Anabelle and I get to work. A lot of the vegetables have been cut and stored, making our job so much easier, which is good because I can’t seem to get my head on straight.
I pull the meat out of the marinade and set it in the pan while my sister sets the oven temperature for me.
I prep it and cover it. Once that’s done, I wait for the oven to preheat, then I wash up and start all the work for the sides.
“So are we going to talk about you two? Did you two do the nasty already? Who am I kidding—you probably did it ten times? I’m surprised you’re up walking. He looks fierce and huge.” Anabelle points to the door and back at me.
“So look who’s talking. Fabio hasn’t taken his eyes off you. What’s going on there?” She blushes profusely, pretending to play dumb, but the look on her face says there’s so much more there.
“Please. You’re just trying to change the subject.” She waves a wooden spoon in my face and glares.
“So what? Let’s get this over with.” I remind her that we’re trying to cook.
“Because you’re anxious to get back to your fiancé. Let me check out that ring.” I stretch out my hand, and she gasps. “That’s huge and insanely gorgeous. Fabio’s right; that man has it bad for you, and you love it.” She shakes her ass and then walks off to set the dishes in the sink.
“You’re silly, but I have to agree. I can’t believe it’s been two years since we’ve seen each other, and now everything is moving at lightning speed.”
“Are you having doubts?”
“Not at all. I’m just scared that it’s all too good to be true.”
“You suffered silently for two years and you think now that it’s finally being righted, that it’s just going to fall apart. It’s not. You’ve both paid your dues to the karma gods, and now it’s time to enjoy the bliss I see shining through you.”
“It’s a shame it had to happen at all. You two look like you could have had two wonderful years of marriage and some pretty little babies to watch open gifts in the morning,” Mia says.
Tears threaten to spill over, knowing he’s still cares for me. “Okay. I have to finish cooking. Open up some wine and pour me a drink. I totally need it right now.” Getting what I want feels overwhelming.
“That we do.” She pulls out two wine glasses and uncorks the bottle, pouring us a drink. By the time I finish the first glass, my nerves have settled. We take a seat on the opposite side of the island since we have time to kill before making the rest of the dishes.
“So, do you have a lot of work to do?” I ask, taking a long drink of my wine. “Refill me.”
She does as she talks. “I have three clients who are running an online New Year’s Day sale, so I have to get the marketing up and running on the twenty-sixth. It’s mostly done. It’s really just a flip of a switch to make their website pop with the deal. I also have some work to do for Fabio on several of his restaurants.”
“Does he keep you busy like he does me?” I ask. We never talk about work because we rarely see each other.
“Not exactly, but he’s talking about a marketing change. It helps that we’re here. Maybe I can talk to him about it.”
A knock at the kitchen door gets our attention, causing me to nearly send my glass tipping over, but I’m quick and I don’t spill a drop. “Come in,” I say in a sing-song voice.
An older woman walks in that I recognize. “Mrs. Fiore, it’s such a pleasure to see you again.” She comes into the restaurant once in a while with her husband.
“Isabelle, you look wonderful, dear. I’m so glad you agreed to make dinner.”
“Your son could be a bit demanding.”
“Do this or get fired, kind of thing?” she questions.
“Yes,” I say with a wink. “Actually he didn’t say that, but he literally waited until the night before I drove up here to ask me and plead his case.”
“That boy, but at least it got you here. I’m sorry, but I haven’t met your twin,” she says with a smile, staring at Anabelle like she knows her other son is hypnotized. I’m guessing they didn’t come in the same car. Now that I think about it, Soren and Mia arrived in one car, and Fabio and Anabelle came up in another. Mia dragged me away as the other vehicle had pulled through the gate with Franco’s parents in it.
“This is my lovely sister, Anabelle.”
“It’s a blessing to have two beautiful ladies to join our Christmas holiday.” Mrs. Fiore is a beautiful woman whose heart has always been on her sleeve, but Fabio says her sleeves are made of wrought iron. She loves hard and rules just as hard.