Lily left the kitchen and went out to check on the guests. From across the deck where she was now standing, her eyes shifted once again to Vincent Caro. He was talking with another of the groomsmen, and they were laughing it up in that way that guys do when his slightly hooded eyes slid to hers for a moment, the heat of his look practically gluing her DTM sandals to the wood of the deck. Lily unconsciously licked her lips, letting out a necessary sigh right as her little cousin, Chantal, pulled at her skirt. She looked down. “Cousin Lily, is it time for cake?”
Lily blinked, bringing her wide-eyed cousin into focus. Chantal’s words came out on a lisp, forcing Lily to focus on the job at hand. What was she doing? Whew. Maybe it had been too long a dry spell. She had a wedding to run and, family or not, she had a reputation to uphold when it came to her work. Lily frowned. She would have been so much safer if Thomas hadn’t bailed and had given her a much needed buffer for her ridiculous hormones. She didn’t have these types of distracted brain freezes with him around. Focus, Lil, focus. She mentally said the words with determination and then smiled down at Chantal. “You’re right, honey, it is almost cake time. Let me quickly get things in place.”
She ran off toward the kitchen again, throwing up a mental block against the broad-shouldered Vin Caro. Along the way, she gave directions to the staff and told the DJ to announce the cutting of the cake, which blessedly gave her something else to think about. Passing a nearly empty tray, her eyes glanced to the few golden brown meat pies left. She was tempted to try one of Vin’s empanadas but resisted. But Lily knew it was a moment on the lips that she just couldn’t afford.
* * *
Successfully having dodged the bouquet during the toss—after catching two she didn’t need to add another to her collection—Lily was moving bits of cake around on her plate when an empanada slid into her field of vision. “Can I tempt you with something hotter?”
She looked up into Vin’s nearly black eyes with a cautious side-eyed glare. “Come on, you can’t be serious with that line.”
He shrugged and eased down into the empty seat next to her, recently vacated by Simon’s brother Stan, whom she hoped was resting off his liberal use of the open bar and not going in for another round. “That depends on if you think it’s funny, corny, cute, or desperate.”
Lily chose to keep her opinion to herself. It wouldn’t do to tell him that she found his tactics cute and sexy, not to mention that the food in front of her looked like it tasted better than the cake she’d ordered, which, to her horror, was dry and crumbly. The baker was new to her and had come highly recommended by Sophie. Although the baker’s skill with decorating was almost unmatched, he seemed to be a disaster when it came to the actual cake under the frosting. Lily was mentally kicking him off her prospective vendor list. But pushing thoughts of the cake aside, Lily gave Vin a slow up and down as she let out a long sigh and picked up the warm empanada he was offering. She brought it to her lips.
Lord, why did you do it?! The dang empanada was delicious! The outer crust was light and flakey, not at all crumbly but melt-in-your-mouth delicious, while the meat-filled center was both savory and sweet with just enough spice to give you a bite back that was a perfect shock to your senses. “No wonder Simon insisted on having these at his wedding.” She opened her eyes wide and looked at Vin, catching the smug half smile on his lips.
“I told you my talents were not on the dance floor,” Vin said from by her side.
Lily nodded as she chewed and swallowed. She wanted to argue with him—no man should be that cocky about his abilities—but she couldn’t. He was right. “You made this?” she asked, almost shocked that he could look that good and still have that type of skill. Lily shook her head.
One brow went up. “Why would I lie?”
He had a point there. Lily gave him a smile. “Well you, sir, are dead wrong for doing it.” She finished the small pie in two bites and would have been satisfied with maybe two more. As if reading her mind, he grinned again and the small action was like a stinger right to her chest. He really should carry a warning with that smile.
“You’re quite sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Lily asked. She then looked around the room. The reception, like all of her family’s functions, was just getting into full swing. Normally after cake, folks would be making their exit, but now was the time for her people to really let loose. She saw a couple of cousins making requests from the DJ and knew that yet another popular line dance was soon to come. Lily glanced from Vin to her sister, who was shimmying with Simon and laughing happily up into his face. She looked so carefree and wide open, as if her heart couldn’t hold all her joy. As Lily watched her sister, she got a brief lump in her throat wondering what that must feel like, must be like, to laugh with such abandon looking at the man you loved and having him look back at you the same way.
