Page 90 of Finally Us (Next Generation 5)

I nodded, pulled from Vince’s grasp, and headed down the hall. I stopped and looked at him over my shoulder. I assumed he would have been talking to my father but when I caught him looking back at me, my breath caught.

Blowing him a kiss, I headed to the kitchen to see what my mom wanted and hoped at the same time that my dad wouldn’t kill Vince.

***

(Vince)

Just when I thought Angel was going to rip my face off, he pulled me in for a hard hug instead. My body stiffened, my eyes widening at the unexpected gesture coming from him. “Uh…Angel?”

He coughed, cleared his throat, and released me. “Listen, I like you for my daughter. She comes around more because of you.”

“She does?” She never mentioned that she wasn’t visiting her parents. Maybe her accident affected her more than I thought.

Angel nodded. “Maybe I’m just emotional because my son…” He cleared his throat again. “It doesn’t matter. Just be good to Gigi. That’s all I ask.” And with that, he walked away and headed out into the backyard.

Gigi took that moment to step back out into the hall. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

She smiled. “Good. Supper’s ready. Save me a seat at the table?”

I only nodded and joined everyone else in the backyard. I was greeted by people I had known my whole life, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than Angel’s words. I had pulled Gigi into the room off the hall because I wanted to kiss her without being seen but in all reality, I wanted to stake my claim in front of everyone. I wanted the world to know that she was mine and that I was hers. I wanted her to know the same.

Sitting at the table, I waited for her to come out. Once the last bit of food was on the table, I stood and waited for her to come back outside.

Her laughter rang out at whatever she heard or saw that was funny. That sound did something funny to me. It forced a ripple of pleasure down my spine. I wondered what she would sound like if I forced that laugh to turn into a scream.

When she came back outside, I stood.

All eyes turned my way, but I didn’t care.

Gigi caught my gaze. A slight tinge of pink hit her cheeks. It was like she knew.

I left the table and went up to her.

She backed up a step, staring up at me. “Vince,” she whispered.

Closing the distance between us, I captured her hair in my hand and crushed my mouth to hers.

***

(Gigi)

A collective gasp sounded around the group of people we had known our whole lives.

I knew what Vince and I had was serious when he claimed my mouth and made it his own in front of our friends and family. I had been feeling lost for so long and it took him finding me to make it better. He made everything better.

Before the kiss could turn into something that would be deemed inappropriate in front of our families, Vince broke the kiss. He smiled down at me. “I meant what I said. It’s just you and me, babe. Always and forever.”

My throat burned. All I could do was nod at the sincerity coming from him.

“Well, that was interesting,” someone said but all I could focus on, was the man who made me feel…safe.

“What was that for?” I whispered.

Vince winked, pulling away from me and heading into the house. I was left standing there, staring after him.

My dad took that moment to come out of the house. “What’s going on?”

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