Lily laughs nervously and fidgets with the label on the bottle. “Not that you did anything wrong. I’m just curious if we can start making plans or if we should hold off.”

  “Plans?” I ask, confused as to what the hell kind of plans would hinge on my marital status.

  Lily glances at Ana. “Like a group mani-pedi day.”

  “I never get invited to that,” I say back.

  “It’s a girls’ day,” Luna tells me. “No boys allowed.”

  “That’s kind of bullshit. Our hands and feet need love too,” I say with a smile, but I’m totally fucking with her.

  Luna raises her chin, always defiant. “I love you, cousin, but you boys can schedule your own day.”

  “No penises allowed,” Gigi adds.

  Lily smacks Gigi like the word penis has offended her delicate feminine sensibilities. “Well?” she asks, glancing between Ana and me.

  I turn my head, looking at my new wife, wondering what her answer will be. I feel like she has one foot out the door at all times, just waiting for the perfect time to run. “Do you want to answer, or shall I?”

  Ana pulls at the ends of her long red hair and looks at me for a few seconds before diverting her eyes across the patio. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know if you want to be married?” Lily asks.

  Ana shakes her head, bringing her gaze to my usually sweet cousin. “I don’t know if I want to answer first.”

  “I’ll answer,” I tell them. “I’ll do whatever Ana wants. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but there have been parts where I’ve been more content than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

  “Same,” Ana whispers, brushing her fingers against the side of my hand.

  “Will we stay married forever?” I raise a shoulder. “Will any of you stay married forever? Who the hell knows. But do I want Ana to stick around and see what happens? You sure as fuck better believe I do. I want whatever is going to make her happy.”

  “But are you happy?” Ana asks me.

  I smile at her, soaking in her radiant beauty. The way her hair hugs her face like it can’t get enough of her soft skin. The way her eyes brighten when she catches me looking at her. Everything about her makes my insides jumble, something no one has ever done to me before. Is it love? I don’t know, but I know she makes me feel and want things I’ve never felt or wanted before.

  “I am. Are you?” I ask her.

  “This is better than any reality show,” Rebel adds as she lifts her wineglass to her mouth.

  I glare at my sister-in-law, hating her for interrupting the moment we seemed to be having.

  “Sorry,” she mouths without a sound.

  I grab Ana’s hand, interlocking my fingers with hers. “I am happy.”

  “Awww,” Lily sighs. “It’s so sweet.”

  Stone, one of the last cousins who’s single and arguably one of my best friends, hangs his head. “It’s over. It’s all over,” he mutters under his breath. “No more wingman.”

  “You got me, bro,” Asher tells him, pushing on his shoulder. “What the fuck?”

  “You’re serially monogamous. That doesn’t make for a great partner in pussy, bud.”

  Ana never takes her eyes off me as Stone and Asher go back and forth about their future without me.

  “You two need to grow up,” Rosie, Luna and Gigi’s sister, tells them. “You’re getting too old to act like teenagers.”

  “I refuse to grow up,” Stone tells her.

  “Yeah, no fucking shit,” Mammoth mutters with a judgmental shake of his head.

  “Someday a girl is going to make you stupider than you are now,” Lily tells him. “And I can’t wait for that day either.”

  “Unlikely,” Stone says and then pauses for a few seconds, processing what she said. “Wait, I’m not stupid.”

  Lily raises her eyebrows, twisting her lips. “You aren’t the brains of the family.”

  “Yeah, well, I got the looks,” he tells his big sister. “And the muscle.”

  “Are you okay?” I mouth to Ana as she sits quietly, listening to my family’s insanity.

  “I love them,” she whispers and glances around the patio with a smile on her face.

  I squeeze her fingers, bringing her attention back to me. “They’re ridiculous.”

  She laughs. “That’s what makes them great. You don’t know how lucky you have it.”

  I didn’t before, but after seeing a glimpse into Ana’s life, I know I hit the freaking jackpot when I was born into the Gallo family.

