I guided them toward the glass-domed room my mother loved which housed any family dinners that didn’t take place at our home in Brooklyn.
As expected,Matrisat at the head of the table where plumerias and porcelain dishes ofbijin himestrawberries acted as settings. From a distance, she watched the chaos as the Frasiers and their respective dates, Cade’s wife and Lucas’s girlfriend, entered the fray, milling around the room as my siblings and in-laws spread out and made their own introductions.
The other head was empty—forPatri, yes, but now Patricia could claim that spot too.
Two matriarchs who’d hauled their families through the worst of times to reach today… it seemed fitting.
I could see the nerves inMatri’sexpression and knew she wanted a drink. Her hand trembled as she lifted a glass of water to her mouth. That was something she and I shared even if we never discussed it—the bittersweet call for outside ‘assistance’ during tense situations.
Determined to diminish some of her anxiety, I guided Patricia over toMatri’s side with a gentle clasp on her elbow.
Seeing my trajectory, my mother took a deep breath but quickly stood and straightened out the skirt of her dress.
I pressed a kiss to her cheek and, in her ear, whispered, “Do I want to know how you got Currau here?”
She snorted. “Best not to ask questions that you won’t like the answer to, Stan.”
Lips curving, I turned to my future mother-in-law. “Patricia, this is mymatri, my mother, Lauren Valentini.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lauren,” Patricia greeted with an unexpectedly shy smile.
“And you, Patricia.”Matri, though hesitant, leaned in and kissed the other woman’s cheek. “It’ll be nice to talk to someone from our part of the world.”
“Aye, we have more in common than these bairns of ours.” Patricia beamed at her. “Did you hear the news? Kitty said yes!”
“You could have texted us.”Matrislapped my arm then hollered, “She said yes, everyone!”
Cheers ricocheted around the room and, amid the frenzy of people calling for a damn speech, I heard Luc drawl, “Don’t know why everyone’s so shocked. I figured she’d be my sister-in-law the second I saw the ‘V’ she cut into that bastard’s cheek…”
SIXTY-THREE
KITTY
The only problem with the proposal from heaven and an aftermath that was better than a short stay in paradise?
Luigi had to drive us home through gridlocked streets.
Still, we had the privacy of the blocked-in back seat and I intended on making full use of it once our mothers could no longer see through the windows.
“Did you fix that game?” I inquired, thinking back to that epic hat trick by Donnghal as well as Lewis’s banging slapshot and the saves from above that proved Greco had been kissed by the goalie gods.
His lips curved, but the question encouraged him to haul me onto his lap. Accustomed to Stan lugging me around, I straddled him, squirming when his hands found my outer thighs underneath the flirty boho-style dress I’d worn beneath my jersey.
When he began to knead my butt, I peppered kisses all over his face, much as I had earlier.
He caught my bottom lip when I tried to peck the corner of his mouth, nipped it between his teeth, dragging on it until I moaned.
He pressed down on my hips, pushing weight onto his cock, grinding me into him. The pressure was exquisite enough that I helped him. I rocked too, adding extra tension, making sure to circle my hips so that he hit my best spots.
Panting, he pulled back from our kiss. “You’re going to be my wife, Kitty.”
This time,Inippedhim. “You’re going to be my husband.”
“We’re going to be future married people,” he corrected, his eyes alight with humor.
That, more than anything, sealed this deal.
I thought back to the first time I’d met him—in the ER, high on something. Thinking about it, it could have been C-L-O. Maybe even a blend with his heart meds!
