Page 10 of Degrees of Power
“I see that Mom has taken my request for a small informal gathering to heart,” I say.
“She’s excited,” Chase says, pulling me close.
“I know, it’s pretty hard to be upset with her. There’s Jenny,” I say, spying her across the room visiting with a few members of my family. Chase and I spot his dad and Emily at the same time and he guides me to where they are sitting on a love seat talking with one of my aunts.
Don stands and shakes Chase’s hand, but his eyes immediately fall to the sapphire shimmering around my neck, gazing at it. Finally, he takes my hand in his own, turning it before bringing it to his lips. “You look absolutely stunning this evening, Katarina. You can’t know how happy it makes me that Chase has found someone as lovely as you for a wife and that he has given you his mother’s necklace.”
“Thank you, Don. I know how special it is and you have my word that it will always be cherished,” I say.
“I have no doubt that it will, Katarina. Emily and I are looking forward to seeing you both a little more often now that the medical centers are expanding,” he says, putting his arm around her shoulders and drawing her into the conversation.
“We should mingle a bit Dad, but we’ll round back a little later,” Chase says after we’ve visited for a short while. We find Jenny and chat with her and a few other guests until dinner is announced and then make our way to the place reserved for us at the conference-size dining room table. Chase pulls out the seats for both Jenny and I before taking his place to my right.
“I thought Brian was going to be here,” I say to Chase.
“He got caught in negotiations, but he’ll be here tomorrow. At least he better be, otherwise, I’m going to have to pull in one of your uncles to stand in for best man,” he says, grinning.
“Brian won’t be here tonight but Chase expects him to be here for the wedding,” I explain to Jenny who is sitting beside me but did not hear our conversation.
“We’ve emailed each other tons since Torzial started working on the Prestian accounts. I was hoping to get to meet him in person when we toured Prestian Corp last week, but he wasn’t around,” she says.
“He was out of the country working on something,” I say as dinner is served.
The meal is a true Italian feast as is tradition in the Larussio family. The seafood scialatelli smells wonderfully of basil, garlic and butter. The prawns have been perfectly sautéed and are displayed on a bed of pasta, laden with roasted cherry tomatoes, sprinkled with parsley and a unique cheese that is delicious in taste, but unique and unfamiliar.
“Do you know what the cheese is called? It’s so good,” I ask Chase.
“It’s Pecorino, a little stronger than Romano and imported straight from Italy,” he says.
“It’s very flavorful,” I say, murmuring my appreciation for the dish. The meal has been nicely planned, allowing time to socialize between courses. I take another sip of the crisp but delicately sweet wine and look around in wonder at the family who I never knew existed only a few short months ago.
I am pulled from my reverie as the waiters place a dish of Sea Bass alla Fiorentina in front of us. The smell of the fish, roasted tomatoes, garlic, basil and parsley lend off a wonderful aroma. I marvel at how pretty they have presented this course of the meal. The fish sits upon a ladled pool of freshly diced roasted tomatoes and the sauce surrounding it is sprinkled with parsley and served with a mixed green salad. Jenny is sitting next to my single aunt and they seem to have hit it off fabulously, deeply engrossed in conversation.
The wait staff has cleared the tables and is setting before each of the diners a small dish of sorbet. “I’m glad the dessert looks light. I am so full,” I whisper to Chase.
He gives me a boyish grin. “Baby this is just to cleanse your palette. It will prepare you for the next delicious taste you are about to experience. The real dessert will be sinfully decadent,” he says, his lips turned up in a smirk at my dismay.
I dutifully spoon the cold, pale yellow sorbet to my lips and scowl playfully at his look of amusement.
“Your mom told me they are serving Tiramisu,” he says with a wide smile. I inwardly groan as I see the progression of waiters pour coffee for the guests, while others begin carrying large porcelain platters that hold small plates into the dining room. It is a beautiful dessert, layered with creamy mascarpone cheese, Italian chocolate shavings, crème and espresso.
“It’s absolutely delicious, sinful even,” I say, taking a bite and murmuring my appreciation for the dessert.
“See what you would have missed if you had stopped at the sorbet?” he asks.
I narrow my eyes at him. “I know what you’re getting at,” I say, taking in the raised eyebrows.
“Whatever do you mean, Katarina?” he asks mischievously.
“You know, I’ll tell you later,” I say, feeling the warmth of a blush rise to my cheeks.
“I’ll be looking forward to it,” he says before the staff clears our dishes and people begin meandering into the great room where wine and other alcoholic beverages are being served. It feels good to stand after such a large meal. I have a brief opportunity to chat with Jenny before she is pulled into a discussion about Torzial with Don and a few others.
I notice my parents mingling amongst the family and every time I catch site of them they seem to be laughing or smiling. Chase and I continue to circulate but by the end of the evening the long day has taken its toll. “You look exhausted, Baby,” Chase says.
“I think someone kept me up a little late last night, that and I was up a little earlier than normal,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Yes, up early causing my security team grief as I recall,” he says.
