When did the sun get so fucking bright
? He dropped back in bed, his stomach doing somersaults. It felt as if someone was taking a jackhammer to his damned head.
“
Gonna spend all day in bed, Santini?”
The sickly sweet tone told him he was at Joey’s, but he had no idea how he got there. He opened his eyes again, just barely, and realized he was lying in her bed and she was standing next to it, holding a glass of something disgusting.
“
Drink.” She held it out to him. His stomach launched a revolt. He fought it back. He took the glass and sipped at it. It wasn’t bad, wasn’t good, but it didn’t make him want to throw up.
“
What happened?’
“
You drank a lot of liquor and made an ass out of yourself.”
She wandered away, back to her easel. She had his painting out. The smell of paint had been what had woken him and made him sick.
He blinked. She was only wearing a long paint-stained white shirt. He had to have the mother of all hangovers, if he just noticed that.
“
Wait, you said I made an ass out of myself?”
“
Yeah. I don’t know who you were with, or what you did, but you showed up at Sam and Thelma’s demanding to know my name.”
Suddenly it came back him. He had a few drinks, but not enough to get drunk. Unfortunately, his friends showed up and he had a few more. After that it got fuzzy, but he did know he didn’t drive.
He had been hurting. And he had felt stupid. He knew with Joey he needed to take his time, let her know just how perfect they were for each other. Instead, he had been so happy, he had rushed things. So, he had decided the best option was to get lost in a bottle of cheap whiskey.
Shit, he hoped he didn’t do anything too bad.
“
I was demanding to know your name? I know your name.”
“
I am assuming demanding to know my full name. Sam felt that it was my fault and brought you over here.”
He sipped a little bit more of the concoction she gave him. He realized now his stomach was settled enough to try standing. With extreme care, he rose out of bed. The room spun, but not so bad he couldn’t concentrate on the woman now painting a background behind him in the picture.
“
He felt you were at fault?”
“
Yes. He said no Santini ever drinks like that. Then, he said you loved me and he left.”
He blinked. “He said what?”
“
No wait. First, I told him I loved him. He returned the affection. Oh, and dinner’s at two, which is in about an hour, so you better shower.” She sniffed in his direction. “You smell.”
He blinked again. “Go back. Sam told you I love you?”
“
Yes. Well, he said that Thelma and he loved me.”
Irritation marched down his spine. He didn’t have the patience for her games today. “Dammit, Joey quit doing that.”
She turned to face him, an expression of mock innocence on her face. “What?”
“
You said he said that I loved you. You know what I mean.”
“
Yes.”
He sighed. “Why did he say that?”
“
I didn’t ask. He said no man gets that drunk over a woman he kind of likes. Which is kind of stupid because really, Stewart, we had a little tiff, then you got drunk. Not well played.”
He was still trying to register that Sam had told her that when she asked, “Don’t you want to know my reaction?”
Papa was actually afraid to know. He was ashamed to admit it but after the day before, then getting so damned drunk, he wasn’t sure he was up for another rejection.
“
Well, I will tell you anyway. I think I love you too.”
He blinked. “You said you didn’t want to be serious.”
It was her turn to sigh, but she didn’t look away. “I was scared.”
She said it in such a small voice he realized she was ashamed. Which was stupid, but he would get to that later. If what she was saying was true, he could spend the next fifty years proving to her that she was the toughest lady he knew.
“
You love me?” he asked.
“
I said I think I love you.”
“
You think?” he asked irritated again.
She gave him a Gallic shrug. “I’m not sure about love. If there’s a person in your life who drives you crazy but you can’t think of life without them, is that love?”
He smiled. “It must be, because it’s how I feel about you.”
Without being able to hold back anymore, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
“
I love you, Stewart.”
He smiled and gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth.
She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, really, Stewart, I might love you, but you do need a shower. You smell like the inside of a whiskey bottle.”
He pulled her toward the bathroom. “Wanna scrub my back?”
She smiled and nodded, allowing him to lead her to the shower. “We are going to have to figure out how I will go to art school.”
He turned and faced her. “I don’t have a ring, or a lot of money, but I will make damned sure you go to art school.”
She smiled. “You really are the sweetest man.”
He leaned forward for a kiss but she pressed her hand on his chest. “Really, Stewart. Shower, now. And toothpaste, that would be good.”
He laughed and started the shower. “And, just for the record, I love you too, Josephina.”
Present day, Warrenton, VA
Joey woke as the first rays of sunlight tried to fight its way through the blinds. Something tightened around her fingers, causing her to blink then open her eyes. Stewart was looking at her.
