“Then let me help.” Jules pressed her hands to her slender hips.
Lizzie raised her brows. “What do you have in mind?”
“Do you trust me?” Jules looked directly at her sister.
“Of course.”
“Good. Then let me take over your wedding for you. All you’ll have to do is your final dress fitting and make sure you show up for the ceremony.” Jules grinned at her sister, lightening the mood.
“But there’s so much to do. We couldn’t ask you to do it all yourself—”
“Why not? I am the maid of honor, you know. And this isn’t my first time helping with a wedding. And you know how I enjoy organizing things.”
Lizzie turned a questioning gaze to Dante. “What do you think?”
He shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy is fine by me.”
Lizzie turned to Jules. “You’d really do this for us?”
“Consider it my wedding gift.”
“And,” Dante piped up, “I’m sure my brother can give you lots of help. He has great taste. Isn’t that right, Stefano?”
All eyes turned to him. Stefano struggled not to choke on his own tongue. They wanted him to help with the wedding preparations? Were they serious? “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
That response only succeeded in gaining him yet another round of frowns. He swallowed hard while keeping his chin high. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he just wasn’t ready to concede to picking out flowers and whatever else went into a wedding.
Dante walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “This experience will do you good. Maybe it’ll give you some new ideas for your wine-tasting events.”
Stefano resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His brother was really digging deep to come up with ideas of why he should waste his time planning some froufrou event. But he knew better than to vocalize his thoughts. He had no doubt that Jules and Lizzie would pounce on him like two lionesses going after fresh meat. Inwardly, he cringed at the thought.
“And what do you expect me to do about work at the vineyard while I’m out planning your nuptials?”
“I’m sure Papa won’t mind taking over the vineyard in your absence.”
“That’s the second time you’ve said that. What do you know that I don’t?”
“He’s hinted that he’s feeling a bit left out. Ever since Gianna’s accident...well, um, you’ve been doing more and more of the work.”
“And he told you this?” Then it all clicked into place. He recalled how Dante and their father had repaired their strained relationship. Their father must have confided his true feelings to Dante.
“All I’m saying is that you don’t have to worry about the vineyard—it’ll be handled. And I’m sure you don’t want Jules to have to rely on public transportation when time is so vital.”
Didn’t his brother understand that it wasn’t just the work? Planning a wedding would bring back unwanted memories. Thinking of Gianna still brought with it a truckload of guilt. If he hadn’t married her and if he hadn’t been expecting a life like the one his mother and father shared—a traditional lifestyle with the man working in the fields and the wife at home tending to the children—then maybe they wouldn’t have started fighting. Maybe then she wouldn’t have torn off in an angry huff that stormy night...
“I know Stefano won’t let us down,” Dante said confidently. “He’s always there when the family needs him.”
No, he wasn’t. Otherwise he’d have been there for Gianna. But that was beside the point right now.
And so was how he felt about his brother tempting fate with this wedding. The only truly important thing now was that his brother was counting on him and he couldn’t let him down. It’d been a long time since Dante had asked him for anything.
“Yeah, I’ll help. As long as Papa is okay with the plan.”
Dante smiled broadly. “Good. I’ll call him as soon as we’re done talking here.”
Stefano couldn’t believe he was going to help plan a wedding. Surely they didn’t expect him to do more than drive Jules around. Even that would be a challenge. Though she was not his type, he couldn’t deny her beauty. And those short skirts that she wore that showed off her toned legs were such a distraction. Jules’s clothes were nothing like Gianna would have worn, no matter how modern his wife wanted to be. And what amazed him most was now that he’d gotten over the shock of Jules’s trendy wardrobe, he was really starting to like the way she dressed.
But her makeup still made him pause. He wished she wouldn’t apply it so heavily. He thought she was beautiful, but to be honest, it was hard to tell with all the makeup. And it taunted him, making him long to wipe it away and get to the real woman beneath it all.