How Much I Care (Miami Nights Book 2)

by Marie Force

  “School is coming soon.”

  “So I guess we’ll spend next winter here. After that, we won’t be able to.” That realization is devastating. “But he said he’s fine with me coming home any time I want to.”

  “It’ll still be hard,” Dee says. “You’ve never wanted to live anywhere else for a good reason. This is where your heart is.”

  “That’s true, but if they’re in Seattle, that’s where my heart will be. He went to Baltimore for five days to pack and drive back down for the winter, and I almost went mad from missing them.”

  “Sigh,” she says, making the sound to go with the word. “That’s so incredible, Mari. You’ve waited so long for this. I couldn’t be more thrilled, except for the part about you moving to Seattle.”

  “Don’t tell anyone that. Nothing is finalized, and it won’t be for a while yet.”

  “How’re we going to keep this from Carmen?”

  “I shouldn’t have told you.”

  “As if you could hold this in for two full days.”

  “I couldn’t hold it in for two full minutes.”

  “You should just tell her. She’s not the type who’d care about sharing the limelight.”

  “I don’t want to tell her until after the wedding.”

  “It’s your news, and she won’t hear it from me. I’m just saying… She’d want to know.”

  “Speaking of things people would want to know, she and I want to talk to you about Marcus.”

  Dee goes perfectly still. “What about him?”

  “We heard some things…”

  “What things?”

  “I should probably wait for Car. She’s the one who heard it.”

  “Why didn’t you guys tell me?”

  “We were waiting until you were here, because there was nothing you could do from New York.”

  “About what?”

  “So you know how he broke up with the skank, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Car talked to Bonita, and she said he’s a mess.”

  “What’s that got to do with me?”

  “Apparently, he’s not a mess over the skank. He’s a mess because he’s realized that letting you go was the biggest mistake of his life.”

  Her face goes blank with shock. “He did not say that.”

  “If you believe his sister, he did say it.”

  “I can’t hear that.”

  “We thought you’d want to know.”

  “And now I do.”

  “What’re you going to do?”

  “I’m not doing anything. That was over a long time ago.”

  “Was it? Really?” I’ve never known her to date anyone else in all the years since she broke up with Marcus. If she has, she hasn’t told me, and she would have. We tell each other everything.

  “Yes, really. Let’s talk about something else. How has Car been this week?”

  Though I’m concerned by how shocked she seems by the Marcus news, I follow her lead. “Good, from what I can tell.” I shared Jason’s concerns with her. “She hasn’t said anything that leads me to believe she’s anything but thrilled.”

  “You guys are lucky. You’ve got it all figured out.”

  “Not everything.”

  “The big things.”

  The limo glides to a stop outside the building where Carmen and Jason live in Brickell. They’re outside waiting for us, and when Dee steps out of the limo, Carmen runs to her on spike heels and jumps into Dee’s arms.

  “Jeez, woman,” Dee says. “You almost took me down.”

  “I knew you could handle it.”

  After putting Carmen down, Dee hugs Jason.

  “Welcome home,” he says.

  “Thanks. It’s always good to be here.”

  No one else, except for Carmen, would notice that Dee is reeling from what I told her about Marcus. She’ll try to hide it, but I know her too well, and so does Car.

  “You ladies have a good time and be safe,” Jason says before laying a hot kiss on Carmen. “If you end up in jail, call Austin, not me.”

  “Haha,” Carmen says, poking his belly. “No one is going to jail. Not tonight, anyway.”

  She gets in the car, and we follow her.

  Jason stands on the sidewalk to wave us off.

  Carmen looks back, watching until he’s safely inside their building before she turns to find us watching her. “What?”

  “What’s that about?” Dee asks.

  “Nothing. I was just making sure he’s okay.”

  “He’s fine, Car, and he’s going to be fine,” Dee says.

