Page 100 of Worth the Vow

“Practice makes perfect, Katharine.”

I do enjoy practicing.

Not ready to say goodbye to Kate and Dominic yet? Grab this deleted scene! Two years after their vow renewal ceremony, Dominic is ready to get home to his wife after a long week away at a conference. He wakes her up with an orgasm, because of course he does.

Want to read Kate’s half-brother Matt’s story? Grab Forever Us and read how he fell for the sweet single mom on KU today!

Alex

It’s a rare Friday night where I’m out with family without any children. Two brothers and two brothers-in-law. Dominic’s three children are with his wife, Kate, and our mom has my two. My brother-in-law, Travis, is here without his wife, my sister Gianna, and their son Carson. Luca’s wife, Hannah, is home with their daughter, Melanie, and my other brother-in-law, Stone, is here without my sister, Arianna, and their daughter, Bianca.

“Thanks for coming with me, guys,” Luca says after we all grab a beer from the bar. We’re at a hole-in-the-wall pub on the southwestern side of Denver to see a band.

“Remind me why we’re here?” Stone asks as he takes a long swig of his beer. Stone has been my best friend since we were kids. It took me a bit to get on board with him and my baby sister, but looking back, I can see they were inevitable. Arianna shows him the joys of life, and he brings a peace to her that she craved.

“I played hockey with Declan growing up. He played in Chicago, and retired this year too. He moved back to Denver and invited me to come watch his band. He plays the bass,” Luca explains, pointing to a tall guy in the back on a guitar.

I’ve already received five texts from my daughter, Abbie, for various reasons. She’s twelve going on twenty, and her mood swings rival those pirate ship rides at a carnival, where we just don’t know if it’s going to flip all the way over or not.

Tonight’s infractions? Her nine-year-old brother, Ben, looked at her wrong, whatever that means. Her bestie from school, Heather, apparently gossiped about Abbie’s hairstyle today, and now Abbie hates Heather. Nani, the nickname all the grandkids have for my mom, had the audacity to only make spaghetti for dinner, when Abbie expected Nani’s homemade lasagna.

The horror.

“You still getting texts from Abbie?” Dom asks, peering over my shoulder.

I sigh and nod. “She’s doing my head in.”

“Sienna is too. I thought hormones and puberty wouldn’t be an issue this early.” Sienna is a year younger than Abbie, and Dominic’s oldest. She’s struggled over the years since her mom decided to leave, but fortunately Dom asked Kate to nanny his kids, and then fell in love with her. I’ve never seen my brother smile so much, and it’s been incredible watching his three children blossom. It wasn’t just the addition of Kate that made them grow. It was the way Kate helped Dom to be present in every experience, and to show everyone in his life how important they are to him.

“Apparently we’re the lucky ones to experience it early,” I murmur. Dom doesn’t respond, but I can feel what he almost said. He’d undoubtedly talk about how Kate is helping, how it’s so great she’s in their lives now to give a female perspective. I wish I had that, honestly. Because six years ago, our world stopped turning when my wife, Sara, was killed in a car accident. I was on assignment overseas and didn’t find out for a week. Abbie was six, and Ben was only three. He barely remembers his mother.

I honestly don’t know how I functioned that first year. Sara knew me like no one else. She was my other half, the only person I’ve ever met that could calm me down. Whenever I had a bad day, she’d demand a dance party in our kitchen. It never failed to raise my spirits.

I haven’t danced like that since she died, and I don’t know if I ever will.

“You okay, man?” Stone asks, his eyes studying me. I don’t bother hiding my pain.

“No, not really. But I’ll be fine. I always am.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Stone inquires.

I can’t help but chuckle. Even if I say no, he’ll still ask. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“When’s the last time you got laid?”

I wrack my brain. “Fuck, man. I don’t even know. It’s been at least a year. Probably closer to two.”

“Is there a reason why you aren’t at least pursuing some one-night-only situations?” he asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know. I haven’t wanted to deal with dating. I’m too old for that shit.”

“You do know you can fuck without dating, right?” Stone laughs.

“Yeah, but there’s still conversation and flirting. That’s what I don’t want to deal with. My hand doesn’t expect dinner and chemistry.”

“Jesus,” Luca says from behind me. “I had no idea you were this depressing, Lexy. I’m glad I got us some shots. Let’s loosen you up.”

“Great,” I mutter, as I take the shot glass with an unknown clear liquid inside. It’s probably tequila. If anyone were to do tequila shots, it’s definitely Luca.

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