“Victoria, I—”
“I’m not finished,” she growled. “You will apologize to the Ruiz family or so help me you’ll soon have five inches of Armani stiletto where the sun doesn’t shine.
“You were wrong about them and so was I. Nic saw them for the kind, gentle, and hard-working family they are. He fell in love with a beautiful, promising, and intelligent young lady, who, even after all we’ve put her through, is still by his side.” She squeezed my shoulders. “Can’t you see how different Dominic has been since he’s met her? So caring, so unselfish, so willing to sacrifice his happiness for the sake of others.”
She let out a sob and turned me to face her. “Forgive me for not seeing this until it was almost too late. It was you, dear. You brought out the best in him, and I was too blind, too selfish to see what you’ve done for him. I made a mistake. I thought I knew what was best for him. And for that I am truly sorry. I’m sorry for everything I did to hurt you and your family.”
Gazing into glistening eyes, I studied her carefully, wondering if this wasn’t some trick. The haughty expression that I was used to seeing was gone. All I saw was a mother desperate to make amends for her mistakes. And as her soft hands cupped my cheeks, showering me with gratitude, I felt a weight being lifted. I felt accepted.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Keeping an arm around me, she whirled back to Mr. Marcelli. “So what’s your answer, Frank? Do you want a family by your side when you run for governor or will you be standing alone?”
His jaw tensed as he looked from me to Nic and then back to his wife. “Fine. I’ll take care of everything. Ms. Ruiz, all I ask is please give me a heads up if there are any family additions. I don’t want any surprises.” Then he turned and walked out the door before I could tell him that I already had a list of names ready and ask if he wanted me to fax them to his office.
“I’m sorry, dear. I think that’s the closest to an apology you’re going get from that man,” Mrs. Marcelli said.
“I . . . uh . . . wow. I wasn’t expecting him to give in so easily.” I thought it was going to be much harder. I had been pumped to fight both Nic’s mother and father for at least a decade.
“Mandi, please believe me when I say I’m truly sorry, and I hope that someday we may even grow to be friends.”
I nodded, stunned. This couldn’t be real. I mean, I get the apology, but now she wanted to be friends. This was just too crazy.
That’s it! I was crazy. I was just imaging all of this. I was probably locked up in some padded room, rocking back and forth in restraints or having a drug-induced hallucination.
“Mandi?”
“Nic,” I sobbed as hazel eyes looked at me.
“Oh, my son,” his mother cried as we rushed to his side.
“Mother, you’re crying,” his hoarse voice whispered in disbelief.
“That’s what mothers do when they’re relieved that their baby is going to be alright.”
“I like it.” He lifted his hand, reaching out to brush the tears from her cheek.
“Oh, my baby!” she sobbed, planting kisses all over his face.
“Mother . . . Mom.” He ran his fingers through her hair with a smile that lit up his entire face.
Then he winced, letting out a small groan.
“I’ll get a nurse,” I said.
“Let me.” Mrs. Marcelli kissed his cheek. “I’m sure you two want to be alone for a few minutes.”
The moment she was out the door, I bent over Nic, gently pressing my lips to his. Slowly, I slid my tongue over the seam of his lips, sucking on his lower lip. I grabbed onto his hair and, and he moaned, opening to me, and I couldn’t resist the temptation of deepening the kiss, of showing him how much he meant to me. I slipped my tongue into his mouth, swirling it with his, pouring every ounce of love and emotion I had for him into the kiss. I never wanted Nic to go another moment without knowing how I felt about him or what he meant to me. It was the first kiss of the many kisses I planned to give him for the rest of our lives.
“Wow, if I’d known you’d kiss me like that, I would’ve gotten shot a lot sooner.”
I scowled. “That’s not funny.”
He chuckled. “You still look cute when you’re pissed.”
I rolled my eyes. Man, it felt good having him tease me again. I took it as a sign that he was getting better.
“Juan? Is he—”
“Don’t worry about that little chicken—er, Juan’s fine. You should be resting.”
“Mandi, there’s something I need to tell you.” He struggled to sit up. “It’s about your mother—”
“She’s out, Nic.”
“That’s good.” He let out a breath, falling back into his pillow. “At least Father kept his end of the bargain.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Mandi, I’m probably going to have to leave for Princeton after I recover. You see, I made a deal with Father that I’d go to Princeton and that I’d,” he gulped, “stay away from you in exchange for him helping your mother get out.”
“You did that for me?”
“I’m sorry, Mandi. There was no other way. But I’ll figure something out. We’ll be together somehow. I promise.”
“No.”
“What?” His face paled.
I busied myself with fluffing his pillows. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“But it’s already done. My father—”
“Your father did squat. It was your mother who got my mom out.” I chuckled, thinking about the look on Mr. Marcelli’s face when she told him off. “Actually, your mother handled your father pretty well. It was so cool. Sorry you had to miss it.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, let’s put it this way. She made it quite clear where her foot was going if he didn’t knock off his shit and stop trying to keep us apart. She’s Team Ruiz all the way now.”
“She did?” His face beamed. “And my father actually gave in? No way.”
“Way.”
