Page 27 of Just for Him
I didn’t have an answer to that; my brother was the one with the gift for words, not me. Therefore, I simply lowered my head and kissed her instead.
She tasted of chocolate cake, arguably my most favorite kind of cakeever, and soft, sexy woman.
I didn’t want to stop. I was sure she didn’t either, but I also didn’t want to screw up a good thing by moving too fast. Things were still pretty new between us, and I wanted to do things right.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, nipping her lip as the clock struck midnight.
“Tomorrow,” she agreed. Her voice was bedroom-husky, and I knew it would be playing on repeat in my head for hours to come. I looked forward to hearing it again and again. “Goodnight, Vinnie.”
“Goodnight, Haven. Pleasant dreams.”
“You can count on it, Officer.”
***
The next day, I tookHaven to the bookstore. She looked absolutely beautiful with her hair pulled up into some kind of complicated female knot and a soft gray sweater that really brought out her lovely eyes. It was an effort not to stare.
Things were even worse than they had been the last time I’d been there. In fact, as we were walking in, two older women were hurriedly leaving, shooting worried looks over their shoulders. We found out why when we went inside and heard the sound of glass breaking.
“Gesù Cristo!”
“Thank God you’re here,” my brother Nick said. “Nonno’sgoing to break everything if someone doesn’t figure out how to work the espresso machine, and the Silver Sirens Book Club is due in less than an hour.”
“Silver Sirens?”
“Don’t ask.”
“What kind of machine is it?” Haven questioned.
“ALa Pavoni, I think,” Nick answered.
“I’m on it.”
Haven pushed up her sleeves and headed toward the back. In less than a minute, my grandfather’s slew of Italian curses stopped.
“How you-a do that?” we heard him ask. “Never mind, you hired. You start-a right now.”
Nick exhaled, then slapped me on the back. “Sounds like we’ve got a winner. Thank God. Maybe now I can actually write some words.”
“Vincenzo!” My grandfather emerged from behind the counter. His apron was covered in dark, wet stains and there were coffee grounds in his thinning white hair, but he was smiling. “You bring me abellisimo angelo.You my favorite grandson.”
“Hey!” Nick said, pretending to be offended. “What about me?”
“Bah! You no help.”
I could see Haven smiling, enjoying the prickly but affectionate exchange. She was going to fit right in.
I hung around for a while, catching up with Nick and doing some heavy lifting for my grandfather. I would admit it; I was hovering. I wanted to make sure Haven was comfortable. I needn’t have worried, though. My grandfather had fallen in love with her instantly. A not-so-subtle wink and a few words in Italian confirmed what I had already figured out: Haven was the one for me.
“So, you and Haven, huh?” Nick said.
I nodded. My eyes sought her out, just as they had been doing all afternoon.
She looked up from the tray of coffees and assorted pastries she was just about to take into the back room for the book club. She smiled, her lips forming the words “thank you,” and I knew she was going to be okay.
“Man, you have it bad.” Nick laughed.
“As bad as you?” I shot back.
