Chapter Thirty #3
Chloe slapped at Rosa’s arm. “And why did you tell Mama that?”
Never mind why, Mari was still reeling from the ring size question.
“Because unlike the first go at marriage, you want to think long and hard before going into that again. Men in this family like to make grand gestures when popping the question, and the last thing any woman wants is to say no in front of an audience. If Mari has any doubts, she should cut him off before it gets to that point.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me the day he asked about my size?”
Rosa looked away. “Because I know you’re going to say yes. Am I wrong?”
Salena sat forward. “Wait, when did he ask?”
Another olive made it between Rosa’s teeth. “A couple of weeks ago.”
Mari turned then, to the direction the men were gathered and talking in.
And as spidey senses did, every one of them turned to look toward her.
Salena started laughing, slow and staccato.
“It really is amazing what you’ve built here,” James told Gio.
They were inside the room where wine was processed. Most of what Gio said was completely over James’s head. But in time, he’d learn.
“I’m living my dream,” he said.
“Your dream was my nightmare,” Ryan said.
Luca must have noticed the confusion on James’s face. He pointed the glass in his hand at Ryan. “Ryan refused the family business model early on.”
“Right. Your parents’ vineyard is close by?”
Ryan nodded and lifted the glass in his hand, the amber liquid was in direct contrast to the rest of them holding wineglasses. “Which is why I like beer,” Ryan said.
“Have you ever thought about starting a brewery?” James asked.
Dante nudged Ryan’s shoulder. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“That sounds like a lot of work.” Ryan took a drink.
“None of you strike me as lazy.”
“I like passive income. That’s why I have rental property. And my schedule doesn’t interfere with Salena’s.”
James could understand that. Long workdays turned into long weeks, then months. And lately, all he wanted was to plan things like salsa cruises with Mari.
“You have a point there, young man,” James said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how my business can run without me there every day.”
“Retiring early?” Luca asked.
“Not sure about retirement, but . . . less physical time at the office. I won’t be saddling the girls with my business. Eventually, I need to figure out something.”
“Bring on a partner or apprentice. Make them invest so they can’t just walk away, retain control, and teach them what you know,” Ryan suggested. “Then when you want to retire . . . poof, passive income.”
A giant light bulb went off in James’s head. “That sounds so easy.”
“It doesn’t have to be hard. That’s the problem with a lot of things.
We try to make it difficult when it isn’t.
We spend so much time spinning to make time.
Just stop spinning and do the thing.” Ryan pointed to Dante.
“Buy the yachts, hire the crew, they do the daily work, you enjoy the paycheck.” Ryan looked at Luca.
“Hire and train the chefs, maybe open a sister restaurant catering to a different clientele. How many Italian restaurants are in Little Italy? All of them filled. Or tapas and wine tasting? My point is volume, but let it run without you. That’s when you have freedom.
I learned that from my old man, much as I hate to admit it.
This life is short. I don’t want to miss any of it. ”
“Damn, Ryan . . . that was deep,” Dante teased.
“Fuck off.”
They all laughed.
“You do have a point. Life is short.” James looked between Luca and Gio. Now was as good a time as any. “I don’t want to waste any time.”
Stone rubbed against stone as James shifted off one foot and onto the other.
The five of them were silent for a moment.
Almost as if everyone knew what was coming next.
“Luca . . . Giovanni.”
“Oh,” Ryan muttered.
Dante stepped back.
Luca and Gio stared.
“I love your mother. She’s the best thing that has happened in my life since my girls. I’m going to ask her to marry me. But I know I won’t stand a chance if the two of you don’t approve.”
Faces that weren’t identical, but definitely related, stared back at James.
“You sure it’s not too soon?” Luca asked.
James shook his head. “No, it’s not. All you guys, you have fifty years left, sixty. I’m staring down at thirty if I’m lucky. I want every one of those with Mari.”
James held his breath.
The feeling of someone watching caught on the back of his neck.
He turned to where the women were sitting around the table and found Mari watching.
“Every last one,” he said for good measure.
It was the perfect time of year.
It wasn’t hot enough during the days to allow any biting bugs to hatch, but it was still warm enough that the evenings didn’t nip at your skin.
The lights over the table illuminated the space, much like those on the terrace at the restaurant. Spring flowers were filling the air with jasmine and lavender.
Dinner had stuffed every belly, and everyone was talking, laughing . . . joking.
Franny sat between the twins, attempting to teach them words in Italian.
Mari couldn’t be any happier.
“Since we’re all here, we need to coordinate some schedules. Starting with the absolutes.” Gio pointed at the twins. “When is your graduation?”
“May twenty-eighth,” Ellie said.
Gio pulled out his phone and started typing into it.
“And do we know when you’re moving yet?”
“End of August.” James’s chest clenched.
Mari patted his shoulder. “The airport is a few miles away.”
He smiled. “I was thinking about tuition.”
Madison tossed an olive pit at her father. “Thanks, Dad.”
Laughter sparked among them.
Gio placed a hand on Emma’s belly. “The babies are only cooking for another month. Which might keep us from your graduation.”
“We get it,” Ellie said.
“And if we’re in labor during graduation . . .” Gio pointed at James. “We’ll see you after. Mama, you too. You can only sit in the lobby and wait anyway.”
It hadn’t dawned on her that the twins’ arrival could interfere with the girls’ graduation.
“It’s okay if you want to be at the hospital, we’ll understand,” Madison said.
