“You—” she barely got out “—you…yougotsmackedbyaboneyfish!”
I looked down at its flopping form in the bottom of the boat. “Sac-a-lait,” I said, pronouncing it just as Eva had when she had given me the name. “Or, properly, crappie.”
She became eerily quiet, then exploded with laughter so hard, I had to stop her from falling out of the boat. “You said crappie!” She began laughing again, the sound of it echoing through the trees. The leaves shimmered with a soft breeze, glistening in the sun, and I understood the feeling. They were reveling in her warm happiness.
She screeched with laughter when I took her in my arms, the boat rocking tremulously, and bit at her neck. “You are laughing at me, my wife.”
“I am! Well, notatyou, per se. With you. Or at the situation.” She brought her shoulders up, her laughter still contagious. “You are so serious all the time. No man would ever dare to challenge you, or they know what’s coming. But…” She had to compose herself. “But that little fish was slapping you around! And then you said…” She waved a hand in front of her face, trying to breathe.
“Crappie.”
She screeched, and her laughter seemed to echo for miles.
It had the same effect on me as it did the trees. I began to quiver, the sun hot on my face, and…laughter. Laughter barreled from my chest. It sounded as if it was ripped from it, but it mixed with hers, and together…we could not stop. When we finally did, we both sighed, and I kept her in my arms as we floated without direction. We both became comfortable, my wife against my chest, and allowed the water to take us where it would.
This time, I told her stories, stories of when I was a young man raising my brothers. Perhaps my stories were not as warm as hers, but they were mine, and I was offering her a part of my life I had never offered to anyone before.
I had found my net. My secret keeper.
All was safe in my world.
Chapter 9
Plum...the Color of Hidden Desire and...Danger
Aria Amora
My husband and I couldn’t stop grinning at each other after the fish incident. Whenever I would remember his face when the…crappie…hit him, I’d explode with laughter. I knew for years to come, whenever the memory came back to me, I’d still laugh.
“For you.” I thrust the stiff fish at Eva before I could start up again. “Our offering to the party.”
“Er…” She lifted it and looked it over. “Thank you.” Then she looked between my grinning husband and me…laughing like a loon in intervals. “You brought enough, but I sense a story here. I’ll…have my uncle preserve this fish and I’ll send it to you as a gift.”
“Just what every girl wants hanging in her home.” I sighed playfully, hip bumping my husband. “A stiff fish hanging on the wall.”
Rocco exploded with laughter, and every eye seemed to turn in our direction at once. It was hard to tell what the men were thinking, but the women…they all melted. So did I. I tucked myself closer to his body, wishing I could permanently become a part of his skin—his entire system. Then everyone screamed “surprise!” so loudly, I jumped. I hadn’t realized the entire partyhad made a human curtain around the lawn, and what I was seeing was a completely different scene from what I’d seen when we first arrived.
Thousands of plum-colored flowers mixed with tiny lights decorated the space. Tables with fine linens had been set up. A table with a cake as tall as I was stood in the center of it all.
“Is someone getting married?” I asked.
Rocco chuckled, pulling me in close, kissing my temple. “Happy Birthday,Vita Mia. My Amora. My wife. My life.”
I looked up at him in confusion. “My birthday isn’t until October…oh. You did this to surprise me.”
“You are a smart woman, Aria Bella Fausti. You would have figured it out closer to the date.”
“Maybe.” I grinned. Then I looked around at how everyone was dressed for the occasion, then at myself. I smelled like a day on the bayou—sweat, fish, and bug spray. My husband…he always smelled delicious, even when he was coated with sweat and all those other things.
Eva and Scarlett both started laughing, pulling me toward the house.
“Now it makes sense,” I said to Scarlett. “The reason you gave Rocco the stink eye for letting me cook.”
“Yes!” Scarlett laughed even harder. “I hated that you cooked for your own party, but…the colors you cooked with…perfect for the theme! Rocco planned all this himself. We just helped where we were allowed.”
I stopped and looked up at my husband, taking his hands. “Thank you so much,” I whispered. “This is beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.”
“Bene,” he whispered, touching my face lightly before he leaned in and kissed me.