But in that moment the music changed and, just as she feared, hands started to clap, feet stomped, and the slide was queued up. Multiple cousins pointed at her, and in a quick panic to avoid cha-cha-ing for the next twenty-five minutes, Lily grabbed Vin’s hand and tugged him up. “Save me. Please.”
He looked at her, wide eyed for a moment.
“I’ll do anything to not slide left then hop right for three songs straight,” she said by way of explanation, tipping her head toward the dance floor. They both turned to look, and there was Aunt Ruby leading the charge. Her ample hips swayed left, then right, to the heavy beat of the song’s bass while the singer rapped the steps and DJ R-Town mimicked his words, his mouth too close to the mic so his voice came out deep and statically.
Vin squeezed Lily’s hand and let her lead him. “Consider me your knight,” he said as he followed her out to the deck and onto the stairs that led to the parking area below the VFW. Once there they encountered a couple of the busboys on a break having a smoke. Lily’s instinct was to speak up and get on them about finding other things to do when they were on her—well, her sister’s—clock, but she was currently on her own escape grind so thought the better of it. Besides, she had just taken off to do who knew what with a guy she knew she had no business being with, so who was she to lecture anyone at the moment? She pulled up short then, as better judgment threatened to seep in, causing Vin to stop between cars and stare at her. “You all right? Where are we going?”
Lily let the question weigh on her for a moment while she thought it over. Where was she going? She hadn’t thought things through. In the moment all she wanted to do was get out from under her family, away from the suddenly oppressive feeling of overwhelming revelry and joy and get away with the dangerous and delicious-looking and, now she knew, extremely talented in the kitchen Vincent Caro. He looked her up and down, his eyes raking over her body in that way of his that had her feeling exposed in the best and most heated of ways, when she suddenly knew the answer to her question. She made a mental note to send Thomas a thank-you for his no-show once she got home. Giving Vin’s hand a squeeze, she pulled him behind her once again. “Just follow me.”
They rounded the building and followed a small path on the back side of the hall to an old utility hut. It was locked, as Lily knew it would be. But she stepped carefully to the back of the hut, where there was an old wooden bench that she remembered from her childhood days of playing hide-and-go-seek with the cousins. This spot was wooded and hidden, but the view from this point was almost as good as from the VFW balcony high above them. You could see past the woods, down to the beach and the magnificent ocean beyond.
“How did you know about this?” Vin asked, his voice low and closer to the back of her neck than she had anticipated. Lily turned to him and smiled, trying to keep it casual while feeling anything but.
“I used to play here as a kid. When my dad would come to the VFW. We didn’t care much for hanging out inside.”
He nodded. “That’s funny. I thought I knew just about every hidden spot on the island.”
It was her turn to nod. “And that’s funny; I thought I knew just ab
out every hidden chef, but here you are.”
Lily took a step forward and came chest to chest with Vin, looking up into his onyx eyes. “So, are you going to tell me your recipe for those empanadas? I have quite the influence, you know. I could steer some business your way.”
He grinned at her, only slightly but enough to make her want to ease forward and lick at the upturned corners of his mouth.
“Your influence is quite welcome, Miss Perry, but I’m not one to cook and tell.” His tone was dark and teasing and set all her nerves to tingling.
Feeling slightly heady on her wedding toast wine and pulled into the haze of his deep eyes, Lily eased forward to finally get a taste of his full lips. They were soft. Softer than she remembered, and it surprised her from a man who was as hard and angular as he was. She tipped out her tongue and let it gently lick at his fullness. When he let out a low growl and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her in close, he let her know he wasn’t nearly as soft or tame as his lips let on.
