The Sparkling One

21

Mia ducked her head. David looked as if he wanted to crawl under the table. Grandpa Lorenzo’s fist crashed down next to his plate.

“What are you doing?” the old man demanded, his voice rising with every word.

“Making sure this is what David and Mia really want,” Zach said.

Grandpa Lorenzo’s thick eyebrows drew together. “You’re trying to break them up?”

“I didn’t have to. They made the decision on their own.”

“You what?” Colleen asked, staring at him incredulously.

Katie shook her head. “I warned you,” she murmured just before conversation exploded at the table.

“What the hell is going on?” Lorenzo demanded.

“Mia, what is this about?” Marco asked at the same second.

“We should all calm down,” Grandma Tessa urged.

“Calm?” Colleen echoed. “The invitations are here.”

“When did this happen?” Brenna asked.

“This is no time for shoutin’,” Grammy M warned.

Katie reached for her wine, while Zach watched the show.

“You didn’t want them to marry?” Colleen asked him, then rose to her feet. “Zach, I don’t understand.”

Zach stood as well. “I thought the engagement was a mistake from the beginning. Mia is David’s first girlfriend. They’re both too young to be settling down. David still has two years of college left. Mia wants to go to Georgetown.”

He glanced at the kids, who both looked miserable. Grandpa Lorenzo roared for everyone to be silent.

He stared at Zach. “You come into our family. We welcome you with open arms, but you’re not what you seem. You’re a traitor and a thief.”

Zach recognized the beginning of the tirade. He braced himself for a lot of bluster.

“You can’t dictate to me,” he told the older man. “I worry about my son as much as you worry about your family. Katie had it right before. You pick a side or an opinion and you expect everyone to embrace it, to put it on, no matter how ill-fitting it may be. You have no respect for personal differences. You want what you want, not what they want. If they agree with you, they’re smart. If they don’t, you badger them. That’s not leading the family, that’s being a bully.”

A collective gasp shot from the family.

Color flared on Grandpa Lorenzo’s cheeks. He muttered something in Italian, then pushed himself to his feet. “You are not welcome here. You’re a snake and we don’t tolerate your kind.”

“Or the truth,” Zach said. “Everyone at this table can see David and Mia are miserable. But you don’t care about that. Having more heirs is more important than your own granddaughter’s happiness.”

“She’s a child. What does she know of what is right?”

“If she’s a child, Pop,” Marco said, “then she’s too young to be getting married.”

Zach was surprised by the unexpected support.

“Get out!” Lorenzo roared. “Both of you!”

Marco shook his head. “That’s always your solution, isn’t it? Get rid of the dissenters. Soon you’ll be living here all by yourself.”

Colleen gripped her husband’s hand. “That’s right.”

“Yeah. You can’t talk to my dad that way,” David said, coming to his feet. “He’s right. You tell Mia and her sisters what to do, but you don’t listen to what they want.”

Mia clutched his arm. “David’s telling the truth, Grandpa. Why can’t you see it?”

Lorenzo ignored her and turned his attention to David and frowned. “If you defend your father, then you can go with him.”

“Fine. I will.” David looked across the table. He shrugged. “Because you’re right, Dad. I’m not ready to get married. Neither is Mia. We’re not engaged anymore. We broke up yesterday. We just didn’t want to tell anyone yet.”

There was a second explosion of conversation. Zach ignored all of it. He looked at his son and nodded, proud that David had made a stand.

“You okay with that?” Zach asked.

“Breaking up or making everybody mad?”

“They’re mad at me, not you.”

David smiled ruefully. “I think that just changed.”

Zach didn’t care about that. What was important to him was keeping David safe. That’s all he’d ever wanted. Now his son had a chance to grow up and find out what he wanted to do with his life, without the added responsibility of a family.

Katie looked at Mia. “That’s why you didn’t show up for your fitting. You were having second thoughts about the engagement. I figured you were mad at me about the house.”

Mia moved close and hugged her. “No way. I knew you just wanted me to be happy.”

“Happy?” her grandfather asked. “When you’re not getting married?”

Mia rolled her eyes. “Grandpa, you’re going to have to get over it.”

The older man glared at her.

Zach looked at them all. “I’m sorry,” he said loudly, to be heard over the cacophony. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“What do you care for us?” Lorenzo asked. “You care only for yourself.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Get out.”

“No, don’t,” Katie said. “No one’s going anywhere and no one is being thrown out of this family ever again.”

Zach shook his head. “You’re wasting your time. He’s not going to change.”

Lorenzo pointed to her. “You’re to have nothing to do with this man. Ever. He’s not welcome here.”

“Grandpa-” she began.

Zach cut her off. “Don’t bother. It’s not worth it.”

“You can’t just leave,” she said.

“Sure I can. It will end the fight sooner.”

