Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (63 page)

“And you?”

“I think he’s right. He says I’ve got to undo the damage. So I need some advice.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Tony asked him, trying to sound as normal as possible. When Vic started asking questions, Tony smiled. He gave his cousin some ideas and kept his fingers crossed.

On the other side of the room, Nikki listened, first with fear, then with relief, as Laura told her about Vic’s talk with Steve. “So you think this has a future?” she asked Laura.

“I want one. Vic does too. I think we’ll get out of it what we put into it, and I plan to put in one hundred and fifty percent. Vic’s there too. So we’ll see. But I’m hopeful for the first time.”

“We’re hopeful for you, sweetie, both of you. We love you and all we want is for you to be happy. But how do you feel about what Vic told you?”

Laura took a big, deep breath. “That was before he met me. I have to think about the present and the future, not all of that. And I love him. That’s got to count for something, right?”

“Oh, honey,” Nikki told her, choking back tears, “that’s everything.”

Laura’s phone rang on Saturday afternoon and she looked at the screen. Vic? But he was somewhere in the house. Why would he be calling her phone? She answered it with a soft, “Hello?”

“Hey, Laura, this is Vic. I was just wondering – would you like to go on a date with me? Maybe dinner?” Laura almost giggled; he sounded so shy.

She laughed. “Yes, Mr. Cabrizzi, I would love to go on a date with you! Where are we going and what should I wear?”

“Wear something nice but comfortable. We’re going somewhere after dinner, and there’ll be walking. And bring a sweater or something in case it gets cool. So, pick you up about six?”

“Sure! Front door?”

“Sounds good! I’ll see you then.” Vic hit END and grinned to himself. It was five o’clock straight up, and he’d showered, then grabbed his clothes and headed to the detached garage out back. He’d do his absolute best to avoid her until six.

When they hung up, Laura ran straight to the bedroom and started looking through the closet. She picked out a little dress he’d bought for her, then chose some of her nicer lingerie, some they’d gotten at the mall. It took her a few minutes, but she picked out some jewelry and a sweater to take.

And where was Vic? She walked from room to room but didn’t see him anywhere, and she hadn’t heard him leave or heard his car or truck go out. But she didn’t have time to think about that. She had to get ready to go. Hair up or down? Pink lipstick or coral? He’d said walking, so flats. Or should she wear heels and take athletic shoes? She opted for the latter, thinking about how much Vic would like to see her in sexy shoes.

Laura was almost ready when the doorbell rang at five before six. When she made it to the front door, she threw it open to find a very dressed-up Vic holding a very large bouquet of fresh flowers, their beauty second only to the shy smile on his gorgeous face. “Hi! These are for you. Ready to go?” he asked her as he handed her the flowers.

“Yeah, let me put these in water. They’re beautiful! Thanks.” After she hustled around to care for them, she met him back at the door. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, but I’ll tell you that we’re going to Louisville.”

Laura was shocked at how nervous she felt and, as she looked at Vic, she could tell that he was nervous too. He did what he always did – held the car door for her. She’d always been impressed with how polite and proper he could be. When he got into the driver’s seat, he looked at her and smiled. “Ready to go?”

“Yes. I can’t wait!”

“Oh my god, this place is
beautiful,
” Laura gushed when the maitre d’ seated them at Chez Francesca.

“Glad you like it.”
Tony said this was the place to go. God, I hope the food is good,
Vic thought as they settled in with the menus.

“Shit.” Once it had come out, Laura realized how coarse that sounded; she was used to working with a bunch of men, after all. “I mean, darn.” Vic chuckled. “I can’t read any of this. It’s in French.”

“Okay, so what do you like? Or better yet, what do you
not
like? What about chicken? Or beef? Lamb?”

“I like beef and chicken.”

“Okay. Now, vegetables. Any that you just can’t stand?”

“I hate asparagus.”

“Oh, that’s bad,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s all they have.”

“Are you serious?” she whined.

“No. I’m just shitting you.” Vic laughed, and Laura scowled at him, then grinned. “They have all kinds of things. So do you like broccoli? Potatoes? Green beans?”

“All of those. Plus corn and sweet potatoes, all kinds of squash, peppers, okra, onions, all the regular garden vegetables, and almost every fruit. But I’m allergic to pineapple.”

“Good to know, since it’s not on the menu,” he chuckled at her, and she scowled again.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not, honey. I’m just trying to have some fun,” he smiled, then patted her hand. “I’ll order for you, if that’s okay.”

“Sure, why not. You pick out my clothes, tell me where I can and can’t go, so sure, go ahead and pick out my food.” She was just kidding, but only sort of, and Vic could hear the frustration under the sarcasm.

“So let’s work on the menu. If you like beef, there’s filet mignon, and if you like chicken, there’s
coq au vin
, and I’m betting you’d like either. Sautéed green beans with garlic?”

“Isn’t
coq au vin
‘chicken with wine?’” she asked.

“Actually, beautiful, it is, cock in wine. Very good. And veggies?”

“I know a cock I’d like to have with wine,” she whispered.

“I think we can work that out,” he whispered back.

“Okay! So the green beans. Can I have two veggies?” she asked.

Vic leveled his gaze at her. “Darling, you can have anything you want.”

