Page 52 of A Family Affair: The Vow
“Not quite.” Vic Tramont was a part of her; he lived in her heart, today and always. He needed to hear that so they could move past the hurt and uncertainty of these past weeks. “Do you think I could sit next to you for a minute?” What she had to say to him should not be relayed with a table separating them.
“Of course.” He eased his hand away, moved over to make room for her.
Rae slid into the booth and faced him. He was so handsome and he smelled so good and it had been—
“Rae?” He touched her hand. “You okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She cleared her throat, opened her heart to him. “I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re real and you don’t ask anything of anyone you’re not willing to do yourself. That’s rare and it’s admirable.” Rae placed her hand on his arm. “You make me laugh, smile, hope,feel.” She laughed, shook her head. “That last one extends to anger. Boy, you’ve really excelled on that one lately.”
“I’m sorry.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, his voice filled with remorse. “You didn’t deserve that.”
“You were blindsided by Richard’s visit and by what he said. Unfortunately, there was a time when I didn’t trust who I was, so I went along with someone else’s opinion or what sounded cool. How absurd and ridiculous, but I have to own it. Still, this isn’t about Richard or who I was. This is about you and me and what we can be together. When you’re near, I just want to get closer...watch you, listen to you, touch you... I love you, Vic. I want a life with you, no matter where it takes us.” She leaned in, brushed her lips against his, whispered, “As long as we’re together.”
“You own my heart, Rae. You have for a long time.” He pulled her to him, coaxed her mouth open, and deepened the kiss.
Oh, but she had missed him, missed his touch, missed his—
The loud throat clearing burst them apart. “Guess this is a bad time, too?” The raised eyebrow couldn’t hide the humor in his words. “Do you want to place your order to go? I could bring out the champagne and then you could take the celebration home...continue in private.” He winked and said, “Whatever you like.”
Vic settled his arm around her waist, blew out a sigh. “You sure have bad timing.”
A shrug, followed by a laugh. “Looks like the lucky tie worked. I knew it would.”
“Lucky tie?” Rae glanced at the tie Vic wore.
Harry’s blue eyes sparkled. “I figured your guy needed all the help he could get if he wanted a chance with you, so I loaned him my lucky tie, told him it would be the clincher.”
“Harry, Rae doesn’t want to hear about that.”
“Of course I do, but Vic will fill me in later.” She kissed his cheek, turned to Harry. “You see, it’s part of the whole trusting each other to make the relationship work thing. That’s what we were talking about the first time you...”
“Interrupted us.” Vic smiled at Harry. “That was a key moment, Harry. Bad timing.”
Harry winked again, laughed. “Something tells me you know how to recover, Vic. So, food now...or later?”
Vic glanced at Rae. “What would you like to do?”
“Let’s eat here. Maybe we can order some of the dishes we had the night of my parents’ retirement party? You know, sort of re-create the night—” she squeezed his hand, inched closer “—but with a different ending.”
His expression softened, his eyes grew bright. “Sounds perfect.”
“It will be.”
30
Four inches of snow had fallen by the time they left the restaurant with another five predicted by morning. They decided to leave Rae’s car at Harry’s Folly and pick it up when the snow stopped and the roads were clear. He hadn’t even been the one to recommend it. Nope, Rae had clung to his arm as she slipped and slid to the truck and asked if he wouldn’t mind driving them home.
Of course, he didn’t mind. Hell, he’d drive them to Nebraska if she asked. But he got stuck on the last part of the request.Home. Did she mean her home, his home...his home that would be their home? Once he started the truck and had her tucked inside with the heat blowing, he cleaned off the truck and debated the comment. Only one way to find out, and since they were on this whole trust-in-the-relationship thing, why not just ask and trust her to tell him the truth?
The night had been perfect. Harry did bring the champagne before the entrees and while they enjoyed bruschetta, clams casino, and a salad topped with prosciutto and shaved parmesan, they sipped champagne. Made toasts.To us. To our lives. To the future. A kiss followed each toast and lucky him, Rae did not head back to her side of the booth, but stayed right next to him, thigh to thigh, feeding him a forkful of salad or a bite of clam. Giving him a kiss. A smile. Another toast.
Life was pretty damn perfect.
They ordered their two favorite dishes from the retirement party: the shrimp with fettucine and the bucatini Bolognese.
And then came dessert and time to open Lily’s gift. Rae had removed the red ribbon from the package, eased open the silver wrapping. It was one of her pressed-flower designs.These are hydrangea flowers and she’s fitted them into the shape of a heart. So many colors: pink, purple, blue, white. Isn’t it beautiful? And the frame matches the purple in this hydrangea. Pause and then,I love it. But what she loved more than Lily’s artwork was the handwritten note.This heart is for the baby’s room. When the time comes, you and Vic will make great parents. Love, Lily.
That note made Rae cry and damn if it didn’t make Vic almost tear up. Lily Desantro saw things other people didn’t and they should pay closer attention to her words. Vic was still thinking about Lily and her keen observation when he finished cleaning off the truck, tossed the scraper in the back seat, and hopped into the driver’s seat. “So, where exactly are we headed?”
