“I wish I could find a man who would do that for me.” Gia rolls out her bottom lip. “Sara’s a lucky, gal, Romeo. I’ll tell her myself the next time I see her.”
“Cut the bullshit, Gia.” Anger is still simmering beneath the surface of Elio’s sophisticated façade. “How can I take him on a job with pink fucking nails?”
Gia turns cold eyes on her brother. “The exact same way you would any other time.”
“Ha!” he scoffs. “Who’s going to take him seriously?”
“Who’s going to notice his nails when he’s coming at them like a fucking brick wall?” Gia retaliates.
I could let them argue it out, but no one criticizes how I feel about Sara and gets away with it. Even if that person is my boss, Elio Rossi.
Buoyed by Gia’s support, I raise my voice and cut through the sibling rivalry. “I let her paint my nails because I want to know everything there is to know about her. If you don’t like it, boss, I’ll walk out of here now, and you’ll never hear from me again. But if you’ll let me prove to you that this doesn’t change anything—” I raise my hand and waggle my fingers at him “—you have my word thatit won’t happen again.”
It’s the first time I’ve ever spoken back to Elio Rossi. My chest aches with the thought that I might’ve blown it. If he fires me now, I won’t be able to afford the diamond ring that I want to get for Sara. Not that the size of a diamond is important. But the thought is.
His expression is unreadable. Finally, he says, “If tonight goes to plan, Romeo, I’ll help you plan the wedding myself.”
He turns around and walks out, leaving me alone with Gia.
“Don’t mind my brother, Romeo,” Gia says. “He’s jealous because you’ve found the one.” She winks at me. “Now, go and remind him why he employed you.”
EPILOGUE
SERA
Three months later.
“I said it once and I’ll say it again. Sara, that is one hell of a ring.”
I smile and raise my left hand in front of my face to stare at my engagement ring. Romeo surprised me with it four days ago, and I’m still not over looking at it yet.
Not only did he choose a diamond the size of China, but his proposal was everything that I would’ve wanted if I was able to choose it myself.
Halle smacks her gum, grinning. “Okay, come on, I want to hear the story. I can’t believe he whisked you away to Hawaii for a few days to celebrate, and you didn’t even invite your best friend along.”
I literally can’t contain my smile.
We’re all in the salon today. Me, Halle, and Mary. I take a breath, ready to wow them with Romeo’s romantic proposal—I’ll keep Hawaii to myself—when the doorbell chimes.
In comes a familiar face, one that I haven’t seen in a while. Since she left for college to be precise.
I can’t help myself. I squeal and run over to my friend Caterina De Luca. “Caterina, you’re back!”
She laughs and hugs me back. “Sara! Wow, you look amazing. How have you been?”
I pull away, beaming. “I’m good! I can’t believe you’re here. Did you graduate? Did you pass the CPA exams yet?”
The exams to be a professional accountant are notoriously difficult, and I know that it has always been a goal for Caterina. With four older brothers, she always tried to figure out how to contribute to the family while also paving her own way. She’s mad smart, a total math whiz, and I know if anyone can pass the exams, she can.
Caterina sighs. “I just took the last one yesterday. Graduated in May, so I thought I’d take some time out.”
I wait for the familiar sting of jealousy. For the feeling that it should’ve been me. I should have been the one who went to college, the one who just sat her CPA exams, the one taking some time out from studying.
Strangely, nothing comes. I have Romeo, and I wouldn’t change anything about my life now. For the first time ever, I know that I’m exactly where I wanted to be. I take a moment to appreciate this epiphany and then grab her hands. “Okay, so when do you find out if you passed?”
Caterina grimaces. “In a few days.”
“We should celebrate. There’s not a chance in hell that you haven’t passed, you always were the smartest person in math club.”
