Page 40 of A Valentine's Day Gift
Chapter Ten
Allie spent the whole week in a torturous tangle of emotions, alternately berating herself for turning down the love of her life and then knowing waiting was the right thing, feeling protective of her kids. After all, her boys had just met Vinny and then what? She was suddenly going to spring it on them that they were getting married?
And then she started thinking of what it would mean for her personally. Living with Vinny could be wonderful, but did they have what it took for the long haul? She didn’t know. They’d only dated four months. And was she ready to be a mom to six boys? Holy hell! The chaos, the noise, the dirt, the looming teen years. She shuddered at the thought.
Friday morning she still didn’t have any solid answers and felt incredibly guilty leaving Vinny hanging. She should just tell him definitively yes or no. No man wanted to wait around for an answer. She climbed the steps to her art studio, opened the door, and stopped short. An envelope addressed to her in Vinny’s big confident scrawl lay at her feet. She grabbed it, heart racing, half afraid it was a breakup letter. She ripped it open and pulled out the folded note with shaking hands.
Allie,
This art studio reminds me of the beginning when we were just friends, and look at how far we’ve come since then. Not just us as a couple, on our own too. You a successful artist and me finally confident as a single dad, something I never thought I’d be. Maybe that’ll change tomorrow. Ha! But right now we’re both in a good place, and I’d like to be in that good place together. It’s been three years. The kids can handle it.
I know we’re meant to be together. I promise I will wait as long as it takes for that to happen.
Love,
Vinny
Tears stung her eyes. Here she was torturing herself over making a decision and he’d made it easy with a promise to wait for her. He was an honorable man, and she knew she could count on him to keep that promise. He wouldn’t bail in light of her indecision. She took a deep breath for what felt like the first time in a week, all of the tension draining from her. The pressure was off. Maybe now they could go back to dating like before, slowly including the kids in more things. She hadn’t spoken to Vinny all week, not knowing her answer. And he’d given her some space to think.
Had it really been three years they’d known each other? She thought back, it was close. Nearly three years since the day they’d met under very different circumstances. Three years of friendship, never knowing if they would ever have the right time to be together. They’d kept the connection, needing what each other offered—a light in the darkness.
~ ~ ~
Just as she’d hoped, things went back to normal with Vinny. They didn’t speak of the proposal; he didn’t press and she didn’t bring it up. They dated. At her request, they had their usual Saturday night date and did something with all of the kids together on Sunday during the weekends she had them. Allie watched her boys carefully for signs of unhappiness, acting out, but they seemed to accept that some weekends they saw their dad and some weekends they hung out with Vinny and his kids. She hadn’t heard any harrowing reports of them running wild in the city with their dad. Maybe things were settling down, or maybe winter in New York City was just too damn cold for them to want to escape their dad’s apartment and run around. Her ex, surprisingly, was thrilled she had a serious boyfriend. Apparently, there was a clause in their divorce agreement that said if she remarried, he could stop paying alimony. He was all for her marrying Vinny, the sooner, the better because then he’d just have to pay child support.Gee, thanks for your well wishes, William!
As far as the six boys getting along, it helped immensely that Angel and Jared were both the youngest and most easygoing. The older boys focused on them whenever things became awkward, not knowing what to do with each other. All of the older boys were well used to looking out for their younger brothers. The boys got along more or less, as long as Vince didn’t get his back up about Gabe being the oldest. Vinny’s boys had really grown on her. She’d seen the sweetness in the older two, Vince and Nico, just below the surface, and Angel’s sweetness was apparent in every beaming smile he gave her.
It was Sunday and everyone was at her house, the boys gathered in the living room playing video games. It was noisy, but happy noise. She and Vinny were in the kitchen, where he was preparing lasagna and she was enjoying watching him cook.
He put two trays of lasagna in the oven, set the timer, and turned to her. “I was waiting to get you alone.”
“You were, huh? We’ll have to be quick.”
He chuckled and went to where he’d left his jacket on a hook by the back door, returning to her with an envelope. “Happy Valentine’s Day, love.”
Her heart squeezed. “I have your card too.” She pulled it from the kitchen drawer and handed it to him, going up on tiptoe to kiss him. “Happy Valentine’s Day. No one I’d rather spend it with.”
“How much longer ’til we eat?” Vince hollered from the other room.
“An hour!” Vinny boomed.
“Can I have a snack?” Vince asked.
“No!” Vinny replied.
Silence.
Vinny smiled at her, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement. “Where were we with our romantic Valentine’s Day with kids? Why did we include them in this again?”
“It’s good for them to get to know each other.”
“Okay, then.” He jerked his chin. “Open it.”
She opened her card. It was a funny one with a cartoonish dog on the front. She opened it to find a gift certificate for a massage.
He pointed at it. “I thought you might need one after all the time you spend with your kids and my kids too.” He lifted one corner of his mouth. “The tension can really pile up. Anyway, if you like it, I’ll arrange for you to go every month. I just want you to feel good, even though I know it’s not easy with your kids and my kids.”
She burst into tears.
