Family Ties (Morelli Family 4)

I’ve never known Adrian to engage in PDA, so clearly they’re doing just fine.

Meanwhile, Vince and Mia have done exactly the opposite. Ordinarily Mia is openly affectionate and likes to sit on his lap when she’s in here, but now she sits alone on the couch along the wall, behind the wing chairs, playing on her phone. Mateo is perched at the front of his desk, so Meg has stolen his seat behind the desk.

A few glances are aimed at us when we walk in, and I realize I’m positively bursting with my news. Without preamble, I grin and hold up my left hand for the whole room to see.

“We’re engaged!” I announce.

Mia is the first to gasp, and the only one to jump up from her seat and run over to inspect my ring. I nod approvingly. This is why she’s going to be my maid of honor and future sister-in-law.

“Oh, my god, it’s so beautiful,” she says, inspecting the ring and flashing Sal an approving grin. “Good job, Castellanos.”

I couldn’t agree more. While she’s right here, and because she’s the most excited for me, I go ahead and grab the little white envelope out of my purse and hand it to her.

“What’s this?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Open it.”

Ever obedient, she tears into the envelope, pulls out the card I picked out for her, and reads it aloud. “Mia, will you be my maid of honor?” Surprise flashes across her pretty features, but she immediately says, “Wow, really? Definitely! Thank you so much for asking.”

Since I’m not asking Meg to be in the bridal party, I go ahead and say, “We’re having a really small bridal party. Like, really small.” I pull a second card out and walk over to Mateo. “I have one for Isabella, too. I thought she could be my flower girl.”

I hand him the envelope and he nods, reaching behind him to drop it on the desk. “Yeah, I’m sure she’ll love that.”

“Definitely; she loves dressing up,” Meg agrees, dragging the envelope closer to her and meeting my gaze. “We’ll give it to her before bedtime stories tonight.”

I manage to bite back the “no one asked you” that desperately wants to explode out of me and smile faintly, turning my gaze back to Mateo. I falter, though. I want to ask him to walk me down the aisle, but not in front of all these people. So instead I just hold out my pretty engagement ring for him to see.

Humoring me, he briefly inspects it and nods his approval. “Very nice.”

“I love it,” I tell him, holding out my hand to look at it again, tilting it left and right to watch the light reflect off the diamonds. “Is Cherie in the kitchen? I have a bridesmaid card to give her.”

Mateo shakes his head. “The new maid is helping Maria tonight, Cherie should be home.”

“The new maid is so timid,” I remark, thinking of the new redhead.

“Yeah, I don’t know if she’s staying.”

“Maybe you can ask her to be in your bridal party,” Meg jokes.

I look at her. She’s smiling pleasantly enough, but it was definitely a dig. I understand she apparently has position in my family (for now), but it’s not like we hang out. “If we had a full year to plan the wedding, I would have a larger bridal party. Your fiancé wants it done in three months, so it’s two bridesmaids. Sal’s sister automatically gets one spot, so I have one left. I’ve known you for like a month. I’ve known Cherie all her life.”

Mateo’s eyebrows rise slightly and Sal puts a hand on my waist, whether to rein me in or lend support, I’m not sure.

Meg shrugs, sitting back in Mateo’s chair in a way that feels pointed. “That’s okay; I’m not really the bridesmaid type anyway. I’m glad Mia’s your maid of honor, too; she’s going to be mine when Mateo and I get married, so you can be her learning experience.”

I want to rip her face off. She says all of this calm and cool, good-naturedly even, and it just makes me so mad I could spit. “You’re going to make Mia be your maid of—”

Sal’s hand moves from my waist to my shoulder as he interrupts. “I bet Mia’s perfectly capable of being in two weddings, aren’t you, Mia?”

“Yep,” Mia says, nodding empathically, clearly wanting to avert communal discomfort. “Totally capable of being a maid of honor twice.”

That is so not the point. I’m obviously opposed to Meg and Mateo even having a wedding, but that Meg would even ask Mia to be in it is so calculating that anger wells up within me. That is bullshit. Even if Mia didn’t have any fond feelings for Mateo, she damn sure shouldn’t be in his wedding.

Sal’s hand on my shoulder lightly squeezes. “Why don’t we go find this Cherie person?”