My Mr. Manny (17 page)

“Oh, honey. As your mother, I’ll always worry about you and your brother. I just need to make sure you both are happy. And I see that you are, and there’s nothing in this world that makes me happier than that.” Her voice cracked. It sounded like she was crying.

“Thanks, Mom. I want you to get to know them and see how wonderful they are.” Dominic’s voice was muffled.

I cleared my throat and walked toward the kitchen, acting surprised that Emma was there.

“Good morning, Emma. I didn’t know you were here.” They were standing next to a bar stool, hugging, but they broke apart at the sound of my voice. Dominic looked at me with concern while his hand scrubbed furiously at the scruff on his chin.

“Good morning,” I said to him, and I rubbed his back when I walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, good morning, dear. Do you have to work today? We sure would like you to join us sightseeing,” Emma said.

“I’m sorry. I do have to work, but we have all weekend to do things together.” I looked around. “Where’s Dom Sr.?” I asked.

A worried look crossed Emma’s face. She covered it in a flash, but I saw it. “He’s resting at the hotel today. Said he was too tired and thought that it was jet lag.”

I looked at Dominic, and his brows scrunched together. So, his mother’s comment hadn’t missed his notice, either.

“What a shame. I hope he feels better. Let’s hope some rest will do it.” Then I looked toward Dominic and said, “I’ll be home for dinner, and maybe I can cook this time.” I laughed because I doubted Dominic would let me.

From his reply, he thought it was funny as well. “Yeah, I don’t think so, honey,” he said and pecked my lips.

“Lucia’s still sleeping?” I asked, though I knew she was or she would have been out here with us. I was stalling, not wanting to leave.

“Yes, she is. I’m taking them to the Queen Mary cruise ship today. I’m excited to see it for myself.”

“Well, you three have fun, and I’ll see you later. Call me if you need anything, okay?” We kissed and I squeezed him in a hug, wishing I could go with him instead of heading off to work.

~*~*~

Dominic was our savior and our reward for what we had gone through. Lucia and I had survived so much heartache, disappointment, and failure that Dominic had to be our light at the end of the tunnel. Still, there were things I had to work on personally, and I knew that. I understood the amount of effort involved in being in a relationship and keeping it—and my heart—safe. One of the first things I’d learned from my experience with Alex was that, if you didn’t continue to work on keeping your love alive, you could forget about keeping it at all. I knew I was happy with Dominic, and he made Lucia happy as well. He was invested in our lives. He treated Lucia as her own person. His affection for her was not conditioned on our feelings for him; it just existed on its own. Their developing relationship was so beautiful to watch, and it made my heart swelled with happiness.

Dominic was a gentleman with impeccable manners, and he had a sort of old-fashioned way of thinking about relationships. I was learning to be okay with it, respecting his ideas on working and wanting to take care of us, even though I knew I could handle it on my own. It was all about give and take, and if that was important to him, I could give it to him.

I was also under no illusion that our lives would be perfect. We hadn’t lived together for very long, but one day, we’d feel more comfortable with each other and have a real fight or I’d snap at him for no reason. He’d get to know me better, too, and get sick of my bullshit at some point. I didn’t want to fight, but I knew that was part of a true relationship and was looking forward to getting there.

Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind whenever I remembered the things my father had said during Thanksgiving. Yes, I had been insulted at his lack of trust in my judgment, but now I wondered if there had been a little truth in what he’d said. Nothing in life was guaranteed, but I knew I would give my all to this relationship because I had never felt for Alex the way I felt now for Dominic. I also knew that Alex had never loved me the way Dominic did. Our lives were fated, and what happened between us was the way it was meant to be. I wasn’t going to play hard to get or fight what we deserved.

~*~*~

A few days before Christmas, with the little time I had left, I wrapped all of the last-minute gifts and put them under the tree. Our house looked so amazing. It wasn’t overdone or gaudy; it was perfection. I had always wanted a white tree, so Dominic had gotten us one, and we bought red lights and bulbs to decorate it. While shopping throughout the year, I had found different types of snowflake ornaments and bought each one I saw. We also had ten big silver rings the size of a grapefruit with a twirling snowflake in the middle. I found five big, white, sparkly snowflakes with a small red bead in the center, as well. A bunch of small ornaments just like the big ones were hung onto the three garlands I’d strung around the banister on the balcony. The garlands had small, white lights with cranberries that we all strung ourselves. We had tons of candles and other lit decorations placed in a strategic manner all around the house.

