Blueprint for Love (14 page)

“
Allen,” Toye gave him a
bittersweet glance. “Have you told her how you feel?”

“
I’ve tried in so many
words. But Ronnie’s too busy working to notice me.”

“
Well, I’m going to make
it my mission to make sure she notices you from now on.”

“
She’s turned down all of
my invitations to take her out.”

“
The only reason she came
to Gabe’s party is because he’s family. And she brought Vic with
her. That was a shock to everyone.”

Allen’s jaw clenched. He didn’t want to
think about how much Ronnie liked that son-of-a-bitch. He could
tell by the way she clung to his arm at the party there was more
than friendship between them. Well, he was throwing a monkey wrench
into Vic’s scheme. There was no way some Italian upstart was going
to intrude on Allen’s master plan. He needed to enlist the help of
Toye to expose the bastard.

“
I worry about her being
alone with him,” Allen warned. “He could have abusive behavior that
we’re not aware of. Who knows what’s he’s doing to her behind
closed doors?”

“
Ronnie would never put up
with that.”

He shook his head. “You’ve seen all the
stuff in the news lately about domestic abuse. It happens more
often than you think—any woman could be a hidden victim.”

Toye’s cell phone rang, interrupting Allen’s
tirade. He listened to her end of the conversation with interest.
Apparently, some sort of catastrophe was unfolding.

“
That was Olivia,” she
told him, when she hung up. “The project manager reported that a
large amount of the copper is missing from the site.”

“
What?”

Alarm etched across her features. “You heard
me. The copper for the A/C units is missing. Olivia didn’t know who
else to call. Candace and Gabe are at dinner. She didn’t want to
disturb them. Marlowe is at the spa. She threatened Olivia not to
bother her. Ronnie is not answering her phone.”

“
Not answering? Ronnie
always answers.”

“
I know. Olivia said
Ronnie left the office hours ago. She was on her way
home.”

“
Jesus.” Allen shook his
head, driving the nail deeper into Vic’s coffin. “She could be with
Vic right now. He could be holding her prisoner or
something.”

Toye wrung her hands. “What should I do,
Allen?”

“
Call the
police.”

“
Are you
serious?”

“
Yes. Call the police and
report that bastard. Only one person can be responsible for this
theft.”

Toye’s mouth dropped open. “You
think…Vic…did it?”

“
I don’t think. I know. I
just told you he’s a convicted felon. Who else could have done
it?”

Allen held his breath as Toye reached for
her cell phone again. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“
Reporting the theft to
the police. I want a warrant issued for Vic’s arrest.”

Ronnie lounged in the bend of Vic’s elbow.
Her head rested atop his bare chest. One hand was splayed across
his rock-hard abs. They finally made it to her bedroom after the
second round. The man’s sexual appetite was voracious. And after
years of celibacy, she found her hunger easily matched his. Now, as
she lay sated and tangled with him in the sheets of her king-size
bed, the enormity of what they’d done settled in. She hadn’t had
her world rocked like that in a long time. In fact, she couldn’t
ever remember having sex so satisfying. Her body felt like a
knotted rope that had finally been unraveled.

She traced lazy circles on the muscles of
his firm bronzed chest. There was still so much she didn’t know
about him. Yes, he was confident and self-assured. Yes, he knew his
way around a construction site. Yes, he was a damn good foreman.
And hell yes, he was good in bed. But she wanted to know more. Who
was Vic Romano?

“
Tell me about you, Vic,”
she inquired.

“
Not much to
tell.”

She snuggled against him. Maybe he would
open up if she revealed a little bit of herself. “You know all
about me. You’ve met my sisters. My mom died when I was a teenager.
Her death didn’t really change anything. I was already taking care
of Candace and Marlowe anyway. This may sound kind of harsh, but
when she died, it was one less headache for me to worry about.”

“
She was that
bad?”

“
Let’s just say she
wouldn’t win any Mother of the Year awards.”

“
What about your
dad?”

“
We never knew for sure
who he was. Mom had a lot of boyfriends that came and
went.”

