Page 71 of Ciao, Amore

“I accept,” Dani began.

“As a guest? Come on, Ma,” Angelo interjected with frustration. “Nico’s over here, pouring his heart out to you. Is that all you have to say to him?”

“What more do you expect me to say? You boys,” she said, shaking her head with a sardonic grin. “You boys always think you have everything figured out. Everyone is so smart. For me, trust is earned. Nico, I love you, but I can’t apologize for being concerned. I know sometimes it comes out the wrong way but I do care.”

“Alright, Ma,” Nico said. He hadn’t really expected even that much of an acknowledgement that she wasn’t perfect. “I’m not asking you and Dani to become best friends overnight. Just get to know each other. It’s all I’m asking.”

A soft laugh escaped his mother’s lips. “What do you mean, get to know each other? She was your pretend girlfriend for this trip and now the trip is over. Are you saying you’re going to keep seeing each other?”

“Yes, Ma. She’s not just a pretend girlfriend anymore. She’s my real, honest-to-gosh, good, old-fashioned girlfriend. In fact, I’m hoping she’ll be more than a girlfriend after tonight.”

Nico pushed back his chair, legs scraping loudly against the stone flagging, and stood up. Dani’s eyes went big as he reached into the pocket of his jacket. His mother’s stunned face was admittedly a little satisfying, but Angelo…Angelo was flushing red hot. He shook his head slightly in a gesture Nico had seen many times in the past. It was what Angelo did when Nico was about to do something that would make him fall flat on his face.

Angelo was wrong. Lina was wrong. He and Dani, what they had—this was right.

He tugged Dani’s hand so that she stood before him. Her face showed surprise but curiously, not the joy and excitement he would have hoped for. Trembling, he sank to one knee, pulled out the velvet box, and opened it slowly. Everyone was so quiet. The hingesqueeeaaaked. Dani stared at the rock he revealed. He waited for the tear-filled eyes, the gasp, the hand over the mouth like he’d seen in so many proposal scenes.

She only stared, mute.

“Daniela, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

26

CIAO, AMORE

DANI

“Yes, Nico.”

In their room, Dani paced back and forth. After dinner, Nico had gone with his father and his brothers to Nonno’s library to have their customary final gathering. Nonni had invited her to be with the women in a quaint, old-fashioned parlor. All the ladies could talk about was the stunning proposal and how blissfully happy she must be. It was like something out of a movie, they said.

Now finally, blessedly alone, her eyes touched the bed, the armoire. She’d found her bags packed and ready when she’d returned, most likely by the hardworking, excellent hands of Cetta. She’d miss that woman’s genuine good spirits and her skills.

The carpet beneath her feet, the molding along the ceilings, the lacy curtains…she saw and felt none of it. All she could picture was Nico down on his knee before her, holding up the ring. All she could hear was his voice and her own saying “yes” to his question. The question she’d been waiting to hear since she played at being a bride when she was a little girl with a pillowcase fixed to her head. The question she’d thought only a few months ago she’d never hear from any man.

“Yes, Nico.”

Yes, she’d said. But all she could feel was her rapid pulse beating in her throat and a rising tide of panic zigzagging along every nerve ending. She’d said yes to a man who asked her to marry him less than two months after knowing each other. She’d said yes because she feared shaming him in front of the people who had in one way or another pushed him to such a display.

Was being engaged to the man of her dreams supposed to feel like this? Like she was standing on the edge of a cliff with a relentless hand pressing into her back? No. She didn’t think so. She wasn’t supposed to feel like a roulette wheel had been spun, and she just so happened to be the groove where the ball came to a rest.

Energy tingled in her fingertips as she stared at the ring and the finality it represented. She wished Cetta hadn’t packed for her. The act of sorting and folding, of putting everything in its right place, would have calmed her down, but now she didn’t even have that. Hands shaking, she let herself out into the garden where the string lights were on, locking her fingers behind her neck, still pacing, trying to breathe this jangly sensation away before it intensified and took her over.

“Dani.”

Nico’s footfalls had been so soft, she hadn’t heard his approach until he was right behind her.

“What are you doing out here? Are you okay?”

“I’m great.”

Dani folded her arms, glad she’d changed and put on a good sweater. Suddenly, the balmy nights were over. Thick, dark rainclouds rolled in and hovered over the villa. Even the weather was signaling that it was time for her to leave. Nico was gazing at her with tenderness turning to confusion at her sarcastic chuckle.

“I’d hope so.” Truly puzzled, he raised his arms toward her, as if to hold her, but she backed away.

The move wasn’t lost on him. His thick dark brows drew together. With a soft exhale, he loosened the tie and pulled it off, wrapping it around his knuckles like a boxer. He’d looked so gorgeous that night in his suit. The presence he exuded dressed that way, the setting, the ring with the diamond she would’ve been proud to wear under other circumstances—all of it would have been perfect had it happened some other way. Some other time, when it was truly about the two of them loving each other.

“I know it’s late and we’ve got to be up in the morning, but I thought we’d talk about our plans. We’ve got a lot to cover.”

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