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” I ask gently, because God knows I get where she’s coming from. Losing Tony was one of the worst things to ever happen to any of us. That she moved past that and got to the point where she could take a chance on love again is nothing short of a miracle. For a time, we wondered if we’d lose her, too.

  “I worry about him. I suppose that’s to be expected.”

  “Sure,” I say, “a little healthy concern is to be expected. Is that what this is?”

  “Might be a little more than that, but I’m handling it. I don’t want to talk about that tonight. Tell me everything, Dee! What’s new?”

  “I told her about Marcus.”

  “And?”

  “And nothing,” Dee says. “That’s over.”

  Carmen raises a brow, which says it all. She doesn’t believe her any more than I do.

  “And Mari is engaged.”

  “Dee! For fuck’s sake!” I ought to be pissed, but she saved me from the extraordinary effort it would’ve taken to keep the biggest news of my life a secret for two more days.

  Carmen whirls around to look at me. “Are you?”

  “Yes, but I was waiting to tell you until after the wedding.”

  “Shut up! That’s crazy!” She hurls herself at me, and we hug and scream and cry and do what we always do when one of us has big news. “I’m so happy about this. I love him so much, and Everly… This is the best thing since me and Jason.”

  “I’m pretty damned happy about it.” And relieved that my two closest friends in the world know, even if I’m going to punch Dee the first chance I get for being such a big mouth.

  “He asked her while they were doing it,” Dee adds, sticking her tongue out at me.

  Carmen laughs and claps her hands. “That is amazing. I love it. There is no need for you to keep this a secret, Maria. Tell the world.”

  “It’s your week.”

  She leans across the opening between the seats, takes my hand and holds on tight. “It’s our week. The best week ever.”

  Chapter 24

  AUSTIN

  At the rehearsal and the dinner that follows, I start to get an up-close-and-personal view of the family I’m joining, and I have to say, I’m impressed. They’re warm, funny, loving, loyal and not afraid to shower their love on everyone around them, including me. We were going to keep our big news a secret until after the wedding, but apparently, Dee spilled the beans, and now everyone knows.

  My parents, Everly and I moved into the house in Gable Estates today, settling in for a winter of fun in the sun. I can’t wait to spend as much time as possible with Maria and her family.

  At the rehearsal dinner, I ask for a moment alone with Maria’s dad, Lorenzo. Everyone calls him Lo, but I call him Mr. Giordino.

  The rehearsal dinner is at Jason and Carmen’s place, and Mr. Giordino and I take drinks to the huge patio that overlooks Biscayne Bay.

  “Quite a place,” he says, seeming impressed.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “You didn’t bring me out here to talk about the view, though, did you?”

  “No, sir. I wanted the chance to apologize to you.”

  “For what?”

  “For not talking to you before I asked Maria to marry me. I know I should’ve done that, but the proposal was somewhat spontaneous, and so here I am, after the fact, asking for your blessing
.”

  “I should make you suffer, but you’re catching me in a good mood.”

  Laughing, I say, “Well, thank goodness for that. I want you to know—I love Maria very much, and not just because she saved my daughter’s life. Of course that was how it started, but I love her for everything she is and for her big heart.”

  “It’ll be hard for her to live anywhere but here.”

  “I know, and I’ve told her that she should come home any time she wants or needs to. We’ll spend as much time here as we possibly can.”

  He seems a little sad, which touches me.

  “I try to imagine what it would be like to have some guy come along and take my little girl away from me, and I can’t for the life of me picture that.”

  “It’s sad for us, but exciting for her. She glows with happiness around you and your daughter. We’ve all seen that. But like you said, she cares so much for others, which means she’s also easily hurt.”

  “My only goal in life will be to make her happy. You have my word on that.”

  “Then you have my blessing.”

  I shake his outstretched hand, relieved to be forgiven for failing to take care of this detail before I asked her.

  Carmen comes out to the patio and walks over to us. “I was looking for you,” she says to me. She’s gorgeous in a white off-the-shoulder dress. Her hair is down and curly, and her smile is so big.