“Whoa! How much morphine did they put in this thing?” He tugged on the tube dangling from the stand.
I laughed. My Nic was back, my family was back, and no one was ever going to get in the way of our love again.
“You know what? If she wasn’t so bougie, I could see us being really good friends. I guess I’ll just have to settle for her being my mother-in-law.”
His lips curled into that sexy smile of his. Then he pulled me to him, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. “Are you trying to give me a hint?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I gave him another deep kiss and then pulled back when I heard voices coming from down the hall. “Just in case you were wondering, the paramedics found a little velvet box in your pocket. I have it in my purse whenever you’re ready to use it.”
chapter 47
Nic
“I can’t believe you sold the Porsche.”
Smiling, I watched Mandi as she checked her makeup in the car mirror. Not that she needed any. She was so beautiful with her dark hair slicked back away from her face and pulled into a high ponytail, showing off a kissable, slender neck. If she didn’t stop looking so damn sexy, I was going to have to pull over and ravish her . . . again . . .for the third time today.
“It was totally worth it seeing Bianca throw a hissy fit when she had to give the beamer back to me. Besides, I want us to have a fresh start. That car had strings attached to it that I don’t ever want to remember.”
“Okay. I get it. Still, I have to admit, I miss watching you make sharp turns on the back roads. Your face scrunches up so serious. You looked so cute.”
She puckered her full lips in the mirror, sensuously sliding red lipstick over them. I groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Turning to me, her large hoop earrings tapped against her cheek.
“What would you say if we just drop off Leonardo and then I take you somewhere we can be alone?” In the rearview mirror, I eye
d the masked three-foot turtle sitting in the back seat.
She closed the gap between us and slid a hand down my abdomen. I felt myself harden and without thinking, I turned to kiss her. The car swerved.
“Shit!” Quickly, I threw my hands back on the steering wheel and forced myself to concentrate on the road.
She chuckled.
“I’d say that’s an offer that this godmother will have to refuse, Godfather Marcelli.” She leaned in closer. The smell of her perfume was intoxicating. I clutched the wheel tightly, trying to keep my focus as her hot breath gently hit my ear. “But I promise to make it up to you after the party.”
I groaned again as her fingers teased around the top of my waistband.
“What are you doing?” I looked down in shock when she freed my shirt, lifting it up.
“Just giving you a taste of what you have to look forward to tonight.” She bent down, lips pressed against my abdomen. Her tongue slowly glided up my stomach to my chest and then over my wound. I shuddered. The pain and pleasure of her hot, wet tongue over the scar was exquisite.
“God, Mandi. You’re killing me.”
She popped her head back up, wearing a sexy smile and batted her eyelashes. “You like?”
I cupped her cheek, wearing what was probably the goofiest grin known to man. “I like—a lot.”
Arriving at Cody and Cassie’s house, we made our way to the backyard. Because I was carrying the world’s largest mutant turtle piñata, I couldn’t see a thing. I followed the sound of Miguelito and Selina’s squeals and laughter. It sounded like they were already having fun at J.D.’s, my godson’s, first birthday party.
“Nic, is that you?”
“Yep,” I said, trying to look over the turtle to see Cassie. Mandi was busy chasing after Willa Mae and her cakes. I chuckled, making a mental note to remember to ask Willa Mae to give me a recipe. I wanted to give Mandi a big surprise for our anniversary and baking her something would definitely blow her mind.
“Um, sorry to interrupt, but what is that?” Cassie pointed at my three-foot friend.
“This is Leonardo.” I grinned, placing the turtle on the ground.
“Uh, okay?” She gave me a blank look.
“Oh my God, Cassie,” Mandi said. “How can you not know? It’s Leonardo from the mutant turtle cartoon characters.”
I glanced over at Juan as Mandi and Cassie chatted. He sat on one of the picnic tables with a scowl on his face. When his eyes met mine, he smiled. I gave him a quick nod. I never thought there’d be a time when Juan would ever accept me into his life. I guess taking a bullet for him had its benefits. The day after I’d woken up in the hospital, Mandi had dragged him into my room. She’d wanted to stay to make sure that he apologized, but I managed her to get her to leave by telling her I was craving pizza, which had been true. Hospital food just didn’t cut it.
When we were alone, Juan had apologized profusely. I told him, I understood. If it had been my family, I probably would’ve done something desperate to get my mother back too. I felt bad enough that Tony had been let go and even worse when I heard that Juan had been grounded for the rest of his life and a part of his afterlife. I didn’t want Juan to think I had any ill will toward him. He needed a friend now, especially since Mandi had told me Julian was never going to step foot inside their home again.
“Nic, hon, turn on some music before you hang the piñata,” Mandi said. “Dad, will you help Nic? Where’s the rope?”
“Sure.” I dug into the box of supplies sitting on the picnic table and grinned when I found an old cassette tape. I thought I’d lost that old tape. I stuck it in the jambox and turned it on.
“Nic, what the hell is that?” Mandi whirled around at the familiar sound of Barry Manilow singing “Mandy.”
“Ah, the memories.” I winked.
