That's Amore (15 page)

Just skipping the little chat altogether would be better in her opinion. But she didn’t think Jeff was asking for her opinion.

Paige shivered. She had left her jacket back at the bakery and the air in the church was twenty degrees cooler than the kitchen had been.

Cold went to hot all over as the memory of Jeff throwing her up on the counter came rushing back. Very hot. Then she bit her lip and panicked. She shouldn’t think about stuff like that in church. Sheesh. What was the matter with her?

“Paige, look at me.” Jeff took her chin in his hand and turned her towards him.

The firmness of his words startled her. Paige’s heart started to beat wildly. Jeff sounded serious, tender, his black eyes wide and his mouth parted a little.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“In case anything happens to me, I want you to know that… I love you.”

Holy cannelloni. She hadn’t expected him to say that. Tears rose in her eyes.

He loved her. He had said he loved her.

And he looked like he meant it. He was stroking her cheek softly and his eyes were filled with love. Jeff loved her.

She tried to speak, but a choking sound was all she could manage. The tears spilled over and started down her cheeks.

“Oh, baby.” Jeff wiped the tears away, looking alarmed. “Don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She gave a watery laugh. “It’s a good cry. Because I love you, too.”

It felt good to say what had been in her heart for so long, an unspoken secret. She loved Jeff. Always had. Always would.

Yet he looked amazed. “You do?”

“Of course I do.” It was starting to occur to her that Jeff’s strength wasn’t his ability to read people. But no one was perfect, and otherwise, he came pretty darn close.

Then he moaned and swept her into his arms. Jeff kissed her over and over until Paige was dizzy with love and desire.

His hands ransacked her hair and she clutched at his chest tightly for support, ready to topple over on the floor if he let her go. Jeff loved her and she felt it in every kiss, every touch.

“You’re amazing,” he murmured, pulling back to gaze at her.

Paige wiped her wet lips, giddy from his words. She had been waiting ten years for this moment, to see the look on wonder on Jeff’s face as he studied her face. As he proclaimed his love.

It was better than she had ever imagined it to be.

He reached for her. His hand touched her breast, stroking possessively.

Paige threw her head back. Movement from above caught her attention. Wait a minute. She snapped up straight and looked around, all amorous longings forgotten.

“What was that?” she asked suspiciously.

“What?” Jeff tried to nuzzle her neck.

She moved out of his reach, her heart starting to race. “I saw something move.”

If she didn’t know better, she would swear she had just seen the statue of Mary twist. It had looked a little like Mary had been shaking her finger at her in reprimand.

Jeff glanced left and right, his hands reaching for her again. “I don’t see anything.”

Frowning, she studied the still serene statue and said, “I guess I just imagined it.”

But she still pushed his hands away.

She certainly hoped she’d imagine it. It was either her imagination, she was going crazy, or Mary didn’t take kindly to make-out sessions beneath her.

Maybe it was a hallucination from all the stress. Plus lack of food. She was probably dehydrated. That had to be it.

Statues didn’t move.

Jeff watched Paige staring at the ceiling. Then she shook her head and turned back to him.

“It must have been my imagination.”

“I guess so.” He didn’t care what she’d seen, he wanted to get back to more important things. Like his lips on hers.

Nothing had felt better than seeing his sweet Paige look him in the eye and tell him she loved him. He was flying from that. Every inch of him was singing with gratitude.

It crossed his mind that this would be a good time to just put it all out on the table and propose to her, but he held back. After everything, the lying and embarrassing her in front of multiple people, he wasn’t sure she’d want to marry him.

He would rather cut his own leg off than hear her reject him.

Jeff was no wimp. He could hold his own drinking, fighting, and walking thirty stories up on a construction beam, but Paige had a way of making him vulnerable.

Later, when he was sure of her feelings about marriage, he would ask her.

He reached for her.

Something thumped him on the head.

“What the…?” He grabbed at the soft object as it tumbled down onto his shoulder and towards his arm.

