Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
My heart melted, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest. “You’re so good to me.”
“I promise to be especially bad to you tonight,” he murmured huskily. Then he stepped away, swatting me on my butt before pushing me towards the closet.
I heard the doorbell ringing as I was setting my brush down. I spared myself a quick glance in the mirror, pleased to see my eyes were bright and my cheeks flushed with color. Luckily, there was no need for make-up, and I headed for the stairs. I reached the bottom just in time to see Nic open the door to my parents. Sophia was peeking at them from behind him, her arms wrapped around his legs.
I moved forward, resting my hand on the top of her hair as I bent down to whisper in her ear. “I bet if you ask my dad nicely, he’ll give you one of the caramels he’s always carrying around in his pockets.”
Her eyes lit up and she smiled radiantly at me. Her hand slipped into mine and we moved forward to greet my parents. “Mom and Dad, this is my precious Sophia.” My parents crouched down until they were eye-to-eye with her, huge smiles on their faces. “And Sophia, this is my mom and dad.”
“Hello,” Sophia said shyly.
“Hello, sweet girl. How about you give your new Grandma and Grandpa a hug?” my mom asked. When I’d called to tell them about the engagement, I should have realized my mom was as excited about Sophia as she was about me getting married.
“More grandparents?” she asked in a loud whisper, her eyes huge as she looked up at me.
“Yes, sweetie. With your daddy and I getting married, you get two new grandparents.”
“Wow!” she squealed, losing all her shyness and launching herself into their arms while jabbering a mile a minute. Her words only came more quickly when my dad took several of his favorite caramels out of his pocket. He tucked one into her hand and put the others into her pockets for later.
Nic offered my parents a tour of the house, but my mom declined, picking up a bag of groceries she’d set down and instructing me to lead her to the kitchen. My dad took him up on the offer, following after him with Sophia on his shoulders.
Allegra hadn’t made it downstairs yet, but it looked like she’d made sure the fridge was fully stocked for our brunch. We were chopping, stirring, baking, and sautéing in no time. I had always loved to cook with my mom, and it was especially nice to be doing so in my kitchen, in the home I shared with Nic.
“He’s perfect for you,” she sighed.
“B-b-but—” I stuttered before just blurting it out. “He’s in the mafia.”
“Uh huh,” she murmured, pulling a pan of toasted baguette slices from the broiler. She didn’t even react to my announcement as she spread a honey and ricotta mixture on the slices and topped them with a strawberry, balsamic, and mint concoction. It was one of my favorite dishes, and she’d brought the ingredients with her just so she could make it for me. It was the perfect recipe to follow brunch, but as much as I appreciated her thoughtfulness, I would prefer her to take this seriously.
“Mom,” I hissed. “Nic is a mafia boss. He’s into illegal stuff. I expected you to have some kind of reaction to this information. Shouldn’t you be telling me to find a nice boy to marry?”
She laughed lightly as she arranged the pieces on the plate until they were to her liking. Then she looked up at me and smiled, patting my cheek. “Sorry, sweetie. He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.” My jaw dropped. “Besides which, it isn’t like we didn’t already know who he was before he came to visit us.”
My mom was making mobster jokes about my fiancé who really was the head of the mafia.
“What kind of offer?” I couldn’t imagine a single thing he could give them that would make my parents not care about his background.
“To love and care for you.”
I sighed dreamily, picturing Nic telling my parents that he loved me. There was only one problem with the vision in my head. “But neither of us have actually said the words to each other.”
“Niccolo!” Allegra called out from behind me. I swiveled around to find her standing in the doorway, muttering in Italian under her breath. I hadn’t heard her come in, but she was the furthest thing from quiet when Nic walked into the kitchen, and she lit into him. I couldn’t understand half of what she said, but Nic apparently didn’t have the same problem based on the look of dismay which crossed his face.
“Basta, Mamma.” He cut her off mid-rant and turned to me. “Of course, Gianna knows I love her.”