“
Musta been tough growing
up with no dependable parents.” He stroked her shoulder. The rough
pads of his thumbs felt good against her skin.

“
Sometimes.”

“
But you and your sisters
turned out fine. You did a great job raising them.”

Ronnie thought about her absentee mother.
After seventeen years, the memory of her mother no longer saddened
her. “There are times when I miss her, but I don’t miss the drama
that went along with her.”

“
My dad died last year,”
Vic volunteered.

“
Were you two
close?”

“
We used to be. Until my
mom screwed around on him.”

“
What? What did that have
to do with you?”

“
Dad took his anger out on
everyone. He forced us to move out. Life was never the same after
that.”

“
That’s
terrible.”

“
Yep. For a long time, I
blamed my mom. Then, I realized my dad made his own choices
too—some of them were very wrong.”

“
At least your mom is
still alive. You have a chance to reconcile with her.”

“
Maria is still too
self-absorbed to reconcile with anyone. She’s just that type of
woman. She likes to sweep things under the rug and pretend they
didn’t happen.”

“
What about you?” Ronnie
asked. “Are you the forgiving type?”

Vic’s soft chuckle floated over her. “I’m
easy-going,” he said. “But I do face problems head-on. Life’s too
short to go tip-toeing around afraid of hurting people’s
feelings.”

“
I forgot who I was
talking to—Mr. Blunt. With your direct attitude, you should have
been a debater.”

In one swift movement, Vic switched
positions and flipped her over and stroked her cheeks with his
thumbs. “And with this smooth skin, you shoulda been a model. A
model with great legs. And a great ass.”

Ronnie giggled as Vic wedged himself between
her legs and lay as though he belonged there. She felt his erection
harden against her. “Damn. You want more?” she teased.

He nodded. The heat in his green gaze was
hot enough to melt steel.

“
You’re insatiable,” she
told him.

“
When there’s something I
can’t get enough of, why deny myself?” He trailed a finger down her
chin, past her cleavage and to her abdomen, where his big hand
splayed across her stomach. She quivered in response. “I may not be
the richest man,” he said. “Or the smartest. Or the handsomest. But
there is one thing I’m damn good at.” His eyes met hers. She felt
her sharp intake of breath as he devoured her with one
look.

“
What?” she asked
breathlessly.

“
Giving you
pleasure.”

His lips claimed hers, searing her with a
hot kiss that turned her insides to jelly. His tongue battled hers
into submission, making her whimper in delight. When his hand
dipped toward the sweet spot between her legs, she thrust her
pelvis up, ready to feel his long fingers inside her once
again.

The doorbell chime made her jump. Her heart
slammed against her ribcage. “Shit! That must be Tina.”

She pushed Vic off and rolled to the edge of
her bed, searching frantically for her discarded clothes. Then she
remembered Vic had disrobed her downstairs in the living room.

“
Who’s Tina?” he
asked.

“
Jovan’s best friend’s
mother. I was supposed to pick him and Jovan up from the library at
six-thirty.”

Ronnie glanced at the clock near her bed.
She was an hour late. She’d gotten so caught up with Vic, she’d
forgotten. Now, the boy’s mother was here to pick her son up.

“
Hurry,” she told Vic, who
seemed perfectly content to lounge in her bed. “Get
dressed!”

She flew down the stairs, picking up her
clothing along the way.

The frantic ringing of the doorbell and loud
banging on the door fueled her movements.

Okay, Tina was definitely trippin’.

Ronnie tucked her shirt into her pants and
made sure she was presentable before jerking the door open.

Two police officers stood outside. The blue
and red lights from their cruiser flashed in the background.

“
I’m Officer Burns,” the
one with a fat mustache announced. “We’re looking for Victor
Romano.”

Ronnie shook her head. “What is this all
about—?”

Vic stepped forward. “I’m Vic. How can I
help you?”

The officer withdrew his cuffs from behind
his back. The second one shoved forward, pushing Ronnie to the
side. His gun was trained on Vic.

“
Victor Romano, place your
hands behind your back!” the officer ordered. “You’re under
arrest.”

