by Juanita Kees
Chapter 20
Peta tucked the covers around Bella and kissed her forehead. In the two weeks since they’d returned to Perth, life with Jaime was everything she’d dreamed about. The bond between him and his daughter grew stronger every day. Sometimes the resemblance between them, the connection they had, took her breath away.
‘Good night, sweetheart.’
‘Night.’ Bella snuggled down and pulled the covers up to her chin. ‘Mum?’
‘Yes?’ Peta smiled and smoothed her daughter’s hair back from her face. Sleepy like this, she could see so much of Jaime in her features.
‘When can I meet my nonna and nonno?’
‘Soon, I promise.’
The last hurdle they still had to conquer. Seeing Jaime’s parents again. Reliving the events of the past, and dealing with the fallout of the last time they’d tried. Hopefully this time there’d be no unpleasant surprises.
‘Will you ask my dad when?’
‘I will, sweetheart. But remember Dad is very busy at work at the moment.’
The company’s transition from Williams to Perth had begun. As his new job demanded his attention, Peta watched and waited on edge in case Jaime became bored with them. Waiting for that moment when he’d decide this wasn’t what he wanted.
Peta sighed. The longer they delayed it, the harder it would be to face the demons of their past. For Bella’s sake, they couldn’t put it off any longer. Time was limited as Jaime’s dad’s illness progressed. She owed it to him to let him spend what was left of that time with the grandchild he’d missed seeing grow up.
Surely their relationship was strong enough to cope with any obstacles now. Together they could overcome the doubt, prove that this time they were in it for the long haul and nothing or no one could come between them again.
‘We’ll see. You go to sleep now, okay?’ Peta turned off the light next to her bed. No need for one anymore now that the memories of what had happened in Williams were fading, replaced by the happiness and balance of family she’d always wanted for her daughter. She just had to make it last a lifetime. ‘Love you.’
‘Love you too, Mum.’
Peta smiled and pulled the door closed, walking down the hallway to the lounge. Yes, the time had come to cross that last bridge, to take this to the next level. She wanted to wake up to Jaime’s head on the pillow next to hers every morning and know they belonged together.
On the sofa, Jaime sat with his legs stretched out, feet crossed at the ankles, arms hugging his chest. His leg had healed well, the bullet now a memory etched into his skin in a red puckered scar that would fade over time. Like the bad memories that too would fade.
‘Jaime, don’t you think it’s time?’ Peta sat, curling her legs up under her and leaning against him.
He stretched his arms up then hugged her closer, pulling her snugly in the comfort of his hold. ‘Time for what?’
‘To settle things with your parents.’
Jaime looked at her, doubt clouding his eyes. ‘It’s too soon.’
‘What are you scared of, Jaime? I don’t think I’ll be comfortable as long as the past hangs over our heads. It’s time to take that next step, Jaime.’ She ran a hand down his cheek, following the groove that became deeper as he clenched his jaw.
‘Everything’s going so well, Peta. I’m too scared to spoil it.’
His honesty touched her heart. ‘I’m scared too, but there’s no point delaying it any longer. Now is a good time for it. Bella has settled well and the two of you are getting along so well. We need to get that last obstacle out of the way, the last one to stand between us.’ Peta kissed the spot where his jaw knotted.
Jaime sighed. ‘I know you’re right, but …’
‘They won’t scare me away. I’m a lot tougher than I was ten years ago. I think we’re ready.’ She filled her tone with confidence, even though her mind still harboured some doubt. Only after they’d confronted his parents could they truly move on.
‘Okay,’ he agreed finally. ‘We’ll go over there tomorrow morning. I have to see Dad about finalising their move to Perth and putting the house up for sale. But after that, will you marry me, make this official?’
Peta nibbled his ear. ‘One step at a time,’ she whispered.
‘Then you’d better stop what you’re doing or we’ll be taking a leap rather than a step,’ he replied, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he turned his head and caught her lips, kissing her very thoroughly. ‘Now behave, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.’ He pulled her onto his lap and pushed them both to the limit, kissing a path down her neck, across her collarbone to where her cleavage rose above the neckline of her shirt.