His hardness and heat turned Lily on immediately and sent her head spinning. She could hear the light strains of the music from overhead along with thump, thump, thumping of the sounds of the guests moving in unison on the old wooden deck, or maybe that was the thumping of her heart, Lily didn’t care. All she wanted in that moment, when Vin opened his mouth, exciting her with a skillful sweep of his tongue, was more of him. All thoughts of the reception, her family, and even no-show Thomas evaporating from her mind as the heat of her body connected with his and the late spring breeze swirled around them both.
Vin fueled her and made her grateful for the single free life she had. Sure, her sisters were happy, but did they have this type of freedom? These types of thrills or excitement? That only came from no commitments, from not being tied down.
Lily ignored the surprising lump in her throat that came with the normally thrilling thought of freedom and pushed it down as she focused on the gorgeous hunk of man under her hands. She let her fingers wander to feel his strong pecs, barely concealed under the fine cotton of his dress shirt, while breathing deeply, taking in his masculine scent. He was all sea and spice, the déjà vu of it just about drugging her as the memory of them both wet from the ocean and kissing under the docks came back to her mind.
Vin pulled her in tighter, and she ground her hips against him while he brought his large hands around to her behind and pulled her even closer. He took control, and she let him, liking the shift from what she was used to. Letting go, she pulled away slightly and let her head fall back while he took the hint, taking his kisses and moving from her lips downward, letting them trail to her jawline and her neck, playing special attention to her collarbone, where she was oh-so sensitive. The feeling he was giving her was incredible and unlike anything she’d ever experienced. This man didn’t make her work for her pleasure but brought the pleasure to her. It was different, new, and she liked it.
Lily let go. Her hands wandered back over his chest and then went south over his abs. The urge to rip at the buttons of his shirt to see if he really was as hard as he felt was almost overwhelming. Lily sucked in a gasp and clenched her thighs together when Vin’s hand came up and his fingers brushed over her already peaked nipples. Holy hell. This was going from zero to a hundred real quick, and she was loving it. She leaned forward and let her cheek brush against the gorgeous stubble she’d been eyeing earlier. It was satisfyingly as rough as she’d hoped it would be, and she let out a long breath as Vin smoothly took that clever hand and dipped it over the top of her dress, shifting her one shoulder strap. Suddenly it was bare skin against bare skin, and her knees practically buckled. All sorts of visions ran through her head as sparks flew, and Lily cursed the fact the she was in chiffon, the old bench no match for the fine material. Besides, by the sound of the slowing of the pounding overhead, she knew she’d have to return to the reception soon. Lily moaned and moved forward, arching her back and pushing her breasts farther into his palm.
“Tell me this is what you want.” His deep voice rumbled over her eardrums and caressed her from the inside out almost as expertly as his hands.
Just then the wind kicked up, fluttering her dress high, bringing a sudden cool breeze to her thighs at the same time a cheer went up overhead. Lily blinked and looked up into Vin’s eyes. Openmouthed, she extracted her hand from the groin area of his pants. Okay, when did that happen? And at the same time Vin hit her senses with that damned grin again as if he were reading her mind.
Lily blinked. What was she doing? This was her sister’s day and she was supposed to be on the clock, not out rubbing on some guys—well, she’d just leave that right there. No matter, the fact remained that Lily didn’t have time for clandestine trysts with hunky empanada cooks. She gave Vin a long look, then an embarrassed smile as she eased out of his embrace. “Sorry, I think we’d better stop here. I need to check on my sister and make sure everything is running smoothly.”
He cleared his throat and looked at her. There was no anger and no hint of disappointment. Normally a guy with a hard-on like the one he was sporting wouldn’t take this news so coolly. Still he did ask, “So they can’t get on without you?”
“Usually not,” she said dryly while smoothing her hair in place. She looked up at him with barely concealed surprise when he once again righted the strap on her dress. She silently nodded her thanks.
Lily took Vin’s hand for balance and eased around him to head back up to the main hall of the VFW and the reception space. When he didn’t follow, she turned back puzzled. “Are you coming?”
