Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chloe stood in the back of the restaurant, talking with Salena and watching her mother grow more comfortable in her new world.
The world of James.
He sat at the bar, talking with Sergio while having dinner before driving her mother to their swing class.
A thought that always made Chloe smile.
“How often is he here?” Chloe asked her best friend.
“Couple times a week. The regulars have stopped asking who he is.”
“That’s saying something.”
Chloe heard Luca call out from the kitchen to one of the chefs.
“How is Luca handling it?” Chloe asked.
“You mean tolerating? Poorly.” Salena glared over her shoulder. “It’s starting to piss me off. I’ve heard him and Brooke get into it more than once after Mari and James leave.”
Chloe lifted both hands in James’s direction. “What’s not to like? Decent man, employed, almost adult kids. Mama said he gets along with his ex. Luca can’t say that about his ex.” It helped that Antonia didn’t live in America, but still.
Before Chloe and Salena could discuss it further, Mari walked around the corner.
Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail.
She wore an outfit Chloe hadn’t seen before.
Loose pants and a short-sleeved top that hugged her frame and made her look .
. . well, younger. Her mother wasn’t one for a lot of makeup, but she was wearing a little more these days, and the few gray hairs that had a way of catching the light seemed to be less and less.
“You look nice, Mama.”
Mari waved her off and lifted a bag she held in her hand. “The right clothes and the right shoes make all the difference.”
“Eventually, we’ll have to see these dance moves,” Salena said.
Mari pointed a finger in Salena’s face. “Our dancing doesn’t involve a pole.”
Chloe busted out laughing. Salena’s pole-dancing studio had taken Mari some time to get used to.
“Dancing is dancing, Mama Mari.”
Mari tilted her head. “Running a studio is a full-time job. I’m not sure why you’re still working for me. When the day comes, make sure you hire a good replacement, okay?”
Chloe and Salena stood frozen in place.
“Ciao,” Mari said as she walked away.
“Did she just say that?” Salena asked.
Chloe nudged Salena’s shoulder with hers. “Yes, she did.”
Mari approached James and slid onto the barstool beside him.
James leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Even from where Chloe stood, she saw her mother’s face light up. “He makes her so happy.”
Almost on cue, Luca shouted an order to one of his chefs from the kitchen.
“I’m not going to let either of my brothers screw this up,” Chloe growled.
Mari pulled the SUV Luca and Brooke owned into the parking lot where the construction workers left their trucks.
James had told her that he’d be on the construction site with several of his crane operators to discuss the scope of a new project. One that had been brought up in conversation several times.
A contract with the city was a big deal and, according to James, if done right, would lead to more city projects around the community.
Mari wanted to celebrate.
She opened the back of the SUV and started to pull a folding table from the back.
A man she didn’t know wearing a safety vest and a hard hat walked over. “Need help?”
“Please.”
She pointed to the side of the car for him to set it up.
“Something smells good.”
“Thank you. Do you happen to know where James is?”
“James?”
“Mr. Russell?”
“Yeah, he’s on the other side of the jobsite with some brass.”
Mari looked the man up and down. “Do I have to wear that to go over there?”
“Especially with the brass. Technically, you should have a hard hat on here.”
Mari looked up, saw the building that was going to be remodeled from top to bottom. “I wouldn’t want to get him into trouble.”
The guy smiled. “From the smell coming from your car, I think you’ll be forgiven. Want me to go get him for you?”
Mari had sent him a text when she left the restaurant, but he hadn’t responded.
“That would be nice. Tell him lunch has arrived.”
Without exchanging names, the man left, and Mari started removing her catering trays.
Ten minutes later, she saw James walking across the parking lot.
Orange vest, white plastic hat.
And a smile.
“This is a surprise,” he said.
“I wanted to celebrate your new project.”
He looked at her spread and shook his head. “What is all this?”
“Lunch,” she said. “For you and your crew.”
“Mari, sweetheart. I have one foreman and three operators.”
She spread her arms out to the parking lot.
“Then who are all these people?”
“City engineers, inspectors, the primary contractor, and about half of his crew.”
Mari reached for a bag filled with paper plates and utensils. “They have to eat, right?”
James just laughed. “You’re incredible.”
She waved him away with the back of her hand. “Go, tell them my food is getting cold.”
James moved into her personal space, captured her head with his hands, and kissed her long enough for Mari to tune out the noise around them.
He ended their kiss, their eyes locked.
“Still getting cold,” she teased.
James laughed and walked away.
Nothing made Mari happier than watching people enjoy her food.
Men in business suits and hard hats accompanied blue-jeans-wearing construction workers as they hung off truck tailgates and makeshift benches constructed of two-by-fours and buckets.
“You’re spoiling me.”
Mari leaned her head on James’s shoulder. “It’s food.”
“It’s more than that, and you know it.”
Maybe.
Mari changed the subject. “Any more colleges respond?”
