I turn and face the people who love me the most in the world.
Soon my parents will arrive, and my grandma and then the man I’m falling in love with. This feels like a new beginning for me.
“Izzy C,” my cousin, Luke Jones, approaches with a glass of water in his hand. “You look happy.”
“I am happy,” I tell him. “I’m really happy.”
He wraps an arm around my shoulder to tug me closer. “No one deserves it more than you. I can’t wait to meet whoever put that smile on your face.”
“You don’t have to wait.” I look up into his blue eyes. “He’ll be here for lunch.”
“He must be a brave man.” He laughs. “Facing this many Calvettis at once isn’t for the faint-hearted.”
I scrub at the polish on my thumbnail. “Neither is running into burning buildings.”
“I’m a fireman.” He taps his finger in the center of the black T-shirt covering his chest. “I put on the gear and get the job done. Your guy is about to meet grandma for the first time. No gear. No backup.”
“I think he can handle it.”
“You’re special to her, Bella.” He kisses my forehead. “To all of us. He better be good to you, or he’ll have to answer to Marti, and me, and every single person in this room.”
My family is fiercely protective of me, but Barrett is too. I have a feeling that by the end of the afternoon, they’ll be just as crazy about him as I am.
Chapter 52
Barrett
Just as I’m about to step into Calvetti’s my phone rings again. I glance down at the screen. It’s Monica. This is the third time she’s called since I left my place. I ignore the call yet again before I slide the phone back in the front pocket of my pants.
I ditched the suit I was going to wear for gray pants and a black sweater. I don’t know the dress code for a Calvetti family gathering, so I went with cleaned up, yet comfortable.
I glance through one of the windows at the front of the restaurant. There are at least sixty people inside. I know I want this, but damn if I’m not nervous as hell right now.
Looking down at the peonies in my hand, I take a deep breath and pull open the door.
The smells and sounds immediately strike me. The aroma of good Italian food wafts in the air. The voices in the room overpower a group of small children racing around with their sneakers squeaking against the tile floor.
People are talking in Italian, others in English, but it’s the small group in the center of the room that I can’t take my eyes off of.
Isabella is standing next to a man and a woman. The woman is her height. The man is taller. I watch their profiles as they carry on a conversation.
They’re at least ten feet from where I am, and with the voices surrounding me, it would be impossible to hear them if they were speaking verbally to one another.
But they are talking. They’re speaking in sign language.
I stare at them knowing I should approach, but I hang back. I don’t move because I know they’re talking about me.
Bella signs to both of them. I met him at a restaurant. I thought he was my date, but he wasn’t. I sat down at his table by mistake.
How the fuck did I not realize that she knows sign language?
The woman laughs loudly. It’s almost identical to Isabella’s laugh. Her voice quiets once she starts talking. I’m too far way to hear what she’s saying, but I can read the movements of her hands. And now he’s your boss?
The man pats Bella’s arm softly. You like this man, my girl? He makes you happy?
Bella’s face lights up in a smile. I think I love him, dad. I haven’t told him yet.
My heart races in my chest. I felt it. I sensed that she loved me too.