“I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, Vinny, but that ain’t ever going to happen.”
Vinny threw the rake down. “You don’t know that.”
“Do you think one woman could take us three and be happy? Do you really think that would work? The women we’ve been with wanted us to compete with each other, to fight.”
“That’s everyone else,” Vinny said. “Annalise isn’t a whore. I’ve got to go and clear my head.” He didn’t want to listen to Archie’s negativity.
He found himself storming toward the house, and as he got to the back door, which led straight into the kitchen, heavenly scents assailed him, as did the sight of Annalise bent over, showing him her beautiful ass.
His mouth watered at the sight alone.
She lifted a slab of what looked like apple pie.
“Vinny, dinner isn’t for another hour, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah, I just, I needed some water.” And the truth was that he needed to see her. Just seeing her was enough to calm his temper.
“I made a pitcher of lemonade. I was going to bring it out to you guys. It’s way too hot out there. I hate that you have to work in that heat.”
“And yet, you’re in here cooking up a storm.”
“I’ve got you boys to feed.” She gave him a dazzling smile, and he had this overwhelming urge to kiss her. And more.
Her lips looked ripe and plump. They’d be so soft against his.
She handed him a glass of lemonade. “What do you think?” she asked.
He dropped the glass in his hand, and even though in the back of his mind he heard Gabe berating him for what he did next, he didn’t stop. He sank his fingers into Annalise’s hair, drew her close, and kissed her, hard.
Chapter Four
So many thoughts flooded her mind.
Fear, passion, relief, and numbness. At first, everything went black and she just savored the feel of Vinny’s lips on hers. Then the flashes of anxiety as she contemplated what this meant. She didn’t want to sacrifice her job, her life, for this one moment of bliss.
When he pulled back, his hand was still tangled in her hair. He stared into her eyes, not saying a word. She felt awkward and confused as she looked down at the broken glass.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll clean it up,” he said.
Could she just pretend this never happened? Should she?
“It’s okay. Accidents happen.”
That was what this had to be. An accident, a momentary slip in judgment.
She felt herself pulling away emotionally. It was what she did, how she’d survived this long. When her mother remarried so many years ago, everything went downhill afterward. Her stepfather was respected and was able to give her mother the life she’d never had. He brought two daughters close to Annalise’s age into the marriage, and he didn’t want another. She’d only been ten. Her life had never been the same.
Her stepsisters were thin, smart, and pampered. Annalise was always left behind, pushed back in the shadows. Worst of all—her mother condoned the constant abuse and neglect, favoring her new daughters and husband’s attention.
Even now, it was next to impossible to accept affection, to believe another person could love her for who she was.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” he finally said.
“Don’t worry about it.” She moved away from him and went in search of the broom. What she needed was time to think, to process what just happened. “I’ll call you when dinner is ready. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”
She grabbed the broom and dustpan from the closet, but the moment she turned around, he was there. He grabbed both her arms and got her full attention.
“I said I shouldn’t have done that, not that I didn’t want to,” he said. “Tell me you never want me to cross the line again, and I won’t.”
How could she? Part of her craved love, craved Vinny. The logical part of her brain and the damaged recesses of her psyche both told her to run. What would Gabe and Archie think? The last thing she wanted was to hurt any of the men, including the one standing in front of her with fuck-me blue eyes.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said. Tears pricked her eyes.
“I’m not trying to get into your pants, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know I have a reputation, but it’s different with you, Annalise.”
“How?”
“I’m forty years old. Playing the field isn’t what it used to be. I want more. I never thought I needed more until you showed up.”
“But my job. Your friends.”
He did a little spin away from her, raking both his hands through his hair. “They’ll kill me. Fuck.”
“I don’t have to say anything.”
Vinny looked so distraught that she felt guilty, and he was the one to make the move.
“You know, when we were teens, we used to joke about all kinds of shit, about how we thought life would be when we got older. We talked about sharing one woman.” He scoffed. “We were young and stupid.”
She swallowed hard. Did he actually just say that? Why did her pussy feel instantly wet and achy? This wasn’t good at all.
There was nothing to say. She couldn’t even move a muscle.
“How long you going to take? I’m not doing all that loading myself.” Archie’s voice grew louder as he neared the kitchen. It seemed to pull both of them out of their reverie. “What happened here?”
“I—I dropped the lemonade,” Vinny said.
Archie looked down at the mess, then back and forth between them. She sensed something was off, like he knew exactly what had just transpired. Did he? Could he?
“And you’re just going to stare at the mess?”
Vinny glared at his friend. “I was about to clean it up when you walked in.” He took the broom from Annalise and began gathering up the glass bits from the tiles. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Is there any more lemonade?” Archie asked.
She took a breath to keep calm. “Yes, of course. Would you like some?”
“I’d love some.”
Annalise turned back to the pitcher and poured some into a clean glass. She handed it to Archie, but he put his hand over hers rather than taking the drink. Did he notice the shake in her hand?
“You okay?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to blurt out something inappropriate.
“Vinny, you say anything dumb?”
The last thing she expected from Vinny was more silence. Why wasn’t he lying or covering up what just happened? Instead, he set the broom against the wall and left the house.
Archie took the glass and watched his friend leave. He exhaled once they were alone.
“What did he say?” Archie asked.
“Nothing.”
He drank his lemonade. She watched the movement of his throat. He had some rough stubble along his jaw. After he slammed the empty cup on the counter, he looked her straight in the eyes. “Did he ask you for a foursome?”
She gasped, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. It may be surprising for them, but she was a virgin, and all this talk about sex was way out of her comfort zone.