Page 71 of Bobby

“Here.” Bobby takes the envelope from me. “I’ll keep it until after lunch.”

I nod and just let all my worries go away. Nothing else to do but enjoy lunch. I have everything I could want in this moment: food, clothes, and my girls.

And a man with an amazing family that seems to accept me and my daughters with more ease than I can believe.

The noise that greets us when we enter the dining room isn’t what I expect. I figured my children would be laughing or giggling. At the very least, talking the ear off anyone near them. But they’re silent, sitting across from Tommy and Payton, toward the end of the table by Cynthia. Two open chairs are on their sides, and Bobby pulls out the one next to Lily for me to sit down in, and he takes the one on my right. Danny walks over and sits by Tommy, since Payton is also by Cynthia. At the head of the table is who I assume is the eldest brother, Vinny. But the woman who sits to his right and next to Danny isn’t one I recognize.

“Willow, dear, this is my son Vincenzo—Vinny—and his fiancée, Bianca,” Cynthia introduces them.

I smile at the woman. “Congratulations.”

Her lips purse a bit as her eyes dance toward my girls for a second before she smiles.

“Thank you. Vinny and I are so happy. Aren’t we, sweetie?” She reaches out and grabs his hand, and he firmly pulls it out of her grasp and sets it in his lap.

“Shall we?” He looks pointedly at his mother, who nods.

“Of course.” She nods to her staff, and soon plates are placed in front of us very elegantly. I suspect they might be used to this, but I share glances with my girls and giggle.

“It’s just like The Princess Diaries,” Lily says, leaning over and covering her mouth to speak into my ear. But it’s loud enough that I’m sure everyone heard.

“But we have better popcorn.” Tommy winks, and my girls eat it up.

There has been more than one debate about whether pears in popcorn would be good, like they say it is in the movie, or not. Not that we would try. We just discuss it quite often. Something I bet Tommy got a front row seat to when he babysat. The girls are on a Princess Diaries kick every chance they can get. The first or the second, it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s something with the queen of Genovia.

I feel Bobby lean my way, and I look over, tilting my head closer. But it’s his hand that finds my thigh under the table and stays there that I focus on more.

“She wasn’t meant to come until next week. But she came in early to help Mama organize a fundraiser for youth softball.” Bobby glances at Bianca before looking back at me.

“I take it this is not a happy visit?”

“Arranged marriages rarely are. But she seems to be good for Vinny. Keeps him on task, and that’s what a wife in her position needs to do.”

“Ivy, angel, why don’t you tell Uncle Vinny about your project,” Cynthia says between bites.

“Mother,” Bobby growls, with dark eyes sent her way. She just looks at him with innocent ones. I’m not sure if he’s upset about his mother sharing Ivy’s news, or that she referred to his brother as Ivy’s uncle.

“What? I just thought Vinny would like to learn about jerboas. It’s really very fascinating, Vinny. Ivy even has a presentation to give after school on Tuesday.”

It’s only then that I see Vinny relax, giving my daughter the full attention she deserves as he discusses her upcoming meeting with the experts at the event. She’s been working so hard on it, and on Tuesday, she has to be available for three hours to answer questions from all the parents and kids who come to the event.

I focus on that and not the part where Cynthia is calling Vinny my girls’ uncle. Something I might like a bit, but won’t say aloud.

And when Bobby squeezes my thigh under the table, I might like that a little bit too.

Chapter 26—Bobby

When I get off the elevator, Willow’s already waiting at her door for me. And I can’t deny the feeling that swarms through me at seeing her there. Not just the sight of her, but her waiting for me. Knowing I would be here on time like I told her earlier.

“You look amazing,” I say as I come closer.

“I look like I did all day.” She rolls her eyes with a shake of her head.

“Just because you’re in the same clothes as before doesn’t make my statement any less true.” I slide closer to her and enjoy that her breath catches. “Besides, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Where are the girls?”

“Changing,” she says as her eyes wander around my face, stopping on my lips. “They get to dress in whatever they want since it’s an after-school event and uniforms aren’t required.”

“Perfect.”