“Maja,” he breathed.
“Sì.” I nodded once more.
Lothario interceded and made it known that I was, in fact, Maja’s granddaughter.
“Sì,” Stefano said, bulging eyes on my face. “I see it now. She was…” He shrugged, lifted a hand, and then let it fall against his short leg. “There are no words to express the wonder of her.”
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it. “She was beautiful.”
“Vera grazia,” he almost said under his breath.True grace.“You are the same.” He cleared his throat. “May I…she had a favorite. Could I…could I serve it to you?”
I put a hand on his. “It would be my pleasure.”
He kissed his hand and placed it on each of my cheeks. “Marzio’s grandson and Maja’s granddaughter! What a wonderful world,” he almost sang, excusing himself to see to dinner.
“He was young when Maja came here. He described her as a champagne bubble.” Lothario smiled. “I assume this will be you now.” Then he left us to take his seat next to Bela at the head of the table.
“I’ll order something you like,” Brando said, putting his mouth to my ear. He held out my chair, and I sat, folding the dress underneath me. “In case you don’t like what he brings. I’ll eat it.”
I protested this, arguing that I’d probably enjoy anything on the menu. It wasn’t endless, which I liked. It meant that whatever was listed was made with care.
Turned out, I was right. The dish that Brando ordered was the same dish that Stefano brought out and personally served me.Spaghetti ai frutti de mare—linguini with the freshest clams and muscles. He brought me a glass of crisp white wine to accompany it.
“Bellissimo!” I put my hands to my mouth, offering the air kiss to Stefano, at the same time inhaling the beatific smells rising off the plate with pleasure.
“Mangiare,” he said, fluffing up the steam with his hands, encouraging me to take a bite.
“Here,” Brando said, twirling the pasta around the fork, offering it to me.
I wentmmmmas the first taste exploded on my tongue. Stefano erupted into a one-man cheering section, accompanied by musical notes that could rival Rosaria’s range.
“Mangiare, Faustifamiglia!” Stefano encouraged, as he continued to sing opera tunes, heading toward the kitchen once again.
The insistent chatter that existed when we first arrived ceased. Everyone ate in companionable silence. Every once in a while, Brando fed me a bite of his, and I did the same, grinning at each other for sharing the same food.
After dinner, chatter picked up once again, and as Brando turned to talk to Mick, reliving their dangerous time on the back of a Vespa, Santina and I struck up a conversation about marriage.
“It is the best feeling!” She wiped her mouth with a napkin and then reached for another twirl of pasta.
Brando’s arm rested around my chair. His finger stroked my skin in a way that was unconsciously done but made me feel warm inside, only adding to the feeling of limoncello and wine coursing through my veins.
“I’m so happy for you and Livio,” I said, leaning forward, smiling at him. He was in deep conversation with Thomas, who was on his third plate of food. But at the mention of his name, Livio paused his ramblings and gave me a quick smile.
Thomas lifted his plate. “No garlic,” he mouthed at me.
I lifted my wine glass and he lifted his in silentsalute.
Santina was slow to get started, but once revved, she took off. It was hard to keep up with her hopping conversation. One minute we were talking about clothes, another their honeymoon in Fiji, and another we were talking about the villa that she and Livio had bought not far from us in Tuscany, which was also close to her parents.
She sucked in a mouthful of red wine, using her hand to signal that she was about to go on. “Livio got us such a great deal.” She nudged me. “He somehow persuaded the owner to give us a price we could afford. I never thought we could afford such a place! Somehow he managed it.”
Managed it all right. I elbowed Brando on the sly. He stopped talking for a moment, but not hearing anything of interest, began his conversation again. I made a mental note to talk to him later about how Livio “persuaded” the owner into a better deal.
“Will you go shopping with me, Scarlett? To decorate? We are cousins now!”
“Yes!” I said, truly excited for her.
“You have such a sense of style. Ah! And I would love a garden. I started before we left for Positano, but I did not get far. We have the perfect spot for it!”
