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“Not quite.” Mila grinned, then gestured toward Nick.
He came out with a big slice of Italian wedding cake all lit up with candles. Their waitress followed, juggling forks, a knife, and another bottle of wine.
As Gia took her seat beside her husband and gripped his hand, everyone at the table started singing, Little Tony screeching the words he knew at the top of his lungs. She laughed.
In this golden little moment, all was right with her world. Not perfect, but really close. She had to work on herself and cut Jason some slack. He didn’t understand love…yet. But with time and patience, if she gave him her whole heart, he would.
As the song ended, her family clapped. Dad even looked a little misty-eyed—a first for her big, tough-guy father—as he thanked everyone. The group dug into the cake while her father lifted baby Bella above his head for an airplane ride, followed by a kiss. The day seemed more complete for having Jason beside her.
Once the dessert had been devoured, her husband rose and disappeared. Frowning, Gia watched. What the devil was he up to? He returned a moment later with a smug smile. Before she could puzzle that out, Nick nearly danced his way to the table with a beaming grin, then handed Jason his credit card.
With an absent scrawl, her husband signed the slip, and she looked down. She wasn’t surprised that he’d paid tonight’s bill, but the family could eat at Delvecchio’s every week for a year and probably not spend that much.
Nick handed her father a gift certificate. “From your daughter and Mr. Denning. Happy birthday.”
Daddy looked at the slip of paper and scanned it, then handed it back toward Jason. “A thousand dollars? You didn’t have to do that. I can’t accept…”
“Now I know where Gia gets it from.” He sighed. “Please take it. If it makes you happy, it makes your daughter happy. And you know the saying… Happy wife, happy life.”
“But it’s too much,” her father argued.
“If you enjoy this place, it’s just right.” Jason wrapped an arm around her.
She smiled up at him. He was trying so hard to fit into her family. Maybe he’d gone overboard, but she knew Jason meant the gesture to please, not bribe. No one had ever done something that nice for Daddy, and he deserved it. No doubt he would appreciate it.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“You can thank me later,” he murmured hotly in her ear as a cell phone rang somewhere nearby.
“Not because you bought him something,” she scolded.
“Then don’t thank me. I just can’t stay away from you.”
Gia giggled. “You’re so bad.”
“Oh, just wait. I’ll get much worse when we’re alone. I might have a new paddle with your name on it. Or maybe we’ll go for a swim in the pool on my deck and I’ll fuck you there.”
Out in the open, where anyone could see. Well…anyone with a helicopter or binoculars in a nearby building. But the idea made her more than wet. “I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
“What a shame…” He grinned.
She fought down a shiver and a blush. Jason cradled her chin and lifted her face for a kiss as she heard a third ring, then her father answer the phone.
“Yes, this is Marco Angelotti.” He pressed his finger to his other ear, trying to drown out the background noise in the restaurant.
Her mother grabbed her purse as Mila gathered Bella’s little dish and spoon, then removed her bib. Little Tony retrieved his toys. And Gia glowed with happiness. Her family knew about Jason, and they accepted him. They weren’t angry or disappointed or disowning her.
All that time she’d wasted because she’d been worried about their reaction. If she’d taken Jason to meet her parents when they’d been dating, her father would have yelled and refused to let him in the house. Her mother would have cried, crossed herself, and asked why her only daughter was trying to kill her. Today…a whole different story. She’d never imagined that Tony’s passing had caused them to change their outlook about the proper son-in-law.
“Can you repeat that?” Her father frowned.
Mama sent him a questioning look. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist. Gia’s stomach dropped like a stone. Worry filled the void.
Beside her, Jason’s phone dinged with a text. Nothing new since he constantly conducted business, but she wished all the noise and chaos around them would abate so her father could hear and they could all figure out what had him upset.
He pushed past Mama and Jason and marched toward the door. Everyone gathered their belongings and followed him out. Apprehension gripping her, she trailed after her family, then looked behind her to see Jason reading his phone before he darkened the screen with a satisfied nod.
“I need to see what’s wrong with my dad.”
