Page 71 of The Agreement

"I thought it was too but I guess we could be wrong. Then again, Val, there is a lot to Vinny that we don’t know, remember that." Val didn't doubt her friend and she agreed. There was still a lot of learning to happen on both ends. "So, what kind of party?"

"I believe there is a new club that is due to be opening in the next few days or in a week or so, it's one of Vinny’s. I had to look into the numbers for him the other day, plus the alcohol sales, and saw the date." Luciana smirked at her best friend’s statement. It was nice to see that Vinny valued Val, not just as a trophy wife, but as an asset as well. Very few people knew how sharp Val’s mind was when it came to numbers and it seemed Vinny had learned that about his wife early on. And though she hated to admit it, that rose Vinny up a notch in her book.

"So, Vinny’s club? Supporting the husband in new ventures huh?" Val paused with the cracker halfway to her mouth and lifted a brow, causing Luciana to smirk. "What?"

"I'm not entirely sure why I like the way that sounds," Val said. Luciana pulled the shades down over her eyes. Oh, she knew why Val liked that. However, it was just going to take longer for Val to realize it. Val was sharp with numbers but sometimes dense to the feelings that could tumble around inside of her.

"Where is Vinny?" Luciana finally asked.

"With Frankie and Salvatore, I believe. There was some business he needed to take care of with them." Val got up and Luciana watched her.

"Where are you going, Val?"

"To get some juice, it sounds good. Do you want some?" Luciana’s brows lifted upward in surprise.

"Since when do you drink juice, Valentina?" Val shrugged, not bothering to answer the question, and walked into the kitchen. Luciana watched her, slowly shaking her head. She was pretty confused about what was going on, although, she had a slight suspension. A few minutes later, Val sat down, a glass of iced orange juice in her hand.

"What?" Val asked, finally looking at Luciana.

"Val, I have known you since we were six. When we were in school, a little boy shoved you, causing the juice you were drinking to shoot through your nose. You were crying so hard because it stung so badly that you swore you would never have orange juice again. And you haven't touched the drink, until now." Val sat the glass down and looked at her.

"Do you have a point, Luciana?"

"Why now?" Val shrugged. She didn’t have a good reason, honestly. Since all the stress of their parents, the juice had just sounded good to her, she had been craving it. She knew it was odd; she wasn’t going to deny that. But she really couldn’t explain it either. "Bullshit, Val. We are best friends."

"I don't know, I can't explain it!"

"Fucking try because this is not the person I know!" Luciana cried out, giving her friend another pointed look.

"I just...I don’t know, crave it, I guess. It sounded good. And when I was younger, I did love orange juice." Luciana looked her friend over, rather slowly before holding out her hand. "What?" Val asked.

"Keys. I need to run to the store for you before you have any wild parties." Val’s brows snapped together in confusion before she got up to grab them.

"What are you getting?" Val asked her.

"You'll see. Make sure to lock the doors." Val rolled her eyes at her best friend before sitting back down. She knew Luciana and she had no doubt that Luciana thought Val was losing her mind. Val picked the glass back up to take a drink before looking at it. Yeah, okay, maybe it was odd that she had gone through three containers of orange juice already, but she really didn’t see the big problem.

An hour later, she sat on the couch, a book in her hand as she heard a car come into the driveway and Luciana walked through the side door, a plastic bag in her hand. Val looked up at her and then at the bag. She couldn't make out what was in it, other than a side was sharp by the way a corner was poking through.

"What did you get?" Val asked, following Luciana to the room and then into the bathroom. Luciana sat the box down on the counter and Val glanced at it before her jaw dropped. "You can’t be serious, Luciana?" Val exclaimed as she picked up the box.

"Deadly. It would make more sense than you think."

"No way, I don’t believe you,” Val said, shaking her head.

"Don’t believe what?" Vinny asked from the doorway. Val spun around and his gaze zeroed in on the pregnancy box in her hands, his eyes opening wide.

~ Chapter 55 ~

Val watched Vinny as he paced their bedroom, her hands curled up on her lap, her phone keeping track of the time. She wasn’t sure where her mind was on this, to be honest. In fact, she wasn’t sure she wanted kids so early on. Of course, she wasn’t dumb, she knew how babies came to be, she just didn’t think it was even a possibility so soon. And Vinny, what the hell would he say?

He hadn’t said much when he saw the box, just the question. And when she had turned to Luciana, she shrugged, said it seemed logical, and walked out the door with nothing else. Was all the throwing up morning sickness and she just boiled it down to stress? Were the cravings all because she had a little baby growing in her? God, if her parents ever caught wind of this before she told them, they would kill her!

“Are you okay?” Val glanced back at Vinny as he stopped before her. “You made a noise and it sounded like a cry mixed with a squeal.”

“I was thinking about my parents. My mom already called me a whore for sleeping with you before we were married, I can’t imagine what she would say if she finds out we got pregnant before we said I do.”

“Val,” he told her, cupping her cheeks. “They have no say in what we do. Baby, it’s you and I against the world and no one else.” She swallowed hard and nodded. He had told her that a few times and she believed it because it seemed like everyone was really turning their backs on them.

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