Epilogue 2
MAKING WINE FROM SUNSHINE
A bout to get into the car, she saw Dante come through the Caruso family home gate.
“Give me a sec, Maria.” Nadia closed the car door instead of getting inside. “I just want to tell Dante when I’ll be back.”
Narrowing her eyes, she took note of what Dante was wearing as he stepped out of the Cadillac.
“I hoped to catch you before you left,” he said as she approached him.
Nadia didn’t miss the guilty look in his eyes as she brushed a kiss on his firm lips. “You got here just in time. Wait—why are you wearing a different suit than you left wearing a couple of hours ago?”
“Amo spilled his coffee on me. I changed into the extra suit I keep at the Casino Hotel.”
She took a few steps back from him. “That’s the third time in three weeks you’ve had to change your suits because of an accident.”
Dante gave her an incredulous look. “You don’t think I have to change because I’m afraid you’ll smell another woman’s perfume on me, do you?”
“No.” She folded her arms over her chest. “What I think is that you smoked one of your nasty cigars there, and you’re trying to hide the evidence.”
“Nadia …”
“Dante …” she mocked him back. “I tasted the cigar on your lips. I told you I don’t mind if you smoke the occasional cigars, so there’s no need to go to this extreme to hide that you are.”
“I told you I’d quit before our wedding, and I will”—he ran a hand through his thick hair that was peppered with gray more and more each day—“try.”
Nadia reached out to kiss him again much longer this time, not able to resist the stubborn look on his face.
“I’m sure you will,” she fibbed, both of them knowing he probably wouldn’t, but it didn’t much matter to her.
She was certain Dante used that time to reminisce in his old office and check in on the family business.
“Maria, Winnie, and I are going for the final fitting of my wedding dress. I shouldn’t be gone long. ”
He frowned at her. “You girls aren’t going alone, are you?”
Striding away, she blew him a kiss from over her shoulder. “We’ll be fine”
“Take my car. Amo will drive yo—”
“You really want Amo tagging along?” she asked, getting in the car. One last look at his face told her he, in fact, did not.
Putting the car in drive, her head was flung back onto the headrest as Maria pressed her heel on top of her foot to speed them away from the house.
“Maria!” she screamed out, regaining control of the car. “We’re not in an F1 race.”
“I’m not getting stuck with someone looking over our shoulders. It’s a girls’ day out, and that means no men.”
Since she hadn’t wanted any men to spoil the day either, she didn’t argue.
With One-Shot revealed, and the two mafia families no longer feuding, it meant the girls could get a day to themselves on the rare occasion from time to time.
However, Nadia was certain they were going to have a tail before they made it to their destination, regardless of how fast Maria was making her drive.
“What’s on the agenda? As long as we’re at the dress shop by three, we can go anywhere.”
“I made us an appointment at my spa. We’re going to be groomed and spoiled today. We probably won’t want to go home by the time they are done with us.”
Her and Maria shared a secretive women’s glance, knowing nothing would keep them from going home to their men other than an act of God.
At the spa, she was treated to a wax, nails done and, saving the best for last, a full body massage. Meeting up at the swimming pool, they relaxed on lounge chairs, each of them wiggling their toes to show off their new polish.
Sipping on their mimosas, Winnie sipped on a non-acholic fruity concoctions, which was better than what her and Maria were drinking.
“How’s the job hunting going, Winnie?” Nadia asked, wishing she hadn’t after seeing the worried expression replace the happy one on her friend’s sweet face.
“Not so good.” Her head hung low in embarrassment. “I’ve put in over twenty applications, and I haven’t been asked for a single interview.”
Winnie had actively been looking for a job to support herself since turning eighteen. She shared a room with another girl who had run away from home and had ended up at Moonbeam, as well. Once Willow left, another runaway would be given her spot.
“I feel bad. You’ve already let me stay six months longer than I should have.”
“Regardless of age, Haley and I want the residents to have a good environment to go to before leaving. You help us out so much; I wish you would stay and take the job we offered you as being an advisor to the other girls while you go to school.”
“I don’t want to go to college or do any other training courses until I’m certain I know what I want to do.”
Nadia wasn’t surprised at Winnie not wanting to stay at Moonbeam or being an advisor. Winnie was great with the other girls; the problem was the girls all loved Winnie, seeing her as a surrogate sister, which activated her flight response.
