“You don’t have to,” he replies, handing me my body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. “Just have a bath, brush your teeth, then you can get back in bed. I’m going to change the sheets and bring some food in for you. If you eat it, I’ll even let you go back to sleep without annoying you.”
It sounds fair, so I nod and dunk my head back in the water so I can shampoo my hair. It’s really knotty, and I wonder if Vinnie will help me brush it out after the bath. The Weeknd starts to play, Vinnie knows he’s my favorite artist right now, and I close my eyes and just allow myself to enjoy the warm water on my skin. When I’m all done, I dry myself and walk naked to the room, where Vinnie has indeed changed the sheets. I dress in the black T-shirt he left out, then lie back down. He comes in a few minutes later with some rice and chicken, with another few dishes.
“Did you get this from a Vietnamese restaurant?” I ask him, recognizing the scent of the blended spices used in the dish.
He nods, looking a little sheepish. “You said once that it’s comfort food to you, right? So I got you some.”
I realize in this moment just how lucky I am.
“Thank you, Vinnie,” I say, suddenly feeling emotional. Great, now I’m going to cry over food. No, I’m going to cry because this big, bad biker is so damn thoughtful.
“Did you eat?” I ask him, taking the first bite.
“Don’t worry about me,” he says, watching me closely as I chew and swallow. “Just eat. There’s more if you want, and there’s also a variety of desserts and shit that Faye picked up. There’s cheesecake—I know how you feel about cheesecake.”
I did like cheesecake.
“Will you sit down, at least?” I ask him as he continues to stand there and supervise me. He nods and sits down. I finish half the food, feeling really full.
“Can I finish the rest later?” I ask, not wanting to waste the food, or to act ungrateful when he brought it to me.
“Sure, you did well,” he says, taking the tray from me. I yawn, and he grins. “Don’t go to sleep yet. I have something for you that I think you’re going to like.”
“What?” I ask, wondering what he could be up to now. “Does it require me to leave the room?”
“No,” he says, exiting the door. “Don’t move a muscle.”
When he opens the door about a few minutes later, my jaw drops.
He didn’t?
“Oh my god, Vinnie!”
My mood instantly lifts.
In his hands are three puppies.
Cuteness overload.
A Great Dane, a German shepherd, and what looks like a Neapolitan mastiff.
He places them all on the bed, and I die. In a good way.
I smile.
I pick them up one by one and hug them.
“I remember how happy taking you to the pet store made you,” he says, picking up the mastiff and holding him. “It was the only thing I could think of to try to make you smile again.”
He brought me puppies, to the bed, to make me smile.
My eyes start to well up.
“Fuck, don’t cry,” he says, looking alarmed. He hands me the mastiff as if that will help.
I make a sniffling sound, attempting to curb the tears. “Thank you. Who do they belong to?”
“Well, one belongs to you,” he says, smiling. “If you want one. They’re all boys. I kind of rented them for two days.”
“You rented them?” I ask, laughing. “How did you manage that?”
“I talked them into a two-day trial period,” he admits, shrugging. “And money talks.”
This man.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I whisper, hugging the Great Dane against my chest.
“You don’t need to,” he replies, leaning forward to place a kiss on my lips. “Your smile says enough. Also, you’re cleaning all their shit.”
A therapy dog.
Not really, but the pup is going to distract me from everything else going on. I don’t know if bringing me three was a good idea, although I’m happy he chose three big breeds, because I love big dogs.
“Well,” he says, standing up. “I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll bet the women will be in here soon, wanting a cuddle, they’ve been fussing over them like crazy all morning.” He pauses. “They’re going to fuckin’ baby that puppy so much.”
I was going to too.
He scrubs his hand down his face, but then says, “As long as you’re happy again, I don’t fuckin’ care.”
I wouldn’t be happy again, but I do feel the cloud of misery move away a little. Not because of the puppies, although I’m already in love with all of them, but because of Vinnie himself. He is so good to me, and even though I don’t have a father anymore, I do have him, and that’s something to be joyful about.
He leaves the room, and I lie back, three adorable puppies jumping all over me.
And I smile again.
* * *
“You know,” I say to Faye, watching the pups play with Clover on the grass. “They’re all pretty cute, aren’t they? And Clover loves them. The compound is big enough for them all, don’t you think? And I’m sure we could use the extra guards.”
Faye raises an eyebrow and says, “Not very subtle, are you?”
“The only way I’m going to get my way in this situation is to get the queen and the princess on my side.”
She throws her head back and laughs at that. “So what are you suggesting exactly?”