James patted her hand.
“Graduations take a few hours. Labor is a lot longer,” Mari said.
Emma moaned.
“Drugs, Emma. Trust me on that,” Brooke said.
“Mama, you’re here the first week after the twins arrive.”
“Week? You’re going to need more help than that,” Mari argued.
“Emma’s mom has the next week,” Gio continued.
Mari looked at James. “I’m already in withdrawal, and the babies aren’t even here yet.”
“Don’t worry, Mari. I’m not a martyr,” Emma said.
“I want to babysit,” Madison said.
“Me too,” Franny added.
Rosa sat forward and glared at her son and Chloe. “Since I’m obviously not going to be a grandmother anytime soon, I want a turn.”
“Ah, so much love,” Mari cooed.
Gio threw both of his hands in the air. “You guys can figure everything out past week two. And when Emma and I need time alone with the babies, no one argues . . .”
That didn’t sound reasonable at all. But Mari nodded anyway.
“Dante has a birthday in June, Brooke’s is in July . . .” Gio looked up from his notes. “What am I missing?”
Luca pointed at his brother. “We need to squeeze a wedding in there somewhere.”
“Oh, shit . . . that’s right.”
What?
“Who’s getting married?” Franny asked.
No one is engaged.
It was in that moment that Mari realized every eye at the table was on her.
She literally jumped when she felt James moving beside her.
He pushed his chair back far enough to get on one knee.
Mari turned in her chair, numb.
James gathered her hands in his.
“Mari—”
Her heart was in her throat. She glanced up at her family.
Her family who watched with huge smiles and knowing nods.
He brought her hands to his lips, kissed the back of one.
“I didn’t realize how much I was missing in my life until you came along.
One yes changed everything. One yes, and I got on that ship.
There you were. God-awful shirt and beautiful smile.
One yes, and we were on the dance floor and jumping into waterfalls.
One yes, and I fell hopelessly in love. I need you to give me one more yes, Mari.
” James stared into her soul. “Will you marry me?”
“Oh, James . . .” She lowered her head to his, eyes locked and lips almost touching. “Yes.”
James pressed his lips to hers and brought her with him as he stood and took that kiss deeper.
Mari was vaguely aware that her family was clapping, and someone was even knocking on the table.
The kiss ended, their bodies close. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you.”
“Where is the ring?” Rosa shouted above the applause.
Mari couldn’t care less about a ring.
“Oh, yeah.” James stood back and fished in his pockets.
He pulled out a black box, looked at it, and shook his head. “Not that one.”
He went in again, pulled out a white box.
“You have two?” Chloe asked.
James placed the black box on the table and opened the white one.
A simple yet large round diamond on a band of gold in the shape of intertwining leaves with tiny diamonds spaced out between them. It looked like a flower in bloom. “It’s beautiful.”
Mari lifted her hand to him so he could slip the ring on her finger.
“I love it.”
She kissed him again.
Ellie and Madison were the first to jump up, run around the table, and pull them into a hug. “Does this mean we can call you Mama Mari now?” Ellie asked.
“You can call me anything you want, tesoro.”
Luca stepped up to James and put out his palm. Mari watched as a handshake turned into a hug. “Well done,” Luca said.
“Thanks for your help.”
Luca turned to her next, his embrace was long and loving. “I want you happy, Mama.”
“I am. Thank you. Thank you for your blessing.”
Gio stood by. “It’s my turn,” he said, pushing Luca away.
Gio rocked her side to side. “I thought I was the next one to add family to the table. You’re showing me up, Mama.”
Mari placed her head on his chest. “You’ll catch up soon enough.”
Chloe didn’t hug. She grabbed Mari’s hand and squealed. She kissed her cheek, then turned to James and did the same.
Eventually, the hugs and congratulations had done their rounds, and Mari slid up beside James. “What a perfect day.”
“It will be hard to beat,” he said.
“What’s in the other box?” Rosa asked, her question muttered by several others.
James grinned.
Mari knew that smile. It said he was up to something.
“If she didn’t like this one, I had a backup. Something I know she likes.”
Mari glanced at the box, then him.
“Gonna be hard to take back, though, it was custom made,” James said.
A question sat behind Mari’s eyes.
“What?” he asked. “I told you my love language was gift giving.”
“Open it, Mama,” Chloe said.
“Yeah, Nonna, open it.” Franny had practically climbed up on the table.
Mari looked at James again. “What did you do?”
He shrugged. “Open it.”
She was scared.
The black velvet box had some weight to it.
Slowly, she eased back the lid and burst out in laughter. She snapped the lid closed before anyone had seen it.
“You’re nuts.”
“Hey, when a woman tells you she likes something, you listen.”
Their laughter was contagious, everyone was laughing even though they weren’t in on the joke.
“Mari . . . what’s in the box?” Rosa asked.
Mari opened the box again, took a long look at it, and then showed it to her family.
Some of the laughter died.
Mari and James, on the other hand, couldn’t stop laughing.
“It’s awful,” Madison blurted out.
“What the hell, Dad?” Ellie asked.
She pulled the ring out of the box and put it on her right hand. “I love it. I don’t think I can wear it on the same hand, though.”
James was doubled over.
“What are we missing?”
The diamond-encrusted skull ring wasn’t nearly as god-awful as the ones in the storefront in the Caribbean, but it was pretty damn bad.
And Mari loved it.
Almost as much as she loved the man who bought it for her.