She’d even pinched his ass a time or two to keep him quiet.
Which was fine. He’d save his funny side for Lace.
It seemed his woman really loved laughing in bed, and Vince was completely on board with that. Every time he made Lace giggle when he was inside her, her inner walls would flutter around him tightly, nearly causing him to pass out with pleasure.
But that wasn’t something he should be thinking about at the moment.
Vince needed to keep a serene, yet alert look on his face for Midge.
He honestly felt like he was killing it.
By the time they were all at the door together, saying goodbye, Vince couldn’t help himself from popping out a question that would eat at him if he didn’t have an answer right away.
“How did we do?” he asked, swallowing the trepidation that threatened to choke him.
Old Midge actually smiled.
“Not that I make any final decisions, but your house and the two of you have passed with flying colors as far as I’m concerned. You’re exactly the type of foster parents we’re looking for.” Her jaw tightened a bit. “And that’snotbecause you have connections and have somebody pulling some strings for you. That’s frommyyears of experience doing interviews.”
“We really, really appreciate it,” Lace gushed. “I know you can see how excited we are. We can’t wait to have a child in the house with us.”
“Well, I understand that your applicationwasfast-tracked,” she sniffed, then let something out which Vincent had thought was still under wraps.
“I’ve been apprised that your interest lies in one particular little girl.” Her face slowly lost its detached edge as she focused on Lace. “I understand where you’re coming from, young lady. With both you and the child undergoing cancer treatment, I have to agree that for Inez, this would be a much better living and thriving situation than where she is right now.”
Yes!
“We saw her just this morning,” Vince eagerly put in. “Lace had received permission to have her infusions in the same roomas Inez’s more invasive ones, and I feel like us being there is making things easier for her. I promise…we both promise, right here and now, that Inez will never be alone for her treatments again.”
“Commendable, Mr. Sothard.” Midge finally gifted him with a smile. “I’ll pass that bit of information along.”
This time it was Lace who couldn’t hold back.
“What do you think the timetable will be?” she asked nervously, clearly hoping she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries.
Midge’s lips turned up again, and this time she looked…smug. “Let’s just say, I hope your bathroom is finished on schedule.”
Holy crap. Maybe two weeks? Vincent couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Lace clearly couldn’t help herself. She stepped forward and threw her arms around Midge, who stiffened, looking like she’d rather be attacked by wolverines.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Lace chanted. “You can’t know how much this means to us.”
Midge pulled back gently and shook her head. “Oh, I think I do. I’ve read the biography you submitted, Lace, and you’ve had a lot of bad things happen in your life. Too many. You and Inez will both benefit from this arrangement. You two deserve some happiness.” She turned to Vince, her spine snapping straight. “And you… Thank you for your service.”
It wasn’t Vince’s favorite thing to hear since it was generally lip-service, but from Midge, he’d take it. If it furthered his cred with DHHS, he’d listen to it all day long.
“You’re welcome,” he acknowledged with a nod.
Midge nodded back. “We’ll be in touch.”
She waved goodbye as they closed the door behind her.
They waited until she was out of earshot for their eruption of high-fives and loud exclamations of joy.
This was fucking awesome.
Vince almost felt like he’d gone through and completed BUD/S all over again.