Page 9 of Ciao Bella
“I chose you because you were the only choice for me, Sara. It’s funny how one moment you think your life is over. You lose the person you thought you were supposed to be with for the rest of your life, and then, BOOM! Someone else slaps you in the face. That was you.
“Damn, I remember it all so clearly. Seeing you scrambling around at the wedding, making sure everything was just perfect for Lauren and Erin. You had those tight-ass black pants on and the white blouse that every time you moved it gaped at your breasts.” He adjusted himself, moving slightly in the seat so as not to embarrass himself.
“Problem?” she smirked.
“Fuck no, it’s not a problem at all. The fact that I still get hard as a rock every time you’re around me is a testament to how sexy I find you. Still. After all these years, you’re still the only woman that sets me on fire.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, kissing him. “Thank you for loving me all these years, even when I wasn’t always the best wife to you.”
“What in the hell? Sara, you were the only wife, the onlylifefor me. You gave me Paige and Julia. Do you know how precious that is? Two beautiful, smart as fuck daughters. One with the weirdest skill set I’ve ever known,” he laughed, “but still, she’s a keeper. Then for them to find love with the sons of the men I trust the most? That’s amazing. Now, grandsons, great-grandson, and hopefully, more. I’m so fucking blessed it should be illegal.”
“Well, there are a lot of beautiful Italian women, and I just want to be sure you’re still happy with me.”
“What if I weren’t?” he asked with a serious expression. She swallowed, staring at him, unsure of whether to cry or slap him. “I didn’t say I was. But if I weren’t, what? Would you walk away, Sara?”
“N-no. I’d never, I mean, I couldn’t.”
“Good. Because neither could I. I. Am. Happy. I am in love. I am more than content and thrilled with my life with you. This only verifies that we all suck at telling you girls what we think of you. All of you.
“See, I love you. No doubt you are my woman. Mine. I don’t give a fuck about any beautiful Italian women. Look around you, babe. We have a plane full of beautiful women. But as I was saying, I love you, adore you even. But guess what? I also love all these women around us. Like my sisters. They are my sisters. If any one of them were to be hurt by one of these assholes, he’d have me to answer to.”
“Me too,” smiled Tailor from the seat across from them. “Sorry, but I can hear everything.” Wilson looked at him and laughed, seeing the roast beef po’boy on his lap.
“Where in the hell did you get that?”
“Mama Irene, Casey, and George,” he grinned. “They made a whole mess of stuff for us so we didn’t have to worry about getting hungry. Besides, I was watching what I ate all week so I could enjoy this trip. I’m gonna eat my way through Italy.”
Wilson and Sara could only laugh, shaking their heads at their friend. No one would believe their ages. No one. They all looked as though they were in their forties, and yet, they were all in their seventies, some in their eighties. Whatever voodoo Mama Irene, Matthew, Ruby, and the others sprinkled on them, it was working.
“As I was saying,” smiled Wilson at his wife. “I love you and only you, honey. I do not want another woman in my life unless it’s a great-granddaughter or great-granddaughter-in-law.”
“I love you, too. And I don’t regret one moment of our life together. Well, maybe if we could have avoided the whole me getting shot thing, that would have been nice.”
“That’s on you,” he frowned. “You threw yourself in front of that damn bullet!”
“I had to! Senator Haley would have been shot had I not done that,” she smiled. “Besides, it led me back to you and to my best friends – Pierre and Kari. He was like my big brother when my real brothers were lost to me. I’ll forever be grateful that he saved both Frank and Tobias.”
The seats were all turned inward to the aisles so that they faced one another and didn’t have to turn around to see the person behind them. They were all seated across from one another, like a large living room.
“It’s what family does for one another,” said Miller, smiling at her. “You helped me that day as well. You helped me to remember that I had a great big family back home that needed to see me and know that I was okay. I’d been running from them for too long. Nothing they did, nothing they could change. It was on me.”
“And now look at us,” smiled Sara. “We’re on your family’s land, all of us. Having children and grandchildren. Living a life that none of us could have ever dreamed of. How incredibly lucky are we?” Miller smiled at Kari, kissing the tip of her nose as she slept.
“The luckiest.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Kari was startled awake by her husband’s warm lips on the tip of her nose. At first, she wasn’t sure, then he grinned at her.
“Sorry, was I snoring?”
“Nope. And even if you were, I wouldn’t have said anything. I’m pretty damn sure that I sound like a freight train most nights. If you’re napping, that usually means you need it. I’ve never met a woman with more energy than you. Are you okay? Feeling alright?”
“I’m feeling great,” she smiled. “I think it’s just the idea of all of us having time away, time off without any complications. As busy as all of you are, I’ve got a stack of cases that I left to the legal team, and it’s nice to not have to worry about them. I just don’t want you all to have to work.”
“Oh, don’t say that out loud,” laughed Tailor.
“Tailor, I swear if you guys bring work to this trip, I will break your kneecaps,” said Lena.