The Santini Collection 1-4 (37 page)

He glanced at her. “I was surprised that you didn’t move to California.”

She shrugged. “That’s home for them. Not me.” There were too many memories there for her. It had been where she had gone to recover…to forget even for a little while.

“
Must be hard for them to have their only child across the country from them.”

She glanced at him wondering at the tone. It was almost as if he was accusing of her of something.

“
Yeah, but they understood.”

He nodded but said nothing else.

“
Okay, well thanks again.”

Before she could open the door, he asked, “Why did you do it?”

She glanced back him. “Do it? I thought I explained.”

“
No. Why did you marry Mike and then just divorce him a few years later?”

She sighed. She had waited for this conversation for years, but it had never come. Until now.

“
There are things about my marriage to Mike well…it just wasn’t good.”

“
Wasn’t good?”

She didn’t want to have this conversation. Mike had been a bastard. His dishonorable discharge had turned him into a stranger. She might not love him, but she did have feelings for Vincente still and she knew he had loved Mike like a brother.

“
It just wasn’t good after he got out of the Marines. He changed and it ruined our marriage.”

He nodded. “He never told me why he got out of the military.”

She sighed. She didn’t want to fight about it, or even tell him horrible things about a man he had treated as one of his own brothers. But, she couldn’t lie.

“
Mike didn’t get out. He got kicked out.”

Vince’s head whipped around and she was caught in that ice blue gaze of his. “What do you mean? The only hint he gave me was that you didn’t like being a Marine wife.”

How like Mike to blame her. It was her fault he’d been kicked out. It was her fault he hit her. It was his fault he’d been arrested for the last assault. The man never accepted he was a world-class fuck up.

“
No. He was dishonorably discharged. If you don’t believe me, look it up. I really need to get in. Rufus has probably made it to the front door by now.”

He smiled. “Okay. Night, Jules.”

“
Night, Vince.”

Jules slipped out of the car, ready to get away from the questions. She wouldn’t lie to Vince, but she didn’t want to be the one to tell him about Mike. She opened the door and found Rufus waiting for her. She led him to the backyard, let him do his business and hurried to get ready for bed.

All the while she pushed the thoughts of Vince to the back of her mind. She didn’t have time for romantic fantasies about a man who apparently despised her.

She’d just pulled on her nightshirt when the front doorbell rang. She frowned as she walked to the front door. When she peered through the peephole, she frowned again. It was Vince.

She opened the door. “Vince?”

He didn’t say anything. He just kept staring at her.

“
Vince?” she asked worried now.

“
Oh, sorry, you forgot your jacket in my car.”

He held it out and she took it.

“
I’m sorry if I was rude in the car. I realized that I didn’t know everything…well, I have no idea what Mike did after you got married. I was always worried.”

“
Worried?”

“
I…I thought you might have told him.”

For half a second, she didn’t know what he was talking about. Then, it hit her. The kiss.

“
No. No, I didn’t see a reason to.”

And seeing what Mike turned into, that could have been another weapon he would have used against her.

“
Oh.”

Then nothing. He kept staring at her as if she were…well, like she was naked. Instead of being uncomfortable, it made her hot.

“
Was there anything else?”

Something changed in his eyes that made her want to take a step back, but before she could he answered.

“
Yeah.”

Then, he grabbed her and slammed his mouth down hers.

Chapter Four

Years after that first kiss, Vince felt himself falling again. Jules hesitated, not responding right away. He dragged his tongue over her lips and she opened them. He delved inside and lost himself.

She tasted the same, but different. He slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. She moaned against his mouth and he wanted to take her right there. At that moment, he wanted her in bed, beneath him, moaning his name.

But in the next instant, he felt a hand grab him by the collar and pull him back. He turned around, his arm raised to elbow the attacker. The man fell down, his head hitting the pavement hard. Jules made a desperate sound behind him, but he said nothing and stepped in front of her to face the intruder.

“
Fuck,” the man said. The voice was vaguely familiar as was the dark hair, strong jaw and the mean blue eyes.

“
Jesse?”

He glanced up at Vince then groaned. “Shit, a Santini.”

Vince looked down at MJ’s oldest brother wondering just what sweet hell he had dropped into. There was no way he would keep his damned trap shut about this. He held out his hand and Vince helped him up. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jules stepped around him. “Did Vince hurt you, Jesse?”

Jesse’s frown softened. “Hey, Jules. I’m sorry, I thought…well, I thought it was something different.”

“
So you two know each other?” Vince asked.

She didn’t say anything for a second or two, but then said. “Yeah. Jesse worked with Mike.”

