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His facial expression says he did. “Annie and I ran into Valentina in the Hamptons last summer, and I wondered at the time if she was the woman you were hooking up with.”
“Why? There’s a zillion women crawling around there in the summer.”
“Yeah, but the way you were so hot and cold, I knew whoever she was, she was more than just a hook-up. Val seemed to fit. I thought it was a far-off idea, but then the rumors about her and Max reconciling—”
“Wait!” Carm leans over the table. “You said that you and your hook-up broke up before we started going to the Hamptons last summer.”
This is why I didn’t mention it to my brothers. I knew it would turn into a thing.
“She called it off last spring. Said she was confused and needed more than I could give her. But when we ran into each other in the Hamptons that summer…” I shrug. “You know how it is.”
Enzo glances behind me, presumably to make sure the girls aren’t in earshot, then he leans in. “Did you know she and Max were getting back together?”
“She told me.” I clench my fist in my lap. Just the sound of her ex-husband’s name grinds on me.
“Dom?”
Enzo’s eyes are asking me to give him more information, but I’m the oldest. I don’t show vulnerability or weakness. “It wasn’t a big deal. I pushed her toward him. They share a son.”
“But?” Carm asks.
I put up my hand. “It’s over. Or at least it was over until I ran into her in Vegas and ended up in this mess.”
My brothers look at one another.
Carm clears his throat before speaking. “Are you sure there’s not more between you guys? She’s not with Max anymore and you guys ended up married, drunk or not.”
“Exactly.” I point at him. “We were drunk.” I look back over my shoulder and seek her out in the store. She’s laughing while they all flip through the magazines.
“When I’m drunk, I’m honest,” Carm chimes in beside me.
Enzo is surprisingly quiet as he sits across from me.
“You also do stupid shit when you’re drunk,” I say.
Carm shrugs. “True. But if I married someone, I think I’d wonder if it meant something more or not.”
“Did you think it meant something more when you pissed on April Wilson’s front door because she refused your advances? Or how about the time you let April Wilson spend the night after she forgave you for pissing on her door? You broke your spend-the-night rule for her. Was that a sign?”
He looks at the ceiling as though he doesn’t remember any of it, including April Wilson. “I was passed out. That’s the only reason she spent the night.”
“You took her to breakfast the next day,” I deadpan.
“For the pissing on the door thing.” He grows more agitated the longer this line of conversation continues.
“But that wasn’t a sign?”
“No. Whatever, man. We’re talking about you.” He points at me.
“What about Dom?” Val asks as the girls join us, each of them saddling up next to their Mancini brother.
Poor Blanca heads toward my parents where they wait closer to the gate.
“Nothing. What magazines did you get?” Enzo puts his arm around Annie’s waist and guides her to sit on his lap.
Bella sits on Carm’s lap, and I look at Val. No way can she sit on my lap unless she wants to feel the half chub that hasn’t gone away since I walked into her room this morning without knocking and found her wearing only a lacy bra and panties. The image has been flashing in my mind all day.
“Let’s go join my parents.” I stand, grab her hand, and lead her away from the lovebirds.
I don’t want her getting any ideas.
