Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (64 page)

They kept on until the tubes were empty and they’d laughed until they hurt. “You know, we can get refill bubble junk for these things,” he told her.

“Let’s. I want to do this again. Can we?” Laura asked, still giggling.

“Sure, but let’s do something else just as fun! Let’s come up with new things,” Vic announced.

“Sounds good!” Laura dug her fingers into his ribs just to hear him laugh.

Oh, I see. That slut is worth a fancy dinner but I’m not.
She watched from a small grove of cedars at the green space and fumed.
I’m gonna fix this right away. Good thing the idiot raided that database. I can use that info. Hmmmm . . . I think Mr. Cabrizzi’s about to get a call from his friend.
She strode back to her car, got in, and rifled through some papers.
Evie. Evie Taylor. Yeah. I’m Evie Taylor.

They’d laughed and acted silly all evening, and when they both slid into bed that night, Laura looked straight at Vic and said, “This was so much fun. Thank you for showing me a good time.”

“Come here,” he said and drew her up against him, her head resting on his chest. “I didn’t tell you, but I’ve never been on a date before. Picked up women in bars, yeah, but no date.” Laura looked at him like he’d goosed her. “Tonight was, well, it was the best first date I’ve ever had, even if it was the only one!” he laughed. Laura couldn’t help it; she had to giggle. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my life. I don’t want to mess anything up. I want this to last,” he told her, kissing her forehead.

“I want it to last too,” she whispered, snuggling into him.

“So let’s get some sleep. We’ve got a big family dinner to do tomorrow. We’ll be lucky to survive if we’re not on the top of our game.” Then he added, “And angel? We’re going to make it, I’m convinced.”

T
he family dinner on Sunday went better than Vic expected. Laura had forgotten to ask Nikki about a gynecologist, but it seemed all of the women in the family went to the same one, a female gynecologist named Dr. Fisher, and Brittany, Annabeth, and Katie were eager to share. When Laura hesitated, Brittany told her, without a hiccup, “Listen up, girlfriend. In this family, sex is very important. It’s like air and water. Everyone in this family talks about it openly – there are no sacred cows here. For the record, my parents never told me squat, but Tony sat me and Clayton down and had a good, long talk with us a week before we got married. God help him, he wasn’t very experienced himself but, to his credit, he managed, and he pretty much spelled everything out, things we hadn’t even thought about, and we were all the better for it. So don’t be shy around us, for god’s sake.” She smiled. “So you and Zio Vic are taking the next step. Good. It’s about time he was happy, and I think you’re due too.”

Brittany’s warmth was infectious, and Laura had to smile. It was kind of nice, having another woman to talk to, sort of like having Nikki there, but Brittany was younger. And Clayton was one damn fine-looking young man – that was one very lucky girl. “We just want to be happy. Like Nikki and your dad. Like you and Clayton.”

“You’ll get there. Just know this: If Zio Vic loves you, he loves you with his whole heart. He doesn’t know any other way. If you don’t have the best chance with him, you don’t have a chance at all.”

Once they’d made it home that evening and gotten settled, they cuddled up on the sofa in the den. Vic got a beer and brought Laura an apple ale, drew a plush throw across her, and then crawled under it with her, her legs across his lap. “So, I’ve given this a lot of thought and I think we should just get to it. Next step?”

“I’m not sure how to answer that. What are the possibilities?” she asked.

“In my way of thinking, there are a few. We can just be together and live in separate houses, or we can move in together; hell, we’ve been living together for weeks. We can have some type of commitment ceremony, or we can just exchange rings, or we can get married. I don’t care. I just want forever – with you. I told you that before, and I haven’t changed my mind. And I’m not embarrassed to tell you: I’ve never felt this way about any woman before. No one – ever.”

Before she could stop herself, Laura asked, “Nikki?” She hadn’t meant to be hurtful, but she couldn’t take it back, even though she wished she could.

But instead of getting angry or upset, Vic sat for a minute, trying to figure out what to say or how to describe what was between him and his cousin’s wife. “You know, I’ve given that a lot of thought lately. I know that I loved her – still do and always will.” Laura’s stomach knotted. “I knew she’d never, never hurt me, but I still knew I was going to get hurt because she’s married. The fact that she’s married to someone I love and respect made it worse – and better. It made her unattainable. It was safe – I never had to make a commitment to her, wonder where the relationship was going, or work on it, because she was never going to be mine. So no, how I feel about you is still the only time I’ve felt this way about a woman.”