The moment our eyes locked, we were alone. The music filtered out of the speakers as I remembered the night I sang outside her window and those dark, beautiful eyes filled with wonder as they watched me speak to her parents in Spanish. And then there was that exquisite moment when she threw herself into my arms, kissing me.
I winced slightly as the wound on my chest throbbed. Furrowing her brow, her eyes drifted down, watching as I rubbed the spot. When she looked up, I gave her a wide smile, letting her know I was okay.
Cassie caught us and kept looking at Mandi and me with a questioning look in her eyes. We had agreed to keep this incident to ourselves for now. She wasn’t ready to tell Cassie what had happened.
J.D. started to cry, and Mandi’s mother bounced him on her leg, trying to soothe him.
“Where’s the love?” I tapped his cute button nose. He looked just like Cody. I wondered what our kids would look like. “Alright, alright. I’ll change the station.”
“Holy crap! I can’t believe my eyes. Look who’s driving up.” Mandi’s eyes widened as two sheriff’s patrol cars slowly rolled up the driveway.
Seeing Cody, now Deputy Wilde, was a trip. The dude must’ve been working out or something because his biceps were massive. He sure didn’t look like the same kid who had dove into the river to save my sorry ass our senior year in high school. He was, as Mandi would say, totally buff in his deputy uniform.
Sheriff Baker losing his re-election to Cody’s uncle was big news in Koppe. Father was devastated by the loss, probably because he had to kiss the thousands of dollars he’d invested in Baker’s campaign goodbye. Marcellis never lose and Father had lost big time with that one. Cody being offered a deputy position was also another shocker to Father. It hadn’t surprised me. Cody had gained the respect of the people in Koppe once they’d seen Sheriff Baker’s true colors. The community would never forgive what Baker’s sons had done to Cassie and how he had tried to cover it up.
“Hey, Nic, Mandi,” Cody said as he approached us.
“Well, hello, Deputy Wilde, you can give me a full body search anytime,” Mandi drawled. I laughed as she batted her lashes with exaggeration. She was just too funny.
“Mandi!” Cassie’s eyes darted from one side to the other to see if anyone else had heard.
“What? It’s his job, isn’t it?” She winked.
“Hey, Cody. You have to let me borrow the uniform sometime,” I said.
“And the handcuffs. Don’t forget the handcuffs,” Mandi added.
I laughed as I threw the rope over a tree branch. On second thought, Cody just might let me use those things if I told him about my plans for tonight.
As I attached the piñata to the rope, the music on the radio shifted to some country song. Mandi groaned, wondering aloud if Koppe was ever going to have any decent radio stations. I was about to change the station when I caught sight of Cody dancing with Cassie. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. They looked so much in love as they swayed together with his hand on her tiny waist and her doe-like eyes shining as they looked into his. It was hard to imagine everything that they had gone through. And now they had their life together with their son and even the house with the white picket fence. I couldn’t think of two nicer people who deserved the happily ever after that they had gotten.
And tonight, Mandi and I would have our happily ever after too.
chapter 48
Mandi
“I can’t believe Cody actually let you borrow his handcuffs.” Sitting in the backseat of Nic’s beamer, I squirmed in an attempt to get comfortable, which was hard to do with cold steel limiting my movements. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m into trying something new and kinky, but don’t you think the blindfold is a bit much? I can’t see anything.” I titled my head back, trying to get a peek. I had no clue where he was taking me.
“That’s the point.” He chuckled.
I should’ve known he was up to no good when, throughout the entire party, Cassie kept giggling and whispering in Cody’s ear and Cody eyeballed Nic and me with a shy smile. I could tell they were keeping something from me. Cassie, that rat, wouldn’t tell me anything no matter how much I nagged her. My
suspicions were confirmed when she asked me to help her with the dishes. Home fry knew I hated doing the dishes.
Then, in the middle of washing one of J.D.’s bottles, there was a squeal of high-pitched giggles and a low snicker. I was attacked by Nic’s kisses on the back of my neck as he tied a blindfold over my eyes, followed by Cody’s voice mumbling in that country twang of his, “Nic made me do it. Don’t kill me,” when he slapped the cuffs on my wrists.
I slid across the back seat as I felt the car make a turn. The car started to bounce, and I could hear tires crunching gravel and what sounded like tree branches hitting against the window.
“Are we there yet?”
“Yep.” The car rolled to a stop, and I immediately searched for the door handle. “Wait a sec. I’ll get you.”
I heard a scuffling and the trunk of the car opening. Then my car door opened, and a warm hand touched mine. “Come on.”
“Can I at least take the blindfold off?” There was a sound of rushing water, and I smiled, suspecting where we might be.
“One more minute.” He left my side for a moment. Then he was behind me. I could feel his excitement as his hand caressed my shoulders.
“Are you ready?” His hot breath lapped at my neck, making me shiver in anticipation.
“Yes,” I breathed.
He whipped off the blindfold, and I gasped. Sitting smack dab on the Koppe riverbank was an elaborate table setting for two. Everything was beautiful, from the candles and sterling silver dish covers to the white linen tablecloth. A bottle of chilled champagne sat off to one side of the table in a silver ice bucket. In the middle of the table was a vase filled with Texas wildflowers.
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