“And you think she’ll follow through with it?”
“She has to.”
He raises a curious brow at me.
“Trust me, Dad. She’ll make it down the aisle.”
He’s silent for a moment until a grin finally breaks out on his face. “Well, then, I’m proud of you, son. I hadn’t considered Liana before, but I’m happy to say the alliance with the DiMaggios will be a strong one.”
I let out a sigh, relieved he approves of the union. “It will be,” I say.
“Once you marry, we’ll make your title in this family official. You should call your mother and let her know. You only have two weeks to pull this wedding off, and she’ll want to help.”
“I will.” I can’t help the damn smile that forms on my face, knowing I’m finally about to make Liana mine.
16
LIANA
“Iwant to thank you guys for coming out tonight,” I say, looking around at Nicco, Enzo, Teo, and my girls. “There’s some exciting news I’d like to share with everyone.”
Izzy, Lux, and Amalia all look at me with encouraging gazes. After filling them in on what’s happening once I signed Massimo’s contract, I knew I needed to call a family meeting to inform the boys. With this wedding happening in two weeks, I needed to tell them sooner rather than later.
“I—”
“So sorry I’m late,” a voice calls out from behind me, causing me to whip around and come face-to-face with Massimo.
My eyes widen. “What are you?—”
He wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheeks, whispering in my ear, “You didn’t think I’d leave you to announce our engagement by yourself, did you?”
He takes my left hand and adds, “Besides, I haven’t had a chance to get you your ring.”
My jaw falls open to say something, but the words seem to get lost on my lips.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulls out a little black box. My eyes widen when he opens it and reveals a beautiful emerald-cut diamond ring.
I gasp quietly. “Massimo…”
He removes the ring from the cushion and slides it onto my ring finger, and I let him, too stunned to form a coherent sentence.
“What is going on?” Teo’s deep voice sounds from behind me.
Massimo smiles down at me, then spins me around to face everyone. “Looks like I made it in time for the big announcement.”
Pulling me into his side, he lets his hand rest possessively on my waist.
“Would you like to do the honors,belleza?”
My body stiffens at the nickname, bringing me back to the night we met in college.
Teo and Enzo drag their widened gazes from the ring on my finger to my eyes.
“Um… yeah, uh, Massimo and I are… Well, we’re getting married,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.
Izzy looks around at the guys, surely waiting for their reactions, but when they do nothing, she starts clapping. “So excited for you both,” she says with far more enthusiasm than I was able to put out.
Lux and Amalia join in, congratulating us.
