Free The Santinis: Vicente, Book 4 by Melissa Schroeder Page B

for about an hour waiting for him to show up. It was endearing in a way, but she hadn’t gotten any rest.
    The talks they had over the phone had been good. The space had given her time to think. He wasn’t punishing her, which she understood. But, she wasn’t sure where they stood. At some point, they were going to have to deal with everything that came up.
    She knew she hadn’t had enough sleep when she thought she heard Rufus bark. She frowned and peered out the window of her office. There was a commotion at the front of the store. Worried what it could mean, she stepped out and started walking down the aisle. Then, she came to a dead stop.
    Standing at the front of the store was Vince. He was in full mess dress complete with sword and gloves. Beside him at his feet was Rufus. The damned ornery dog was sitting there and she could swear he was smiling at her. He’d had a bath from the looks of it and he was wearing a red bow.
    She looked back at Vince. He had no expression on his face.
    “ What are you doing here?”
    Okay, that sounded rude. Really rude.
    “ I’m here for you.”
    She swore she heard all the woman in the shop sigh. She ignored it.
    “ You think I’m going to fall for that?”
    “ Yeah. Because I love you and I’m not going to let you deny us happiness because of past experience.”
    Her heart turned over and she blinked.
    “ You think you can’t make a good wife? That you’re not good at marriage? Rufus and I think you’re wrong.”
    He stepped up and Rufus automatically followed. Both of them stopped right in front of her. Vince set a towel on the wet pavement then knelt.
    “ Julianna Erica Andrews, will you marry me?”
    He opened the small ring case. In the white velvet sat an antique ring.
    She said nothing. She couldn’t. There was a lump in her throat. Joey was right. Was she going to let Mike ruin her life? One that would be full of Vince and babies, and God love them, Santinis.
    “ I can get you a new ring Jules. This was my grandmother’s and I’ve had it for almost fifteen years.”
    When she looked up from the ring to his face she realized he’d had it that day. The day he’d kissed her so sweetly and told her he loved her. She was lost. There were hundreds of reasons not to get married again, especially to a man in the military. But none of them mattered because there was one important factor, the one thing that she could never replace.
    Vince .
    No one other than her parents had made her feel that good about herself. He made her believe in happy endings again…and she loved him. God help her, she was so damned in love with him. He had dressed himself in his mess dress, bathed her dog and proposed in public…in possibly the most romantic way. And with a ring he’d been carrying around for her for years.
    Was there any way she could say no to a man who loved her so completely? The one man she was convinced was made for her?
    “ Oh, babe, don’t cry.”
    She shook her head. “I just like the way you see me. You…ignore the things that I think are horrible and only see the good. It’s been so long.” She shook her head afraid she’d start balling in earnest. “Yes, Vicente, I’ll marry you.”
    He rose to his feet and pulled her into his arms. With the flowers overhead again, he kissed her and she knew she had made the right decision this time around.
    When he pulled back, she heard the howling. She glanced down at Rufus.
    “ What did you do to my dog?”
    “ Nothing. He just isn’t happy about that red bow.”
    She chuckled. “I don’t blame him.”
    “ You’ve made me happy, Jules.” Then he smiled. “Now, do you want an ending like An Officer and a Gentleman ?”
    “ Good lord, no.”
    He laughed pulled her up against him. “Angela, you can close tonight, right?”
    “ Wait, you don’t run my shop.”
    “ Ignore her, Vince. I can close up. Go,” Angela said.
    They walked down the aisle, the smell of roses in the air and a howling dog behind