Instantly, my mood soured. “Pot roast.” I gestured toward the kitchen. “I made Lucadinner. Too bad he isn’t going to be home to eat.”
Adriana arched a dark eyebrow at me and smirked. “You cooked?”
I reluctantly smiled. Since the Christmas dinner fiasco, Adriana had defrosted toward me. She was actually kind of funny when she wanted to be.
“I did. Would you and Dante want to come over and join me?”
She looked at the door. “Sure, I haven’t put the lasagna in yet. Let me grab Dante. I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic.”
I finished mashing the potatoes right as Adriana and Dante made it back over.
“Sasha!”
“I’m in here, bud!”
A small body collided with my hip. “You’re cooking?”
“Yes. Why is everyone so surprised?”I blew a strand of hair out of my face as I pulled down some plates.
“Because you never do. Remember the pancakes?”Dante’s sweet face smiled up at me.
The image of Luca and Dante trying to choke downa breakfast that lookedlike hockey pucksmade me laugh. “You’re right, but this will be different, I promise. Now go take a seat at the table.”
He nodded and sprinted away. Adriana grabbed juice for Dante and a bottle of wine for us.I carried the food out to the table and dished out the plates, careful not to make a mess on the ridiculously expensive tablecloth.
Dante hesitantly sniffed as he inspected the fork full of potatoes. As hechewed,his face screwed up in concentration, just like his uncle. For a seven-year-old, he was a little foodie.
“Mm. This is so good.”
Adriana hummed in agreement.
“Thank you! Make sure you rub it in Luca’s face later.”
Dante finished chewing and speared a piece of roast with his fork. “Why isn’t Uncle Luca here?”
He chewed, giving me a closed-mouth smile.
“He’s working. I was going to surprise him with dinner.”
Dante rolled his eyes. “What a dummy.”
“Dante!” Adriana scolded, fighting back a smile.
“What? When Sasha’s my wife, I will always be home for dinner.”
I tried not to laugh. “I appreciate that,Dante.”
He nodded. “It’s the truth. When I’m big enough, you’ll be my wife, and Uncle Luca will have to deal.”
Adriana snorted, drawing Dante’s attention. “You okay, mom?”
Nodding, she took a sip of wine. “I’m fine, just shocked by how grown up my little man is.”Dante sat a little straighter and dug into his plate of food.
Dinner ended up being fantastic. Dante told us all about an upcoming field trip to the Arch, and Adriana tactfully filled me in on a date she’d had the weekend before. While I’d planned for a much different evening, it was nice to catch up with my favorite Morettis.
After stuffing ourselves, Adriana and I cleaned up and chatted while Dante finished his dessert.
“You know, it was always like this with . . .” she gave me a meaningful look, then went back to drying a wine glass. “He worked insane hours, and if that wasn’t enough, Nicki was always there.One time, Dante even joked that she was his work wife.”