  “I like this for you,” Luna says from the other side of the table. “Hey.”

  I ignore her, keeping my attention on my wife.

  “Earth to Trace,” Luna says, finally drawing my attention, and when I look at her, she says, “I can see it.”

  “See what?”

  “Something I never thought I’d see,” she tells me, and she doesn’t need to say anything more. I know what she sees. I feel it. I can’t deny it to myself even if I try to deny it to everyone else around me except Ana.

  The sliding door opens, and my mother walks out, carrying a tray of cut-up vegetables. “I thought you kids could use some snacks. We’re running a little over on dinner. Gram forgot to turn on the oven for a bit.”

  “Oh boy,” Gigi mumbles.

  Everyone stares at the plate of vegetables like they’re poisoned. No one moves to grab a thing as my mother sets it down on the table.

  “How’s it going?” Ma asks, trying to get intel without coming right out and asking the questions she really wants answers to.

  “Fine. Fine,” I tell her, not giving in to her need to know. Right now, she doesn’t need to know anything.

  “Want me to bring you more wine?” she asks the table as she grips the back of my chair.

  I don’t need to tip my head up to know she’s only staring at me and Ana. She’s soaking in the fact that I’m holding Ana’s hand when there’s no need to do it other than my sheer want to touch her.

  “We’re good, Auntie,” Luna says, answering for the group. “We’d hate to be drunk before dinner, and anyway, wine gives me one hell of a headache.”

  “Want us to come in and help with the kids?” Gigi asks my mother.

  “No, sweetie. They’re playing in the den. They’re fine. You kids stay out here and enjoy yourselves.” Ma places her hands on my shoulders. “I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do.”

  That’s her code to me that I better be ready to spill my guts to her, and soon. She isn’t a patient one, and she wants all the details, including my plans for the future.

  The sliding door opens again, and Aunt Suzy comes out, moving to stand next to my mother. “How’s it going?”

  They can’t be any more obvious. They’re as nosy as Lily, but less direct.

  “Great. We’re just talking,” Gigi tells her mother, not giving her the information she so badly wants.

  “About anything fun?” Aunt Suzy asks, digging for details without coming right out and asking.

  “Not really. Stone’s currently complaining,” Luna explains.

  “With good reason,” Stone barks out, shaking his head. “My life as I know it is over.”

  “Drama queen,” Luna mutters.

  “Stone, you’ll find yourself a good woman someday,” Aunt Suzy says to him.

  “I don’t want a good woman,” he tells her.

  “I don’t think that one will ever settle down,” Ma says.

  “You thought that about this one, but…” Suzy says with a nod in my direction, without finishing the sentence.

  Ana smiles at me, and I give her hand a quick squeeze. This moment should be weirdly uncomfortable. But there isn’t a lick of awkwardness between us.

  It’s like I was meant to be here. She was meant to be in my life. I’ve never believed in soul mates or that people were destined to be together, but in this moment…I’m not so sure.

  “When you know, you know,” my ma says. “I knew James was it for me, but that didn’t stop me from running at every turn.”

  “Some of us like to play hard to get,” Gigi tells her with a little wink.

  “I enjoyed the chase,” Pike tells her with a smirk I can only describe as gross.

  “You want anything?” I ask Ana.

  “Maybe we should see if your grandma wants any help?”

  Damn. I wasn’t expecting that answer. I’m not sure I’ve ever helped my grandma in the kitchen. If any man ever tried, they were quickly ushered out of the room. It’s like the women didn’t trust our abilities to make anything palatable.

  “Sure,” I tell her.

  “Gram would like that,” Ma says, stepping back from my chair.

  I find her answer hard to believe, but I bite, wanting to make Ana happy. I push back my chair and stand, lifting my hand and Ana with me.

  Ana follows me, staying by my side but behind me by a single step. “Thank you,” she whispers so no one else can hear.

  I look over my shoulder at her, confused. “For what?”

