Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (20 page)

“Exactly! I’m hoping that day is soon.” Just the way Nikki said it told him her sentiments were genuine.

“Me too. As for Clayton and Brittany, they just keep trying. They really want a baby. They’re already happy together, and that would just make them happier.”

“That would be so nice,” Nikki agreed. Lucky him – she’d never have grandchildren. “By the way, there was a woman with you in a photo in the magazine. Who was that?”

“Oh, that was Cheryl, my secretary. I guess you’d call her the sister I never had. She’s the best. Her husband is a great guy.”

“Everyone should have one of those, a sister. Or a brother.” Nikki wished she had a sibling. “I don’t have any.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got five of those counting my cousin Vic, and sometimes it ain’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Tony laughed.

The pizza showed up at that moment, and it smelled so delicious Nikki decided she could eat some of it even though her stomach was still a nervous, knotted mess. She thought of something and giggled a little.

“What?” Tony asked, a puzzled look wrinkling his brow.

“You’ll think I’m crazy, but I have these made-up names for people at the gym because I don’t know their real names. Like Kelly; I called her Boobalicious.” At that little disclosure, Tony snickered.

“What about me? What did you call me?” He shot her a mischievous grin.

She hesitated – this was so embarrassing. “I called you The Italian.” She blushed and looked down at the table.

He stared at her, wide-eyed. “You’re kidding, right? It’s that obvious?”

“What’s that obvious?”

“Nikki, my whole family’s Italian. All of them. How did you know?”

“But your last name is Walters. Isn’t that German or something?” she asked, not believing what she was hearing.

“I don’t know – I was told he was Welsh. That was my great-great-great grandfather’s last name, and it’s been carried down through the family by the men for all these years. And the region the Cabrizzis came from – my mother’s family – in Italy was held by Germany until World War I, so I always assumed he was German, but that’s not what I was told. But he was the only one who wasn’t Italian – everyone else was Italian. Every last one.”

She couldn’t believe it. “No! But your brothers? Mark? Bart? Freddie? Bennie?”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “Marco, Bartolomeo, Federico, and Benecio. My dad was Marco as well. My mother is Raffaella. My name is actually Antonio. How did you know?”

Nikki didn’t know what to say. “I didn’t. I couldn’t,” she stammered. “You just looked Italian to me. I don’t know why I didn’t think Jewish, or South American, or Portuguese, but it was Italian that stuck with me.” She looked down at her lap. “Isn’t that funny?” she whispered, smiling that small, shy smile at him. His heart was melting and he felt powerless to stop it.

It didn’t take long for Nikki to realize that he loved to talk about his heritage. He had the story memorized, starting with his great-great-great grandfather’s parents taking him to Italy, home of his maternal relatives, to avoid the Civil War, and moving forward all the way to his own parents’ courtship and marriage. She was also surprised to find that his parents had sent each of their sons to Italy for their high school educations, letting them come home in the summers. But they all came back to live in the states to go to college.

Then he told her about his brothers: “Mark is an obstetrician in Portland, Oregon. Bart lives here; he’s an electrician and owns one of the electrical companies in town, Pinnacle. Freddie lives here, too; he has a finance degree and he’s a commercial banker. And Bennie has a degree in English and owns a bookstore in New York City. They’re all married, all have kids. And, well, here I am – The Italian.” He grinned at her until his eyes crinkled shut and he looked so cute that she could barely keep her hands off him. “What about your family?”

“Oh, we’re Scotch-Irish mutts!” Her laughter sounded like wind chimes to Tony, soft and lyrical.

He couldn’t help it; he reached across the small table and put his hand against her cheek. “Show me a mutt whose skin glows like that in this light, and I’ll swear there’s a pedigree there somewhere!” His heart skipped a beat as she pressed her cheek into his palm. Nikki’s eyes closed, and Tony thought he saw a hint of a tear in the inside corner of one of them.

Then her eyes snapped open; she reached up and took his hand from her face, but she held it in hers and dropped them to the table. Her fingers were fine and soft, and he felt a solid, strong energy coming from her, something positive and effervescent. She played with the ring on his finger for a second, then let go and grabbed a piece of pizza.

“So really,” he repeated, “what about your family, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Nope, don’t mind at all,” she said, holding the pizza. “But, as you said before, that’s a conversation for another time. Let’s eat this before it gets cold.” She gave him a wide smile and took a huge bite. He laughed at the pizza sauce in the corners of her mouth before taking his napkin and wiping it off. She laughed too. They were both having a good time and, for that little moment, it was just the two of them. The rest of the world fell away.

They made their way down the block slowly. Tony didn’t want the evening to end. They’d had so much fun, laughing and talking. He knew there were lots of important things they probably should discuss, but he just wanted to see Nikki laugh and smile.

Nikki couldn’t understand – how had this guy managed to stay unattached for so long? He was perfect in every way – gorgeous, smart, funny, warm, caring. Why hadn’t some long-legged, big-breasted bimbo managed to snap him up before now? Was there something really wrong with him? If there was, she couldn’t identify it.

She waited, hoping as they walked he’d take her hand. Tony didn’t disappoint; halfway back to the shop, she felt his fingers playing along hers. She opened her hand and spread her fingers, and his had wrapped through and around them in an instant, almost instinctively. She’d forgotten how good it felt to hold someone’s hand, and she didn’t want it to stop.

