Family Ties (Morelli Family 4)

“And you?” He’s said he was fine with it before, but I still feel the need to watch his face as I ask again. “Are you okay with it?”

“I wouldn’t have given him a down payment already if I weren’t.”

“You did?” I ask, pushing up on my elbow.

He nods. “I already got the paperwork started.”

“Oh, my god. That’s awesome.” I push up to a sitting position, my eyes wide. He’s still lying there, hands laced behind his head, calm as can be. I poke him in the side for his composure. “Why are you so calm? We’re buying our first house.”

“I’ve already bought a house,” he points out.

“Yeah, but this is ours.” Now he sits up, too. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We already talked about it. I knew it was what you wanted, so I went out and got it for you. What was there to talk about?”

“Well… I don’t know. It just seems like I should’ve done something. Are you sure you don’t want to go halfsies on the down payment? I have my own money. I do get paid for working at the bakery and I have virtually no living expenses.”

Sal rolls his eyes, vaguely amused. “Halfsies. I’m good, but thanks.”

“But I want it to be our house.”

“It will be our house. What’s mine is yours, babe.”

“Oh my god.” I settle back, curling my legs beneath me. “We need to go shopping. We’ll have to completely redo the living room and I want to get some kind of shelf or cabinet or something in the kitchen to display your Alice in Wonderland teacups.”

Laughing lightly, he says, “My teacups? I do not own teacups.”

“Maddie gave them to you.”

“To make me look stupid if I brought a girl home.”

“Well, I like them,” I state, settling the subject. “If we ever have a little girl, maybe we’ll name her Alice.”

“Alison. Nope, that’s Ethan’s daughter’s name. We already took over his house; we can’t steal the names of his children, too.”

“How about Alessandra?”

He smiles over at me. “Why don’t we wait until you’re pregnant to pick out baby names?”

“I like Alessandra,” I inform him.

“Fine. So do I. But we should still hold off.”

“Alessandra Castellanos. How about Alessandra Yvonne Castellanos? Your mom has to like me if I name our daughter after her.” I nod approvingly. “I like this plan.”

“I’m just glad we both understand my word is law around here.”

I grin, draping myself across his body and brushing a few tender kisses across his lips. “You’re the boss of my heart, does that count?”

Rolling his eyes lightly, he says, “I’m the boss of half this city; that should count for something.”

“Not my half,” I tell him, playfully smug.

Shaking his head, he says, “I should’ve taken a page from your brother’s book and picked out a nice little poverty-stricken waif who’d be impressed by me.”

“I’m aggressively impressed by you,” I inform him. “Want me to buy you a little something pretty to prove it?”

He gives me a dead look, but the twinkle in his eyes betrays his amusement. “Goddamn Morellis,” he mutters, sitting up.

Since he sat up, I don’t have him to serve as a pillow, so I lie down flat on my back and smile up at the clouds. “You love this particular Morelli, don’t even pretend otherwise.”

“You’re right, I do,” he agrees easily enough, opening the picnic basket and reaching inside. “You know what I’d love even more, though?”

I shake my head. “What’s that?”

He turns back around, sitting beside me on his knees. He gently places something on my stomach, and my eyes widen when I see it’s a small, square ring box.

“If you were a Castellanos.”

I knock the box right off my stomach in my excitement to sit up, but as Sal goes to retrieve it for me, I snap it up greedily. My eyes dart to his face, to his smile, then to the box. I crack it open and inside rests the loveliest rose gold diamond ring, cushion cut with a halo around the main diamond. All the times I’ve drooled over engagement rings in magazines, I’ve never seen one as lovely as this, because this one is from Sal.

I can’t quite find words, and my fingers surprise me with their unsteadiness as I pluck the ring out of the box.

“Francesca Morelli, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

I grin so hard my face hurts and hug-tackle him. “Of course I will.”

His strong arms wrap me tighter, letting up only when I pull back to kiss him.

“Remember a few minutes ago when I told you how happy you make me? Way to completely outdo yourself.”

Dropping a kiss right on the tip of my nose, he shrugs and says, “I already knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, I figured I should make it official and lock you down.”