He lowered his head to capture her mouth. Only after she had been thoroughly kissed, did he take a step back. “By all means,” he teased, “persuade me, but I’ve got to tell you, I’m an easy mark where you’re concerned. I have been since the beginning.”
“Not since the beginning,” she argued.
“Definitely the beginning,” he insisted. “In fact, I’ve been considering a partnership of sorts with you for some time now.”
“My experience with partnerships hasn’t been all that great,” she reminded him. “I told Tony I’d come back and work with him. I’ve known him my whole life. He would never betray me.”
“Maybe not, but this thing with you and me would be a very personal partnership,” Rafe pointed out. “No comparison.”
“Can I trust you not to run out on me?”
“Absolutely.”
“What are the terms? I want to know exactly what I’m getting into.”
“Love, honor and cherish. Now and forever. The usual.”
It sounded like a pretty decent deal. “Just one more thing. I intend to work for Tony. Eventually I’ll take over. If the place is swamped, are you going to help cook?”
“Only if the chef rewards me later.”
Gina held out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
But—typical lawyer—Rafe wasn’t satisfied until they’d sealed it with a lot more than a handshake.
Epilogue
There had never been a doubt in the world about where their wedding reception was going to be held. Tony and Francesca started planning it the day Gina and Rafe shared the news that they were getting married. Now that the day had arrived, however, Tony had barred Gina from the kitchen.
“I will do this, cara mia. You are not to worry.”
“But I could help,” Gina protested uselessly. “Besides, I’m the bride. Shouldn’t I have some say over what the cake looks like, at least?”
Tony regarded her with exaggerated indignation. “Do you not think that my Francesca knows what will please you?”
“Of course, but—”
“Go,” Tony ordered. “The wedding is in an hour. You must be beautiful.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, though she didn’t think an hour was going to make much difference. The summer heat had already frizzed her hair, and it would melt her makeup the moment it was applied.
The instant she stepped outside the restaurant, she was surrounded by the Calamity Janes. “Francesca called you, didn’t she?”
“She did,” Emma said. “She said you were getting in her way.”
“I wasn’t in her way. Tony wouldn’t even let me near the kitchen.”
“This is one meal you are not going to cook yourself,” Karen insisted. “Besides, as bridesmaids it is our duty to make sure you’re dressed and at the church on time. You don’t want to make us look bad, do you?”
Cassie was amazingly quiet as she studied Gina. “Prewedding jitters?” she asked eventually.
Gina gulped and nodded. “How did you know?”
Cassie and Karen exchanged knowing looks. “Been there, done that,” they said in unison.
“Trust us, though, you are going to be deliriously happy. Rafe will see to it.”
Gina smiled at last. “He already has.”
“Well then,” Emma said briskly. “There’s nothing to worry about, is there? Let’s get this show on the road. I have my list right here. If we follow it, we’ll stay right on schedule.”
Gina chuckled. “Wait till it’s your turn,” she warned Emma. “We are going to show you no mercy.”
“I predict this fall,” Lauren said.
“Definitely before Christmas,” Karen said.
“Oh—” Emma began.
“Go suck an egg,” they all chimed in. “You’re not convincing anymore, Emma, so give it up,” Lauren added. “You and Ford are next.”
Gina looked around at her best friends and felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She loved these women, and thanks to Bobby’s treachery and Rafe’s understanding, she had them back in her life. The Calamity Janes were a gift worth treasuring. She’d never lose sight of that again.
“Oh, no, she’s about to start blubbering,” Cassie noted. “Stop that, right this second. You can’t get married with your eyes all red and puffy.”
“Rafe won’t care,” she said with a sniff.
“Maybe not, but you will when you have to look at the wedding pictures in the years to come,” Lauren added, giving her a hug. “Trust me on this. If there’s one thing I know about it’s how a bad picture can turn up years later to bite you in the butt.”
They got her to the church and into her gown with five minutes to spare. She spent those minutes with her parents.
“Thank you,” she said, hugging them fiercely.
“For what? The wedding? It was our pleasure,” her mother said. “We’ve dreamed of this day for a long time.”
“Not just that,” Gina told them, holding her father’s hand tightly. “For letting me go all those years ago and for welcoming me back now.”
“Just give us some grandbabies and you will have paid us back in full,” her mother said. Her father scowled. “Don’t rush the girl, Jane. She hasn’t even said ‘I do’ yet.”
“That’s okay,” she told her father. “I think mother and Rafe are on the same page on that one. For a man who claimed to know nothing about relationships or family, he’s adapting to the concept pretty quickly.”
“How does that mother of his feel about being a grandma?” her father asked. “I can’t imagine she’s happy about it. I’ve never seen a woman so determined to shave twenty years off her age.”
Gina grinned at the assessment. It was true. Rafe’s mother worked astonishingly hard at being youthful. Grandchildren were going to rattle her.
“She’ll adapt,” Gina’s mother said. “And if she doesn’t, I’ll get those precious grandbabies all to myself.”
There was a knock on the door just then. “I think they’re ready for us,” Cassie called out. “And Rafe is prowling around the front of the church looking impatient.”
Gina opened the door. “Then by all means, let’s not keep the man waiting.”
Rafe had worn dozens of tuxedos in his time, but he was fairly certain this one was going to choke him to death. He ran his finger under