He laughed then and raised his brow. “Sadly, no.”
She chuckled getting his joke. “Funny.”
“Yeah, I try, but I think I’ll give you a minute and follow when I’m more presentable. How about we keep in touch this time?” He looked sheepish as he pulled out his phone. “Um, is your number still the same?”
Lily pulled back and looked at him objectively. She’d seen this movie before. And with this passing year he’d only turned more handsome and way more self-assured than he needed to be. He’d let her down back then, and there was no reason to open herself up and give him a chance to do it again.
Vin gave her a smile as he seemed to scroll through his contacts ready to double-check her info. Lily shook her head. “Thanks for the food and the fun tonight. But I’ll have to decline. How about we just leave this where it is. It was fun, meeting you again like this. And who knows, maybe we’ll meet again in another year.” Lily laughed, though she didn’t miss the hollow feeling it left behind. “Despite what you overheard from my family this afternoon, I’m good just how I am.”
Vin looked at her as if she’d suddenly grown two heads, and if it wouldn’t have sent mixed signals she would have taken out her cell just to get a photo of his expression. “But you are a great cook,” Lily added by way of masculine placation. “Really. I’ll keep you in mind for possible future jobs. I’ll get your info from Simon if anything comes up.”
Vin gave his head a small shake, then rubbed his hand over his scalp before slipping his phone back in his pocket. “Why do I feel like we’ve been here before?”
She leaned into him then and gave him a quick kiss on the side of his cheek. “Because we have, but isn’t that life?”
Chapter 3
Vin took another pull from his beer as he looked out onto the surf crashing against the rocks from the balcony of his apartment above his restaurant, Canela, on Rockaway Beach. Tonight, though, not even the sound of the waves could calm his nerves.
It had been a slow night at the restaurant, which wasn’t so surprising given that it was a Tuesday night, but still, things should be starting to pick up since they were coming into the late spring season and the weather was warming. They’d even had a few days that hinted at summer being just around the corner. No, they weren’t the fancy Hamptons but they were out of Manhattan, on the Island and just beachy enough to be considered a weekend destination.
Vin didn’t want to wa
ste his energy on worrying, but the mortgage was due on the first of the month and there was no denying that. Since he’d taken over the restaurant lease, along with his semi-silent partner friends, Aidan Walker and Carter Bain from the family, who’d had the space running as an old Italian restaurant for years, it seemed the first of the month kept coming quicker and quicker. The looming date and the responsibly of it constantly kept him on edge.
Vin shook his head as he brought his palm down sharply on the deck’s ledge. Hell, maybe he shouldn’t have taken on the restaurant at all. He was doing fine with his little food stand on the beach, which was open seasonally, and then taking on odd cooking and construction jobs during the off-season. He’d been making ends meet. It wasn’t any sort of path to fame or expansive fortune, but it kept him, and back then his mom, comfortable enough, and that was enough. Vin pushed back on emotions he wasn’t in the mood to wrestle with tonight, but still they wouldn’t let him go. He knew—and how couldn’t he know, since his mother was never shy about sharing her dreams for him—that she’d always hoped for more than their little stand and his selling waters at a dollar a pop up and down the beach. At times, yeah, sure, Vin felt like an idiot for letting Carter and Aidan fill his head with grand ideas about him being able to expand and do more. Carter with all his bullshit talk about the neighborhood being on the rise with gentrification. Although he could admit he may have been right there. He just didn’t like the idea of it all being in his hands and his possibly letting them down. He’d been down that road before.
Still, Vin couldn’t put all the blame on Aidan and Carter. No one had that kind of pull to make him do anything that he didn’t think was the right thing to do. No, he knew the decision to open the restaurant was all on him. Him and his guilt over not making more of himself back when his mom was alive. She shouldn’t have had to have died without seeing all her hard work materialize into something more permanent than a little stand that could blow away with the first gust of a storm. He should have given her something lasting. Solid and permanent. Been a son for her to be proud of when she was still alive.
To Me I Wed Page 4