Page 128 of It's Always Sonny

Except, they chose Sonny and me. She said we were the inspiration she needed to call him during the middle of the reunion and say yes.

So that’s what her call was about.

Nonna had the good taste to choose an A-line one-shoulder floor length dress in a gorgeous champagne color. I look freaking amazing.

Sonny looks me over, and the greedy glint in his eyes sends a flush from my ears down to my toes. I pull him in for a long, hot kiss, and then push him away. “Go!” I say. But then I bring him back and wipe the wine-colored lipstick from around his mouth. And I bite my lip, wanting more.

“I will never get tired of you looking at me like that,” Sonny says in a soft, intense voice.

“Are you guys going to have your wedding here at the farm, too?” Ash asks.

“I haven’t asked her yet,” Sonny says.

“You’re not doing a surprise double-wedding, then?” Lou says.

“Uh, no.” I say firmly. “I’ve run enough weddings at this place. You remember our old intern, Juliet? Her fiancé owns like five islands. We’re having a destination wedding where I don’t have to do a single thing.”

My friends all nod patronizingly.

“What?”

“You’re not going to do a thing? You’re not just type A, you’re type A plus. With extra credit,” Ash says.

“Not anymore,” I say.

My friends smirk at something beyond me, and I turn to see Sonny shaking his head. He stops abruptly. “Totally, Parkypants.”

“I will hunt you down.”

Sonny grins. “Worth it. Parkypoo.”

Millie comes over, which means I’m about to take my place. “Hey,” she says to Sonny, “congrats on the contract with TSN!”

Sonny announced his retirement and signed the contract this week. He’s broken the hearts of millions of fans but made millions more. He’ll fly around the country for games once a week during football season, but his schedule is otherwise open enough that he’s also going to start a podcast.

He’s tentatively calling it Family>Football, and he plans to interview athletes and talk about the family culture and traditions that have kept them strong in spite of their busy careers … or the way the lack of that has impacted them. He wants to look at families across generations, not just parents with their kids. How do athletes interact with their siblings, cousins, grandparents? How do those relationships influence them?

Wherever did he get that idea?

Speaking of family, my dad’s cancer was stage one prostate cancer—as easy as it comes. He won’t even need surgery right away, but apparently finding out he wasn’t “a god” threw him for a loop.

We’re not in a great place yet, and I’m not sure if we ever will be. As much as I want to forgive them, they have a lot of work to do if they’re going to be part of my future. I’m done carrying the weight of our relationship.

When it’s time for the wedding to start, my friends take over.

“Go get ‘em, Tiger,” Sonny says with a kiss.

“See you on the other side,” I say. Nerves flutter in my stomach, but I’m not nervous for Nonna and Bob. I’m nervous because of the conversation Nonna and I had when she called me last week.

“You want me to be your maid of honor? Are you sure?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t sure.”

Good point.

“I’d be honored.”

“You’re a good girl, sis. But now that you’ve agreed, it comes with a stipulation.”

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