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Last time though, Elio’s approval, and his love, were on the top of my mind as I got ready for my engagement party.
Shutting my eyes, I sink into the memory of that pivotal night six years ago.
I don’t need to think that hard to remember how my last engagement party went.
The whole thing lives in my head, and I think about it far, far too often.
Six yearsago
My heart is in my throat and my palms are sweating.
I’m frozen in the car. I know I’m supposed to get out but I can’t get out, because if I do, I’m going to cry.
Or scream.
Or both.
Elio Rossi is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. I know that he’s my brother’s age, and I know that I’ve been obsessed with him for just as long.
I don’t have any illusions that he feels the same about me. For him, this is a business arrangement. It’s something our fathers cooked up after a wild weekend in Atlantic City, something that they want for the business.
Or for nostalgia.
I’m not really sure, actually, but I do know that both of them are wholeheartedly behind this marriage.
And I’m not sure at all how Elio feels about it.
“Let’s go, sorellina,” Marco calls to me from the open car door. “This isn’t Groundhog Day, you have to come out sometime.”
Oh. God.
Now Elio thinks I’m hiding in the car.
I scoot to the side and stick one leg out. “I’m not…”
The heel of my shoe catches on the floor mat.
For a heart-stopping moment, I know I’m going to fall.
Then, strong arms grab me. “Easy there, tesoro,” I hear a deep voice rumble.
“Oh god, seriously Caterina? You fall on your own feet? I swear man, she’d lose her head if it wasn’t attached to her shoulders.”
“I’ll catch her. No problem.”
The light Italian accent is a dead giveaway.
I look up and blink.
Elio Rossi has his hand on my arm and smiles at me.
And my world tilts on its axis.
“Come. Let’s go to our party.”
In a daze, I take his hand, and I follow him.
I startto fade out by the third hour. I’ve shaken so many hands. Nodded. Smiled. Accepted so many well-wishes.