“
What happened?”
Hearing his voice was one of the most wonderful sounds she had ever heard. It was the only Christmas present she needed.
“
You’re in the hospital.”
He moved his head to look around, then winced.
“
Oh, don’t move.”
For some reason, her vision wavered. She didn’t realize until then she was crying.
“
Oh, Joey, don’t cry, baby.”
It had been such a long night, and now that she knew he was safe, she couldn’t hold it together anymore.
Stewart’s fingers tugged on hers, pulling her out of the seat and he did his best to move over to give her space on the bed. She shook her head.
“
You need your rest. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“
There is one thing you should know and that is Papa always gets his way.”
She tried to snort, but a sob came out. Just as he always did, he pulled her closer, easing her onto the bed. He kissed the back of neck.
“
Now, this is the only kind of medicine a Marine needs.”
She smiled and closed her eyes and swallowed. “I thought I lost you.”
As soon as she whispered the words, she felt a new rush of pain sharpen in her chest. She pressed her hand between her breasts trying to ease the pain.
“
Ah, baby, you know there’s no getting rid of me.”
In the soft glow of morning light, with the whisper of his breath against her neck, and the sounds of the hospital around them, she drifted off to sleep, content she would kick his ass later.
The next day, the knock on the door interrupted an argument about just how pissed she was at Stewart. She saw Leo’s face in the small glass window.
“
Be nice. The kids are here.”
“
Woman, you don’t need to tell me how to behave.”
There was no heat in the comment. For the most part, he had let her rant all day about his accident. Joey figured Stewart saw it as penance.
The door opened and Santinis came streaming into the room. Balloons and flowers filled the small area along with two active babies.
“
How did you get past the nurses?” she asked as her boys and their wives crowded the hospital room.
Leo gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We used Gianni. You know he can charm anyone.”
MJ came up behind him, baby Anna in her arms. “And we used the newest Santinis, who are just dying to spend some more time with Grandma.”
Joey held her arms out. “Gimme.”
MJ handed Anna over and Joey settled into her chair. Joey watched as MJ took Serena from Leo and took the chair next to hers. The boys gathered around their father, talking over the injuries and his release the next day. She glanced at their wives. MJ looked as she usually did. No one would have known she’d had a baby not long ago. The other three were at various stages of pregnancy. Each of them glowed with the expectancy of new life. Another group of Santinis to raise. She glanced at Stewart, who was watching her, and they shared a smile. They had built a good life together and they were ready for the next chapter.
With the sounds of the family around her, Joey sat back with a smile knowing she would be enjoying another Christmas with the man that made her believe in love again.
About Melissa Schroeder
Born to an Air Force family at an Army hospital Melissa has always been a little bit screwy. She was further warped by her years of watching Monty Python and her strange family. Her love of romance novels developed after accidentally picking up a Linda Howard book. After becoming hooked, she read close to 300 novels in one year, deciding that romance was her true calling instead of the literary short stories and suspenses she had been writing. Since her first release in 2004, Melissa has had over 30 short stories, novellas and novels released with multiple publishers in a variety of genres and time periods. Those releases include the Harmless series, a bestselling erotic romance series set in Hawaii. A Little Harmless Sex, book 1, was one of the top 100 bestselling Nook Books of 2010.
Since she was a military brat, she vowed never to marry military. Alas, fate always has her way with mortals. Her husband is an Air Force major, and together they have their own military brats, two girls, and two adopted dog daughters, and they live wherever the military sticks them. Which she is sure, will always involve heat and bugs only seen on the Animal Discovery Channel. In her spare time, she reads, complains about bugs, travels, cooks, reads some more, watches her DVD collections of Arrested Development and Seinfeld, and tries to convince her family that she truly is a delicate genius. She has yet to achieve her last goal.
You can connect with Mel all over the web:
Or email her at:
[email protected]
And now, enjoy the first chapter from Leonardo, the book that started it all!
The Santinis: Leonardo
The bright sunlight almost blinded Leo Santini the moment he walked into Jeff’s hospital room.
“
Dammit to hell,” he muttered.
“
Still a vampire, I see,” Jeff said with a chuckle.
Leo squinted at him. “And you’re still a sun loving freak from Florida.”
As Leo approached the bed, he felt some of his anxiety dissipate. His old boot camp buddy looked better than he expected. After the report he read on Jeff’s injuries, Leo hadn’t been sure what to expect. Just the fact he wasn’t completely medicated meant he was making strides.