Page 22 of A Valentine's Day Gift
Chapter Seven
Allie drove to the city on Sunday afternoon to pick up her boys at their dad’s apartment in a dreamy state. She’d been dating Vinny for two months now and was falling fast. It was like her whole life she’d been waiting for Vinny, and now that she’d finally found him, she wanted to see him all the time. Unfortunately, they’d only managed five dates in those two months. So many things went wrong, resulting in cancelling on each other. The babysitter fell through, or one of the kids was down with a stomach virus, or, sadly, his father-in-law passed. They had long phone conversations on those missed-date nights, sometimes talking for hours. They’d kept their kids out of their relationship. She hadn’t even told her boys she was dating again, but lately she’d started to wonder if she should let them know. She felt that strongly about Vinny.
She’d missed a date with him this weekend because Angel had a high fever and Vinny understandably wanted to stay home and care for him. Too bad because she’d had the whole weekend free, no need for a babysitter when her boys were at their dad’s place.
She parked in the apartment building’s underground garage, rode the elevator to the lobby, and announced herself to the security guard at the front desk. After the guard checked in with William by phone, she was directed to the elevator and rode it to his luxury apartment.
The moment the apartment door opened, her chest clutched. William looked agitated, his expression pinched, his blue eyes steely. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“We need to talk about your sons,” he said ominously.
“Our sons,” she corrected.
“Hi, Mom,” Gabe said, appearing next to his dad, looking perfectly fine. “We’re all packed and ready to go.”
“Just a moment. I need to talk to your dad.”
Gabe’s eyes darted to the side. “I can explain.”
Uh-oh.“Later,” she told him.
William stepped out into the hallway with her, shutting the door behind him. “Your sons are running wild. They weren’t like this before. What’s going on at home?”
She tensed. Wasn’t that just like William to put all the blame at her feet? “Exactly how are they running wild?”
William looked down his nose at her. “Jared set a fire in my kitchen.”
She gasped. Jared was seven. “Where’d he get the matches?”
“He found some in the kitchen drawer.” He lifted a finger, smiling in a smug way like he enjoyed telling her how bad “her” sons were. “Then while I was putting that out, Luke stole the cash from my wallet—two hundred dollars—and the three of them bolted out of the apartment. They were gone for two hours this morning, running around the city.”
Her heart lodged in her throat. Her three boys—seven, nine, and thirteen years old—running around New York City by themselves? “Why didn’t you call me? Did you look for them? Did you have to get the police involved?”
“Of course I looked for them. The police wouldn’t get involved since it had only been a short time. And I didn’t call you because there was nothing you could do but freak out just like you’re doing right now.”
“Damn right I’m freaking out! They’re too young to be running around by themselves. I can’t believe this.”
“I don’t know what’s come over them, but if this is the way they’re going to act, I’m not sure I want them to be guests in my home.”
“Jesus, William! They’re not guests! They’re your children. I will talk to them and ensure this doesn’t happen again, but you will be part of their lives. They need to know their dad.”
He shook his head, his lips pressed together. “Are they acting like this at home?”
“No, they’ve been fine. Maybe the divorce has shaken them up more than I realized. It’s a new thing for them, visiting you in a different place.”
“It’s been two months, and they get worse with every visit.”
“What else have they done?”
He ran a hand through his thinning light brown hair. “This was definitely the worst of it, but they give me a lot of attitude. I don’t think they want to be here.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
He nodded once, turned, and opened the door, holding it for her.
The moment she walked in, her boys rushed at her, hugging her.
“Got our stuff!” Jared said, grabbing his backpack.
