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“In my defense, of which I have very little here,” he was smart enough to say. “It was before we really started to be something. She came in to get pastries and decided right then and there that you were going to be her next daughter-in-law.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure exactly how I felt about that. Almost, well, disappointed? That I missed my chance to make my first good impression. Then again, though, maybe she got a better first impression getting to meet me when I wasn’t aware she was Nino’s mom. She would have seen me in my normal environment where I felt comfortable, and not all nervous and queasy like I was right then.
“She gushed about you,” he went on, sensing that this was probably helping my nerves.
“She did?”
“She said you had a megawatt smile and had kind words for everyone. And she said you were beautiful.”
“She did?” I asked, actually feeling a little teary-eyed.
“Well, you are all of those things, sweetheart,” he reminded me, giving my hand a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go eat an insane amount of food. But you might want to prepare yourself for the noise,” he warned.
He wasn’t wrong about that.
It wasn’tjusta meet-the-mom event. Because it seemed like every Grassi event practically involved the whole family. So not only were his brothers and his sister there, but so were several of his cousins and their wives. And the kids.
But it was Giulia I was most excited to finally—officially—meet.
And I found her, naturally, in her gorgeous kitchen with Smush and her daughter Valley helping her put the finishing touches on the meal.
“There she is!” Giulia declared, throwing her arms up and out before wiping them on her apron and coming toward me, grabbing my face in both hands. “Yep, just as beautiful as I remember,” she declared. “I’m so glad we can officially meet! Thank you so much for saving my son!”
Then I was wrapped up in the tightest hug of my entire life.
It was safe to say I was… welcome.
As welcome as another woman who I’d never seen before. All tattoos and dyed hair. Gorgeous. And slightly more familiar with the family than I was yet.
I would learn later that this was Traveler.
And she was, apparently, with the baby of the family, August.
You could say that Giulia was over the moon at the prospect of two potential new daughters-in-law. And all the possible grandbabies we might give her.
By the end of the evening, I officially felt part of this loud, crazy, over-the-top family.
I couldn’t wait to bring my mom into it too.
We’d been on our own for so long.
It was going to be a grand new adventure to be part of a big family.
God knew she and Giulia, as well as Lucky and Smush’s mom Adrian, had a lot in common when it came to cooking.
I figured when they all finally met, there would be a lot of talk about the menu at our wedding.
And, well, I was perfectly okay with that.
I had every intention on marrying Nino Grassi some day.
Nino - 8 months
I was in the kitchen, tossing together some dinner for both of us, my pocket feeling overly heavy.
It wasn’t the ring itself.
It was what it represented.
