A Marriage Between Friends (17 page)

“That’s it. I’m leaving,” Sam said, coming out of the garage. “Why should I pretend not to watch you make out when I can go home and make out with my wife? Call me when you’re serious about moving.”

Jill stumbled back, having forgotten that Vince was leaving their house to help his grandparents.

Vince frowned, not taking his eyes off Jill, but now his eyes were filled with regret. “I
am
serious. My grandfather needs someone there with him. Someone who can go to the meetings or just keep him company.”

“Is there room in the penthouse for two more?” Jill asked optimistically.

“No,” Vince said. “There are two extra bedrooms, but the nursing staff shares one of them.”

“If you’re not dead set on living with your grandfather,” Sam said. “I know someone who’s looking for a place to stay.”

Vince met Sam’s speculative gaze. “Ernie? You can’t be serious.”

“It’s your call.” Sam threw up his hands. “It’s either that or Ernie comes to live with Jill.”

“If you need to stay with your grandfather, Vince, I’ll understand,” Jill said, more than a little depressed. “Teddy and I can live here. We could put Ernie, whoever he is, in the garage apartment.”

“Wait a minute. You can’t come to Vegas,” Vince protested. “You run a successful business in Railroad Stop.”

“I just
sold
a business. To Arnie. And Francie is moving back to help run it with Edda Mae. That way Francie can spend more time with her kids.”

Vince held up his hands in surrender. “But that place was everything to you.”

Jill shook her head. “It meant nothing without you. Teddy and I both agreed.” Since Vince still looked shocked, Jill added, “And then Edda Mae had a story that fit the situation perfectly.”

“Of course she did. But you’re the mayor.”

“Only until elections in November. I talked with Joe Mattwell, the baker? He’s interested in running.”

“So are you going to phone Ernie or not?” Sam demanded, flipping his car keys impatiently.

“I’ll call him after you and I unload the truck,” Vince said. “During which time Jill is going to go take a nice long shower.”

W
HEN
V
INCE JOINED
Jill in the shower, he couldn’t help thinking that it was amazing to be a couple, wonderful to be married, awesome to be a dad.

“Have I told you how great you looked in that dress?” Vince said as he climbed in.

“You didn’t like my Shady Oak wardrobe?” Jill was trying to sound offended, but Vince wasn’t buying it.

“It was hard to imagine your curves through all that flannel.” Vince squirted some soap into the puff and began scrubbing Jill’s back. Then he turned her around and washed her front.

Jill curled her arms around his neck, pouting to be kissed.

“Hey, I can’t see what I’m doing.”

She inched closer until her soapy breasts were pressed against his chest. Her amazing blue eyes half closed and got that distant look, the one that told Vince she liked the way things were going.

“You’re right. I don’t need to see what I’m doing,” Vince said.

“If you don’t kiss me soon, I’m going to get out of this shower and find those divorce papers,” Jill threatened, turning her face up to his.

“About those divorce papers…” Vince paused to reacquaint himself with the taste of her lips.

“Burn them.” Jill gasped as his hand holding the puff wandered between them. “Shred them.” Jill moaned when he found just the right spot to clean.

“They weren’t exactly…legal.”

“Vince!”

He lifted Jill into his arms and carried her rather indelicately out of the shower.

“Vince, I need a towel. And then you’re going to tell me about those papers.” But Jill was clinging to him as if she never wanted to let go.

“I packed the towels yesterday.”

“Tell me what you meant when you said—”

“They’re not legal. It’s
confuseze.
” Moving with deliberate care, he laid Jill down on top of the bare mattress and covered her body gently with his. “The first page looks legit, but the rest of the pages are just filled with nonsensical legal phrases formatted to look like a legal document.”

“If I had read it through—”

“You’d show up here mad as hell accusing me of being a manipulative liar.” He nudged her legs apart and came to rest at home base, waiting for the signal to steal home. Although Vince wasn’t stealing anything. Jill loved him. She wouldn’t have given up everything for him if she didn’t.

It was funny how things hadn’t ended up anywhere near the way Vince had planned a few weeks ago when he rolled into Railroad Stop. He was lucky he was such a screwup.

“Oh, Vince, you’re—”

“An idiot, I know. The day before I left you, I promised myself I’d come clean—no more lies. But I couldn’t let you go completely. I loved you too much even if I hadn’t realized it yet.” Vince combed Jill’s hair out of her eyes. “So I told my lawyer what to do. He had some concerns about being disbarred, but he went ahead and I’m sorry.”

“If you’d let me finish a sentence.” She was pouting again as she ran her fingers up his arms. “I was going to say you’re brilliant, except I’m dripping wet and I don’t have a towel.”

Vince licked the drops from the tops of her breasts. “Let me be your towel.”

“Oh. I think you missed a spot…lower.” Jill speared her fingers through his hair, drawing him closer.

“Wife.” Vince chuckled against her skin. He moved to fulfill her every wish and maybe a few of his own.