I loved Christmas, and I knew this was going to be the best one ever. Lucia and I had more loved ones to spend it with this year, and that was the most special part about it.

Chapter 23

Tag, You’re It

I woke before the sun rose, feeling excited and nervous. The room was dark, and Dominic was still sleeping. There was so much to do to prepare for our first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebration. I wanted it to be perfect. Tiptoeing out of the room, I went to the kitchen where I brewed myself a cup of coffee. Trying not to make too much noise, I began to prepare all the dishes for the traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes.

The tradition called for us to make seven fish dishes to represent the seven sacraments. I had marinated and salted everything two days prior, and all the vegetables had been prepared the day before. Today, I had to pull it all together. I started with the
cioppino
, a delicious soup with vegetables and four different types of seafood. The second dish was a baked, stuffed fish served with rice pilaf. The third dish was a sea bass with an herb butter and frisée salad — and the list went on. Homemade cannoli would finish off the big meal.

Immersed in my work, I felt Dominic wrap his arms around my waist. “Mmm, you smell so good. Or is it the food?” he joked with his nose buried in my neck.

I reached behind me to smack his shoulder, laughing. “Both, baby.”

He squeezed tighter and left a trail of wet kisses down my neck. It felt so good, but I had so much to do.

“Where do you need me to start?”

I looked around and contemplated his question.

“Oh, I know. Can you get the china down? And the silver? You can just put it on the table for now. I have to wash it all.”

“You’ve got it, babe. I’ll even wash and dry them for ya.”

I looked at him, and he had the most beautiful smile plastered on his face. “You’re in a great mood today. Any particular reason?”

He shrugged and shook his head. His beaming smile subtly changed to a smirk.

Before I could read into that, Lucia came barreling out of her room. “Momma, Daddy, everyone’s coming today, right?”

“Yes, my little munchkin. I’m going to need your help later. We have a very special night ahead of us,” said Dominic. Watching their interaction, I tried to figure out what they were up to.

After breakfast, Lucia began decorating the table. She made little stockings out of construction paper and put our names on them. Then she cut tons of different sized snowflakes and scattered them around the table on top of the red tablecloth. I told Dominic where I had stored some Christmas candles for the table, and he got those down as well. The house was beginning to look like a true winter wonderland.

For Christmas Day, I had all of the traditional foods fixed, and Susan was in charge of the turkey. Once I had everything pretty much done, I ran to shower because I knew our guests would start to trickle in soon to snack and lounge. This arrangement was fine with me. Since I’d moved to California, I had missed being around people I loved, cooking together, and making new memories. This year was special; I had most of my family with me. One person was missing: my mom.

While I was in the shower, Dominic called in to say he was getting Lucia ready and that they would pick up his parents at their hotel. The timing was perfect, since it allowed me to get ready in peace.

After my relaxing shower, I went through my beauty routine, applying lotion, deodorant, perfume, and face creams. I put some frizz serum and mousse in my hair and let it air dry. Next, I put on a calf-length black skirt, a silver shimmery sweater, black tights, and black knee-length boots. It was formfitting but, to my surprise, comfortable.
And sexy
, I admitted as I twisted and turned to check myself out in the mirror.

Just as I was slipping on my jewelry, I heard the front door open.
Perfect timing.

I walked out of our bedroom to see Dominic and his parents standing in the living room. I started to greet them when I noticed an unexpected person in the room. I jumped in place, but then ran over to hug her fiercely.

“Ma! Oh, my God! What are you doing here? How’d you get here?” I was crying, so excited to see her.

She just laughed and squeezed me tighter, whispering in my ear, “Your handsome man arranged the whole thing.”

I was soaking my mom’s shoulder in my tears, and I was ecstatic to have her with me. I didn’t think she would care—I didn’t!