She squirmed in his lap, her need for him too great to ignore, then she dragged his head up and kissed him until her head spun and his hands gripped her hips to hold her closer.
‘I don’t want to be responsible anymore,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘I’d like a baby brother or sister for Bella.’
‘I’d like that too.’ Peta kissed a trail across his cheek to his ear. ‘Come to bed with me. Let’s be irresponsible, just this once.’
‘Once won’t be enough.’ He moaned as she nipped his earlobe. ‘We have years of practice to catch up on.’
‘Then stop wasting precious time.’
He cupped her face in his hands, drawing her gaze to his. ‘Are you sure?’
Peta rested her forehead against his. ‘Yes.’
And even though the butterflies somersaulted in her stomach as he lifted her up and carried her to her bedroom, kicking the door closed behind them, she knew exactly what she wanted. Jaime’s brand of love, forever.
As they made the trip from Perth to Williams to his parent’s house, Peta smiled despite her nervousness. It was hard to believe that her life had seemed to begin and end in this small town a lifetime ago. Now they’d arrived at another new beginning again. She prayed with all her heart that this time it would be all right. They pulled up in the driveway with a sense of déjà vu.
Peta eyed Jaime, her eyebrow arched, her gaze wary. ‘Want to check for surprise fiancées before we go in?’ She grinned.
‘Very funny.’ Jaime grimaced. ‘The only one likely to launch herself at me today is my mother, armed with a frying pan because I’ve stayed away this long,’ he joked, but leaned over and hugged her fiercely. ‘Let’s do this.’
Taking a deep breath and letting it out on a sigh, Jaime led them to the front door. ‘Right, here goes …’ He turned the handle and pushed the door open. Turning back to Peta and Bella, he took their hands. Smiling reassuringly, he urged them along the hallway as he called, ‘Mum, Dad?’
His mother bustled out of the kitchen, wiping flour off her hands with a kitchen towel. She burst into a spate of Italian and hugged him, leaving a huge flour imprint on his back. Bella looked at Peta and giggled, pointing to the mark as Jaime wriggled out of his mother’s embrace. He kissed her cheeks and stepped aside to pull Peta and Bella forward.
‘Mum, I think it’s time you met the woman I want to marry. You remember Peta?’
Peta bent forward a little to receive a kiss on both cheeks then returned it. ‘Hello, Mrs Caruso. You’re looking well. It’s been a long time.’
‘Thank you, yes.’ She offered a hesitant smile. ‘And welcome.’
Jaime patted his mother’s shoulder. ‘Mum, this is your granddaughter, Bella, who assures me she speaks fluent Italian.’ He drew Bella to stand between them, his hands on her shoulders. ‘Say hi to Nonna, sweetheart.’
‘Buona sera, Nonna. Come stai?’
Bella stood on tiptoe to kiss her grandmother’s flushed cheeks. Mrs Caruso stood silently for a second, wringing her hands in the kitchen towel, obviously trying to decide what to do next.
‘Well …’ She folded the cloth into a neat square and shoved it into the pocket of her apron. ‘Welcome to the family. Now, Jaime, find your father and take Bella to meet him. He’s having a good day today. Peta and I have a few things t
o discuss.’ She turned away towards the kitchen. ‘Come along, Peta.’
Peta looked at Jaime hesitantly. He kissed her hard. ‘She’ll behave,’ he promised. ‘She knows I mean business.’ To Bella he said, ‘Let’s go and find your nonno.’
Peta watched them go before heading through to the kitchen, her heart in her throat. This had to work. It had to go well. ‘Hmm, smells good,’ she commented as she sniffed at the delicious aromas of fresh homemade bread mixed with baking pasta. ‘That has to be the famous Caruso lasagne.’
Mrs Caruso looked at her in surprise. ‘How do you know?’
Peta smiled. ‘Jaime brought a dish over to Mark’s one day and shared it around. A long time ago.’
‘And you remember this?’ Mrs Caruso laughed. ‘I didn’t know it was that good. I’m surprised he shared it. Normally he would eat a whole dish by himself.’
It was Peta’s turn to smile. ‘He didn’t have a choice that day. Mark practically tackled it out of his hands. Even I had to fight for a share.’
