Chapter Ten
Aria walked into Mateo’s office, where he and Trent were talking.
“Hi, guys.”
“There’s my pretty woman,” Mateo said.
“No, she’s my pretty pet,” Trent said.
She rolled her eyes because they both liked to argue about her sometimes.
“I have an idea, and I want to know what you think about it.”
“All right,” Mateo said.
“I want to have a large dinner party or a ball here at the house.”
She watched as both men seemed to think about it for a moment.
“Devon will love it,” Trent said sarcastically.
Aria laughed. Devon was obsessed with keeping them safe, so he vetted everyone who walked onto the property to ensure they weren’t a threat.
“I know it will be a lot of extra work for him, but I’ve never been to a dinner party with you or my daughters, and I want to celebrate our lives and the fact we’re all finally happy.”
“I think it’s a great idea, baby. Who would you like to invite?”
“Our whole family, meaning the Macleans. The people who manage our businesses, and a few of the other mafia families in the area we’re on good terms with.”
“Do you want your daughters involved with the planning?”
“Absolutely. The girls and I can find decorations online, a caterer, and flowers. Should we consider having a DJ or hiring a small band or quartet to play?” Since meeting Alastair’s woman, Beth, Aria had taken her under her wing and made her one of her daughters. She was not only beautiful but also the sweetest person she’d ever met.
“Good question,” Trent said. “Let’s think on that for a bit. When would you like it to happen?”
“We could do a holiday one at the beginning of December.”
Mateo nodded. “That would work. It would give us five months to set it up. The first order of business is to get the guest list, and then we’ll review it with Devon to see if there would be any problems. When we have that done, you girls can send out invitations with RSVPs.”
“We’ll want to know exactly who will be here, so we’ll have to state if they have not RSVP’d by a certain time, they cannot come.”
She nodded. “We could have a list at the front door of those who RSVP.”
“What about that and sending them something like a golden ticket? That would get them through the gates, and then they’d have to give their names at the front door. It would be the second level of security.”
Trent nodded. “I like that. Let’s discuss it with Devon.”
“I’ll call the girls to see if they can come for lunch and party planning,” she said.
“We’ll go talk to Devon,” the guys said and walked out.
Aria was just going to call Faith and get her to round up everyone, but since hearing about Beth’s insecurities, she was going to make Beth the monarch of the family so she should take on those responsibilities.
“Macleans,” a voice answered.
“Yes, this is Aria Moretti. May I speak to my daughter Beth, please?”
“Yes, of course.”