“I could talk to Haley and see if we could make an exception for you.”
Winnie shook her head. “I don’t want you to. I know I should take one of the training courses offered.” She sighed morosely. “I just want to get on my feet and make enough money for a small place to live and be on my own for a while.”
“I understand.” Willow had a good head on her shoulders. She was undecided in her future, and she didn’t want to jump into a field she would be unhappy with just to keep a roof over her head. “I’ll talk to Dante; maybe he could find a job for you at the casino.”
“I’d save that talk for when Winnie turns twenty-one,” Maria spoke up. “Unless they’re family, they aren’t getting through the hiring process.”
Without thinking, Nadia responded to Maria’s quick dismissal of her idea. “Winnie is family to me.”
She could have smacked herself when the poor girl hastily excused herself to get dressed, while Maria watched her leave in confusion.
“Why did she take off? We have plenty time before we have to leave.”
“Winnie isn’t comfortable showing her emotions. She doesn’t want to get attached to anyone, and if anyone gets too close to her, she distances herself from them.”
Maria arched a perfect brow at her. “Then why did you tell her you consider her family?”
“It was a slip of the tongue. I know better.” Regretfully, she wished she could replay the last couple of minutes and not have brought up her searching for a job.
“I don’t know how you do it. You play mother to I don’t know how many kids. I do well just getting Angelica to bed at night at a decent hour. On top of that, you have to deal with their emotional issues. It must be disheartening at times.”
Nadia gurgled the end of her mimosa and laughed. “If I was afraid of getting the cold shoulder from someone emotionally closed off, I wouldn’t be engaged.”
“Poor Dante. He didn’t stand a chance against you, did he?” Maria said, giving her an appreciative look.
She put a finger to her lips. “Don’t tell him. He thinks he caught me.”
They were still laughing when Winnie came back.
“I guess we should go.” Nadia rose from the lounge chair lazily. “We should get some lunch before going to the dress shop.”
Going to one of her favorite lunch spots, they chatted about the wedding until it was time to go to the dress shop.
Trying her dress on was a more emotional experience than she had expected. Looking at herself in the mirror, her eyes met Maria’s bedazzling emerald gaze.
“You look beautiful.”
Nadia bit her lip. It had to be hard on Maria seeing her in the wedding dress, yet Dante’s daughter only showed happiness for her. “Thank you, Maria.”
Suddenly, Maria frowned. “What for?”
Taking a step toward her, she held open her arms. “Can I hug you?”
Her frown turned to confusion. “Do you have to?”
“I’d like to,” she said, taking no offense. The beautiful woman hardly ever showed any emotion and had many familiar traits to her older brother Lucca.
“Then go ahead,” she finally agreed.
Nadia enfolded Maria in her arms, letting all the love she felt for her come out in a motherly hug. After a moment, she stepped back. “Thank you. I needed that.”
Maria’s eyes held a faint shimmer of tears, realizing just how truly special and gifted of a woman her father was marrying. “I think I did, too.”
After dropping off Winnie, Nadia was ready to go home, already thinking ahead to what she would prepare for dinner. With her mind on her chances of getting Dante to grill steaks, she didn’t find Maria’s request strange.
“Have you seen the house next door?”
“No.” She hadn’t actually. Massive trees interrupted the vision of being able to see the home.
“Do me a favor and pull into the driveway.”
Doing as she was asked since now she was intrigued herself, Nadia could only see a massive fence barring further entrance to the estate.
Spitting off a series of numbers, Nadia was shocked. “How do you know the gate code?”
“I know the owner.” Maira shrugged it off before getting her to put the code into the keypad.
Driving up the large driveway, Nadia’s first glance at the home had her mouth dropping. The home was smaller than the Caruso family home, but it held a charm the austere appearance of the Caruso home did not. “This is gorgeous.”
“I thought you’d like it.” Maria’s lips held a smug smile. “You want to check it out?”
Nadia gave her a surprised glance. “The owners won’t mind us showing up unexpectedly?”
“They won’t. The Hendersons are on vacation. Dante told them he’d keep an eye on the property while they’re gone. We’ll be saving him a trip over.”
“If you’re sure, then hell yes.” No woman in her right mind wouldn’t take a look inside.