Vince nodded. “Makes sense. Where’d you find him?”
Stefano spoke up. “He hired Dom Salvatore. I worked with him in Toronto. He happened to drop by the garage one day—his car was acting up, and he pulled in. He was as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I’d heard he’d gone out west. We were talking, and then Maxx came over and I introduced them. One thing led to another…” He lifted his hands. “We got a new man on board.”
“You bring him to lunch once, I think,” Rosa said. “He was polite. Nice. Even with ink on his arms.”
Stefano chuckled. “Tattoos don’t make you a bad person, Mama. If they did, Gabby never would have fallen in love with me.”
“I remember him. A little older than you, right? Really knowledgeable.” his brother, Michael, asked.
“Yep, that’s him. He’ll be a great asset to the shop.”
“I worked with him last week,” Chase offered. “He was like a walking encyclopedia. I’m looking forward to learning from him.”
“You bring him to eat again,” Rosa commanded.
“Sure, Mama,” Stefano agreed.
Then my father cleared his throat. “Since today seems to be the day for announcements, I have one.”
All eyes were on him as he stood and placed his hand on Rosa’s shoulder.
“It’s my great honor to announce that Rosa has agreed to marry me.”
For a moment, there was stunned silence. I cleared my throat. “Say what now?”
Stefano rose to his feet. “Did I just hear you right? Mama? You’re getting married? You never said—”
She cut him off, standing beside my dad. She quelled everyone with one look.
“We are happy. We love each other. We no know how much time we have, so we are taking the happiness and hitting the road.”
“You mean grabbing it,” Charly corrected. “Brett is hitting the road.”
“Ah—whatever.” Rosa waved her off. “I make sure all my bambinos happy. It’s my turn. Mack make me happy. And if you not happy, you leave.” She nodded firmly and sat down, picking up her utensils. My dad sat down beside her, grinning.
I looked at Stefano’s shocked face, then at the rest of his family. Gianna spoke up.
“Way to go, Mama. Congratulations to you and Mack.”
Vince grinned. “You crazy kids. Enjoy it!”
Stefano and I shared a glance, and I began to laugh. “Welcome to the family, bro.”
Theo clapped. “I knew it!”
Stefano dropped his head, his chest heaving in laughter. He met my gaze, shaking his head. “I can’t fight love,” he muttered.
“Nope,” I agreed.
He stood and lifted his glass.
“To Mama and Mack. Tanti auguri per una vita felice insieme.”
I joined him. “Salute,” I said simply.
There were lots of well-wishes, and I knew at some point we’d be sitting down with them to discuss their plans for the future. But for now, they were enjoying their moment. I caught my dad’s eye and winked. He beamed, and I had to admit I was thrilled, knowing he’d be happy while I was gone. No longer alone.
Theo bit into his bread, chewing thoughtfully. “Do I get to call you Grandpa?”
“I’d like that.”
He turned to Stefano. “What will you call him, Dad?”
Stefano frowned, but before he could answer, Theo kept talking. “Mom and Charly call him Daddy Mack. Is that what you’ll call him?”
The entire table burst into laughter, even Theo, who had no idea what he was laughing about.
Stefano wiped his eyes. “Probably just Mack, little man.”
Theo wrinkled his nose. “Boring.”
I was still laughing as I dug into my food again.
Nothing was ever boring around here. I highly doubted with Theo around it ever would be.
A YEAR LATER
BRETT
I glanced at my wife, napping with her head on my shoulder. I stretched in the warm, late-afternoon sun of Greece. The sheer beauty of the place was still astounding. The blue of the water. The white sands. The people. It was incredible.
The past year had been astonishing. Nothing prepared me for life with Kelly. The vistas I would see. The beauty I would discover. How different sunsets were in each place. The food, the people. Each trip made me long for the next one.
But then we would return to Littleburn and the life we had made there. Rose Cottage had become our haven. It was filled with mementos of our travels. The curved room that had fascinated Kelly so much was now her studio, the walls of our home covered in her photographs. She was sought-after and successful. She went on some assignments without me but said her favorites were when I was there with her. I hated seeing her leave, but I looked forward to her coming home. Because I knew she always would. She loved our life.
And she was happiest when we were tucked away in our own little slice of heaven. She was content and at peace. She loved the town, visiting my dad and Rosa, and taking pictures for the local paper. She did most of her work with Garner via email, only going into Toronto when she had to. So many things had changed in our lives, and all for the better.