Page 28 of Worth the Vow

I set Aspen back on her feet and stand up. Alex approaches and gives me a hug. “Congratulations, Mrs. Santo. Whatever the reasoning, you’re definitely one of us now.”

“We would have loved to have been there, Dominic,” Sofia says.

“How on earth did you find out, anyway?” Dominic asks.

Sofia smiles. “I’m not giving away all of my secrets. Just know I have contacts everywhere.”

When everyone’s phones ding at the same time, Dominic and I groan. Undoubtedly that means the gossip website for Eternity Springs, The Eagle Has Landed, already got the scoop.

Another Santo bites the dust! Sources tell me Dominic Santo quietly married his younger nanny, Kate Reynolds, today in a quick courthouse ceremony in Denver. With no other Santos present, one must beg the following questions:

1. Is Kate Reynolds pregnant?

2. How long has this been going on?

3. Did the Santo family know about their relationship, and manage to keep it a secret?

4. Or is this wedding a whirlwind where no one knew they were dating?

5. And finally: how does Dom’s ex-wife feel about the outed relationship?

As always, we’ll continue to monitor the situation. We were honestly shocked, Eagle readers, because we thought for sure Kate would snag Dom’s older brother, Alex.

“The fuck?” Dominic mutters. His eyes meet mine above our phones. “Alex? Really?”

I shrug. “I didn’t write the article, Dominic.”

“There must have been something that led them to that thought, Katharine. Did something happen with Alex?” His face shows no emotion, but his voice betrays his expression. A smidgeon of hurt, and a lot of annoyance. I can usually tell how Dominic feels by the tone of his voice. Right now, it’s a hint higher than normal.

“No, nothing happened. I’ve never even seen Alex outside of the hotel or your parents hou —” I stop as I realize that’s not entirely correct.

“What did you do?” he seethes.

“Nothing! I swear. Nothing happened. I ran into him once while grabbing dinner. He asked me to join him with his kids. That’s all. Oh! And I saw him at a dance club in Denver, but we didn’t even dance. Ask Arianna. She was there.”

Dominic scrutinizes me with his intense gaze before he nods. Alex waits beside us with an amused expression. “We good?”

Dominic nods again, making Alex chuckle. I sigh in exasperation. Alex could have participated in that conversation, but instead just sat on the sidelines and watched.

“I’m headed out. Both kids need clothes,” Alex says as he nods his head toward his kids, Abbie and Ben. Abbie is eleven and Ben is eight. I made the mistake of agreeing to watch all five kids by myself once, and I won’t do that again. It’s sheer bedlam when they’re all together. Fortunately Dominic’s other nephew Carson, is still too young, and neither Dominic’s sister Gianna, nor her husband Travis, will allow Carson to hang out with his cousins yet.

“Where are we going for clothes?” Abbie asks, ever the quintessential girl. Alex says she’s all emotion and no critical thinking right now, and I’ve witnessed it firsthand on more than one occasion. Her interest in boys has increased, and she’s asked me to show her different techniques to style her natural curls. My hair is only slightly wavy, but I can at least help her with products and styles. Lord knows Alex would just shave it all off in a military-grade fade if Abbie let him choose.

“Walmart,” Alex mutters.

Abbie’s face screws up in distaste. “Dad! At least take us to Target then!”

“Fine,” Alex sighs. “If I say Target, will you not roll your eyes at me in the next hour?”

“I’ll try my best,” Abbie responds, beaming as if she just won a major victory. Then again, maybe getting clothes from Target over Walmart is a major victory in their house.

I don’t allow myself to go into Target. I’ll want all the things, and I can’t afford their prices.

“We’re heading home as well. We just wanted to stop by and say congratulations to the newlyweds,” Sofia says, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. On anyone else, I’d think the sweetness was fake, but I truly think Sofia means it. She accepted me into their family fold immediately, when she could have shunned me as being a product of her ex-brother-in-law’s multiple infidelities over the course of his marriage to her sister. But both Sofia and Angelina, my half brothers mom, accepted me unconditionally. Their unwavering support reminds me so much of my own mom.

Sofia hugs Dominic first, whispering something in his ear that I can’t hear.

“It’s not like that, Mom,” Dominic murmurs.

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