The Santini Collection 1-4 (36 page)

“
Not sure.” Vince looked about as happy as a man about to get a prostate exam.

She shook her head. “Rufus, you ignore the Santini brothers. You are beautiful.” He gave her a lick then shuffled off to his bed in the living room.

“
Let’s go. I’m ready for some Joey food.”

And maybe by then, Vince wouldn’t be giving her the death stare.

* * * *

It was easy to see Jules there with his family. Well, not easy for him, but she had always fit with them. His brothers had always treated her as part of the family, like a sister or a cousin. He wished he could see her that way. Even now, two hours later, his palms were sweating.

They had gathered around the kitchen table as his parents had drifted away. Joey and Papa Santini knew they needed time to hang out, to just be…well it used to be brothers. Now there were spouses and fiancés and lord, kids.

“
So, Leo the Lion is going to be a daddy. It’s hard to believe,” Jules said.

She was sitting next to Alana who had been watching her. Alana was the perfect match for Marco. They both seemed to study things with the same kind of intensity.

“
Yeah, but then, I am kind of fantastic, so it was inevitable,” Leo said.

“
Oh, gawd, could you all leave now? This is a woman thing,” MJ announced.

Leo frowned. “No. You are not going to hound Jules for information about us.”

“
As if,” MJ said with a laugh. “You’re all standing around here as if you’re protecting us from intruders. We’re fine. Go away.”

Leo glanced in his direction. He knew his brother picked up on his feelings for Jules years ago. “I think we should stay.”

MJ sighed. “Joey, Leo says maybe we shouldn’t try for a base stateside next.”

“
Leonardo Santini!”

He groaned. “That was cruel.”

She smiled. “That’s why you love me.”

He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. She blushed prettily and smacked him the arm. Soon they were in the living room with his folks and his mother was irritated. Her frown was enough to make any grown Santini man to run for the hills.

Vince clapped a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “You really should have let me date MJ, because that woman is nothing but trouble for you.”

Before Leo could answer their mother stepped closer and gave Leo a narrowed look. “So what the hell is this about going overseas?”

* * * *

“
So, there’s all this shouting down by the riverbank. None of us know what’s going on, but we knew the Santinis were down there.”

“
You never know with those four. I caught them arguing in my front yard,” Alana said laughing.

“
Yeah, and Joey’s had to use the hose on them before out back,” MJ said.

Jules laughed. “That’s the way Santinis are. Anyway, Gee’s just a little guy and he comes running up like there is some demon of hell on his tail.”

“
Oh, no, what was it?” Kianna asked.

“
First, you have to know Gee has an armful of clothes and he can barely see over them. Behind him, in all their glorious nudity, the three older Santinis are running like a determined pack of well…Santinis.”

The table erupted into laughter. Jules joined in enjoying herself for the first time in a really long time.

“
So, Vince is calling him names that his Mama would box his ears for when he realizes there are at least forty girls standing at the top of the ridge.”

“
Oh, my.” MJ was laughing so hard there were tears pouring out of her eyes. “What did you all do?”

“
We protected Gee of course, because he was so little, and well, all of us were pretty happy to get a peek at those guys in the birthday suits.”

Kianna was laughing the hardest. “That man is insane. And I can see him doing it.”

It was easy to see why these women had caught the eye of a Santini. None of them were similar in looks, but they all seemed to have personalities that fit their husband’s perfectly.

Kianna had skin the color of cocoa, laughing golden brown eyes, and a head full of springy curls.

“
He is such a sweetie though,” Alana said. “He asked me to marry him when I first met him.”

The Hawaiian was soft spoken and had a gentle spirit that complimented Marco. Then there was MJ.

“
They’re all troublemakers, every last one of them. They’re men. I know because I grew up in a household of them.”

She was a gorgeous petite brunette who was enormous at the moment. She glowed with her pregnancy.

“
So, tell us, you saw all of them naked except Gee…so any details?” MJ asked.

“
MJ,” Alana said. “Jules will think we’re horrible.”

MJ rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, you want to know too.”

“
Know?” Jules asked.

“
Well, we want to know about the Alpha, Vicente. Fess up.”

She didn’t know what to say. The memory of Vince Santini completely and gloriously nude was something she could still conjure up in her mind. And damn, he had been barely a senior at the time. Now…

“
Yeah, Jules, why don’t you tell them about it?” Vince said from behind her.

Chapter Three

Vince 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.”