“When are you planning on telling them about us?
“I already called a family dinner with them tonight.”
“What about your friends? Have you told them?”
“Of course.”
“And you’re not worried they’ll tell them?”
“No. They’d never. We’re all extremely close. If I ask them not to tell the boys something, they won’t. I just… I know if Teo and Enzo find out, they’ll do everything in their power to keep me from going through with this marriage. I don’t want this to become a problem for them.”
“Interesting,” I say.
“How so?”
“Now that you bring it up, you could’ve gone to your cousins to help with convincing me to help with Tomasso.” It wouldn’t have worked, but she could’ve tried if she wanted to. “Why didn’t you?”
“Alessia came to me about this issue. She’smyresponsibility. I don’t need my cousins to fix my problems.”
“You’re a proud woman, Liana. Can’t say I’m surprised in the least. You’re just adding to the reasons why I’ve always known you’re the woman for me.”
She scoffs, and I know she’s rolling her eyes on the other end. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t…”
“Let me guess, know you? One of these days, you’ll work your way out of that denial, Liana.”
“Whatever. So, what’re the next steps?”
“We’ll get married right away. Send me a list of guests you’d like to invite to the wedding. Keep in mind, we’ll be getting married in two weeks, so time is of the essence.”
“A list of guests?”
“Is that a problem?”
“I assumed this was going to be a quick little courthouse wedding.”
“You only get married once. Do you really want it to be in an old musty courthouse?”
“Well, you can’t put a wedding together in two weeks.”
“Two of New York City’s most influential people are getting married. I’m sure many will drop everything to make sure they’re in attendance no matter how short notice it is.”
“It’s not just the guest list. You need the location, food, music, florals, cake… The list goes on.”
“It’s a good thing I already have a wedding planner hired and ready to assist.”
“Seriously?”
“Like I said, time is of the essence, so we need to get a move on.”
“Why do you need an actual wedding?”
“My family is traditional, so a wedding is required. Besides, there are many people in the city who will want to see this union.TheLiana DiMaggio is about to become a Bonetti.”
“Oh, I’m not taking your last name,” she says humorously.
I let out a sigh. “Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
