Azelie tried to make a face, but she was on the verge of laughter. Maestro wasn’t that certain he was joking. Lana knew him well enough to know he was half-serious.
“He’s obsessed with babies,” Azelie said. “Even though he’s admitted kids would probably eat him alive.”
“That’s because he’s a pushover with them. Not so much with women, but kids run all over him,” Lana said.
“He’s kind of a pushover…”
“Don’tsay it. Don’t even think it. The alarm was triggered, which means your friends have arrived. Be prepared to be mobbed. And I’m going to be interrogated and lectured.” He was resigned to his fate.
Azelie giggled and pressed her hand to her mouth again, sobering.
“That’s my cue to leave.” Lana bent forward to brush a kiss on top of Azelie’s head. “I’m so happy for you and Maestro. Thank you for being so perfectly wonderful. Someone had to tame him.”
“Not tamed,” Maestro muttered as he walked her to the front door.
“How is she really?”
“Nightmares. A lot of pain. She doesn’t talk about it. She hasn’t once condemned me or considered any of it my fault, including the fact that I didn’t protect her.”
“That’s because you found one of the good ones. Like Blythe and Seychelle and Soleil. They have this light in them and manage to find a way to make our lives so much better.”
Maestro hadn’t been wrong when he said he would be interrogated and lectured. He showed them through his house, noting that all three of the widows observed he had very little furniture.
“A beautiful home,” Blanc commented.
“But a bit sparse on décor,” Penny pointed out.
The speculation in her voice and the way the three womenexchanged suddenly bright looks had him sweating. Little kids ate him alive, and it seemed that older women did as well. They looked as if they might rush right out and buy every piece of furniture they could find.
Doug saved him. “Clearly, he wants Azelie to find the things she likes when she moves in with him.” He pinned Maestro with a stern eye. “She apparently has a ring. We know this because all of a sudden three women started shrieking at the top of their lungs. We almost wrecked.”
Blanc rolled her eyes. “You’re always so dramatic.”
“I didn’t believe it because no one asked Carlton or me for her hand. That’s mandatory.”
“I have no problem with formally asking you,” Maestro said, “but only if you’re going to give me the green light. Azelie would love it, but I’m not giving her up. She’s rare and wonderful.”
“We know,” Carlton agreed. “And she deserves the best.”
“You’re aware lookin’ at me I’m not the best man in the world, but I’m going to make her happy. No one will love her the way I do. Or need her as much. Azelie must be needed to be happy. It’s essential she has a buffer between her and the world. She may have experienced trauma, but she still doesn’t protect herself the way she should. She sees the good in people. It takes a lot for her to see the bad.”
Maestro wasn’t a man to explain himself, but these five people were Azelie’s only family. They obviously loved her. He felt they deserved the respect he gave to the women his brothers had married. They were family.
“Good you see that,” Carlton said gruffly.
“I love that woman and want to spend my life with her. I can swear to you I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy.”
The merry widows squealed so loud he winced. All three put their hands to their hearts. “Well said,” China approved.
Doug and Carlton simultaneously rolled their eyes. “You don’t quite get the seriousness of this moment. The three of you are utterly impossible.”
“He means yes,” Blanc interpreted.
“Ask again so I can record it on my phone,” Penny said. “I wasn’t ready.”
“He isn’t asking again,” Carlton declared. “Yes, you can marry her. But you’d better take care of her and make her happy.”
Maestro led the way to the master bedroom without further comment. He might need to take up smoking. Or try drinking again.
