Page 37 of A Valentine's Day Gift
Loretta waved the offer away and Vince turned to Allie. “Ms. Reynolds?”
“No, thank you,” Allie said.
Vince took only his glass and left.
She turned to Gabe and told him to simmer down. “He started it,” Gabe mumbled.
Vince returned with his glass filled and set it down.
“Bring the punch in here to pour,” Loretta said.
Vince nodded once and left. Nico glanced over his shoulder, where Vince had just been, and then grinned before taking a gulp of punch from Vince’s glass. He set it back and made a shushing noise at the boys.
By the time Vince got back, all the boys were snickering.
“What?” Vince barked.
Angel tattled. “Nico drank some of your punch.”
Vince glared at Nico, who quickly denied it. The boys were all laughing now and not quietly.
Vince glared at all of them. “No respect.”
Allie bit back a smile. That Vince was a firecracker. She really liked him.
~ ~ ~
After Vinny walked Allie and her kids back to their car, thanking them all for coming, he went back to Loretta’s kitchen for the verdict. She was washing dishes.
“I’ll get that, Loretta,” he said. “You just take it easy. You made dinner.”
She picked up her glass of red wine from the counter and surprised him by actually taking a seat at the square kitchen table. Normally she’d insist on doing the work or at least helping.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Come, take a seat.”
This was the moment he’d been waiting for. Did she approve of Allie? And why did it matter so much to him? He supposed it was his way of hoping his moving forward was okay with Maria. He pulled out a seat. “I thought that went okay.”
She took a sip of wine, saying nothing.
He waited her out, tense as all hell.
Finally she set her glass down. “Vinny, you keep up Sunday family dinner, even when the boys are full grown with families of their own. It’ll keep them close, give them the continuity they need.”
He smiled, shaking his head. That was so far away. They were kids!
She became stern, glaring at him. “Promise me, or I will haunt you beyond the grave.”
Alarmed, he leaned close. “Come on, now, don’t talk like that. You feeling okay?”
“Maria would’ve done the same,” she said in a choked voice. “She knew the importance of Sunday family dinner.”
“Okay, I promise. I’ll keep up the tradition.”
“I’m moving to Maryland.”
It felt like she’d sucker punched him. He couldn’t breathe for a moment. Loretta had been a rock for him and the kids through everything. It must be because of Allie. Loretta didn’t want him moving on. What was he supposed to do, choose between his kids’ grandmother and the woman he loved?
