warn you, I only know one love poem.”
She squinted up at him. “What is it?”
He gave her his slowest, sexiest smile.
“ ‘There once was a girl from Nantucket…’ ”
Chapter Thirty-three
Privacy? Privacy? What is that?
The word is not part of family vocabulary.
Later that afternoon, Nick’s cell phone rang. Jesus. He’d forgotten to turn the damn thing off. It was somewhere on the floor with his clothes. He rolled over, checked the clock on the nightstand, and groaned.
“Six p.m.,” he told Tori, who was just stirring. “We slept all afternoon.”
“Not all afternoon,” she said with a satisfied smirk.
The Notre Dame fight song continued. Nick grumbled a curse and went to fish the phone out of his pants. Out of habit, he flipped it open.
“Santangelo here.”
“Yo, bro, Johnny here. News flash: It’s dinnertime. You and Tori might be able to live on love alone, but the rest of us are starving, and Nonna won’t cut the pizza without you. Get your horny butts down here.”
A round of laughter sounded in the background—Rita, he thought, and Alex and Leigh, and—goddamn it—Jason.
“Johnny, are you calling me from the kitchen?”
“The dining room, but what’s it matter? Be glad I’m not pounding on your door.” His brother laughed. “Or better yet, standing there watching.”
“Go screw yourself,” Nick said without heat.
“Tell Nicky the pizza’s getting cold,” he heard Rita say in the background.
“Nick, Ma says—”
“I heard her.” He snapped the phone closed and gave a rueful laugh. “Hell.”
Tori sat up and stretched. “What’s the matter?”
“The whole family’s downstairs. They want us to get out of bed and come to dinner.”
“Well…” Tori said, scooting across the pink satin. For a moment Nick was distracted by the sight of her bare bottom. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
He watched her bend over to pick up her clothes, and he instantly went hard again.
“Are you absolutely sure you want to be part of this family? You don’t know what you’re getting into. No privacy, no respect. People telling you what to do every minute.”
Her head emerged from her T-shirt. “It sounds wonderful.”
“It’s not. It’s a pain in the goddamn ass.”
Her green eyes danced. “I think I can suffer through it.”
She padded over and wrapped her arms around his waist. He tossed the phone on the bed and pulled her close, his annoyance drifting away. Now that he’d shared his worst fears wi
th her, they didn’t seem quite so overwhelming.
Marriage, a baby or two…Letting himself take each moment as it came might be easier than he’d thought. Because every moment with Tori was worth a lifetime.
“You know,” she said suddenly, “almost all my candle magic spells have worked.”
He groaned. “Please. Don’t start with that magic BS again.”
“It’s true! I lit that first spell for the shop, but what I was really wishing for underneath was a family. Not only did you finish my shop, but now I have the best family in the world, too.”
Nick fought the urge to look toward heaven. “You will never convince me that your lighting that white candle had anything to do with what’s happened between us.”
“The other spells worked, too,” she continued, as if he hadn’t said a word. She started ticking them off on her fingers. “I lit a candle for success, and the shop’s doing great. The good-luck spell went to Johnny, and he got his soap role. The spell for clarity led me to make the right decision about the donor. The love spell brought Leigh and Jason together, and the black candle banished all the negativity from my life.”
“Tori—”
“In fact, there’s only one candle magic spell left unfulfilled. The fertility spell.” She sent him a smug smile, her gaze traveling slowly down his naked body. “And somehow, I have a feeling that’s only a matter of time.”
Nick shook his head, laughing. “Jesus. You’re as bad as Nonna with this candle-lighting thing.”
“Nonna? What does she have to do with it?”
“She told me she lit three two-dollar candles at St. Michael’s and prayed I’d find a wife.”
Tori started grinning. “And now we’re engaged. You really think that’s a coincidence?”
“I damn well know it is.”
“Ha.” She went up on her tiptoes and linked her arms around his neck. “Believe what you want. I know magic brought us together. I love you,” she added. “Now and always. Magically.”
“You’re freaking nuts, you know that?”
He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. He shook his head, chuckling as he lowered his mouth for a kiss. Ah, well, he thought, let Tori believe in magic if it made her happy. He had to admit, there was definitely something magical about what he felt for his enchanting wife-to-be.