Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(66)

“Uncle Vance is trying to kiss us!” the boys said in unison. “Tell him to stop, mom!”

“Vance is dishing out kisses?” She shook her head. “Too bad for you two.”

Vance kissed each boy on the top of his head. “I’m not kissing your lips. I’m not crazy. I don’t want to catch boy cooties.”

Arianna giggled.

“What are you laughing at, sweet thing?” Vance asked.

“Uncle Vance, you already have boy cooties. You’re a boy!”

Vance put his hand to his stomach and let out a burst of laughter. “Then you’re doomed! You have them now too.”

Her face fell for a second, and she shrugged. “That’s okay, I like your cooties.”

Vance returned to his seat, and the laughter died down. We cleaned our plates, and Jina came by to wipe her girl’s faces. She laid a small plate of cookies down and gave them each one. I took that as my cue to get my desserts.

The dessert buffet was smaller, but no less impressive. Cannoli, butter cookies topped with stars of pink icing, panna cotta, and absolutely sinful ricotta donuts dusted with powdered sugar, all sat happily together. I took a cannoli and two donuts plus a chocolate biscotti, which sat alongside a freshly brewed pot of coffee. I poured a cup and returned to the table.

Ari and Isa were already off and running, and Anthony and Dominic had rooted themselves to the couch, sitting side by side, staring at their screens.

Vance came back in with a plate twice the size of mine and sat next to me.

“That’s a nice looking plate you have there.” I bit into one of my donuts and licked the powdered sugar from my lips.

“Not as good as that looks.” The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth, but it was a look in his eyes, one that seemed like he was confessing a thousand sins, that made me stop in my tracks.

I wiped my napkin across my lips and draped it on my lap. “Yeah, these donuts are too good.” I looked at him over the rim of my cup and studied his expression. It was odd the way he was looking at me. “What are you thinking about, you weirdo?”

“Kisses,” he said and bit into his cookie.





Twenty-One





My stomach fell down to my toes, and I almost choked on my coffee. “What?”

Vance turned his head toward his plate and laughed. “Nothing.”

Arianna ran up to me wielding two brushes and a bulging purse decorated by various Disney princesses. “Diana, can I play with your hair now?”

I shook my head at Vance. “You know, my stomach is so full, I should take a little break before I eat another bite. Where should we go so I can get the complete salon experience?”

She waved her little hands and her ponytail swayed. “This way.” She scampered away, stopped, and came back to grab my hand. She led me into a small sitting room off the front hallway. I sat on an antique loveseat and pivoted so my back was to her.

She brushed and twisted my hair, ripping strands out here and there. “Oops. Sorry,” she said, brushing away and working her magic.

“It’s part of being a girl. Sometimes beauty hurts, right?” I smiled.

She giggled. “My mama says that a lot when she brushes my hair. It gets real tangly.”

“It’s the price we pay for having long hair.” She inserted various clips and bows all over my head. When she was finished, I turned toward her. “How do I look?”

Her hands slapped her cheeks. “Oh, you look super pretty. Let’s go show mama.”

She led me back into the kitchen. Vance bounced little Isabella on his knee while he and his sister Jina were engrossed in a conversation. Arianna and I approached, and all talking ceased when they saw me. Jina covered her mouth, and Vance curled his lips inward to hold in his smile.

“Do I look pretty?” I asked, fluffing my hair. I hadn’t seen it in a mirror, but felt three pigtails protruding from my head at various heights and random clips attached in strange places except for one large bow attached smack dab at the top of my head.

Jina took her hand off her mouth. “Oh, Arianna, you’ve outdone yourself. Diana looks beautiful.”

“She looks like a real princess, doesn’t she, mama?”

“Oh, she sure does. Doesn’t she?” She smacked Vance’s arm.

Vance let go of the laugh he was holding in. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her prettier.” Before I had a chance to blink, he held up his phone and snapped a few pictures. “I bet the other people at work would love to see her like this. They’ll never believe it.”

I lunged for his phone. “You better delete that.”

He held his phone out of reach while laughing hysterically. “Heck no. They have to see this.”

“I swear,” I said through fits of laughter. “If you share that, it’ll be the end of you. I will take you down.”

“I’d love to see you try, princess.” He snapped a few more shots until his sister intervened and snatched the phone from his hand.

“All right, you two. Knock it off.” Jina went through his pictures and deleted the incriminating ones. “There, all taken care of. Now.” She looked down her nose at Vance. “I’d be happy to send Di home with your second grade school picture when you resembled a beaver. Or...” She tapped her chin. “Where does Ma keep that picture of when we dressed you up like a ballerina? I bet I could find it somewhere in the hall closet.”