Letting her go, I turned around to find Dominic sitting with his parents and Lucia on the sofa. I ran to him and, he stood up to catch me. I jumped into his arms and hugged him hard.

“Thank you so much. Thank you.” I heard everyone giggle at my exuberance. Turning around, I faced Dominic’s parents. “I’m so sorry for being rude.” I hugged his mother first. “Emma, thanks for being here.” Then I turned to his father and hugged him, too. “I’m so glad you are all here.”

“Mia, you know there’s no other place we’d rather be than celebrating the holidays with all of you.”

I smiled wide at Emma’s sincerity. “Aw, thanks! You guys have no idea what this means to me. I haven’t had a big family dinner since I was in high school.”

We sat on the sofa catching up while Dominic got everyone a drink. I mouthed a thank you, and he blew me a kiss in return. Lucia sat on my mother’s lap the whole time, absorbing all her love while she could.

“So, Mia,” Emma said, “Dominic tells me you made a whole Italian spread for tonight.”

Her face lit up while I explained the meaning of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. “But tomorrow we’re doing the traditional Christmas dinner,” I said.

At that, her whole face glowed, and her smile rivaled the lights on my tree.

“Oh, yes, tomorrow.” She grabbed my hand and, with a firm grip, wrapped it in hers. “I’m just so happy to be here.”

I watched Emma loosen up and touch me more often with small hugs and gentle arm squeezes. She even began complimenting me. This treatment was quite different to how she had been when we’d first met. Not to say she was ever rude; just very polite and reserved.

“Momma, when is everyone else getting here?” Lucia interrupted us.

I looked at her, still sitting with my mother. “Soon, baby, soon. You want something to eat?”

“Yeah, I’m hungry.” I stood up and excused myself, asking if anyone else wanted anything. My mother followed me into the kitchen.

“Mia, I’m so happy for you. Dominic seems wonderful,” whispered my mother.

I smiled at her over my shoulder while I made Lucia a sandwich.

“He is, Ma. I can’t believe he pulled this off without me knowing.” I shook my head. What a sneaky, wonderful man.

“I know. He called me weeks ago and asked me to keep it a secret. He’s been planning for a while,” she answered.

“I wonder if that’s what he and Lucia have been so secretive about,” I said.

A mischievous smile spread across her face, but she just shrugged.

~*~*~

The next time the doorbell rang, Lucia jumped for joy. Warmth from the cooking was filling the condo and the joy from our arriving family filled my heart.

“Hey, cuz! Merry Christmas!” said Vitto with a big hug. Susan walked in right behind him.

“Merry Christmas, Vitto” I said, and then turned to Susan with open arms. “Merry Christmas, girl. You look happy.”

She laughed while we hugged. “I am. He’s amazing. I just can’t believe I didn’t meet him sooner,” Susan said.

“Loretta! Oh, I’ve missed you,” my mother screamed when Lori and Chris walked in. My mother grabbed Lori in a tight embrace.

The before-dinner entertainment was watching my mother and father make small talk. They always did such a good job of being cordial and never saying anything bad about each other. I appreciated it a lot.

The girls helped me set out the stuffed mushrooms I had made, along with a bowl of olives, a plate of cheese and crackers, and a few bowls of mixed nuts. We snacked for a bit while we all sat around and caught up. The condo was full, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Chapter 24

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

I stood up from the table and raised my wine glass.

“I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. It has always been a dream of mine to have my own big, family dinners, and your presence has given me that. This is a beautiful Christmas! Thank you, everyone.” Truthfully, I wasn’t able get out everything I felt inside because I was so overwhelmed with happiness.

“Cheers!”

We drained our glasses. As I sat down and looked at the faces of everyone I cared about, new and old, I couldn’t help but think about how Lucia and I had survived great pain and how much our luck had changed. In the end, she had a full family, and I knew they would all be steady people in our lives.

Dominic’s face was shining like Polaris. He was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. We stuffed our faces, and I was very pleased when I received plenty of praise from Emma and Dom Senior. After dinner, we had coffee and light desserts, and we spent the rest of the evening talking, singing Christmas carols, and playing games to keep Lucia busy.