away. You love my family too much.” He downed his drink, bringing the empty glass to the sink, his steps confident like he already guessed what my answer would be. “Besides, Toni will be in. She’ll kill you if you aren’t there.” Dante leaned down and picked Mateo up, snagging a small section of bubble wrap to show my son how to pop several rows at once. My boy squealed, reaching for the plastic, bouncing like he thought it was the most amazing sound he’d ever heard. My reaction was unexpected— a giggle that crept from deep in my belly. Dante noticed, whipping a look in my direction, his smug grin all confident and arrogant. “And, you know, I did build your son’s bed for you. I’m gonna need a promise.”
The man was impossible. He was also a Carelli. That meant stubbornness went right along with all that impossibility. “Fine,” I finally said, taking a deep swig of my drink, realizing I’d probably need a lot more before I walked into that party. “I promise.”
9
Maggie
Despite hearing everything that went on in her restaurant and her family, Mrs. C. didn’t seem to know how often Smoke and I spoke while he stayed with Dino in the hospital.
If she had, maybe she would have pulled back on the dramatics when she reminded me of her husband’s birthday party.
“It’s a little dinner,” she told me, sitting down on a bench at the back of the kitchen with a cooling rag wrapped around her neck. “It’s fine…no, no, I’m fine.” She waved away Denise when the manager offered her another glass of water. Mrs. C. refocused her attention on me, offering a weak smile that I wasn’t sure was genuine. “A small family meal to celebrate my husband’s birthday.” She released a heavy breath, one I was convinced by this point was definitely exaggerated before she dabbed at her sweaty forehead. “You know how he loves the bambino…and you. You both will come, of course…” She shut her eyes, pulling the rag free from her neck to cover her face. “Even you could not refuse an old, sick woman, now could you?”
“No ma’am. Of course, I couldn’t.”
There was no way I could turn down the woman after that performance.
The truth was, I wouldn’t miss it for anything.
As pathetic as I felt, Smoke had promised to make an appearance.
“I can’t miss my pop’s party, bella, and the nurses here are taking good care of Dino,” he’d told me early Saturday morning when he called.
“So, you’re coming back? Tonight?”
“I have to settle a few things in the city and then I’ll be there. I promise.”
When I dressed for the party, I made an extra effort with my hair and makeup and changed my outfit at least three times. It was ridiculous. Dante had been right. It had only been two weeks since I’d seen Smoke. Two weeks since that night on his desk and just the idea of seeing him again had me acting like a war bride antsy for her man to break formation and run at her after a two-year deployment. We really had nothing to complain about.
Two hours of fussing over my hair and outfit and I found myself moving through the crowded dining area of the restaurant, my son being passed around the Carelli family. Mrs. C.’s “small family dinner” included the entire town, like most Carelli meals, but then Dante had warned me as much.
“Ah, Maggie, he’s so beautiful,” Maria told me, her thin lips stretched so I could barely make out the red lipstick she used. “He gets bigger every time I see him!”
“Yes,” I said, pulling off my jacket as Mateo got handed over to another aunt and laughed when the younger woman crossed her eyes at him.
He was safe here, among these friendly people, but that didn’t keep me at ease. That didn’t happen until I spotted Toni across the room. The frown she wore changed when she spotted me, and her gaze shifted from Luca, who leaned on a chair behind her at the back of the room. As Smoke’s sister moved toward me, I spotted the way the handsome man watched her, the brown skin of his neck and face brightening when he moved his attention to her hips. Then Dario and Dante approached him, and Luca pulled his gaze from Toni and stood, shaking each of their hands.
“Maggie,” she greeted me, kissing each of my cheeks before she tugged me away from the family and