He looked between the two of them, trying to figure out the relationship. Was this the man Mike had claimed she was interested in? But that would make no sense at all. Mike had said she wanted him out of the military and the one thing Jesse Johnson was not going to do was get out of the military.

Apparently, Jules had enough of the stare down. She made an exasperated sound before saying, “Oh, come in the house you two. It’s silly to be standing out here.”

They both stepped through the door after her. Vince picked up the jacket she had dropped on the floor and handed it to her. He realized she was standing in full view of Jesse with only a nightshirt on.

“
You might want to get a robe,” Vince said.

She frowned then looked down at what she was wearing. Her face turned pink and she said, “Be right back.”

The only sound in the living room was the sound of the clock ticking. Vince looked around the room and found so much of Jules there. He recognized her love of soft colors and cool tones, along with some of the memories of her Marine brat childhood. German knickknacks littered most surfaces. Family pictures decorated the walls.

When she returned, Vince could tell she was embarrassed. He gave Jesse a hard look. The major just returned his look with a bland one of his own. Then, slowly, Jesse’s lips curved and an evil light filled his gaze.

Shit. MJ would hear about this and damn sure his brothers would hear after that.

“
So, I understand you’re coming to brunch tomorrow,” Jesse said, sitting down at the breakfast bar as if he was making himself at home. “I didn’t know you knew Jules.”

“
We went to school together at Quantico.”

“
Oh.” Jules said looking at Jesse. “You’re related to the Santinis?”

When Jesse looked at her, his expression softened. Vince couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something there. It was enough to have his irritation bubbling. He’d never been so damned possessive of a woman, especially one that had never been his to begin with.

“
I guess you met MJ tonight. She’s my sister.”

She blinked as she study Jesse, then Vince saw recognition light her eyes. “Oh. Yeah, now I can see it. I didn’t make the connection.”

“
Mom was kind of disappointed you and the General couldn’t make it tonight,” Vince said. MJ and Jesse’s father was a three-star at the Pentagon, so most nights he was on call and at work.

“
Not sure what dad had going on, but I wasn’t supposed to be in until late tonight. I got an earlier flight so I would make sure not to miss MJ.”

He might be pissed at Leo’s brother-in-law, but he was family in a round about way. “She’s huge.”

Jules gasped. “Vicente Santini, that’s not nice.”

Jesse ignored Jules. “From the pic I just saw, it might not be nice, but it’s pretty true. I can’t believe they’re having twins.”

Vince laughed. “It’s going to be so interesting with a set of Santini twins running around.”

“
Yeah, between her and Leo, those kids are going to be a handful.”

Then silence.

“
Was there something you wanted, Jesse?”

He shook his head. “No. Just stopped by to check on you.”

“
She’s fine.”

Jesse shook his head and smiled. “Settle down, Santini. I get the hint. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He stood and gave Jules a kiss on the cheek. Something dark slid through Vince blood and he had to bite back a growl. Jules gave him a narrowed look, but he said nothing.

When she shut the door, she turned to face him. “Really, Vince. You should be nicer to Jesse.”

“
He’s an officer and you call him by his first name.”

Mike had been enlisted and while not everyone went by the rules, Vince knew Jesse well enough to know he would expect a proper address from an enlisted wife. It was…odd.

“
I’m not in the military. And, I know I have a lot of customers are in the military and I call many of them by their first names. I call you by your first name.”

“
I’ve known you forever.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Not really.”

“
What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
Once Mike and I got married, you disappeared.”

“
I didn’t disappear.”

She shrugged.

“
What do you mean by
that
?” he asked, getting aggravated now.

She threaded her fingers through her hair. It was done in agitation, but he found it mesmerizing. And arousing. He wanted to do the same, but she didn’t look like she would welcome that right now.

“
Oh, good lord, Vince, could you just go?”

“
No. I think we need to talk about what happened.”

“
That you acted like an ass in front of Jesse?”

“
Before that.” Then he realized what she said. “Wait, I didn’t act like an ass.”

“
You did. And there’s nothing to discuss.”

“
Really?” He crossed his arms.

“
Yes. It was just a kiss. No biggie.”

He let one eyebrow rise. “I think we were five minutes from you being naked.”

“
And I think you are overestimating my attraction to you.”

“
Why don’t we test that theory,” he said and started walking toward her.

Panic filled her face and he stopped. This wasn’t something normal, there was another level to the expression on her face that seemed…over the top.

“
Look, Vince, I think you should go.”

“
I’ll go, but we are going to talk about this.”