The tension in the room evaporated as they discussed a few favourite recipes until Mrs Caruso placed a cup of tea on the wooden kitchen table in front of Peta. ‘Let’s sit,’ she said. ‘We have a lot to talk about.’
A small shiver of apprehension tickled Peta’s spine. Was this where she got warned off? Were they heading back down the same old path of rejection?
‘Peta,’ she began, ‘I can’t pretend that this is the marriage I wanted for my son.’ She covered Peta’s cold hands with her warm ones. ‘That’s not to say I disapprove. I was a stubborn, misinformed old woman who only wanted what was best for her son. This is something you will only understand when your daughter is making the same choices. I wanted for him what my parents wanted for me—a good, steady marriage, an arranged marriage. That is how I was married. Look how it turned out. Good. I learned to love the man my parents chose for me, but then maybe I was just lucky. He is a good man, like Jaime.’
She stood and collected some cookies from the jar and put them on a plate in front of Peta before continuing. ‘Eat, you’re too skinny. I am sorry for making trouble between you. We thought it was the right thing to do. We wanted him to take over the business when his dad retired. We didn’t think about what he wanted. So he left. If we’d lost him in Afghanistan …’ She sighed. ‘He tried to contact you but I told your mother not to pass on any correspondence. We thought it would be best. But it wasn’t.’
Peta nibbled on a cookie, giving an appreciative moan as chocolate melted on her tongue. She could almost forgive her future mother-in-law. Almost.
Mrs Caruso sighed heavily. ‘When he came back here for the bush dance, he was different, unsettled but happier. Then Maria showed up and said they were engaged, I thought this must be the reason and that it had all worked out after all. But then we found out it was all a lie.’ She shook her head. ‘Jaime was very angry with Maria. I am sorry, Peta. We were blind not to have trusted our son’s own judgement. Please forgive us for the heartache we have caused.’
Peta’s eyes filled with tears as the woman wrung her hands anxiously. ‘Mrs Caruso, people make mistakes. Perhaps it was a good thing you did interfere. I was very young then and very confused about where I was going in life. For Jaime to have married me because I was pregnant would have been a big mistake. Now we know for sure what we want. We want to be together, to be a family.’ They smiled at each other as Peta placed her hands in the older woman’s. ‘I loved Jaime then, but it was puppy love. Now I love him for the man he has become. We can appreciate each other more now.’
Mrs Caruso beamed. ‘Then welcome to the family. No more Mrs Caruso. It will be confusing enough with two of us.’ She stood up and poured them each a sherry. Handing a glass to Peta, she said, ‘To new beginnings and new families.’
They raised their glasses and drank the toast.
‘But now, Jaime tells me you had some trouble of your own. I would very much like you to tell me about it so that I can understand.’
She listened patiently as Peta told her about their ordeal with Paul and how it had all come to an end. When the story was finished, she stood and hugged Peta tightly.
‘You are a very brave girl,’ she said. ‘And now it’s over. Now let’s get these men fed before they help themselves.’ Moving back to the stove, she waved Peta away. ‘Go find your family and bring them in here.’
Peta hugged her before making her way to find Jaime. They met halfway down the corridor.
‘Everything okay?’
She smiled and slipped her arms around him. ‘All sorted.’
Jaime hugged and kissed her hard. ‘Then we have a wedding to plan.’
Peta laughed as she wriggled out of his arms. ‘Food first, I think. Your mother’s gone to a lot of trouble to feed you.’
‘Will you be dessert?’ he asked hopefully.
‘I think your mother’s tiramisu will have to be demolished first, but if you eat all your food … you never know.’ She pressed a kiss to his lips, took a moment to enjoy the taste knowing they’d be there any time she wanted them, forever. ‘Now, get your father and daughter. The lasagne’s getting cold.’
Reluctantly Jaime let her go. ‘Lasagne, tiramisu, family and a beautiful woman—what more could a guy possibly need?’
‘In that order?’
‘Not necessarily.’
Chapter 21
The day of the wedding dawned, sunny and bright. Amidst the chaos of people rushing to fix last minute emergencies, Peta stood in her mother’s guest bedroom wondering if her feet could get any colder.
