Page 26 of Beguiled and Broken

He nodded and gave me a little smile. Finally. It was something, I thought. I needed to see at leastsomeemotionfrom him. Everything was going to be fine. I put the dish in the oven, finished cleaning the kitchen, and set the table. The food would be ready soon, it just needed to warm through. I wasn’t actually going to call Bianca. Why would I when we didn’t need her there.

While Vinny was upstairs, I made my way to my room and changed my clothes into something a little more respectable. Something fit for the woman of the household. I didn’t want it to be too noticeable though, so I changed into a nice pair of fitted jeans and an off the shoulder slouch sweater. New earrings, a nice necklace, a puff of perfume, and I was ready to have dinner with my family.

I went upstairs to get the kids and when I got to the top of the stairs, Vinny was coming out of the bathroom in just a towel. I bumped right into him, stumbling as he caught me. If he hadn’t, I’d have fallen down the stairs. I swear time stood still in that moment. I wrapped my arms around him. My body flush with his. I was breathing heavy, and I swear I felt him move under that towel. Did helikebeing pushed up against me?

“Whoa. I got you. You ok?” He asked.

I let my lips gently settle on his neck, but I don’t think he noticed. “You’re always saving me,” I said in a shallow breath. I tucked my face into his neck and took in his scent. I could smell his body wash mixed with his natural scent. It was intoxicating.

“Cat? Are you ok? I’m going to let you go now.” He released my waist. The loss of his touch was torture.

“Yes, right. I’m sorry. I was coming up to get the kids to bring them down for dinner.” I was talking a mile a minute and saw my fingers twisted together in nervous knot. My eyes went to his and glided down his body.Did he notice?I wondered.

“Hey, it’s ok. Grab the kids. I’m gonna get dressed. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Yes, ok. I’ll get them now. See you downstairs. I haven’t heard from Bianca, by the way.”

“Oh, I did. It sounds like there was a problem at the boutique, so she won’t be home for a while.”

“Ok, see you in a minute.”Perfect! We can enjoy a family dinner together, without her. At last.I smiled at him again. He smiled back and made his way to the bedroom. Were things finally going back to normal? It felt like it.

*

After dinner, I blissfully laid in bed. It was perfect. It was just us and the kids. I’m sure Bianca was pissed. Vinny and I took the kids up to bed and tucked them in together because she still hadn’t come home. That’s how it was always supposed to be.

A slamming sound from the kitchen startled me. I tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs to see what it was. That’s when I heard a hushed, angry voice in the kitchen.

“B, what happened?” Vinny asked.

“What happened is someone ordered an entire shipment of new retail for the store that wasn’t approved. I don’t understand how it happened because none of the girls are owning it.”She was furious.

“Do you believe them?”

“I actually do, but I have no explanation for it either, so it’s really got me pissed off. I missed dinner with you and the kids and now they’re already asleep. I don’t like this, Vinny.”

I peeked around the corner and could see him hugging her. “I just don’t understand this. Apparently, there’ve been random purchases charged to the store. Vinny, I got a huge tab and I have no idea how I’m gonna handle it.”

She started crying, so Vinny wrapped her up in a hug again. “It’s ok. We’ll figure it out, B. I got you.”

“Yeah, I don’t really know how, but I just want to go to bed. I get to face this shit all over again tomorrow.”

“I think if you can’t figure out what’s happening, then you need to file a fraud dispute. Maybe it’s a case of stolen identity.”

She was raising her voice now. “Vinny, my bank is fine, my cards are fine, everything else is fine,exceptthe store. I don’t get it. But yeah, I’ll decide what to do tomorrow.”

They headed to their room, so I turned back toward my bed.

Dear Diary,

I needed to be held tonight in the kitchen and Vinny did that for me. He always knows what I need. Dinner was wonderful and the kids were so well behaved. Me and Vinny tucking them in together, kissing their little heads, it was perfect. I love my family so much, I just don’t know what I’d do without them. I would do anything to protect them and what we have. – Cat

Chapter 18

Vinny

The seasons were changing, and it seemed like life was too. Things were getting weirder by the day. We had another group get together with friends that came and went and eventhatwas a little odd, but we put on a brave face to enjoy dinner with our friends. We didn’t take Catarina with us, and we felt bad about that, but we just assumed she had plans and didn’t want her to have another awkward confrontation with Lex. I mean, she needed to have a life outside of us anyway.

The restaurant was doing great, so I didn’t have any complaints there, but Bianca was spending most of her time at the boutique, and she was having so many problems with it. I felt terrible for her and missed her bad.

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