  “For this,” she answers. “For introducing me to your family. They’re lovely.”

  Lovely? I bite back my laugh. “They’re nosy.”

  “They’re playful,” she corrects me. “They love one another.”

  “That we do.” I smile. “And they’ll love you too.”

  “What’s not to love?” she teases, smacking my arm.

  I can’t stop my smile from growing. Right now, she’s like the Ana from before. Sassy and full of life.

  “You really want to help my grandma?”

  She nods. “I never knew my grandmother. I’d like to know yours.”

  I dip my head. “I know you like to cook, so prepare yourself for more food than you’ve probably seen in your entire lifetime.”

  “I’m ready.”

  “I warned you.”

  She laughs and grips my arm as I push open the sliding door and step inside. My gram’s head comes up as soon as we enter the kitchen.

  “Do I have helpers today?”

  “Yeah, Gram. We’re all yours,” I say to her.

  She claps her hands. “Perfect. Trace, come grab the lasagna and move it to the other countertop, and Ana, can you check the braciole?”

  Ana stands next to me, not moving. “What’s braciole?” She leans over to whisper to me so no one else can hear.

  “A meat dish. Just make sure it’s brown but not burned.” I tick my head toward the oven to her right.

  “Braciole,” she says to herself as she moves toward the oven. “Such a weird name.”

  I make quick work of grabbing the oven mitts and moving the lasagna to make room for more food on the kitchen island. Ana opens the oven doors, leaning in and staring at the giant pan. She turns her head and looks at me, shrugging.

  “How’s it look?”

  “Good?” she says, but without confidence. “Brown and dead.”

  I laugh, loving that she’s trying even if she doesn’t have a clue. “Perfect. I’ll grab it.”

  She glances back inside the oven. “What is it exactly?”

  “A giant meat roll-up filled with deliciousness.”

  “So, you don’t really have a clue, do you?” she asks as she backs away, making room for me to grab the pan.

  “Not a fucking clue,” I answer honestly.

  “I hope you two are hungry,” Gram says.

  “Famished,” I tell her. “I’m ready for a home-cooked meal after all that hotel food.”

  “Everything smells so good,” Ana says to my grandmother. “How do you cook for so many people every week?”

  “I couldn’t do it without help from my kids. I’m getting more tired the older I get. But the girls make it possible.”

  “What else do you want help with, Gram?”

  “Stir the sauce,” she says as she drops some chopped tomatoes on top of a giant salad. “We’re almost ready.”

  “Homemade sauce?” Ana asks with her eyebrows raised. “I don’t think I’ve ever had homemade sauce.”

  “Baby,” I say, grabbing her around the waist, “You haven’t lived until you’ve had my grandmother’s sauce.”

  “I’ll teach you to make it someday if you like it, Ana.”

  Ana’s body goes stiff. “You’d do that?”

  My gram smiles. “Of course. It’s going to be up to you kids to carry on the traditions once I’m gone.”

  “We’re doomed,” I say, trying to make light of the situation. But the very thought of my grandmother not being here and Sunday dinners not happening crushes my soul.

  “I love to cook,” Ana assures her.

  “That makes me happy. The way to a man’s heart is right through his stomach.”

  “Love,” my grandpa says, strolling into the kitchen with a glass of wine in his hand, “you know that’s a lie.”

  She nudges him with her hip. “Behave, Sal.”

  He places his arm near her waist, grabbing her hip with his hand. “If I behaved, we wouldn’t be here today, surrounded by our family, and it wasn’t because of your sauce either.” Gram blushes as my grandfather leans in and kisses her. “Always my girl,” he says softly.

  “They’re so cute,” Ana whispers, leaning against me.

  They’ve had a lifetime together. More time than I can fathom. But I know in this moment, I want what they have, and I’ll do anything in my power to make it happen.

  20

  TRACE

  I barely have the food on my plate polished off when Rocco ticks his head to the side and says, “Guys’ meeting.”