  “Uh-oh,” Lorenzo says. “What’d you do?”

  “Haha, Uncle Lo. You’re very funny. Could I borrow Austin for a minute?”

  “Of course.” Lorenzo kisses his niece and heads inside.

  Once we’re alone on the patio, Carmen says, “Did you get a ring yet?”

  “As a matter of fact, Everly and I did that today.”

  “That’s great, because this is what I think you ought to do…”

  MARIA

  The wedding is incredible, from Jason’s reaction to Carmen in her dress, to Uncle Vincent and Aunt Viv in tears as they give her away, to having everyone we love together in one place for one perfect day of love and celebration and second chances.

  Jason and Carmen bring everyone to tears with their heartfelt vows.

  “I never imagined anything like this would happen for me again,” Carmen tells her handsome groom. “I thought I’d had my one great love. Imagine my surprise at finding a second one. Thank you for being my perfect second chance, and for allowing me to bring my sweet Tony with me into our marriage and for always respecting his place in my heart. I was doing fine before we met, but since then, I’ve discovered there’s a lot of joy to be found between fine and truly happy. I love you so much, and I always will.”

  Carmen reaches up to wipe the tears from his face as the rest of us battle our own tears.

  I’m standing next to Carmen with Dee to my right and Carmen and Jason’s friend Betty, who was there the day they met, on the other side of Dee. Tony’s parents are seated in the front row with Carmen’s parents, Nona and Abuela, which is such a sweet way to honor them. Jason’s brother, Ben, is his best man, and two of his friends from medical school are groomsmen.

  Jason takes her hand and kisses it. “I was at the lowest point in my life when I met you, and after a few hours with you, I felt better than I had in weeks. That’s how quickly you changed my life. It happened in one day. And every day since then has been like something out of a dream as it just got better and better. I love you, I love the way you love Tony and his family, I love the way you love everyone who matters to you, and I feel spectacularly lucky to be loved by you. I can’t wait to spend forever with you, my sweet Rizo, mi amor.”

  Rizo means curly in Spanish, which is his perfect nickname for her.

  Hours later, after we’ve taken a million pictures and enjoyed the delicious meal of tenderloin and lobster tail with a variety of Italian and Cuban side dishes, it’s time for the speeches. Dee and I flipped a coin, and I lost, so I get to give the maid of honor speech for both of us. Not that we aren’t both happy to do it. It’s just that public speaking makes us nervous.

  “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Carmen’s cousin Maria. My sister, Dee, and I are her maids of honor, but don’t worry, you’re only going to hear from one of us.”

  “Thank God for that,” Nico says, as only a brother can.

  “Shut up, Nico.”

  Everyone laughs and claps because no one deserves to be put in his place more than my brother does.

  “This has been such an amazing day of celebration, and, Carmen, you have to know how much it means to all of us to see you happy and smiling and in love with such a great guy. I have no doubt at all that Tony is here with us today and that he loves Jason as much as you do, as much as all of us do. Jason, you showed me your heart early on, when you came to work at the clinic and then kept coming back long after we could do anything to help you. I know I don’t have to tell you how much Carmen means to all of us, so please take good care of each other and give us lots of babies to love.” I raise my glass to them. “To Carmen and Jason, may you have a long and happy life together full of love and all good things. We love you both.”

  Carmen and Jason dance to “Unchained Melody,” and I cry my eyes out watching them as the lyrics about “God speed your love to me” touch my heart with their poignancy. I have to believe that God and Tony and lots of prayers and tons of love delivered Carmen to her happily ever after with Jason. After that, my maid of honor duties are finished, and I’m ready to dance with my sexy man, who’s sexier than usual today in a gray suit.

  He’s removed the suit coat, and I run my hands over the vest he’s left on. It’s a good look on him, but a brown bag would look good on him.