Paige gasped.

He held up a rose in his hand and stared at it blankly. “Where did this come from?”

Paige whispered, “Ohmigod. That fell from the devotional to Mary. You know where people lay roses for Mary. It fell on your head.”

Jeff looked up. Mary had dropped a rose on him, huh? Maybe it was a coincidence, just a breeze blowing through. But maybe it wasn’t and he could take a hint.

When something hit him on the head, he knew he should take notice.

Don’t wait.

Resolve this thing with Paige once and for all.

Gulping, he took the rose and held it out to Paige. “Paige Lombardi, will you marry me?”

He held his breath. Paige stared at him, her mouth gaping. The seconds ticked by, and each one shaved a year off of his life expectancy.

She was going to say no… she was thinking of a way to let him down gently. He was going to die a bitter old man with a broken heart, after thirty years of mooching off his brother’s wives for home cooked meals…

“Yes.”

“Huh?” He must have heard her wrong, because it sounded like she had said yes.

“I said yes,” she repeated, louder this time.

Whew. All right then.

She was giving him another one of those watery smiles. It set him into action.

With a groan, he reached out and grabbed her, squeezing her hard against his chest.

“I’m so… I mean, you’re so… perfect.” Jesus, he really needed to work on the poetic thing.

He looked down at her ivory skin, her narrow nose and plump, kissable lips. “Can you forgive me for all the mistakes I’ve made? Walking out on you three years ago, lying about the condoms and Justin?”

She nodded. “As long as you promise to treat me like an equal. I’m not better than you, Jeff and I’m not fragile. I want to be partners.”

He liked the sound of that. Partners. He wanted that with Paige more than anything. “I can do that.”

He dusted a kiss across her very cute nose. “You know, when you’re raised the way I was, you’re taught to treat a wife with respect, not toss her up onto a bakery counter and have your way with her. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

Having his dad die when he’d been just a kid, Jeff had been raised by his mother and his grandmother. He had a healthy respect for women and their strength. But he’d also been taught to show a certain reverence for women, and the implied distinction that there were women you married and women you didn’t.

Wives didn’t roll around in flour unless they were baking with it.

She gave him a saucy grin. “Not everything your mother told you was right.”

He fought the urge to look around and make sure his mother didn’t pop up from behind a pew and hear Paige’s slanderous words.

Paige added, “So trust me, you can throw me up on any counter you want to. I really, really mean that. There’s nothing disrespectful about making love to me.”

Jeff knew she was right. He also felt his jeans go tight. In church, of all places. “Time to get out of here before we find ourselves on the road to hell.”

With pink cheeks, Paige said, “Good point.”

He helped her off the cold floor as she said, “You know, I really miss Justin. I got used to him being around.”

“Aside from the no sleep, the diaper changing, and the blood, yeah it was okay.” Jeff wasn’t about to admit that he’d gotten kind of attached to the little punk himself.

“Do you think we’re ready to have one of our own?” Paige dusted the seat of her skirt off and looked at him shyly.

He grinned. “I think we can have a lot of fun trying.”

AIGE’S HEAD WAS SPINNING with images of planning their wedding as they walked out the front door of the church. Not to mention working really hard on making a baby after the wedding.

The Feast was going full force, and Paige glanced down the steps of the church at the crowd. Was someone calling her name?

“Paige Lombardi!”

That sounded like Gina. Paige spotted Gina pushing her way through the crowd, heading towards them. Gina was pulling a man along behind her, and they were holding hands.

Paige squinted against the bright sun. This was the second hallucination she’d had in ten minutes. She could swear that was Gina holding hands with Johnny Romano.

“What the hell is Gina doing holding hands with Johnny Romano?” Jeff said, coming to a dead stop on the stairs.

Shoot. She wasn’t hallucinating after all.

“Don’t you run away from us.” Gina held up her free hand to put emphasis behind her words. “Johnny and I have been looking all over for you. We have something to tell you.”