  There’s a collective groan from the women at the table. A few of them drop their forks in protest, ready to start shit. But I secretly think they like when we leave them alone. It’s their time to gossip freely without us listening or reeling them back in.

  This is the first time I’m not excited to take part in the discussion with all my male cousins, along with my brothers. I know what the topic will be. It’s going to be me and my relationship with Ana. They’re going to give their opinions without having to worry about hurting Ana’s feelings or pissing off their partners by shitting on my parade.

  “What’s a guys’ meeting?” Ana whispers as she leans over next to me.

  I look over at her, giving her a smile to ease her worry. “Just a reason to talk without the girls listening. It’s nonsense.”

  “Sure,” she mutters, giving me the same smile back. “I’m sure we’re going to be the hot topic.” She reaches out and places her hand on top of mine. “It’ll be fine.”

  Her reassurance is nice, but a talk with the guys can go either way. I’ve never been the topic of the conversation, and right now, I’m not ready to put up with any bullshit, especially from my own family.

  “Let’s do it out front,” Carmello says, pushing back his chair. “It’ll be more private.”

  Fucking great. More private means there’s no chance of anything being overheard. They’re never gentle in their questioning or giving their opinions to one another.

  Without hesitation, the men in the family stand and peel off toward the side door to the lanai.

  “I’m going to make this as quick as possible,” I promise Ana, hating to leave her with my cousins. They can be a rough bunch, and they don’t hold back on sharing their opinions.

  “I’ll be fine,” Ana says back to me.

  I glance around the table, knowing they’re going to grill her as soon as I disappear around the side of the house. And although my family is loving, they can be relentless in their pursuit of answers.

  Ana squeezes my hand when I don’t move right away. “Go,” she says.

  “Come on, ya big pussy,” Mammoth tells me with a slap on the back. “It ain’t going to be that bad. We have family shit to discuss.”

  He’s lying. Family shit means me.

  I grunt, narrowing my eyes at him as I finally start to move.

  “I got your back, little man,” Mammoth says from behind me.

  I glare at him over my shoulder. “Little man?”

  He laughs as he runs his hand over his beard. “Compared to me, everyone’s a little man.”

  “You’re an asshole,” I tell him.

  He punches me in the shoulder, and my body jolts forward. “Never claimed to be anything else, dumbass.”

  “Touch me one more time.”

  “And what?” Mammoth smirks.

  “You’re lucky I love you.”

  “You love me most of all.”

  “You’re the biggest shit-talker.”

  “That’s why you love me.” He smiles, nudging me forward, knowing damn well I couldn’t beat his ass even on my best day. “Now, get moving so I can get back to my woman and maybe a cup of coffee.”

  “It is getting late in the day. I know old people like to go to bed early.”

  “Dick,” he mutters.

  “Whatever, Gramps,” I say loud enough for him to hear as I push open the screen door and head toward the front of the house where the others are waiting.

  Before I make it around the corner, I can see the guys all huddled together, deep in discussion.

  “This is stupid,” I mumble.

  They stop talking, and all eyes focus on me.

  “We’re worried,” my brother Carmello says before my feet stop moving. The statement is directed at me and no one else.

  “Stop worrying. I like her. I mean, I really, really like her.”

  Carm shakes his head. “Not that. We like her too. She’s sweet and normal, nothing like the other broads you’ve been with.”

  I cross my arms over my chest, staring at my brother with no amusement. “Then what the fuck are you worried about?”

  “Her father,” Rocco tells me before Carm has a chance to answer. “He’s dangerous, man.”

  “She hates him.”

  Carm rolls his eyes. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

  I shrug. “It’s not like he’s going to be in her life or in mine.”

  “He’s her blood,” Rocco states the obvious.

  “He called her a whore,” I throw back at him.

  The men reel back as if I’ve hit them. There are certain no-no’s in our family, and one of them is calling any woman a name, especially if they’re related. Nothing will get your ass put on the ground quicker than being disrespectful.