“Yes, my boy, but I just told her.” He turns to me with a grin. “Surprise.”
“Wow.” I force a smile that doesn’t meet my eyes, and he chuckles some more.
“Enjoy the party.” He pats Antonio's shoulder and sifts his way back into the crowd of cousins. Antonio sighs and turns to me, hand holding my upper arms comfortingly.
“I preferred not to surprise you that way.”
“I thought we were going to have dinner with them tomorrow. It’s a lot for Gran to travel around, and mother is… well, you know….”
“I know, but I think that it will be nice to let the families mingle. And easier to tell them all at once….” He’s studying my eyes, waiting for approval as I consider his perspective. Eventually, I accept that it does make sense, and he kisses me on my forehead, pulling me into a hug.
“It’ll be okay.” I nod into his suit coat, and he pulls away, still holding my hand.
“Come on. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the family.” He begins to bring me around the room, and by the time dinner starts, I’ve met so many people that I can’t remember who I’ve met when I sit down and look at everyone's faces.
Gran and Mother haven’t arrived by the time Espie and Olive come to dinner, which is right when they serve the first course— Alma Caviar in shells and truffle butter canapés with edible flowers.
We make it to the main course, and there are six empty seats at the far end of the table, still waiting for my mother and Gran. I don't know why there are six, but it’s a huge dining room, so I don’t begin to question how they keep up after it.
“Good?” Antonio takes a break from entertaining everyone with his jokes to check in. I nod and turn my head to look into his green eyes. My stomach does turn when he smiles at me, kisses my lips softly in front of everyone, and I don’t care because it’s Antonio. When he pulls away, he looks past me at something, and it seems everyone is doing the same, so I look in the direction and see Mother, Gran, Alk, Alk’s wife, and their fourteen-year-old son, Ali.
I think at first I don't know what to do. My limbs won’t function properly, lungs won’t take in air right. I just stare. Completely flabbergasted by his presence. How is he okay? How is he here? I don’t know if I should cry, scold him, or both. My world is spinning until I'm practically out of body, watching myself stand up and run to him so quickly the air is whistling past my ears.
His arms open as he meets me halfway, and I pull him into a hug so tight I think I hear him groan in pain. This brings me back– him holding me, hot tears pouring from my eyes in buckets. I loosen up a bit to not hurt him further before steadying back on my feet.
“I thought you—” I blubber, and he shakes his head to answer before I can finish.
“One of the boys shot Agent Fine.” He shakes his head. “He only nicked my shoulder. We barely got out, but with everyone’s help, we made it.”
“And Agent Fine?”
“Bastard’s still alive. Ran to his car and took off.” He shifts his jaw. “I could have killed him for taking you. I’m sorry. I didn’t know anything about his plan. Just his threats if I didn’t follow his orders.”
“We’re glad everyone is safe.” Gran steps up to his side and looks at his family. “They’ll be staying with us from now on.” Gran tips her head to his wife and son.
“As they should.” I smile, eyes continuing to stream rivers, face contorted uncontrollably because I can’t believe he’s here. Alk notices that I’m still on the brink of hysteria and pulls me into another hug.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Princess.” He laughs, and I sniff away the tears as I step back.
“Please, come have a seat.” Antonio is behind me now, welcoming them and lifting a guiding hand to their spots at the table. They file in as Antonio and I take our seats once more.
“That was the surprise,” I whisper to him, and he grins wide enough for his dimples to show.
“Yeah.” He nods, and I shake my head with a grin.
“You’re wonderful.” I kiss his cheek, and he grabs my chin as I’m pulling away to kiss me on the lips again. Pops clears his throat when he notices Antonio’s occupied ring finger. We glance at the end of the table where he’s raising suggestive eyebrows, and I glance back at Antonio, who shrugs to ask if I’m ready. I nod in response, and he grabs my hand, standing to his feet, pulling me to mine.
“We have an announcement.” Antonio doesn’t need to raise his voice to gain the attention of everyone, but he does. Vince and Jess raise their glasses to him, and he quickly grabs both of ours, raising them with the rest. Everyone joins, one by one, until it’s completely silent, all eyes on us.
“We’re having a baby!” He grins, and the resounding gasps throughout the room make me shudder. Immediately, I furrow my brows, shaking my head vehemently.
“No! We are not!” I wave my hands in the air, and Antonio licks the smirk off his lips before shrugging.
“Nah, but we are married!” He declares, and everyone chuckles like he’s making another joke
“We are married,” I confirm, and their laughter turns to shock. It rolls through the room for a moment before rounds of congratulations erupt. First from Pops, then Gran and Mother join in. The rest of the room follows, getting up to slap Antonio on the back and look at my ring. I lean into Antonio before another couple gets up to congratulate us.
“Why did you do that?” I laugh, and he shakes his head.
“The marriage was less shocking than a baby. Warmed them up.” He grins into a kiss.
“You’re crazy.” I laugh, toggling between his bright-green beauties. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much as he leans in close again and whispers, “Only for you.”