Page 109 of Her Hidden Smile

She turned her head to look at me. Her hair was different.

A lot different.

It was a cut that framed her face, and made her look softer, less angular. It was lighter, too.

I think.

“What? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?”

“You look amazing,” I whispered.

Her gaze turned soft. “Really? You really think so?”

I reached out and pulled her toward me. “Every time I think you can’t get any more beautiful, then you up your game and knock my socks off.”

“Renzo, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Millie. I’m going to miss you while I’m in Missouri, Cariña.”

She laughed up at me. Her beautiful violet eyes were dancing.

“Honey, haven’t you figured it out yet? I’m going with you.”

Epilogue

Springfield, Missouri, October

I’d been in contact with Renzo’s mom for the last couple of weeks, after the ‘fashion-show’ at Trenda’s house. It was at that point I knew I could make it to the wedding. If. And there were a lot of ifs. If certain things could be taken care of.

First, I had to talk to Doc Evans. I had read up on flying on airplanes and how some people would take a prescribed medication to relax before the flight. I knew I would probably need one before getting into the airport. He and I got something figured out for the flight to Missouri and the flight back home.

I also figured I would have a better chance of being relaxed if we had better seats on the plane, so I booked us first-class seats together on his flights. I never canceled his flights because he would get a notification and know something was up.

Second, I had to talk to Renzo’s mom about where we were going to stay when we arrived. She was so sweet about everything. Renzo was supposed to be staying at Gustavo’s house in the spare bedroom. But she said that place was bedlam on a good day. She looked around and said she found a really peaceful hotel for us to stay at. She talked to the concierge and we could get a suite on the top floor, so it would be quiet.

She told me the entire itinerary for the wedding events. Jenny had been right. There was a bachelorette party, a rehearsal dinner, a barbeque the day after the wedding, and a baby shower for Nia since everyone was in town. I told her there was no way I could go to a bachelorette party, and she laughed.

“You’ll have more fun staying home with me, Renzo’s dad and my mom, Nia and a couple of the others. We plan to order in Mexican food and watch Game of Thrones. Mom hasn’t seen it, and everybody at the rehab center has been telling her about it, so she’s dying to watch it. Christos is going to die of shock when he realizes how much sex and nudity is in it.”

Sharon had been a dream. She had tackled every single one of my problems, and I knew this wedding week would be a success.

All the way from the airport to his parent’s house, Renzo kept glancing over at me. I hadn’t been very talkative once I had taken the pill that Doc Evans had prescribed, but now I was coming out of it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked for the twelfth or thirteenth time.

I rolled my eyes. “I guess time will tell.”

He gripped the wheel tighter. At least he stopped asking me that question.

We were now driving in a quiet neighborhood and the houses were getting bigger. That made sense, since the Drakos would need a big house. When he made the next turn, quiet was a thing of the past. It was obvious which one was Drakos’ house. There were cars, adults, teens, kids and toddlers spilling out of the big white house on the corner.

“I’m going to have to park a block over,” Renzo mumbled. “I’m not dropping you off, because in this case, it would not be the gentlemanly thing to do.”

I let out a weak laugh. He was right about that.

He turned a corner and found a parking spot and stopped the car. He pulled out his phone and pushed in a number.

“Mom? It’s Renzo. I’ve got Millie with me. We just drove by the house. When did you rent it out to a fraternity?”