Kissed Blind (A Hot Pursuit Novel Book 2) (19 page)

“Then for you, love tastes like garlic bread. For me, this fettuccine is one of the things love tastes like. Hand’s down, it has to be.”

Arianna tilted her head toward Vance. “Uncle Vance, what does love taste like to you?”

Vance tapped his chin. “Hmm… that’s a tough one. It for sure includes grandma’s cooking.” He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and caught my eye for half a second. “And kisses from pretty girls. Those are some of the most delicious things in the world.”

An unexpected whirl of butterflies fluttered in my belly, but when Vance leaned over and puckered his lips next to Arianna, they settled. He closed his eyes, and she smiled, looking down before kissing him.

“See, I could never get enough of those sweet kisses.”

The boys gagged on the other side of the table.

“You better watch it fellas, or you’ll be next.”

Both boys dropped their forks and held up their hands in protest.

“Sorry, you signed your own death warrants when you gagged.” I snickered.

Vance rose from his seat and walked over to the boys. They hunched their shoulders and tucked their heads down as Vance wrapped his arms around both boys, drawing them together. “You’re too late boys, pucker up.” Vance tickled each boy in his ribs at the same time while they protested and laughed. The raucous laughter got the attention of Christina.

“What’s going on in here?” she asked with hands firmly planted on her hips.

“Uncle Vance is trying to kiss us!” the boys said in unison. “Tell him to stop, mom!”

“Vance is dishing out kisses?” She shook her head. “Too bad for you two.”

Vance kissed each boy on the top of his head. “I’m not kissing your lips. I’m not crazy. I don’t want to catch boy cooties.”

Arianna giggled.

“What are you laughing at, sweet thing?” Vance asked.

“Uncle Vance, you already have boy cooties. You’re a boy!”

Vance put his hand to his stomach and let out a burst of laughter. “Then you’re doomed! You have them now too.”

Her face fell for a second, and she shrugged. “That’s okay, I like your cooties.”

Vance returned to his seat, and the laughter died down. We cleaned our plates, and Jina came by to wipe her girl’s faces. She laid a small plate of cookies down and gave them each one. I took that as my cue to get my desserts.

The dessert buffet was smaller, but no less impressive. Cannoli, butter cookies topped with stars of pink icing, panna cotta, and absolutely sinful ricotta donuts dusted with powdered sugar, all sat happily together. I took a cannoli and two donuts plus a chocolate biscotti, which sat alongside a freshly brewed pot of coffee. I poured a cup and returned to the table.

Ari and Isa were already off and running, and Anthony and Dominic had rooted themselves to the couch, sitting side by side, staring at their screens.

Vance came back in with a plate twice the size of mine and sat next to me.

“That’s a nice looking plate you have there.” I bit into one of my donuts and licked the powdered sugar from my lips.

“Not as good as that looks.” The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth, but it was a look in his eyes, one that seemed like he was confessing a thousand sins, that made me stop in my tracks.

I wiped my napkin across my lips and draped it on my lap. “Yeah, these donuts are too good.” I looked at him over the rim of my cup and studied his expression. It was odd the way he was looking at me. “What are you thinking about, you weirdo?”

“Kisses,” he said and bit into his cookie.

Twenty-One

My stomach fell down to my toes, and I almost choked on my coffee. “What?”

Vance turned his head toward his plate and laughed. “Nothing.”

Arianna ran up to me wielding two brushes and a bulging purse decorated by various
Disney
princesses. “Diana, can I play with your hair now?”

I shook my head at Vance. “You know, my stomach is so full, I should take a little break before I eat another bite. Where should we go so I can get the complete salon experience?”

She waved her little hands and her ponytail swayed. “This way.” She scampered away, stopped, and came back to grab my hand. She led me into a small sitting room off the front hallway. I sat on an antique loveseat and pivoted so my back was to her.

She brushed and twisted my hair, ripping strands out here and there. “Oops. Sorry,” she said, brushing away and working her magic.

“It’s part of being a girl. Sometimes beauty hurts, right?” I smiled.

She giggled. “My mama says that a lot when she brushes my hair. It gets real tangly.”

“It’s the price we pay for having long hair.” She inserted various clips and bows all over my head. When she was finished, I turned toward her. “How do I look?”

Her hands slapped her cheeks. “Oh, you look super pretty. Let’s go show mama.”

She led me back into the kitchen. Vance bounced little Isabella on his knee while he and his sister Jina were engrossed in a conversation. Arianna and I approached, and all talking ceased when they saw me. Jina covered her mouth, and Vance curled his lips inward to hold in his smile.

“Do I look pretty?” I asked, fluffing my hair. I hadn’t seen it in a mirror, but felt three pigtails protruding from my head at various heights and random clips attached in strange places except for one large bow attached smack dab at the top of my head.

Jina took her hand off her mouth. “Oh, Arianna, you’ve outdone yourself. Diana looks beautiful.”

“She looks like a real princess, doesn’t she, mama?”

“Oh, she sure does. Doesn’t she?” She smacked Vance’s arm.

Vance let go of the laugh he was holding in. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her prettier.” Before I had a chance to blink, he held up his phone and snapped a few pictures. “I bet the other people at work would love to see her like this. They’ll never believe it.”

I lunged for his phone. “You better delete that.”

He held his phone out of reach while laughing hysterically. “Heck no. They have to see this.”

“I swear,” I said through fits of laughter. “If you share that, it’ll be the end of you. I will take you down.”

“I’d love to see you try, princess.” He snapped a few more shots until his sister intervened and snatched the phone from his hand.

