“It was cute!” Sandra insisted.
“I thought so too,” Kristine said.
At least Dawn was beginning to put the correct names with all the faces. Sandra was a willowy blonde nurse married to Miguel. Jayce’s wife, Kristine, was tall and had golden-red hair. Not exactly strawberry blonde…more like bronze. She was a Boston fire captain. Misty was Gabe’s wife and a stay-at-home mom. She was on the shorter side and had long brunette hair and big blue eyes. Now adding Mallory, a stunning blonde artist of medium height, and Kizzy, a shorter brunette—and a doctor! What an amazing, eclectic group of women!
Is that all of them? I must have missed a couple. She remembered Chloe and Ryan were in Ireland and couldn’t attend. So yes, she must have met almost everyone.
“How did you manage to join the wedding with only a couple of weeks to plan?” Kristine asked Kizzy. “Jayce and I needed every minute of those four months to get our wedding together.”
“I already had my mother’s wedding gown,” Kizzy said and stepped back to show off the full-length satin and lace white dress.
“It’s gorgeous,” Sandra said. “So that must have been all you needed?”
“Since Noah and Dante were best friends as well as brothers, Mallory’s guest list was pretty much the same as ours, so that was already taken care of. We added my bouquet and contributed another bride and groom to the top of the cake.”
“Pretty much everything was all set,” Noah added. “Dante had to get a new best man though. I suddenly had other plans.” Everyone laughed.
Dawn remembered Dante and Noah had been roommates and firefighters in adjacent houses when they began dating their brides, and the two women seemed close too. The newly married couples gazed at each other, smiling. Anyone could tell they were in love and happy.
“I had to add a few people to the guest list,” Kizzy said. “Especially my sister, Ruth, who was my maid of honor.”
“And your father,” Noah added.
“Yes. And my overprotective father, who learned to love you when you saved my life.”
Gabriella Fierro wandered over and slipped her arm around Dawn’s waist.
“Are you all being inclusive to Luca’s date, Dawn?”
“Yes, Mom. Why wouldn’t they be?” Luca asked.
“Good. I just noticed she seemed kind of quiet. I didn’t know if you were all talking about people she didn’t know. Of course, even if that wasn’t the case, it can be hard to get a word in edgewise with such a large group. Right, Gabe?”
Gabe coughed. “Right, Ma. Somebody has to be the quiet one.”
“Well, I hope you’re all making Dawn feel welcome. I’d like to keep her around.” She smiled, gave Dawn a side squeeze, and returned to her husband, Antonio.
“Ha! You’re next, Luca. And it looks like Ma’s already picturing Dawn in a white dress,” Dante said.
Dawn groaned before she realized how it could be taken. She was actually thinking that white was the last color she should be wearing. Her appropriate color would be more like gray.
Luca rubbed her back. “We’ve only been officially dating for a couple of days.”
“Oh, so not long enough for her to realize you’re a dweeb and run for the hills,” Gabe said.
Luca narrowed his eyes. “Maybe there’s another reason you’re the quiet one…”
Everyone laughed.
“I was only joking. He’s a good kid, Dawn. Don’t run off yet.”
She smiled at Luca, but she was nervous and hoped her voice remained steady. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
“I think I’ll go where I’m welcome,” Gabe said. He wandered off toward Misty, at which point his son began wiggling out of her arms. When she set him down, he ran right to his daddy. Gabe swept him up and held him above his head. The toddler’s laugh was adorable.
“He seems like a good dad,” Dawn observed.
Luca snickered. “Yeah. You’d never know he didn’t want kids at all.”
