Chapter 26
Ronan and Giada walked into the steakhouse each holding the hand of one of their sons. The waiter that had taken care of them before recognized them and came to the host’s station to greet them.
“Good evening! It’s good to see you again,” he said. “I’ll be your waiter again, and we have your requested table ready for you.”
“Thank you. It was so good last time, we had to come back for Valentine’s Day,” Ronan said.
“Yes, sir, and everything is taken care of,” the waiter said.
“Thank you,” Ronan said, gesturing for Giada to follow their waiter with Leo holding her hand, so he could bring up the rear holding Matteo’s hand.
“I never been to a place like this,” Matteo said, looking around at all the opulent decor.
“Me, neither,” Leo said, looking around as they stopped at a table near a fireplace.
“There’s a fireplace in here,” Leo said.
“So, we got one in our house now,” Matteo said. “Then he thought about it and looked up at the waiter. “Is that where they’re going to cook my meat?”
The waiter chuckled. “No, we’re going to cook it in the kitchen.”
“Matteo, baby, can you please stop calling it your meat and call it your steak?”
Ronan laughed. “Meat works. Steak is meat.”
The waiter laughed again.
“Let’s get you seated here, okay? Which chair do you want?” Giada asked.
“I want to see the fireplace,” Matteo said.
“Me, too,” Leo answered.
“Honey, you want to sit here?” Ronan asked, pulling out her chair for her.
Giada sat down, her eyes scanning the restaurant quickly as Ronan pushed her chair in.
“Now, guys, there are a lot of people in here tonight all dressed up for a special date, so we’re going to be on our best manners, okay?” Giada reminded them.
“Yes, ma’am,” Leo said.
“I just wanna eat. I’m not going to make any noise at all,” Matteo said. “Mainly because I want to come back, though,” he admitted.
“Here are your menus. Would you like to hear the specials tonight?” the waiter asked.
“Dad, tell him what I want,” Matteo said, nodding his head, sure that Ronan knew exactly what he wanted.
“Does everyone already know what they want?” Ronan asked, “or do you want to hear specials?”
“I’d like what I had last time,” Giada said.
“I want the same thing Matteo wants,” Leo said.
“We’re ready, then,” Ronan said.
The waiter smiled at Ronan. “I’m ready.”
“The lady will have the filet cooked medium, the largest one you have, on creamed spinach with the crab meat sauce on top. The boys will have the the 8 oz filet, but no spinach,” Ronan said, then paused to look at them. “Do you want the crab meat sauce on the top?”
“Yes,” Leo said.
“No,” Matteo said.
The waiter nodded.
“And I’ll have the porterhouse, please. Cooked medium as well.”
“Are we all having baked potatoes, or would you prefer to try the scalloped tonight?”
“Scalloped potatoes for me,” Giada said.
“French fries!” Matteo said.
“Mom, do I like scalloped potatoes?” Leo asked.
“They are in a cream sauce and have onions cooked with them,” Giada explained.
“I’ll have fries,” Leo said.
“And appetizers?” the waiter asked.
“Could we have the stuffed artichoke and the crab claws again, please?” Ronan said, scanning the menu. “Oh, and the small fondue, too, please.”
“What’s that?” Leo asked.
“That’s a little pot of melted cheese and you get to put things on the end of a stick and dunk it in the cheese before you eat it.”
“Oh, I like that!” Leo said.
“I thought you might,” Ronan said.
Wasn’t long before their meal came, and talking was minimal as the boys concentrated on their food. Ronan and Giada managed to laugh and talk, completely enjoying themselves and the kids as they ate.
When they were done and a busboy cleared their dishes away, their waiter approached the table with a rolling cart. He laid platters of an array of desserts in the middle of the table for them to share, then placed a very large Creme Brulee’ in front of Giada.
The kids were thrilled as they started taking what they wanted off the platters, but Ronan watched Giada closely.
“Oh, they gave you all the silverware,” Giada said, reaching for a spoon from Ronan.
“They did, didn’t they?” he asked, as he handed a dessert spoon wrapped in a deep red linen napkin to Leo and one to Matteo. “Here, this one’s for you,” he said, handing her one.