Last minute doubts fought their way through her mind but she squashed them stubbornly. No, this time there was no turning back. Whatever faced them in the future, they had to deal with it together. They’d made a deal.
She checked her appearance in the mirror, tucked away a few strands that had worked their way loose from the elegant hairstyle that made her look like Audrey Hepburn. The hairdresser had done a great job as had the makeup artist. She hardly recognised the face beneath the carefully arranged hair filled with miniature rosebuds the exact colour of her bouquet.
Mrs Caruso had done a magnificent job with her wedding dress. She smoothed her hand over the Italian lace inserts in the ivory satin dress that tapered at the waist and then flowed out around her in a swirl of softness.
‘You look beautiful, Peta. You will take my son’s breath away.’ Mrs Caruso arranged her veil carefully. ‘Be happy.’
Mindful of not crushing the beautiful flowers, Peta hugged her mother-in-law and then her mother. ‘I will. You need never worry about that.’
Bella came into the room dressed in a replica of her mother’s dress, hers the colour of pink antique roses. Her dark hair had been meticulously curled into ringlets and scooped back with ribbon to match her dress. Peta smiled at her daughter, who had blossomed with the attention she received from her new grandparents and father, the traumatic events that had brought them to this day now a distant memory.
‘You look beautiful, princess,’ Peta said, pride making her eyes sting with tears.
‘So do you,’ replied Bella. ‘We’re going to be so happy together, Mummy.’
Peta hugged her tightly. ‘We sure are. Let’s go make a family. Are you ready?’ She took the little girl’s hand.
Bella nodded eagerly curling her fingers around Peta’s. ‘I’m ready.’
***
At the church, Jaime waited nervously at the altar for his bride. What if she’d changed her mind? He cast a wary look at Harold where he sat in the front pew with Peta’s parents, all muscle-bound and glowering expressions in his suit that looked like it made him itch. No, Harold definitely wasn’t a suit man. He was more the jeans and polo shirt type. And the only thing soft about him was the smiling, curvy woman who sat next to him, her hand stilling the agitated bounce of his leg. Jeannie.
Jaime grinned at him. Harold’s unspoken warnings were wasted today. He wasn’t about to run out on this wedding, so H
arold would have no reason to carry out his threat. His gaze turned back to Mark who fiddled nervously with the collar of his shirt and straightened his bowtie. His friend felt for the rings in his breast pocket for what must have been the hundredth time.
‘You owe me big, mate,’ he said, catching Jaime’s amused grin. ‘If I hadn’t organised this reunion, you wouldn’t be standing here today.’
‘I think we have Paul Price to thank for that, the bastard. But you bet I owe you. Your meddling was my downfall. Not that I mind the fall.’ He adjusted his own collar, which seemed to get a little tighter the faster the minutes ticked over. ‘You’ll get yours one day. Somewhere out there is the right woman for you.’
Mark frowned. ‘Not me, mate. I’m too busy catching bad guys.’
‘Speaking of bad guys …’
‘You never need to worry about Price again. With the statement he’s given us, we’re hot on the heels of his dealers. It’s only a matter of time until we catch them.’ Mark patted his shoulder.
‘As long as my girls are safe.’
‘Safe as houses.’
The organist struck out the first strains of the ‘Bridal March’ and the congregation stood.
‘Here we go,’ said Jaime and turned to watch his bride and their daughter make their way down the aisle towards a promising future. His heart filled with pride at the sight of his beautiful family and he knew there was no place he’d rather be than here, waiting to take Peta’s hand in his. The time for running was over. He had lost time to make up for and he planned to use every moment of the years ahead making them happy.
Peta reached him and he lifted her veil. He had no words for how she made him feel. Whole didn’t seem to be a big enough word to describe it, but she made his heart pound and his knees weak. Without her he was nothing. He’d existed, not lived.
Her eyes met his and in them he saw love, promise, and tears he hoped were happiness. Then she smiled and he wanted to gather her in his arms and kiss her, forget about the audience watching and waiting for them to take their vows. But there’d be plenty of time for that.