  “Sexiest bridesmaid I’ve ever seen,” he whispers in my ear. “That dress is fire.”

  “This old thing?” The rich, navy silk leaves little to the imagination.

  “I have to keep reminding myself I’m not allowed to let my hands go anywhere they want.”

  “Not yet. But later, they can.”

  “And they will.” He holds me as close as he can get me, and it’s not enough. “Everything about this day was perfect, especially you in that dress. I almost swallowed my tongue when you came down the aisle.”

  “Don’t do that! It’s one of my favorite parts of you.”

  “What are some of your other favorite parts?”

  Though we’re surrounded by people, I feel like we’re in our own bubble. “Your lips, eyes, smile… Your hands… Your heart.”

  “How long do we have to stay?”

  “Awhile. I’m the maid of honor.”

  He presses his erection against me. “Don’t forget this part.”

  “As if I ever could.”

  We dance all night, and I can tell I impress him with my moves on the dance floor, especially when Dee, Carmen, my brothers and cousins join me, and we bust loose the way we always do when we’re together. Austin takes a step back and watches me move, and I put on a show just for him.

  I’m wiping sweat from my face when Carmen takes the microphone from the DJ. “Hope everyone is having a great time!”

  We applaud and cheer for the bride, who’s positively glowing.

  “So I’m not the only one around here with big news this week. My sweet cousin Maria got engaged!”

  While the guests applaud, I can’t believe what I’m seeing when Everly comes walking toward me, wearing a pretty party dress, her hair up and tied with a bow. I bend to hug her and pick her up as I catch Austin’s smiling parents looking on. What is happening?

  She hugs me tightly with her chubby arms around my neck.

  “You look so pretty, pumpkin.”

  “Rie! Pretty!”

  “Yes, you are,” I say, laughing. “What’re you doing here?”

  “Maria thought she could keep this big news a secret until after my wedding,” Carmen says, “but we all know how secrets work in this family.”

  I turn to find Austin and gasp to realize he’s down o
n one knee and now holding the microphone. “Beautiful Maria… With Carmen’s help, I had this all planned and everything I wanted to say to you memorized. But now that the moment is here, and you’re holding my little girl, whose life you saved before you saved mine, all I know is that I want you in our lives forever. Everly and I love you so much. Will you please marry us?”

  He produces a velvet box with a sparkling diamond ring inside.

  “Rie! Marry!”

  I’m laughing and crying and nodding. “Yes, I’ll marry you guys.”

  The place goes wild as Austin stands to hug us both before pulling back to kiss me and slide the ring on my left hand. “Now it’s official.”

  AUSTIN

  Carmen’s idea was perfect. Just about everyone we love was there to see our big moment. My mom took video for my brothers, who sent their congrats. They can’t wait to meet Maria, and I can’t wait for that, either. They’re going to love her as much as I do.

  We introduce my parents to the rest of Maria’s family and let Everly stay for a bit to dance with us before sending her home to bed.

  Maria’s Nona invited them to join the family for brunch tomorrow, which I suspect is going to be part of our weekly routine while we’re in Miami. That’s fine with me. I love being around Maria’s family.

  After we finally leave the wedding, I ignore everything other than my beautiful fiancée and the private after-party I’ve planned for us.

  “Where are we going?” she asks as we head north on I-95.

  I quit drinking hours ago so I’d be able to drive. “You’ll see soon enough, my love.” I reach for her hand and bring it to my lips, placing a kiss right below her new ring. “The ring is good?”

  She snorts out a laugh. “Ah, yeah, Austin, the ring is ‘good.’”

  I might’ve gone a little overboard with a nearly three-carat square-cut diamond surrounded by other smaller diamonds. “Is it too much?”

  “Probably, but I love it anyway. Thank you for pulling off such a great surprise.”

  “It was all Carmen’s idea. She wanted to celebrate you.”

  “I love her so much. Seeing her happy like she was today is the best thing after everything she’s been through.”