He headed for the door.

Katie watched him go. Her heart tightened as he walked down the hall, then turned and was lost from view. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to be a part of this right now. He’d never been one for families, and hers could try the patience of a saint. Walking away made sense. He-

She caught her breath. He’d left. That’s what Zach did in his relationships, and he’d just walked out on her.

He was gone. The thought repeated itself over and over again. She wanted to run after him, but shock rooted her in place.

She loved him and she’d never told him. How could she blame him for treating her like any other woman when she’d never told him how she felt?

Her grandfather turned on Mia. “What is wrong with you? Once again, like your sisters, you disappoint me. I have no granddaughters.”

That was the final straw for Katie. She threw her napkin on the table and stood. “Dammit, that’s enough.”

The Grands gasped and her grandfather nearly swelled with rage. But her parents moved next to her and nodded at her to continue.

She sucked in a breath and braced herself to face the storm. “Leave Mia alone,” she told her grandfather.

“You will not speak to me this way. I am in charge of this family.”

“Yeah, maybe. And you know what, Grandpa? You’ve done a lousy job. You’re trying to get what you want, without considering what will make us happy. Can you honestly tell me that Mia marrying someone she doesn’t love is your dream for her?”

“One of my granddaughters should marry and produce babies.”

“Why? Why should we do that? Because it will make us fulfilled? No. Because it’s what you want. If you want babies in this house so badly, go adopt them.”

“Yeah,” Brenna said, coming to stand next to her sister.

He turned his attention on her. “Be careful. Your place here isn’t secure.”

“Why?” Brenna asked. “You rule by fear, Grandpa, not by love. Is that what you want?”

Katie took her sister’s hand and squeezed it, then turned back to her grandfather.

“You should be proud of Mia. She’s only eighteen years old, yet she’s together enough to know what she does and doesn’t want. She’s also brave enough to stand up to everyone she loves and say no. Even though it will disappoint her family. I can’t believe you would push her into something that is obviously wrong for her. You should celebrate her honesty, because she’s telling the truth. And that’s the one thing I could never do.”

Katie hadn’t meant to say that. Somehow the words had slipped out, and suddenly they took on a life of their own. The room went silent as everyone stared at her.

So here it was…after all these years. Her chance to come clean. How many times had she wondered if she would? One thing was sure-she’d never pictured it taking exactly this format.

She turned her attention to her parents. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, trying not to think how much she was about to disappoint them with her confession. “I didn’t mean to lie, but I didn’t have the strength to tell you the truth.” She sucked in a breath. “Greg didn’t break off our engagement all those years ago. I did.”

Her mother gasped. Her father looked as if she’d hit him. But Katie didn’t retreat. This was her one chance to get it all said.

“The closer it got to the wedding, the more scared I got. I couldn’t sleep or eat, I was having panic attacks, and I knew deep down inside that I didn’t want to marry Greg. I couldn’t imagine spending an entire week in his company, let alone a lifetime. But so many things had already been set in motion. The wedding was planned, the invitations had been sent out. I knew if I told you, you’d try to convince me that it was just pre-wedding jitters.”

She paused to brush her cheeks. It was only when she touched moisture that she realized she was crying. She didn’t take her gaze from her parents.

“So I broke up with Greg without telling anyone. When he said he wanted to go into the military and left the next day, I used that to my advantage. I lied.”

Her mother began to cry as well. “Katie, we never wanted you to marry someone you didn’t love. You could have told us the truth.”

“I wasn’t strong enough, and I was afraid you wouldn’t love me if you knew what really happened. I didn’t go to work in the winery. I didn’t get married and have children. I felt like a failure. Mia’s not like that. She’s brave.”

Suddenly Mia was hugging her. Their parents joined them. Katie felt drained, but also strangely light. As if a burden she’d been carrying around for years had suddenly fallen away.

“We love you,” her father whispered. “No matter what, Katie. You have to know that.”

She nodded because it was too difficult to speak.

He touched Mia’s hair. “If you’re sure about David, that’s okay with me.”

“It’s not all right with me,” her grandfather said. “You’re all crazy.”

Marco straightened. “You know what, Pop? Get over it. You’ve been ruling this family with an iron fist ever since your father died. I remember when I was little, I would hear you talking to Mama about him. How he controlled things. How he was a bully. You hated him as much as you loved him, yet you turned out exactly like him.”

The room went silent. Katie raised her head and looked at her grandfather. He paled, then sat heavily in his seat.

“That’s not true,” he murmured. “My father was a hard, cruel man.”

Grandma Tessa reached for her husband’s hand. “Lorenzo, you’re a good father. A good husband.”

In a matter of seconds he seemed to age twenty years. Katie’s throat got tight as she watched his skin turn gray. His broad shoulders seemed to shrink.

“You all stand against me,” he whispered.