“And how do you feel about me?”

Vic shook his head. “I’ve told you a million times, I’m stone-cold in love with you, silly girl. I thought I’d been in love before, but it turns out I’ve never been. This is a first for me,” Vic said, then kissed her on the nose.

It was time for her to ask the question that had been burning in her gut for days, weeks even. “You’re used to certain, well, lots of variety, you know, and how could you ever be satisfied with me? I don’t know shit about sex, nothing. Compared to the other women you’ve been with, I’m . . .”

“Perfect. You’re perfect. I don’t compare you to anyone. Try to think of it this way: I get to train you the way I want!” His laughter made Laura smiled. “Baby, all I want is you, however I can get you. So where do you want this to go? Because I don’t care, as long as I still have you.” He stopped, then said, “No, actually, I do care, but you have a say too. So spill it.”

“My preference?”

“Yes. You can’t be too forward; not possible. We’re plotting our future, and we need to be on the same page.”

Laura stuttered, “I’d just as soon, I think I’d like, um, if you want . . .”

“Say it already. I’ve already told you I’m open to anything.”

She tried again. “I’d prefer to make it legal.” Then she said, “But there’s something else we need to talk about.”

Vic grinned – they were definitely on the same page. “Yeah?”

“Remember that day when you said you’d thought about having kids? And you thought I should think about it? Well, I have.” She waited for Vic to say something.

His eyes went wide, and he sat for a few seconds, then said, “Yeah?”

Laura took a deep breath and let it out. “I think I’d like to be someone’s mother. And I’d like for that someone’s father to be you.”

It took a few seconds for Vic to digest what he’d just heard, and he still couldn’t believe it. “Are you serious?”

Laura’s eyebrows shot up. “Hell, I wouldn’t say something like that unless I was serious! You in, Cabrizzi?”

“Will you talk to the gynecologist about it?” he asked her, cutting his eyes at her.

“Yeah. That’s my plan. And if she says it’s possible, well, then, if you want to, if we want to . . .”

“I want to. Oh, god, yes, I want to,” Vic said without hesitation. “And anything that we need to do to make that happen, make sure it’s safe for you and there’s someone around for him or her if something happens to us, we’ll do it. I’m tired of being afraid. I want the life I thought I’d never have, and I want it with you. Let’s go for it, baby. Let’s take what we want; it’s ours if we want it.”

“I want it too. Let’s do this, Vic, take what we want, make it happen.” She was happy, but she hadn’t realized she’d be so excited too.

“So that’s settled. Give me a few weeks and I’ll make it formal. You’re mine, Laura Elaine Butler.” He laughed. “The sooner your name is Cabrizzi, the happier I’ll be.”

“What do you want to do for dinner tonight?” They were both getting ready for work on Monday morning, and Vic was hoping to get a call from Steve about a counselor.

“I dunno. Could I try to make Nikki’s meatloaf for you? She gave me the recipe. I don’t know if I can do it, but . . .”

“You can. I’m sure of it.” Vic grabbed Laura’s arm as she moved past him and pulled her in front of him as he sat on the bed. He put a hand on each of her hips and looked up into her eyes. “I have absolute faith in you.”

“And I have absolute faith in you,” she smiled, then leaned down and gave him a kiss.

“Anything I need to know about?”

“Can’t think of anything. The lighting fixtures were delivered this morning for the cafeteria project at the middle school, so I called the electrical contractor and let them know.” Molly looked through the stuff on her desk to see if there was anything else that Vic needed to know. He hadn’t been to the office in a few days; he’d been going straight to Tony’s jobsite every morning, and Molly was enjoying taking care of things herself. “One of the guys ran over something with his truck and we had to get a new tire. Oh, yeah, and there’s this.” She picked up the little scrap of paper. “You got a call from somebody named Evie.”

Evie? Calling him at the office? He checked his cell. Nope, no missed calls. Maybe Steve had given her the office number thinking it would be easier to catch him there. “Did she say what she wanted?”