Easing on the bed in the spot he’d just patted, Janet leaned over and brushed her lips across Dominic’s. God, she loved this man. They had had some rough times during the early years. Many of those times weren’t anything of their doing, but rather others. Both sides of their family had a hard time accepting their love and had no qualms about letting the couple know how they felt. When it became apparent that Dominic and Janet’s love was there to stay, their families had no choice but to accept it.
Snaking a muscular arm around her slim waist and pulling her close, Dominic countered, “I got more for you than some promises.”
“Dominic, cut it out.” Janet playfully chided as she pushed out of his embrace. Sitting up, she ran her fingers through Dominic’s salt and pepper hair. All traces of playfulness vanished as she gazed into her husband’s dark eyes. “Honey, why did you take Dom out for a walk? Did it have something to do with Karen?”
He knew this was coming. Nothing got past Janet. The concerned look on her face hadn’t gone unnoticed as he requested his son take a walk with him. Dominic’s infamous walks were his way of getting his son alone to have a man to man talk. Usually it was a talk he didn’t want his wife privy to. But on this occasion he saw no need to withhold the conversation from his wife.
Taking Janet’s hand in his, Dominic kissed her palm. “It had everything to do with Karen and her children.”
Janet nodded. Just as she figured, it had to do with Karen. It hadn’t been lost on her how smitten Dom was with Karen, Ashley and Kyle. She remembered the stolen glance the younger couple gave each other at Ava’s wedding. Janet was also aware of how long her son had been trying to capture the young widow’s eye.
Janet pulled back the covers and got beneath them. Settling against the mounds of pillows resting against the headboard, she made herself comfortable. “So what did Dom have to say?”
Joining his wife beneath the covers, he pounded a pillow as if it wasn’t fluffy enough. “Apparently our son is ready for a serious relationship.”
Excited, Janet bolted up from her reclining position. “I knew it! I knew it! Did you see how they were looking at each other all through dinner when they thought no one was paying attention?” Janet clapped her hands. “Oh, this is wonderful news! I just love those kids and Karen is so good for Dom.”
Dominic chuckled. “Calm down, love. Don’t go pushing them down the aisle.”
Giving her husband an incredulous look, Janet put her hands on her hips. “Of course I’m going to push them down the aisle. That boy is thirty-two. It’s time for him to get serious and settle down. And that girl is too young not to have a man in her life.” Lifting a perfectly arched brow, Janet stressed, “A woman has needs you know. And those kids need a father.”
Collapsing against the pillows, Janet crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her nose in the air. “Humph!”
“Well I guess you got this whole thing figured out, huh?”
Feigning innocence at Dominic’s teasing, Janet said, “Yes, I sure do, Mr. Peretti.”
Pulling his wife to rest against his broad chest, Dominic kissed the crown of her head.
“Baby, I agree with you. But I hope Dom is ready to take on a ready-made family. It’s a big responsibility. You know that son of ours doesn’t exactly have a stable record when it comes to women. I don’t want to see Karen or those beautiful children hurt.”
Although Dom assured his father he was ready for a serious relationship, Dominic wouldn’t fully rest until he saw a ring on Karen’s finger and a wedding date set. It wasn’t that Dominic doubted his son’s sincerity, he just wasn’t certain Dom had fully grasped what it meant to be fully committed to not just one individual, but three.
Nestling against Dominic’s warmth, Janet smiled. Even if her husband had an inkling of doubt about their son, she didn’t. Their son came from good stock. He was a Peretti. “Trust me honey, Dom will do the right thing. Have a little faith in him.”
Dominic squeezed his wife tight. “From your lips to God’s ear.”
Chapter 11
“Are you ready?” Ashley whispered to her brother, her hand poised to knock on their mother’s bedroom door.
Kyle nodded his head. “Uh-huh. I remember everything.”
“Are you sure?” Ashley asked again, a little worried. She and Kyle had been planning this for the last couple of days. She was a little nervous because she didn’t know if her mother was going to go along with what she and her brother would be suggesting. If she didn’t they would have to try something else. No matter what it took, she and Kyle were determined to have Dom as their father, preferably by March if at all possible. The sixth grade Father-Daughter Spring Dance was coming up in April and she would need a father to take her. No way did she want to miss out on the dance when all her friends from school would be there with their fathers.