The Santinis: Vicente, Book 4 (10 page)

“
But, I wasn’t raped.”

“
No. You weren’t. But rape is violence. Someone has power over you. What you have to decide is if that is going to rule your life now?”

She didn’t know what to say so she nodded.

“
I think now if I hadn’t met Stewart and he wasn’t so hard headed, I wouldn’t have had the most wonderful life. All my boys.” She smiled. “I can’t think of what life would be without them.”

Jules smiled. “How did Mr. Santini snag you?”

Joey shook her head. “That’s a story for another time. Just remember to have more faith in yourself.”

“
I do. To a point. It’s hard.”

The narrowed look Joey gave her was enough to scare her. “I love my boys. But believe me, I know what a pain in the ass each of them can be. Vince is so like his father it is scary. They get their head set on some task and they won’t let it go. I know my baby boy and know he loves you. I know you love him. It’s written all over your face. Still, don’t put up with any of his crap. Swear to God every one of them think they know best. Also remember, whatever Vince does, he does out of love for you.”

Jules blinked against the tears burning the backs of her eyes. “Thank you, Joey.”

Joey gave her a blinding smile. She had seen it before. Whenever Joey flashed it at Mr. Santini, he melted like butter for her.

“
Now, I like those little purple leaf things you put in Vince’s backyard. I want some.”

“
You know you can just break off some of them from Vince’s?”

Joey shook her head. “First, that’s not good business. Second, he isn’t answering my phone calls.”

“
Oh, but he and I…” then she trailed off realizing that Vince had been avoiding his mother but spending his time talking to Jules on the phone.

“
That’s fine, Jules. As long as he’s talking to someone, I’m fine with that. For now. Well, for another day or two. After that, I’ll send Stewart. Let’s get some purple thingies.”

She nodded pushing her concerns aside for the moment, but Joey had definitely given her a lot to think about.

* * * *

“
So, you’ve decided to hide out here,” his father said walking into his garage. Vince looked over his shoulder and stifled the sigh. He should have known his mother would send his father over to check on him.

“
I’ve been busy the last few days.”

He grabbed a cloth and rose, wiping the grease from his hands. He’d done just about anything to keep himself busy the last two days. He’d given Jules space, but they had talked the last couple nights. It had been almost as if they were in high school on the phone for hours at a time with nothing much to say. Hell, they had watched an episode of NCIS together on the phone.

“
She’s worried you and Jules had a fight.”

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.

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 loved 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.