Page 4 of Worth the Vow

Two years ago

“I don’t need help.”

I know I sound gruff. But I’m about to lose my damn mind with how often my mother bothers me about finding someone to assist me with my kids.

“Yes, you do.”

“Mom,” I growl. Well, it’s not really a growl. More like an aggravated bark. Mom just rolls her eyes at me and pats my shoulder. She’s standing next to my chair, at my desk in my office at the hotel, and I’m not really sure how we began talking about my schedule.

“You’re running yourself ragged, cucciolo. You can’t keep going on like this.”

If anyone else calls me that, I’m liable to knock them upside the head.

“I’ve got those two teenagers up the street that are cool watching the kids right now,” I remind her.

“And what happens when school starts?” Mom asks.

I look at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

Mom sighs and rubs her eyes with one hand. “Dominic. Your babysitters will be in school. That means they won’t be available during the day …”

“Okay?” I ask, completely bewildered where she’s going with this.

“You have three children.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Aspen isn’t in school yet, cucciolo.”

Jesus Christ. I completely forgot about that. Aspen misses the cutoff for kindergarten by one month, and will have to complete another year of preschool before she’s enrolled in school full-time. Our preschool options in Eternity Springs mean she can attend three hours per day, four days a week.

“I can watch her on Fridays when she doesn’t have school. I could even keep her on Mondays. But you have to get someone else to help the rest of the week.” Mom sits gracefully in a chair opposite my desk, looking at me expectantly.

Fuck.

I hate having to bring someone else in to watch my kids. I hate it. I’m not saying I wish their mom was still here, because I don’t. Savannah is a waste of space, and I wasn’t sad when she blew out of town with sparks trailing behind her.

My ex-wife admitted to screwing with birth control, or completely lying about being on any, in order to trap me.

Her words, not mine.

I would have come up with a more tactful way to express how she got pregnant. Well, honestly, it depends on the day. Some days, I can be tactful with what I say about my ex-wife. Other days I’m truthful, but not angry. But some days, fire comes out of my mouth at the mere mention of her name.

Right now? Suffice it to say I don’t have anything kind in mind for explaining Savannah.

If it weren’t for my kids, I’d wish I never met her. But I’ll never regret the greatest gifts of my life.

I met Savannah at a bar outside of town after a very nasty argument with my dad about our family hotel. I was primed to take over for him, excited about leading the hotel into the twenty-first century, and continuing on the legacy my grandfather started decades before. I’d scheduled a meeting with my dad to discuss my ideas. I’d worked for months on my proposal as part of my final project for my business degree, then spent a couple years after graduation building upon it. I’d thought of everything: renovations, increasing the scope of technology in our banquet rooms to entice businesses to book their events, and ways to make the check-in process more streamlined.

My father shot down every single one of my ideas.

So, after an incredibly aggravating day, I drove to a neighboring town to have dinner away from my family.

Mistake number one.

When a pretty blonde sat next to me at the bar and struck up a conversation, I participated in the flirtatious exchange.

Mistake number two.

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