Vic stared at the two cops. For months he’d
flinched every time he heard the sirens. Dreaded the sight of those
blues and reds. He’d only recently learned to control the impulse
of a tightening sphincter every time he saw a cop uniform. He’d
tried to convince himself it was all in his mind. Now, his
nightmare had come true.

“
What are the charges?”
Ronnie demanded.

“
Theft,” the shorter cop
with the thick mustache answered.

“
That’s ridiculous. What
kind of theft?”

“
Copper stolen from the
construction site on Main and Cherry.”

Vic felt the cold, hard metal click against
his wrists as he stood barefoot on Ronnie’s porch. He hadn’t even
had time to put his shoes on. He gritted through his teeth, “I
didn’t steal nothin’.”

“
You’re making a mistake,”
Ronnie shouted to the officer. “This man is my foreman.”

She made quite a sight, defending him
against the police. She looked so professional in her silk blouse
and tailored slacks. The only thing out of place was the wild hair
all over her head. Less than an hour ago, he’d pulled the thick
strands loose from their structured bun. Run his fingers through
her hair. Tugged on the hair at the nape of the neck to get better
access to her mouth. How his world had changed in the span of sixty
minutes.

Out of nowhere, Ronnie’s cousin, Toye and
Allen came rushing up the sidewalk.

“
Oh, Lord!” Toye ran to
Ronnie’s side. “Are you okay?”

“
Did this man hurt you?”
Allen demanded, glaring in Vic’s direction.

Vic growled as the man wrapped a comforting
arm around Ronnie’s shoulder. To her credit, Ronnie shrugged away
from Allen’s embrace.

“
What the hell is wrong
with all of you?” Ronnie screeched. “Of course, I’m
fine!”

She stepped forward and patiently addressed
the men in blue. “Please, remove those handcuffs,” she instructed.
“And put your gun down. You’ve got the wrong man.”

The officer with the gun drawn hesitated.
“We got a complaint that this man is the prime suspect in a
robbery. A significant amount of copper was stolen from the Three
Sisters Construction site.”

She put her hands on her hips. “I’m Veronica
Jones, one of the owners of Three Sisters. I can assure you I never
reported any copper stolen.”

Toye spoke up. “I called the complaint
in.”

Ronnie’s jaw dropped. “Why?” It came out
more like a yell than a question.

“
I’m sorry.” Toye’s bottom
lip trembled. “Allen told me…”

Vic glowered at Allen. What kind of
explanation was this asshole going to come up with?

Ronnie saved the man from a serious beat
down when she interjected, “That doesn’t matter right now.” She
turned to the officers again. “No crime has been committed. Vic
needs to be released immediately.”

“
Then, you’re not pressing
charges?” the cop asked.

“
Definitely not, officer.
And neither is anyone else here.”

If looks could kill, Toye and Allen would be
dead. Ronnie glared at them with eyes so narrowed, they were almost
slits.

Vic breathed easier when the handcuffs were
removed and the cops made their way back to the patrol car.

Before they could drive off, Ronnie lit into
Toye and Allen. “What the hell were you two thinking?”

Vic rubbed his wrists where the cuffs had
been. His skin itched from the contact with the metal. It was more
psychological than painful. And he had Allen to blame. He wanted to
punch that motherfucker in the face.

He fought the rage boiling inside him. “Why
did you call the cops on me, you son-of-a-bitch?”

Allen took a step back. “Don’t you threaten
me,” he warned.

Vic’s fists balled at his sides. “I could
snap your neck like a fucking twig.”

Ronnie stepped between Vic and Allen. Her
back was to him, but Vic could still see the quivering mass of wimp
standing in front of her. It was just like the night she ripped her
dress and he’d stood in back of her to protect him. Now, she was
trying to protect him. Or maybe she was protecting Allen from him.
No matter. Ronnie couldn’t protect Allen. No one could. If Vic
wanted, he could stomp Allen’s ass in the ground right now. With
his anger at the melting point, and the police cruiser already
gone, the man should consider himself lucky he was still
breathing.