Madison had received a backup acceptance from a college on the East Coast. And Ellie had been accepted to San Diego State, which wasn’t her first choice.
“Ellie is still waiting.”
“That must be hard.”
“Two of her friends applied to Arizona, and they haven’t heard either way.” James finished his last bite and pushed his paper plate off his lap. “Have you convinced Luca to come to the girls’ birthday?”
“I’m trying.”
James sighed. A sound Mari was starting to dread hearing. “And Giovanni?”
“Emma is finding it hard to sit on long drives.”
James nodded a few times but said nothing.
“Chloe and Dante aren’t leaving for their trip until after. They will be there.”
“Where are they going again?”
“Positano,” Mari said.
James’s silence brought physical pain to Mari’s chest. They’d talked about her sons enough to know he was feeling the sting of their rejection.
She placed her hand on his. “They’ll come around.”
The smile James gave her wasn’t convincing. But he held her hand up to his lips, kissed it, and said, “You’ll be there. That’s what matters.”
A giant downstairs rec room had been turned into a dormitory fit for six girls. At least for one night.
Ellie and Madison’s eighteenth birthday had been epic.
Most of Ellie’s softball team showed up, along with Madison’s nerd friends and enough adults bringing cards filled with money to make the twins happy.
Now they were dressed in matching pajamas with four of their best friends spread out around the room.
Ashley and Taylor were both on Ellie’s team. And Rachel and Jennifer were friends from their mother’s neighborhood that they had known since elementary school.
Jennifer was the dramatic one of the group, and the only one that wasn’t going away for college.
She had her eye set on Hollywood. Two roles in their high school theater program, along with an Instagram account showing other teenagers how to put on mascara, and she was convinced she had what it took to make movies.
While Ellie supported her friend, she secretly thought it was stupid. It wasn’t like Jennifer had a half a million followers or anything. More like five hundred.
Rachel wanted to be an accountant . . . or better yet, her father wanted her to be an accountant.
She had been accepted to UC Irvine, her father’s alma mater.
If it was good enough for him, it was good enough for Rachel.
Another stupid choice as far as Ellie was concerned since Rachel was wicked good at turning little black dots into art.
Ashley was leaving softball in high school and was headed toward getting a degree in physical therapy. Likely brought on by the torn meniscus she suffered in her junior year and subsequent PT by a guy she had a massive thing for. Ellie couldn’t see a problem with her friend’s choice.
And Taylor was like Ellie. Both of them were waiting on Arizona and were desperate to share a dorm together. Taylor was a solid outfielder with a decent batting average. And she was smart, which helped.
Upstairs, Ellie and Madison’s mom and stepdad had already gone to bed, so Ellie, her sister, and the girls were trying to keep their giggles and gossip on the quiet side.
Not to mention, they were plotting.
“So . . .” Ellie was nothing but whispers. “I think we’re doing it on Tuesday.”
“Tuesday? That’s random,” Jennifer said.
“Our dad is out with his girlfriend on Tuesdays.”
“Your dad is hot.”
“Shut up, Taylor. That’s gross,” Madison chided.
“Why not on a weekend? Tuesday’s a school night.” Jennifer had her hand in a popcorn bowl while adding her suggestions to the conversation.
“Weekends are sus. Our dad still hasn’t chilled since we spied on him. He’s watching,” Madison said.
“We already have a plan. And we need your help.” Ellie looked directly at Taylor.
“You can’t have sex with Trevor at my house.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. We have midterms, and the three of us need to study.” Ellie waved between Madison, Taylor, and herself.
“We do?”
“Yeah, chemistry. Madison is going to agree to help us out.” Ellie could see by the expression on Taylor’s face, she wasn’t understanding.
Ellie started over. “We’re supposed to be here on Tuesdays. We’re going to tell Mom that you and I are struggling with our chemistry midterm, and we’re going to your house to study. Trevor will pick me up there.”
“My mom isn’t going to let Trevor take you on a date from my house,” Taylor said.
“Your mom won’t know. Madison will leave me at the gate, and you guys can hang out. I’ll text you when I’m back.”
Rachel spoke up. “Don’t your parents track your phones?”
Ellie smiled. “I’m leaving my phone with Maddie. I’ll use Trevor’s phone when we get back.”
Jennifer nodded. “That could work.”
“Aren’t you nervous?” Rachel asked.
“A little, I guess. But I think I’m ready. And if we wait until prom, that’s all I’m going to be able to think about at prom.”
Her logic seemed to work with her friends.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Jennifer said. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, it hurts the first time, but . . . it gets better.”
Jennifer had a steady boyfriend the previous summer and into their senior year. Until she caught him cheating on her.
Now they all hated him.
“Are you in?” Ellie asked Taylor.
“Sure.”
Ellie’s heart raced in her chest. This was going to happen. None of her best friends were against it, and they all knew Trevor.
What could go wrong?