“All right, you two. Knock it off.” Jina went through his pictures and deleted the incriminating ones. “There, all taken care of. Now.” She looked down her nose at Vance. “I’d be happy to send Di home with your second grade school picture when you resembled a beaver. Or...” She tapped her chin. “Where does Ma keep that picture of when we dressed you up like a ballerina? I bet I could find it somewhere in the hall closet.”

“That’s just mean.” Vance frowned.

She
oohed
. “Or I could find the one of you with that
Cabbage Patch
doll you loved. Di, you would have died. He never went anywhere without that baby girl. What was her name again?”

“Annabelle Lee. Her name was Annabelle Lee.” Bitterness lingered in his tone.

“You had a
Cabbage Patch
doll named Annabelle Lee?” I asked.

“Hey, you try being the youngest boy in a household full of girls and see what your favorite toys are. I was doomed from birth.”

“Aw, it’s kind of sweet picturing you loving a doll.”

“And I was destroyed when she lost it.” He jabbed a finger at Jina.

“I did not lose your doll.” She shook her head and looked at me. “It’s been the topic of controversy for years. I don’t remember him handing it to me in that restaurant. Christina doesn’t remember taking it, but Vance swears he gave it to one of us.”

“I know I handed it to you,” Vance protested.

“Well, anyway, Ma went back and looked for it, but no one ever turned it in. Sweet Annabelle Lee has been lost ever since.”

“I cried for a week.”

“Aw.” I covered my heart with my hand. “That’s so sad.”

“I’m still not taking the blame. He lost it and I’m sticking with that. Now, here’s your phone back.” Jina grinned at me. “We girls have to stick together.”

Vance stood to shove his phone in his pocket.

I placed my hand on his and stifled a laugh. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“Keep it up and you will be sorry.”

I whipped my head around and intentionally hit him in the face with one of my many ponytails.  He pretended to spit hair out of his mouth.

I spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories with Vance’s aunts, uncles, brothers-in-law, and sisters. I had a great time, and we shared lots of laughs. When my head started to ache from my hairdo, I asked Arianna if it was okay if I took it down. When she agreed, I set my locks loose and left the accessories on the table. I caught Vance smiling at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Hopeless. You’re still pretty.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled.

The day wore on and night fell. It was time to call it an evening. Vance’s mother gave me a few containers of food to go, and Vance escorted me to my car.

“You don’t have to walk me to my car. I think I can handle this.” I set the containers of food in my back seat and shut the door.

He leaned against the driver’s door and grinned. “Having you join the party breathes a new life into it. I appreciate you being here. You should come more often with or without your sidepiece.”

I smiled while my heart sank. “Thanks.” I nudged my head toward the car. “So, you going to let me leave, or is this some lame attempt to try to make out with me again.”

I couldn’t believe the words left my mouth, but they had, and they floated around us like a cloud heavy with rain. The pressure of them silently built, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if lightning struck me dead; I would have welcomed it. He shifted his stance and rested his full weight flat against my car, biting his lower lip and grinning.

I blinked and shook my head rapidly. “I… I don’t know why I said that.”

“I do.” He grabbed my hips and pulled me into his body. I caught the smell of his cologne mixed with his mother’s cooking.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and turned my head. “Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop pretending. I know this is some game you love to play with me.” I braved staring back at him. He furrowed his brow slightly and shook his head. “Oh, please. Don’t act all innocent. I feel like… like—”

“Like what?” His gaze held.

My heart thundered inside my chest, but I refused to fall for it again. I gripped his hands and pulled them off. “You like making a joke out of me.”

He straightened his back. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do. You get really close to me all the time and act like you’re going to cross some invisible line that you’re never going to cross.”

“Hmm…” He shrugged. “Or, maybe I’ve crossed it already?”

I narrowed my eyes into thin slits. “Vance DeLuca, what the hell does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” He smiled.

It could have only meant one thing. “Damn it, you remember, don’t you?”

“Remember what?”

I groaned. “You’re absolutely exhausting. You know exactly what. Admit it.”

He waited a second to draw out my misery. “Yes, I remember kissing you.”

And just like that, I couldn’t breathe, and my heart threatened to stop. “But, you never said anything. Why wouldn’t you say anything and let me…” I trailed off.

“I was having a dream—a fantastic dream—when it happened. But when I came to, I was actually kissing you. Only an idiot would have stopped.” He smiled crookedly. “But I came to my senses, and my stomach started to hurt, and, well, I think you remember the rest. Still not one of my finest moments. I figured it would be easier on both of us if I pretended it never happened.”

I grunted a few times before I could speak. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that.”

“Look, it happened, and I know I tease you and push you.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know why I do it other than I like joking around with you. I thought it was a fun thing we did, like it’s a part of who we are together. But I never meant to
make a joke out of you. If it bothers you, I’ll stop.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. The thought of him not joking around with me anymore didn’t sound like fun. “No, it’s fine. I only wished you hadn’t pretended you didn’t know. I’ve wondered all these months. It’s weird knowing you chose not to say anything.”

“But you didn’t say anything either.”

“I know but that’s different.” I couldn’t quite articulate how, but it was. “Did, um…”

“What?”

“Did you regret it?” I stared down at my hands.

He stepped closer and tipped my chin up. “No, not for one second. I loved kissing you.”

“You loved kissing me?” I had to repeat it because I couldn’t quite believe he’d said it. “But, why keep it a secret.”

“Because.” He paused and deliberated with himself. “Because you belong to someone else and I can’t have you, so what’s the point?” His gaze was a soft caress, but it was the low, rich timber of his voice which threw me off kilter. His breath was hot against my lips, and I couldn’t move. If he was ever going to kiss me again, this was his chance.

A car door shut off in the distance and pulled our attention toward the street. Vance stepped away from me, and I squinted to make out a female figure approaching. I recognized it instantly.

Cici.