Luc moved in and kissed my lips. “Get out of your head and let’s enjoy the reception.”
With a nod, I laced our fingers together and we walked into the venue. White and violet decorated the space, large flower arrangements at the center of every table, and people bustled about trying to find their seats. Luc’s words echoed in my head. I could not keep everyone happy and not everyone would like me. Funny, because I was trying to keep everyone happy and make sure that everyone liked me enough that they’d support us.
“Would you like to dance?” Luc asked. The bride and groom had just finished their first dance and couples were joining them on the floor.
“I have a limited range of movement, thanks to your son.” The last few weeks had seen my small bump suddenly pop to something much more prominent. There was no hiding the fact that baby boy was close to making his entrance into the world.
“Oh, he’smyson?”
“When he’s causing me this much discomfort, he’s your son.”
“Lucas.” We both looked up to see Marcello Russo at our table. His silvery hair was combed back, and his suit hung loosely on his frame. “Mia. You look beautiful.” He took my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. A sweet lie considering I looked like a whale, but I offered him a smile. “May I have a word with your husband?”
“He’s not quite earned that title yet,” I told him. Marcello was kind enough to me when we saw him at church. He made the effort to speak to me rather than ignore me and carry out a conversation with Luc. “You can take him; just be sure to return him.”
“Of course.”
Luc rose from his seat and gave me a quick kiss before he walked away with Marcello. As they disappeared into the sea of guests, I slipped my feet out of the heels and let the blood flow back into my toes. Less than a month to go before my body would belong to myself again, and I was looking forward to being able to breathe and move easily once more. As I leaned back in my seat, I noticed a pair walking in my direction. Jonah and Katia. I hoped they were heading to another table but Jonah locked eyes with me and smiled and I sat up straight in my seat.
“Hello, Mia,” Jonah greeted me. I got up from my seat and he pressed a kiss to both of my cheeks. “It’s been a beautiful day, no?”
“Beautiful,” I repeated. “Eliza’s glowing.” Casting a glance over at the couple, Eliza was wrapped in Marcus’ arms, her smile causing her eyes to crinkle at the corners.
“It’ll be your turn soon enough. Congratulations on your engagement.”
“Thank you.”
The air of awkwardness hung between the three of us until Jonah cleared his throat. “My wife would like to say something to you.”
I’d avoided Katia at all costs. Her comments had hit deeper than I liked to admit, and I had no intention of putting myself directly in the firing line. It was a small comfort that Luc had given little time to the couple following the day we’d bumped into them at the baby boutique. Now, dressed in deep red satin that clung to her willowy figure, Katia looked unsure of herself. When she looked at me, a rosy blush tinged her cheeks.
“Katia,” Jonah all but hissed and pulled his wife forward so she was in front of me.
“I wanted to apologize for some… comments I made regarding your pregnancy.”
“Oh?” The apology had caught me off guard.
“I was misinformed,” she continued, every word sounding strained. “I shouldn’t have listened to the gossip.”
Listened? She shouldn’t have been the one who started the rumor in the first place and then fanned the flames until everything was ablaze.
“It’s understandable that you and Lucas would be upset,” Jonah pitched in, realizing his wife wasn’t helping the situation by much. “That you might not want to—” He cleared his throat again. “Luc might not feel comfortable doing business with us, but we wanted to offer our sincerest apologies.”
I thought Luc had only stopped interacting with Jonah in social circles. I hadn’t realized that it had extended into business and business was what mattered here. “Luc’s a rather unforgiving man,” I said to him and his muscles twitched. They’d come to me with their apology because they knew this, because they knew Luc would listen to me. If I forgave them then Luc would likely follow suit. “I’ll pass on your apology. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding.”
The relief flooded Jonah’s features and he nodded. “I’d appreciate that, Mia. We’ll leave you to enjoy the evening.”
“Have a good night, both,” I said, and then turned away. I couldn’t help but call out after them. “Katia!” She looked back over her shoulder at me. “Don’t believe everything you hear.” She flushed pink again before turning away and stalking off after her husband.
My heart fluttered in my chest. There was something intoxicating about holding all the power, having people depend on you for what they wanted. Not everyone had to like you. They just needed to respect you.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Lucas
Marcello steered us around the edge of the dance floor where, central to all the action, Marcus held onto his newly crowned wife with a smile wide enough to split his face. Looking at the scene, you could mistake it for a beautiful celebration of two lives coming together under the eyes of God, which it was. However, it was also an alliance between two families: a well-crafted business deal that would keep tensions below boiling point. It just so happened that Marcus and Eliza were well matched enough that both were happy with the arrangement.
There was a sense of pride, perhaps a feeling of superiority in knowing that my own marriage would not be one designed by family members in hopes of avoiding bloodshed. We’d had our own problems, aired publicly, and done things out of line with tradition, but my relationship with Mia was not formed out of the need to placate the masses. Quite the contrary, our relationship seemed to be one that made some, in particular one, feel uneasy because of how unexpected it was.
