Tommy Gabrini: The Grace Factor by Mallory Monroe Page A

gathered all of the children attending her party into the dining
room, with Destiny sitting at the head of the table ready to enjoy her gifts.
    Dominic Gabrini, Jr., Reno’s youngest
son, and Reno’s baby girl Sophie, had flown in, on their father’s private
plane, for the party.   They’d been in
town a few days.   After the party, they
were heading back to Vegas.   “Hey, Uncle
Tommy!” Dommi said as he sat down at the table.   Sophie waved too.
    “Hey, baby,” he said to Sophie.   “Behaving yourself, Dommi?” he asked Dominic.
    “You know I am, sir,” Dommi responded
with such a sincere look on his face that anybody who didn’t know him would
think he was just an angel.
    But Tommy knew him.   “You’d better,” he said.   “Or you’ll have to answer to me.”
    “Yes, sir,” Dommi said.
    “It’s gift-opening time,” Grace said
to Tommy.   “I’d better supervise.”
    “Good luck with that,” Tommy said
with a smile, causing Grace to smile too as she made her way to the dining room
where the loud and rambunctious children, and the pile of gifts, were
assembled.   He walked slowly toward the
dining room as Grace handed Destiny one gift after another one.   Tommy stood there, with both hands in his
pockets, and watch with unbridled pride as Destiny opened each gift and thanked
each giver with the same excitement and gratitude, even if the gifts were
clearly not equal.   But she treated the
givers equally.   Tommy knew that kind of
excellent upbringing had a lot to do with Grace.
    He folded his arms and leaned against
the archway as his attention moved from his daughter, to his ex-wife.   He watched Grace do her thing.   She and Liz were polar opposites.   The idea of Liz surrounded by little kiddies,
wearing an apron and supervising the gift opening part of the party, was hard
for him to picture.    Liz was a career
woman first.   His wishes of that happy
family life, where his wife was a wife and mother first, were not going to
happen with her.
    But as he watched Grace be
mommy-in-chief in her cookie-cutter home, it made him realize how difficult a
pill that would have been for him to swallow.   Grace was an excellent mother.   Nobody was going to take that away from her.   He only wished he had realized what he had
while he had her.   He tried to keep
her.   But he knew he could have tried
harder.
    After Destiny opened her last gift,
and was looking for one more that wasn’t there, she looked at her father.   “But,” she said.
    Tommy smiled.   “But what, honey?”
    Her eyes were sad.   “But you didn’t get me a gift, Daddy.   Where’s your gift?”
    “My gift?   Was I supposed to bring a gift?”
    Destiny was near tears.   Dommi saw her, and became angry.   “But everybody brings a gift, Uncle Tommy,”
Dommi said.   “It’s her birthday!”
    As much as he would love to play the
game longer, Tommy couldn’t bear seeing his little girl so anguished.   He pushed away from the doorjamb, walked up
to Destiny, and decided to put her out of her agony.   He lifted her into his arms.
    “It’s alright if you didn’t get me
anything,” Destiny said.   “You’re
here.   That’s all that matters.”
    “ Ah ,”
Grace said with a smile.
    “No it’s not all that matters,” Dommi
said.   “We brought a gift.   Everybody should have brought a gift.   Especially you, Uncle Tommy.   I couldn’t imagine my daddy not bringing a
gift to his own child’s birthday party!”
    Tommy wanted to laugh, but he knew
that would only encourage Dommi.   “Come on,”
he said to Destiny as he carried her toward the back door.   All of the children, as if by instinct,
quickly abandoned their posts at the table, and followed too.   Dommi held Sophie’s hand.   Grace brought up the rear.
    When Tommy knocked on the barricaded
back door, one of his assistants opened the door from outside.   When Tommy stepped out, still carrying
Destiny, and Destiny saw the