Chapter Three
Chapter Three
V ince couldn't believe he'd caught Jules telling stories on the four of them. Of course, he shouldn't have been surprised. If there was a non-Santini who knew more stories about the Santinis it had to be Jules. She'd been there for most of the embarrassing moments of his life.
Now, though, she was turning pink from embarrassment and he couldn't help but be mesmerized by it. Being a red head, she had skin that showed every little blush, and he was enchanted.
"We water boarded her, Vince," MJ said already taking defense of the Jules. The other three apparently caught her mortification and frowned at him. Jesus, they looked ready to beat him up.
Jules shook her head. "It's not like everyone around here doesn't know that story. I am sure more than one woman has recounted the tale of the naked Santinis."
All the women started laughing and Jules grinned. "That's what we all called them after that. Or The River Incident ." She looked at Vince. "I mean, you have to admit that was pretty damned funny."
He crossed his arms and frowned at her. She bit her lip and he realized she was trying to keep from laughing.
"Oh, suck it up, Santini. Not like you have anything here that any of us haven't seen before," MJ said, standing and stretching her back.
"Are you okay?" Jules asked her, immediately concern darkening her eyes.
"We're fine. I've got to get up and move every now and then. Plus, of course, the bathroom is my best friend lately. After all that laughing, I'm lucky I haven't already embarrassed myself."
Jules didn't look convinced but MJ ignored the concerned look. "Vince, help me down the hall."
He knew that tone. He had heard it every day of his life. There was a reason Leo fell so hard for MJ. She had the temperament of their mother.
"Sure."
"I'll be right back for more stories. I need some ammunition because apparently those idiot brothers of mine have been telling Leo things."
He walked down the hall with her feeling kind of odd. MJ didn't need any more help than a bulldozer needed with a molehill. When they were out of earshot, MJ said, "Be nice to Jules. She hasn't had a good time of it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. There was more than a little heat in his voice and he realized he was still upset with her rejection years ago.
MJ stopped in front of the bathroom. "Listen, Vince, I know y'all are kind of hardheaded but you can learn. That marriage of hers wasn't good, and I've never seen a woman jump so easily that didn't have memories of a bad relationship."
He frowned. "She's the one who sought the divorce."
And that had been hard for him to accept. She had rejected him just a few years earlier, then she divorced Mike. Before Vince had made it back from his deployment, Mike was dead.
"There are always two sides to every story. Just remember that. Now, I really need to get in here before I embarrass myself.
Vince didn't say anything as he watched the bathroom door close. It wasn't like MJ knew what went on all those years earlier, and she really had no idea about what went on in Jules' marriage.
"You're gonna have to leave, Vince. I can't pee with you standing guard at the door."
He smiled and turned to walk back down the hall. He ran into Leo. "Where's Maryanne?"
"She's in the bathroom."
He nodded. "I think Jules is ready to go. I can take her home if you don't want to."
Great, now his brothers were treating him like he was some kind of coward. If Jules could take it, Vince could.
"No. I'll take her back. I didn't think she'd want to go so soon."
Leo shrugged. "I think she wants to get back to Rufus. Kind of insistent on it."
"Okay. When you heading back to Texas?"
"Day after tomorrow."
"Sounds good."
But he still didn't leave. He hated to admit it but he was a little unnerved about spending forty minutes in the car alone with Jules. Not scared. Just…uncomfortable.
"Vince?"
Leo was frowning at him.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning."
Then he walked down the hall. The noise level rose as he neared the living room.
"Gianni Santini put me down," Jules said between squeals.
"You said I couldn't pick you up, Jules. I had to prove you wrong."
Then, he heard that laugh again. It had always been one of his favorite sounds in the world. She had never been a girl who held back her happiness. She belted it out for everyone in the world to share.
"Gee, put her down now," his mother ordered. "You're going to break something. I swear you boys will never grow up."
His mother said with the usual combination of disgust and love.
He did and Jules was laughing when she looked at Vince. His heart just about stopped right there and then. Then it sunk when her smile faded when she noticed him watching her.
"Leo said you wanted to go home."
"Yeah. I don't like leaving Rufus long."
He nodded but said nothing else. "Let me grab my keys and my coat."
With that he hurried to the kitchen to get the hell out of the house. The sooner he got her home and out of his vicinity, he'd breathe easier.
The ride home was uneventful, but almost silent. It was a bit nerve racking after being in the Santini household. Although she'd come from a pretty quiet family, she always enjoyed the fun at the Santinis. Kids congregated there after school and weekends because there was always a good time.
As the silence grew, her skin started to itch. From the inside out. Silence was always one of Mike's worst weapons against her and he had used it many times.
"How do you like teaching?" she asked.
"I like it. It's different. Plus, it keeps me from being deployed. With all these weddings and babies, I'd miss out on a lot of it."
She nodded but said nothing as he pulled into her driveway. "Well, thanks for the ride. I could have done it, but your mom is always looking out for me."
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.