Chapter Eight
Theday’seventskept them busy, which was a good thing. Ozzie woke Sofia up in the best way possible, his mouth between her legs and a piece of chocolate cake. Even though she had been bogged down with responsibilities for the wedding, he followed close behind her and made sure she was well taken care of.
“How are you holding up?” he asked as he approached her at the bar. She had just sat down to order a glass of wine while he stepped away to make a call.
“I’m good, tired, but I blame that on the person who kept me up all night.”
“What can I say? I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered as he leaned in and sucked lightly on her neck, “I also find it unfair that I have to share you with so many people this weekend.”
“Well, that was the deal. You were supposed to be here as my escort, remember?”
“I do, but now what am I here as?”
“I’m not sure yet. Ask me when the weekend is over,” she said with a wink.
“There you guys are.”
Sofia looked up to find her future sister-in-law barreling towards them, with Luca not far behind. As they approached, Luca reached his hand out to Ozzie and introduced himself.
“Hey man, it’s good to finally meet you. The day has been nuts.”
“That’s okay, I get it.”
“Yes, luckily we had Ozzie here to help us ladies while you boys were doing whatever it was that was so important it couldn’t wait until Monday.”
Luca leaned forward and placed a kiss on the top of Bella’s head. “I told you earlier we needed to get some things taken care of, but it’s done now.”
“Where’s Jenny?”
“She decided she’s had enough of us and was ordering room service. I don’t blame her. We are kind of boring.” Bella said with a laugh.
“Says you, I’m loads of fun,” Micah said as he walked up with Izzy and greeted everyone.
“You are right about that, her Zio Micah can do no wrong. Should we head into the restaurant now that everyone is here?”
When Sofia paid her bill, she and Ozzie followed her family from the bar in the lobby to the restaurant where they had reservations. Sofia enjoyed spending the day with Bella, Jenny and Izzy, but was nervous over dinner. She hadn’t seen Luca since they got in town and he wasn’t always the most welcoming person. So far, things seemed fine, but she was relieved when Ozzie reached for her hand. Being there alone would have been too much. Even though she and Ozzie had just met, him being there made her more comfortable with the situation. Micah texted her earlier telling her he and Luca wanted to meet after dinner about their family business. If she could make it through dinner and the meeting, then the rest of the weekend should be a breeze.
“So Ozzie, what do you do in Miami?”
“I run a Youth Center for teens.”
“Wow, really? We only live with one. I can’t imagine handling more than that on a regular basis,” Bella said with a laugh.
“They keep me busy, that’s for sure. But it’s worth it. I’ve been running the center since just after college and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Kids like mine keep you grounded. Nothing seems more important than them.”
“Do you run it as a non-profit? I imagine the cost for something like that can get pretty hefty.”
Ozzie turned to Micah. “We do. As for the cost, we have a rather generous philanthropist that covers it all.”
“Just one?”
“Yes.”
“But what if something happens and they pull out?”
“Micah please,” Izzy interrupted, placing her hand on his arm, “Sorry Ozzie, he doesn’t mean to come across as intrusive. He just is very money focused.”
“It’s okay, I get it. Sofia tells me you run a financial firm?”