Bianca steps forward, holding out her hand to the woman. “I’m his fiancée, Bianca,” she says, driving that point home and basically telling the woman to back the fuck up.
The woman’s eyebrows practically touch her hairline as soon as the words are out of Bianca’s mouth.
“Uh oh,” I say, watching what could very well be a train wreck happening right before my eyes.
“His past had to catch up with him sometime,” Angelo says with a hint of laughter in his voice.
Vinnie turns, not from hearing the exchange, but after he reached for Bianca at his side and she wasn’t there. “Melinda?” Vinnie says in disbelief. “Is that you?”
Bianca’s arms are folded in front of her chest, and her head’s tilted. I know that look. Have seen it before when some of his rabid fans try to stake their claim on her man. She’s about to throw down.
Vinnie slides his arm around Bianca’s waist. Again, not hiding where his heart belongs, just like every other man in this room. “Baby, this is Melinda,” he says like Bianca’s suddenly going to realize who she is and be okay with her and her mighty big breasts. “We went to Sunday school together.”
I don’t know why, but I snort. Not a ladylike laugh either. The thought of Vinnie in Sunday school, praying to Jesus and learning the bible, has me in a complete fit.
Before Bianca came along, he had to be one of the biggest ladies’ men I’d ever met. There wasn’t a skirt he didn’t chase, especially if it was attached to two killer legs and an even bigger rack.
Bianca doesn’t seem to be buying his story because she doesn’t drop a shoulder and her hard stare doesn’t falter. “It’s nice to meet you.” The smile on Bianca’s face is tight, almost painful to look at.
“I wish I had time to catch up, but I have customers waiting. It’s nice to see you,” Melinda says, her eyes moving between Bianca and Vinnie. “I’m so happy for all your success.”
“Thanks, Mel.” Vinnie smiles, watching as Melinda spins on her heel and walks back through the door, shrouding the room in darkness again.
“Thanks, Mel,” Bianca repeats, mocking him. “Seriously, is there a girl in this city you haven’t banged?”
Vinnie’s arms tighten around her body as he places his face in the crook of her neck. “Baby, are you jealous? I mean, we can read bible verses together if it’ll make you feel like it evens the score with Melinda.”
“You never slept with her?” Bianca’s point-blank with her question.
It’s one of the reasons I adore her so much.
At her age, I was nowhere near as comfortable with myself to be so forthright. I’d dance around topics, hoping Mitchell would get the hint. Typically, he didn’t, and that was entirely my fault for being too scared to ask him directly. But that isn’t Bianca’s style. Now, I’m that girl. Never afraid to say what I mean, but I wish I’d had the balls to do it sooner.
Vinnie peppers her skin with kisses. “Never,” he murmurs into her neck. “Didn’t actually think about her that way at all.”
“You think about every woman that way,” Bianca shoots back, but she tilts her head to give him more access to nibble her flesh.
“I used to think about women that way, baby. Now I have you, and there’s no one else on my mind.”
My heart melts a little at his words. Damn, I love every man in this family. They know when and how to say the right thing to make any girl putty in their hands.
7
Tilly
“You look absolutely perfect,” Daphne says as she wraps her arms around me. “I’m so happy you’ll finally be my sister.”
“I love you,” I whisper in her ear before she pulls away. I don’t speak louder, not trusting my voice at a moment like this. I’m liable to start weeping, but it wouldn’t be the first time today.
“You now have three sisters,” Delilah says, elbowing Daphne out of my embrace and taking her place. “We’re a family now.”
It’s funny how life works out. In a heartbeat, I went from it being just Roger and me to a family with so many people, my heart couldn’t be any fuller.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve all this,” I say softly, touching the corners of my eyes before my vision has a chance to blur.
“You deserve this as much as the rest of us,” Bianca tells me, pulling a tissue from her small purse and offering it to me. “Don’t ruin your makeup, babe.”
I take the tissue and blot away the happy tears. I feel like an idiot because I’m crying from joy and I haven’t even walked down the aisle yet.
