One Wild Wedding Night_ All the Way - Leslie Kelly [3]
She’d never know. Never. Which on most days was okay. But right now was feeling just a little bit like a prison sentence.
“Not that you couldn’t,” he quickly added, as if fearing he’d insulted her. “You are about the hottest mom I’ve ever seen. My number one MILF.”
“What’s a milf?” came a little voice, talking to Tony in the kitchen of their townhouse.
Gloria snorted, wondering how her lunkhead husband was going to answer that one. Because she knew the slang, knew exactly what the acronym stood for.
“It stands for Mother I’d Like to…have Fun with,” he replied, stumbling over the last words.
“Good save,” she murmured when he returned his attention to their call. She only hoped her precocious five-year-old didn’t start repeating the expression to all his pals at kindergarten.
“Jeez, that kid’s as quiet as a cat. I thought he went back to bed.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Now, where were we…”
She smiled in anticipation. Talking about me being a mother you’d like to f—
“Oh, yeah. Talking about you staying there, having fun and enjoying one night of freedom.”
That, too.
“I couldn’t do that. Baby James is cutting a tooth, he’ll drive you nuts tonight.”
“Worrying about you making it home in this weather will drive me more nuts,” he insisted. “Besides, he’s sitting right here in his high chair, gnawing on a frozen bagel, loving life.”
“Oh, great, my baby’s first word is going to be milf.”
He chuckled deeply. “Everybody’ll think he’s saying milk. Besides, he wouldn’t be the first of our kids to spit out unexpected first words. Remember Anthony…”
She did. Her eldest son had spent a lot of time in the kitchen of the restaurant as a baby. The kitchen where her father-in-law, a blustery little old Italian man, often used colorful language. “Madone,” she muttered. Just as her son had every other minute until he was three.
“Exactly. Now, don’t sweat the baby. I’m watching every second and won’t let him keep the bagel once it starts getting soft.”
Gloria sighed and shook her head, but knew better than to criticize. Tony might not be the most textbook father, but he adored their boys and would never let anything happen to them. She had to let him parent in his own way.
And she kind of wished she’d thought of the bagel idea last month when the first two teeth broke through!
“So do it,” he insisted. “Stay there. Take a night for yourself. You know you need it.”
She had to admit it, the idea was very tempting. But she still felt guilty about it and tried to refuse.
At least until Tony cajoled her a little more. Convincing her with every word he said.
Until, finally, with a smile on her face, Gloria very happily agreed. She’d stay the night at the hotel and come home to her family—and her real life as wife and mommy—in the morning. But for tonight?
Tonight she was entirely free to be the woman she’d once been.
* * *
The hotel had two bars, one crowded with chatty late-night patrons, the other a small piano lounge off the restaurant, nearly empty. Though there were more people—probably more single women—in the first one, he went to the piano lounge instead. It was more private, more intimate. A better fit for his mood tonight. After the evening he’d had, he could use a quiet place to get his brain functioning again.
Not to mention getting his full-throttle libido aimed in the right direction. Because right now, it was revved up and had had no release in far too long. And he was dying for release.
When he entered the room and saw the woman sitting alone at one of the small, round tables, he realized he’d made the right choice. His body reacted with predictable excitement as he noted the thick, shiny dark hair—his favorite. If she had big, brown eyes with long, thick lashes, he was going to think he’d died and gone to heaven.
One thing was sure, even from here—this was not one of those on-the-prowl