“Okay,
coq au vin
and green beans it is, plus a yellow vegetable. Surprise me,” she said.

“Gotcha. And I’ll surprise you with the appetizer as well. Drink? White wine?” he asked.

“Sure. Pick that out too,” she told him, and he nodded.

When the waiter came back, he asked with a pronounced French accent, “Have you made your selections? What lovely dish may we serve for you this evening?”

Vic looked up at him and smiled.
“Merci, oui. Nous allons commencer avec les escargots grillés. Pour ma belle dame, coq au vin, sautés haricots verts et crème de chou-fleur. Je vais devoir le filet mignon, mêmes côtés. Une salade maison avec vinaigrette parmesan pour nous deux. Pour le vin, apporter mon amour un verre de Château Puysserguier, Saint Chinian Blanc, et je vais prendre un verre de Bourgogne Pinot Noir.”
Then he looked up at the waiter, smiled, and said, “
C’est un premier rendez-vous, alors veuillez demande au personnel de cuisine pour faire un travail particulièrement bon et ne soyez pas pressé. Et en passant, juste pensé que je voudrais mentionner: elle ne parle pas français!”

The waiter responded with,
“Très bon, monsieur. Je reviendrai immédiatement avec votre vin, monsieur.”
Then he smiled and winked at Vic.
“Et monsieur, permettez-moi de dire, la dame est charmante! Vous êtes un homme chanceux.”
Vic beamed.

After he walked away, Laura turned a wide-eyed face to Vic. “Oh my god, you speak French?”

Vic just shrugged. “Yes. I’m fluent in Italian, of course, as well as German. The area our family came from was part of Austria and Hungary until Italy took it in the first World War, so there are lots of German-speaking people there. Oh, and I understand enough Spanish to know what José’s saying, but he doesn’t know that, so don’t tell him. But that’s all. No, wait – I do speak some Ladin. Kind of have to where I grew up. But it’s kind of an obscure language, like Italian but not like Italian.”

“I struggle with fucking English. Why in the world are you with me?” she asked, blushing.

“I guess if all I spoke was French or Italian, we’d be in trouble, huh?” he grinned.

Laura looked down at her menu and shook her head. This guy graduated from high school when he was twelve, and he spoke four languages well. Why in the world did he want her? She’d been only a mediocre student at best. As if he could read her mind, Vic said, “Linguistics doesn’t matter much to me. Having someone to get into a water fight with while I’m washing the car, or someone to dance with me on the patio, or someone who’ll let me teach them to play golf –
that’s
what matters to me. I don’t give a damn what language you speak, as long as we can understand each other.” He took her hand and added, “And I think we understand each other better than anyone else could, don’t you?”

Laura nodded, fighting tears. When the waiter showed up with their wine, Vic took his glass and raised it. “A toast – to two people who are committed to working out whatever they have to so they can have a good life together. I love you, Laura Butler,” he added as he clinked glasses with her.

“To us,” she said, smiling through her tears. “I love you, Vic Cabrizzi.” This was really happening and, unlike most women, she was overwhelmed with joy that she could feel the happiness taking up residence in her heart.

Vic felt like he was seventeen. This was a new start. And the new start was with someone who loved him more than he’d ever been loved.

Vic took a basket out of the trunk of the car when they got to the green space. “Why couldn’t I have
crème brûlée
?” Laura was still sort of upset about that. She’d never had it before; she didn’t know for sure what it was, but she’d heard of it, and that’s why she’d wanted it.

“Because I have something better,” Vic told her. When they got to the big lawn, Vic took a tablecloth from the basket, spread it on the ground, and helped her sit, then got out a plastic storage container and two bottles of water. “Check this out.”

Inside were two huge, delicious-looking chunks of chocolate cheesecake. “Oh my god . . . where did you get this?” she asked.

“Brittany. She makes unbelievable cheesecakes.”

Cheesecake was Laura’s absolute favorite dessert. “But how did you . . .” Laura started, then said, “I don’t need to know, do I?”

“Nope. Just eat and enjoy. And tell me if you think it’s better than
crème brûlée
,” he smiled, then took a big bite. She did too.

“Fuck me, this is incredible!” Laura groaned.

“I’d really like to, and I’m glad you like it,” Vic snickered, and Laura started laughing.

After they’d enjoyed the cheesecake, Vic cleaned up their mess and took Laura’s hand. “Let’s walk up onto the pedestrian walkway, shall we?” he asked, holding out a hand. Laura took it and they walked up the ramp and onto the pedestrian bridge that crossed into Indiana. When they got up onto the bridge, Vic stopped, put down the basket, and pulled out two colored tubes with some kind of liquid in them. “What are those?” Laura asked.

“These, my dear,” Vic said, handing one to her, “are magic
and
loads of fun.” He twisted off the top of the tube, and out came a white rod. When he dragged it through the air, a huge bubble came out of it and floated off the bridge and out over the river. Laura shrieked with laughter, opened hers, and produced an enormous bubble that floated for hundreds of feet before it hit the surface of the water. But before it had a chance to pop, they’d already made dozens more, and were watching and giggling to boot. Then they turned the bubbles on each other, and Vic chased her down and kissed her, then blew a big bubble in her face.