“Uh, Gina,” Jeff said, shaking his head a little. “Did I miss something here? Last I saw this guy, he was waving a gun at me and you were his prisoner.”

Gina marched up the steps in her short shorts and tank top, wearing cute little sneakers. Paige felt sweaty and dusty and frizzy in her suit. She found herself crossing her arms. Something was going on here, and Gina was behind it.

“There weren’t any bullets in that gun,” Johnny said, shrugging sheepishly.

“Well, that’s a comfort,” Jeff snorted.

Paige couldn’t pull her eyes away from Gina’s hand entwined in Johnny’s, an alarming familiarity obvious between them.

“It’s all my fault,” Gina admitted, though she didn’t look the least bit guilty. “I set the whole thing up. I wanted Frank to be jealous, so I asked Johnny to fake my kidnapping. That’s why I left Justin with Paige, because I didn’t want Mom to know anything about it.”

“Gina!” Paige was shocked. She didn’t know she was still capable of being shocked by one of Gina’s antics, but this did it.

Jeff looked ready to throttle his sister. “What? You have got to be kidding me.” His fists clenched and unclenched.

“No, I’m serious. It was a good idea!” Gina tossed her black hair over her shoulder defiantly.

Jeff turned to Johnny. “Then why the hell have you been chasing us all morning?”

Johnny gave a nervous laugh. “I wanted to apologize for the gun. And Gina and I have some news we want to tell you.”

Gina beamed at Johnny.

Johnny flushed tomato red.

Gina squeezed his hand and announced, “We’re getting married!”

“You’re what?” Jeff blurted out, his jaw hanging somewhere in the area of his waist.

Paige wasn’t capable of speech. Gina and
Johnny
? Married?

“Yep.” Gina grinned. “Johnny says he’s always loved me and going through all this for me proved it. And you know, spending time with him showed me what a great guy he is. He’s the sweetest man I’ve ever met.”

She shot a dewy eyed look at Johnny. “He’s treated me better than any man since Dad died.”

Well.

Johnny smiled at her. “It’s easy to do. You’re perfect.”

Okay.

Jeff closed his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

Paige forced herself to speak. “Wow, well, that’s fabulous news. I’m so happy for you.”

She reached out and gave Gina a hug. She was happy for Gina. Gina had always deserved better than Frank. Paige just never would have guessed that Johnny Romano would be better.

Whispering in Gina’s ear she asked, “What about all the business with the Cucuzzas? Isn’t Johnny mixed up in some bad stuff?”

Gina grinned. “Nah. Vinnie Cucuzza is his second cousin, but Johnny’s a regular guy. He owns a gym, actually. All legit.”

Jeff heard Gina’s remark and said wryly, “The family black sheep, eh, Johnny?”

Johnny laughed. “Got that right.”

As Gina pulled back from their hug, she looked at Paige’s outfit skeptically. “What’s all over your skirt? It looks like flour. And there’s a huge hole in your pantyhose.”

“Just a little bakery mishap.” Paige changed the subject before she had time to blush. “Have you seen Justin? Your grandma took him to your mom’s.”

“We were just there. Johnny’s great with kids and Justin really took to him. Johnny’s going to adopt him after the wedding.” Gina looked back and forth between the two of them. “But why did my son have stitches in his chin?”

Good question.

“Because I’m an idiot,” Jeff said. “He rolled off the bed.”

Paige opened her mouth to admit that it had really been her who had put Justin on the bed, when Jeff applied pressure to her elbow.

Then Jeff said, “I’m really sorry, Gina, I didn’t mean for him to get hurt.”

Paige melted like a snowman in a sauna. Jeff was protecting her again.

Protecting was good, as long as he knew she didn’t
depend
on his protection.

“It’s okay.” Gina shrugged. “No permanent damage. And I guess it’s sort of my fault for leaving Justin with you without any explanation. Geez, I can’t believe what that man drove me to do.”