“Mrs.—Gabriella. I’ll…do what I can. I promise.” Dawn put her other hand over Gabriella’s. “Luca means a lot to me.”
“I know he does. I can see it in your eyes when you look at him.”
“But you should know, I don’t have the perfect background,” Dawn said sadly.
“Hush.” Gabriella shook her head. “I don’t want you to disparage yourself. We don’t have any power over where we come from. But we do have power over where we’re going. And you, my dear girl, seem to have a great future.”
Dawn was so moved by Gabriella’s faith in her. She would do everything she could to make sure Luca was safe. The image of Luca covered in blood was a memory she wished she could shake. She wouldn’t tell Gabriella about that. Instead, she vowed she would do whatever she could to keep Luca from getting hurt.
“Hey! It’s time to get going.” Antonio was leaning around the doorjamb, smiling.
“Coming, darling,” Gabriella said as she rose.
Dawn wondered if he’d overheard any part of their conversation. They rejoined the others, and Luca met her at the bottom of the stairs with her trench coat over his arm.
* * *
The restaurant efficiently brought out each course and whisked away the remains of the last one. Not an easy feat considering the number of people involved. The head table consisted of Dante and Mallory—the soon-to-be married couple—Noah Fierro and Dr. Kizzy Samuels, plus her sister, Ruth. One would assume that the couple who’d been engaged were probably part of the wedding party to come. Luca had told her that Dante and Noah had been roommates, best friends, and firefighters in adjacent houses, not to mention brothers.
When all the dishes had been cleared from the dinner but before dessert, Dante stood and tapped his champagne flute to get everyone’s attention.
“Excuse the interruption, but I have an important announcement to make. As most of you probably know, Mallory and I are planning our wedding on Thanksgiving Day, which is coming right up. And in a surprise turn of events, I’m happy to announce that our other engaged couple have caved to the pressure my lovely fiancée and I applied repeatedly and will share our wedding day as theirs too. In other words, it’s a double wedding!”
There was much cheering and clapping. Luca leaned over to Dawn and asked, “Will you be my plus one to the wedding?”
Dawn wanted to, more than anything, but what if their relationship imploded before then? It was still new. Then she decided she was being silly. Luca was perfect.
“Of course I’ll come. Thank you for inviting me.”
Luca couldn’t help touching her. “You’re beautiful and surprisingly sweet.” He cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her. He hesitated just a second before his lips touched hers. She closed her eyes, and her lips puckered. Yep. That’s the go-ahead signal.
He kissed her, gently but intentionally. This wasn’t the place to make a passionate overture, but at least they’d had their first kiss, and it seemed like the right time.
As soon as he leaned back, they smiled at each other.
Luca jumped when he got an elbow in his ribs. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught Gabe’s expression.
“Don’t even say it,” Luca growled.
Gabe laughed. Fortunately, he didn’t say a word. He just turned back to Misty, picked up her hand, and kissed her knuckles like an old-fashioned knight.
All Luca’s brothers had found true love. He was the last one, and with any luck, Dawn was it.
* * *
“They all love you, but then again, I knew they would.”
Dawn and Luca were sitting in Delvin’s kitchen, sharing a cup of coffee.
“Thanks.” She blushed again. She was doing that a lot lately. He thought it was adorable.
With her spiky hair and tough girl attitude, he’d never realized how beautiful she was, but sitting across from him was a girl who made him think of one of those old-time movie stars. He wanted to lean in and kiss her so bad and then do other things…
“Do you want to do this here or in the living room?”
Luca blinked.
“The unicorn.”
