Page 66 of Meet Me in Montreal

“Yeah,” Santino said. “It was on the website. I thought you said you’ve been here before?”

“I was at a medical conference. I didn’t have time to come out here, but I was dying to. Shit.”

They were standing next to Santino’s rental truck and reading the posted sign stipulating the rules of the park and the track. Bobby fumed silently with crossed arms as a bicyclist rode past and two elderly ladies walked by. Santino didn’t hide his grin at Bobby’s disappointment.

“Come on, take the drive. You can go back home and tell your nerd friends at the hospital that you drove on the same track as Michael Schumacher. They won’t know you did it at the same speed as those two ladies. Matter of fact, if you want, I can do a video of you driving around and you can speed it up to make it look fast.”

“Fuck you,” Bobby muttered, but stalked off to his car and got behind the wheel with his face set.

That’s what your sister’s been doing all week, Santino mused with a wicked smile. He would never, ever say that to Bobby, even if things were still cool between them. Patrick had always told him and his brothers if you respected a woman, you’d never discuss specifics about what happened behind closed doors. And if you didn’t respect them, you shouldn’t be having sex with them in the first place. Santino had taken that to heart.

He got behind the wheel of his rental and set off after Bobby. Taking the twists and rounding the curves of the track was fun, even at low speed. He blasted a playlist of Panthro’s collabs with other artists as he drove. The skies were clear, and the humidity was lower here on this island full of heat-soaking trees. And after last night’s session with Vanessa, he felt pretty fucking good in general.

The level of trust she’d shown in him had left him with almost no doubts left about where they stood. She’d opened way more than just that body to him. No, she still hadn’t said she loved himbut he could see it, he could feel it, every time she looked at him or touched him.

Bobby was smiling when they finally pulled off the track. From his car window, he said, “Let’s head back into the city, see who’s playing outside. Although I doubt anything will top that show last night.”

Santino was seconds away from asking which show Bobby was referring to, the Panthro performance or the “look at how sexy I am” act by Zoe. It had been impossible to miss her pulling down the top of her jumpsuit down in the pool. Flashing her tits had been bad enough, but then she’d kissed that dude while staring at him. He’d been more than ready to go when Vanessa asked.

“Are we meeting up with the ladies?” Santino asked.

Although he dreaded seeing Zoe again, he missed Vanessa like hell. Being apart for a few hours after all the glorious togetherness this week had reminded him a little of the bad old days. He literally couldn’t get enough time with her. He needed to bury his face in her hair and soak up her attention and her laughter.

“Nah. I thought it would be a fellas’ day today. Zoe texted and said she and Vanessa plan to go to the hotel spa and might do a little pool time afterward. Now keep up if you can.” So saying, Bobby sped off toward the bridge.

Great. Fellas’ day.

Back when he and Vanessa were still together, he and Bobby used to hand out at couple times a month without their wives. Bobby was obviously thinking of those good times after they parked their vehicles and got out to stretch their legs.

“Remember how we used to meet up with your dad and your brothers to play racquetball at that little park in your old neighborhood?” Bobby reminisced while they strolled.

“We still do. You could swing by anytime, even if I’m not there,” Santino offered.

“It’s hard to find spare time these days between work and the baby.” Bobby’s face was reflective as they stopped in front of a bar. It had storefront windows set on movable tracks that were folded open. A band was playing inside, and they found a table and a pair of chairs on the sidewalk to sit down and listen. “Man, this is nice.” He stretched out his long legs and tipped his head back with closed eyes.

While they were relaxing, Santino got a call from Virgil.

“Hey, I saw your text this morning about the casino. Sorry I was busy and couldn’t get back to you till now.”

“No worries. I know you’re a busy dude.” Santino turned slightly to the side, trying not to say too much about their plans.

“Yeah, so, you said you were thinking of seven? Did you make reservations yet?”

“Um, yeah, I did this morning.”

“Alright, we’re on for seven, then. Bring your wallet. They’ve got the best steaks, and I eat a lot.” Virgil laughed then said a quick, “Gotta go.”

Bobby had opened his eyes by then and was contemplating the people on the sidewalk passing by.

“Was that Virgil?” he asked nonchalantly.

Guilt tugged at Santino. “Yeah. He’s loud as fuck, right? Almost as loud as me.”

“He said something about a trip to the casino for dinner?”

Fuck. Santino usually didn’t give a shit if someone’s feelings got hurt, especially another grown man. But this was Bobby. They’d always been cool, and he was trying to get back into the family’s good graces, so…fuck it.

“Yeah. Vanessa said she thought you and Zoe had plans already, but if you don’t and you want to join us, I’m sure Virg would be cool with that.” Was there a drop of sweat on his forehead? Maybe. Santino had never been a fan of lying or excuse-making, but here he was.

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