“Thank you,” she said, carefully unrolling her spoon from the napkin. Something fell out of her napkin and clattered to the plate her ramekin of Creme’ Brulee’ sat on. She nudged her dessert to the side to better see what had clattered against her plate, and froze.
She set her spoon down and reached for the item, as she blinked quickly, afraid to hope what she was hoping and have it not mean what she thought it did.
She picked up the ring — an oval cut ruby surrounded by a halo of white diamonds — and raised her eyes to Ronan.
Only he wasn’t where she thought he’d be, sitting in his chair. Instead he was on one knee beside her chair.
“Ronan?” she whispered.
“Giada, I love you. I love everything about you. And I love your boys. You make me a better male just by standing at my side. I’ll never stop working to be worthy of your trust and love, and of the trust and love of the boys, too.
I promise that I will always cherish and honor all three of you.
You are my life. You already know you’re my mate, but will you be my wife, too? ”
Giada was trying to hold back her tears and no words would come.
“Say yes, Momma,” Leo said, swiping a hand across his own eyes as he cried.
Giada’s lips were trembling and she was nodding as she tried to force words out. “Yes,” she just barely managed to force out harshly. “Yes,” she said again, clearly this time.
Ronan took the ring from her hand and slipped it on her finger.
“I love you,” she said, leaning into his arms as he reached for her.
Everyone around them clapped.
Ronan kissed her, then wiped her tears with his thumbs before he kissed her again. “Best night of my life,” he said.
“Me, too,” she said, still sniffling.
The waiter had moved away to give them their time, but approached again. “Congratulations, Sir, Ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Giada said.
“I appreciate your help,” Ronan said.
Giada looked at him questioningly.
“When I went to find your necklace, I went back to the jewelry store I bought it in and bought the ring I had seen there the same day I’d bought your necklace. I ran it over here, and gave it to Justin to slip into your napkin during dessert.”
“Thank you so much for helping make this so special for me,” Giada said.
“I’m honored to have been a part of it.”
Leo got out of his chair and hugged his mother. “So we get to stay with Ronan forever now?” he asked.
“Yes. We’ll always be with Ronan,” Giada said, hugging Leo to her. “Is that okay?”
He nodded. “I wanted to stay with Ronan, but I was afraid that we’d have to leave one day.”
“Never!” Ronan and Giada both said.
Leo nodded and hugged his mother when she kissed him, then went straight to Ronan.
Ronan hugged him tightly. “I’m so proud to have you and your brother and your mother in my life,” Ronan said.
Leo hugged Ronan tightly, burying his face against his chest as he tried to get his emotions under control.
“You’re gonna make me cry,” Ronan said, poking him in the ribs gently.
Leo laughed as he wiped his eyes and Ronan lifted him onto his lap.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” Justin asked.
“I want some more meat…” he paused and looked at his mother, “steak to take home for breakfast,” Matteo said.
“Matteo!” Giada said.
“No, it’s fine. Let him have another one to go,” Ronan said.
Matteo grinned. “Thank you, Dad.”
Leo had been sampling some of the chocolate cake on Ronan’s plate, but he stopped and looked up at Ronan with a smile. “Yeah, thanks, Dad.”
Ronan looked down at him, realizing it was the first time Leo had called him Dad. He got choked up and had to quickly blink away his own tears. “You’re not supposed to really make me cry,” Ronan said, starting to laugh as the tears receded.
“It’s okay, Dad. I cry sometimes, too.”
“I love you. I love you all so much,” Ronan said.
“We love you, too,” Giada said.
“Can we go back to the bonfire if they’re still there?” Leo asked. “They were all asking us to come back. I like them.”
“Did they know you were going ask me to marry you?” Giada asked. “That’s why they wanted us to come back, isn’t it?”
“It is. They’re excited for us.”
“Let’s hurry up and eat our dessert so we can go back and show our family that it’s official,” Giada said.
“Not without my meat! I mean, my steak!” Matteo said.
Ronan got his family. Giada got her happily ever after. Leo got his Dad. And Matteo got his steak.
The End — maybe.
For the most part.
We shall see.