I broke away from the kiss. “Dang it. Then you’ll have to put up with whatever it is I choose and live with it.”
Luke swept me into his arms and dipped me like they used to in old films. “My pleasure,” he purred, grazing his teeth against the skin of my neck.
“Help, help,” I mock yelled, giggling and flailing in his arms. “I’m being mauled by a vampire.”
He righted me, setting me back on my feet, and smacked my behind. “Hurry up and get dressed, cara. Trust me, you do not want to be late.”
I stuck out my tongue and pouted. “Fine. But no complaints if I’m either too dressy or not fancy enough.”
I ran my hand down the front of the red A-line dress I chose. Despite not having any guidance from my fiancé, I didn’t want to chance embarrassing him or myself if I showed up to another event like the first one I attended.
“Stop fidgeting. You look gorgeous,” Luke said, kissing my cheek.
“And I’ll fit in, right?” I checked. “Even these?” I lifted up my foot to show off my cowboy boot. The dress may have been a designer label, but the boots were all Ruby Mae Jewell.
He squeezed my hand and slipped it around his arm. “Everyone will be very pleased. Now, stop dragging your feet.”
We exited the castle and entered the gardens. The last time we were there, someone had tried to poison me. I hoped this time, there would be fewer murder attempts and more fun.
Damiana and Lorenzo greeted us by the rosebushes. Luke’s mother embraced me and then kissed me once on both cheeks. “You look lovely this evening, Ruby.”
“Yes, and I especially enjoy your footwear,” my fiancé’s father added.
Ever since he saw the aftermath in the tower, Lorenzo had changed his attitude towards me and accepted my relationship with his son. It pleased me to no end to have his parents’ approval, even though we’d yet to receive their blessing for marriage.
“If you come visit us back home, I can make sure to get you a pair for yourself,” I promised, figuring they would never trade the luxury of their castle for my family’s simple digs.
“We may take you up on that offer sooner than you think,” Lorenzo said. “But first, my wife and I would like to give you something. A token of our gratitude for everything you have done for us.” He slipped something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to his wife.
Damiana stepped forward and presented me with a velvet box. “Before you came, my family had been functioning but was broken. Missing out on living life to its fullest because of our grief and guilt.” She flashed her eyes to her son. “And while your arrival here may not have been welcomed, I hope that this gift will show you how grateful we are.”
She flipped open the lid, and the earrings inside made of rubies and diamonds sparkled. “Holy hexes,” I exhaled. “That’s too much.”
“What you gave us—the knowledge of how our daughter died, the capture of her killer, and the return of our son—is priceless. These trinkets are small compared to the debt we owe you,” she said.
“Try them on,” Luke insisted.
With shaky fingers, I placed them on my ears and felt them dangling from my lobes. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Damiana cleared her throat to hold back her tears. “They once were mine, given to me by a man who loved me with all his heart.” She held out her hand for Lorenzo to take it. “And I gave them to my daughter. They match the ring, and I thought it appropriate for the set to stay together.”
“Maybe they can even be passed down to your own child someday,” Luke’s father added.
My eyebrows rose into my hairline, and I stammered at the thought of a future too far away to think about.
Luke snorted at my reaction. “Perhaps we can talk about the possibility of grandchildren another time. I would really like to give Ruby Mae my gift.”
I gazed up at him. “You mean, the earrings weren’t the surprise?”
Luke’s parents moved out of our way and followed behind as my fiancé led me down the gravel path and around the fountain to the other side.
“Surprise!” a whole host of people shouted at the same time. They clapped and whooped, whistling with their fingers and laughing at my stupefied response.
Looking around at the faces, I almost fainted at the sight. Instead of a bunch of strangers doing their best to speak English, my immediate family and friends stared back at me.
“What…how…when…” I faltered.
“Ooh, we should do this more often. We’ve finally found something that makes Ruby Mae speechless,” Crystal teased, holding onto her big bear shifter of a husband, Odie.
“Yes, please fly us to Italy in a private jet more often, Luke,” Cate added. She raised her flute of Prosecco in cheers to my fiancé.
Aunt Celia and Dani Jo rushed over and smushed me between the two of them. My aunt gushed over my earrings.
“Where’s Uncle Jo?” I asked.
“He decided to stay home,” she said with an apologetic grin. “He didn’t want to leave Deacon behind on his own. Plus, that little elf of a girl was coming by to check on him.”
Dani bumped her mom’s hip with hers. “Misty’s been visiting him a lot.”
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens between those two if we can ever change him from a pig back into his regular form,” Aunt Delia said with a cheeky expression on her face.
“Remind me to introduce you to that woman right over there.” I pointed at Fiametta standing to the side, talking with Claudio. “I think she may be able to teach Deacon a thing or two to help.”
My father waited with patience to approach me, but I launched myself at him the second I saw him. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Hiya, butter bean.” His strong arms embraced me. “I sure did miss you, but from
