Cal, the one grinning straight on and one of Vinnie’s kids. Maybe the murdered cousin, Vinnie Junior.

If this was cousin Vinnie, it was true as Cal had said, they were definitely close. I knew this by the smile, the laughter, the casual, close, affectionate way Cal had the young man in his hold.

The thought of Cal as a kid was startling, seeing it even more so but what was freaking me out was seeing his perfect, boyishly handsome face without the scars, carefree and absolutely happy.

I’d never seen it like that, never, nothing even came close.

“Is that you, Joe?” Kate asked and I tore my eyes from the photo to see both my daughters staring at it.

“Yeah, girl,” Cal answered.

Kate’s head swung around so she could smile up at him. “Wow, you were cute.”

“Cute!” Theresa cried. “Every starry-eyed girl in a square mile radius had their eyes on my boys.” Theresa looked at me and jerked her head to the picture. “That’s my oldest son with Cal, Vinnie Junior.”

Yep, like I thought, cousin Vinnie.

“I guessed that,” I said softly and at my tone, she flinched. It wasn’t a big flinch but I caught it, I knew what it meant and I wondered if the pain ever went away.

Considering my back-to-back losses of Tim and Sam, it sucked to see Theresa’s flinch and know, even after seven years, it didn’t.

She held my gaze, hers getting soft as it swung to Cal then to me and I knew she knew Cal had told me about Vinnie. I also knew she read far more into this than was the truth because her face lost that hint of sadness and spread into a glamorous smile.

“Sit down, sit down,” Uncle Vinnie urged and the girls scrambled in, both on one side as I slid into the other, Cal coming in beside me.

Vinnie turned and yelled across the restaurant, “Bella! We need breadsticks here and antipasto, on the double, yeah?”

“Got it, Vinnie!” Bella yelled back.

“I’ll get drinks,” Theresa muttered and moved away without asking what we wanted.

“We’ll get your belly full, Vi, you and your girls, just relax,” Vinnie promised, his eyes on me. I nodded, he nodded back and then he followed his wife.

I was happy to eat, more than happy, especially if the food tasted half as good as it looked.

But at that moment, I was in ecstasy to be off my foot, it was killing me.

Manny pushed into the booth beside Kate and both Kate and Keira stared at him, goggle-eyed.

“So, how long you stayin’?” Manny asked Cal.

“Leavin’ after dinner,” Cal answered and Manny’s brows went up.

“Shit, Cal, um… sorry, Vi, girls,” he nodded at me then at the girls then he looked back to Cal, “shoot, Cal, Ma’s gonna have a shit, I mean shoot hemorrhage you do a flyby for dinner and don’t hang.”

“Gotta get them home, Man,” Cal told him.

“Could spend the night, leave early tomorrow, let Ma at least make ‘em breakfast,” Manny urged.

“Not gonna happen,” Cal told him.

“She’s not gonna like it,” Manny replied.

“Vi just lost her brother, Kate and Keira their uncle. She’ll get that they want to sleep in their own beds tonight,” Cal returned quietly and when he did, what he said, how he said it, the fact that he knew that, I felt it hit me like it did when his mouth touched mine before the service after I found out he’d warned off Mom and Dad. That feeling in my stomach, going warm, getting soft.

“Well, I ain’t tellin’ her,” Manny mumbled and Keira giggled so Manny flashed her a super-white smile, Keira’s giggle died in her throat and her eyes grew dazzled.

I stopped watching my daughter’s eyes grow dazzled when I felt Cal’s fingers bunch my skirt in a fist and pull it up. My back went ramrod straight, my mind went blank and my hand went down to curl around his wrist.

Manny turned back to Cal and noted, “Sweet ride, Cal. The ‘Stang. You get rid of the ’68?”

“Ride’s Vi’s. I still got the ’68,” Cal answered casually as if he wasn’t pulling up my skirt under the table and my hand wasn’t tight on his wrist to fight him in this insane effort.

“Got good taste, babe,” Manny grinned at me.

“Thanks,” I replied but my word was tight.

Cal had my skirt up and he leaned a bit into me as his hand curled around the inside of my thigh and he pulled my leg up.

I couldn’t do much but clutch his wrist since he was stronger than me. I couldn’t exactly shout at him or wrestle him at the table, both of which I wanted to do.

Luckily, Kate drew Manny’s attention by asking, “What’s a ’68?”

“Cal’s Mustang, 1968 Mustang GT. The Bullitt car. Freakin’ awesome,” Manny answered and, as he did, Cal lifted my leg and I felt the side of his shoe against my ankle. Then I felt it slide down, taking my shoe with it.

The pump fell to the floor and when the pressure released on my injured foot, the constant, nagging pain I’d had since putting the damn thing on subsided and my eyes rolled back into my head.

Heaven.

“What’s a bullet car?” Keira asked Manny while I experienced heaven.

“Steve McQueen’s ace ride in the movie, Bullitt. The sweetest car ever built,” Manny answered.

While this conversation went on, Cal lifted my leg further and hooked it over his knee, yanking it up his thigh so my skirt was hiked high, my calf and foot were dangling between his legs and then he leaned into me.

Whispering, he ordered, “You let Manny go get your other shoes or I carry you out. Your choice, buddy.”

I pulled my head back and glared at him, at the same time I tried to jerk my leg away but his hand was still at my inner thigh and it tightened so I got nowhere.

When I didn’t answer, Cal asked, “What’s it gonna be?”

I kept the pressure on his hand but he didn’t let go.

“Vi?” he prompted.

“Shoes,” I hissed.

Cal grinned and muttered, “Good choice.” Then he turned his head to Manny, leaning back and reaching into his pocket. “Man, do me a favor. There’s a pair of shoes on the floor of Vi’s Mustang, can you bring ‘em in?”

Manny looked at Cal then me and said hesitantly, “Sure.”

“Mom cut her foot. She’s got stitches but she’s still wearin’ her pumps which makes her limp more than she normally limps. Joe doesn’t like that,” Kate explained helpfully.