“Pop, it’s not that dramatic,” her father said.

Brenna sniffed. “Yeah, Grandpa. We all really love you, but sometimes you’re a giant pain in the ass.”

Brenna slapped her hand over her mouth. Katie sucked in a breath. Grandma Tessa reached for her rosary. Grandpa Lorenzo turned his attention to Brenna, and the life returned to his face in the form of blotchy red color.

“What did you say?”

She cleared her throat. “You can be a real pain in the ass.”

Katie braced herself for the tirade, but instead she heard an odd sound. Almost a choking. She blinked. Her grandfather’s mouth was open. He was…laughing.

Laughing?

She and Brenna looked at each other, then at him.

“Pop?” Marco asked cautiously.

Grandpa Lorenzo slapped the table. “I wish I’d told my father that,” he said, still chuckling. “Fine. I’m a pain in the ass, but I’m still in charge of this family. You, Mia.”

She jumped. “Yes, Grandpa?”

“No more engagements until you’re sure. And maybe older.”

She swallowed. “Okay.”

“Brenna?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Stop calling me names.”

“Katie’s right. It’s time to stop throwing people out of the family.”

He frowned. “It’s one of the few pleasures I have in my old age.”

“Get a hobby.”

He grinned and held open his arms. Brenna flew toward him and they embraced. Katie swallowed, knowing she would be next. She felt a little like Dorothy, about to face the great and all powerful Oz.

Sure enough, her grandfather released Brenna and turned his attention on Katie. “What have you to say for yourself?”

Everyone else was being brave, so she supposed she would have to suck it up as well.

“That you better get over being mad at Zach because I’m in love with him.”

It had been an hour for announcements and stunned silences, she thought as everyone stared at her.

She shrugged. “It’s true. I don’t know how he feels about me, but as soon as we’re done here, I’m going to go find him and ask. If there’s a chance for us, I want to take it.”

“You love him?” the old man bellowed.

She nodded. “Completely.”

“She hears bells,” Brenna offered helpfully.

“That bastardo. That-”

“Amazingly nice guy you’re thrilled to have in the family.”

Katie gasped and spun around when she heard Zach’s voice. He stood in the doorway to the dining room, casually leaning against the door frame. She couldn’t believe it. Oh, God! How much had he heard?

Brenna recovered first and asked the question for her. “How long have you been standing there?”

“A while. I got halfway to my car when I realized I didn’t want to walk away. Not this time.” He straightened and started toward Katie. “You stood up for me.”

She swallowed and nodded. He’d heard everything? Even her declaration of her feelings? And he hadn’t bolted for Montana?

She was hopeful, embarrassed, excited, and terrified.

His blue eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn’t read. “You told your whole family that you loved me.”

She nodded again.

“Don’t you think you should have told me first?”

She bit her lower lip. “I was going to call you on your cell phone as soon as we were finished here.”

He touched her cheek. “I had this big plan when I met you, Katie Marcelli. I was going to use you for my own purposes.”

“I know.”

“I wasn’t even subtle about it.”

“You’re not subtle about many things.”

“You weren’t what I expected.”

She felt some of her confidence returning. “Because I didn’t cave to your demands? Because I stood up to you?”

“That and because you tricked me.”

“What? When?”

“When you made me fall in love with you. I don’t believe in relationships, remember? I don’t believe in happily ever after or forever, or even the next morning.”

Her throat got all tight, but in a good way. She started shaking. “Zach…”

“But I believe in us. You and me.” He smiled. “Do you really hear bells when we’re together?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I’m not a knight on a white horse. I’m a hard-assed lawyer. Cynical, stubborn, set in my ways.” His expression softened. “But I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Katie threw herself at him. Zach caught her and pulled her close. “I love you, too,” she whispered, just before his lips claimed hers.

“This is romantic,” Brenna said as she picked up one of the invitations. “You know, we could still use these. We could just scratch out David’s and Mia’s names and put in Zach’s and Katie’s.”

Just then a tall, pregnant woman walked into the room. “Hi, everyone. What did I miss?”

Brenna stared at her twin and shook her head. “What is wrong with you?”

Francesca held up her hands. “What? I was working.”

“This is not about your studies. This is a sickness. You need a twelve-step program.”

“I’m ignoring you.” Francesca looked at Katie and Zach. “They’re kissing.”

“They’re getting married,” Brenna said.

“Wow. That’s great. What happened?”

“Dad found out they’d had sex and threatened Zach with a machete.”

“You’re lying.” Francesca grabbed a couple of grapes from the fruit salad. “Katie, I’m really happy for you.”

Katie, still lost in Zach’s kiss, waved at her sister.

Brenna grinned at her twin. “You know what this means, don’t you? Another dress to bead.”

Francesca patted her stomach. “Not in my delicate condition.”