They got to the parking lot and she led him to her SUV. He took a look at it and laughed. “I see this thing at the gym, but I still can’t believe it. I had you pegged for a sports car girl!” He looked it over again and couldn’t help but think how cute she’d look in a convertible, her hair blowing back.

Nikki laughed. “God, no. I couldn’t get all of my crap into a sports car!” She unlocked the door, opened it, and turned to face him.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Tony reached for Nikki’s hand again. “I don’t know about you, but this was the best evening I’ve had in, well, maybe ever. It’s been so much fun. I’m really sorry it’s over.”

“Me too.” She squeezed his fingers, and he squeezed back. She wondered if he was waiting for her to say that the night didn’t have to end, but she wasn’t ready for that step yet. Would he kiss her? She was hoping.

“So, be careful. I’ll call you in a little while to make sure you made it home okay.” He squeezed her hand again. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. I’d like that.”
I hope he means that literally,
she thought. “Bye. And thanks for dinner.”

“No, thank you!” he called back, waving as he got into his truck.

Nikki started the Escape and pulled out of the parking lot, Tony’s truck right behind her. She turned right, he turned left, and she watched his taillights disappear down the street. It had been a perfect night. If he’d invited her to come home with him, she wasn’t sure she could’ve said no. Every cell in her body ached. Her panties were soaked and her nipples were so hard she was afraid their circulation was damaged. Everything about him called to her, to her heart and her body.

When Tony couldn’t see Nikki’s taillights any more in the rearview, he sighed. He’d wanted so badly to taste her lips, to pull her softness against him, wrap his arms around her waist, let her feel his hardness, how badly he needed her. But he didn’t want to scare her or move too fast. It had taken every bit of his resolve to let her get into that car and drive away, but he’d already decided; when he called Nikki later, he planned to ask her out again for Sunday.

“You home and locked in?” he asked when she answered.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks again for dinner. It was . . .” dared she say it? “magical.”

“It was, wasn’t it? I didn’t know a pizza could taste so good. I guess it was the company I keep, huh?”

“Maybe. That was one very tasty pizza!”

“So, I was thinking. I’ve got to go to a jobsite tomorrow morning, but I’ve got no plans for Sunday. Would you like to spend the afternoon with me, maybe drive out through the country, have some dinner?”

She didn’t want to sound too eager, but then she decided what the hell. If being honest with him turned him off, at least she’d know sooner rather than later. “I’d love it!” she gushed. “So, what do I need to wear?”

“Dress casual and comfortable. I’ll pick you up about one. Hey, you need to give me your address – I don’t even know where you live.”

“429 Bluejay Lane.”

“You live in Annabeth and Katie’s neighborhood!”

“Yes. We figured that out when Annabeth ordered Katie’s flowers.”

“Wait – do you have a neighborhood association?” Tony asked. Seemed he remembered something someone had said – maybe Jason? He lived in Annabeth and Katie’s neighborhood too.

“Yes, we do, but I’ve never seen Annabeth or Katie at a meeting. I used to be the . . .”

“Secretary?” he interrupted. His heart was about to pound right out of his chest.

“How did you know that?” she gasped.

“Then you know Jason Miller?” His mind was reeling.

“Sure! He lives over here too.”

Tony hesitated for a few seconds. Should he say out loud what he was thinking? “I’ve got something to tell you, but it’ll freak you out – it’s freaking me out. Do you know why I came to the shop?” he asked slowly.

Was this a trick question? “To buy flowers?”

“Yeah, but I came there to buy flowers because Annabeth had met you. She wanted me to meet you and wouldn’t take no for an answer. When I got there, I realized you were the woman from the gym, the one I’d been wanting to ask out.” Damn – he hadn’t meant to say that.

He’d wanted to ask her out all along? She thought about it for a second, and realized she’d been going to that gym for four years. In that time, he’d always been there. He’d been thinking about asking her out all that time? Four years? “So you didn’t know I worked in the shop when you came in?”

“Well, I knew someone named Nikki worked there because of Annabeth, but I didn’t know you were the same woman from the gym. But here’s the freaky part. Jason works for me. He knew Annabeth was trying to get me to meet someone, and he knew I kept balking.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “And he told me if that didn’t work out, he’d be glad to introduce me to the former secretary of his neighborhood association.”

Nikki was glad she was alone – her bottom lip was trembling and tears were welling in her eyes. “So you’re telling me that somehow, some way, from three different directions . . .”

Tony took a deep breath. “Nikki, I don’t want to go too fast. And I’m not saying this is anything permanent. But don’t you think it’s odd that all of this came together, like something, someone, was determined to make sure we met? Don’t you think it’s funny?”

“It’s not funny, Tony. It’s called fate.” Her voice was failing and the tears were coming so fast that she couldn’t stop them. “I can’t wait until Sunday,” she managed to get out in a whisper.

“Me neither.” Tony’s voice was low and almost reverent. “Sleep well. I’ll be thinking of you until then. Good night, beautiful girl.”

Nikki choked and whispered back, “Good night.” She pressed END, dropped the phone, and sobbed into her pillow.

He’d called her beautiful. This couldn’t be happening. No one got this lucky twice in a lifetime.

W
hen Tony’s number popped up on her phone screen, Nikki decided to be a little bold. “Good morning, handsome!” she answered cheerfully. “How are you this beautiful morning?”

“I’m great, pretty girl. How’s your morning?” Tony was more than a little excited that Nikki sounded glad to hear from him.