Morris, Stephanie - Unfinished Business [Indulgence 3] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Stephanie Morris

  Tierra reached over and squeezed Daníella’s hand. “I don’t mean to be a downer. I just care a lot about you and Carlo.”

  “I know. We are lucky and grateful, just as much as Amalía is. She is going to be so surprised when she sees what everyone has done. I’m so glad Hayden has the most difficult part of this task.”

  “What would that be?” Tierra asked.

  “Keeping Amalía busy and distracted.”

  “You have a good point.”

  Daníella released a pent up breath. “I can only imagine what creative excuse Hayden came up with to keep Amalía away from breakfast this morning.”

  Tierra gave her a smug look. “Probably the same one I used. Antonio and I miss breakfast once a week because of it.”

  Daníella laughed as she caught onto what Tierra was referring to. “I’m sure it is a very persuasive method.”

  “Yes, and it should ensure that Amalía will show up with a smile on her face.”

  Daníella sighed. “If for some strange reason it doesn’t, we have this as a backup plan.”

  “Not a chance of that happening. The backup plan is just the icing on the cake.”

  Tierra put the key into the ignition and started the car before pulling out with the traffic.

  “So how are your parents?” Daníella asked.

  “They are fine, just ready to come back to Rome for another visit.”

  “Since you and Hayden are both here, they might as well move here.”

  Tierra nodded. “I agree, so does Hayden, Amalía, and Antonio. All of us have been working on persuading them to do so.”

  “And how is married life treating you?”

  The smile that appeared on Tierra’s face said it all. “It’s going very well. Sometimes it’s hard to believe, and then I look down at my left hand and I know it is very real.”

  Daníella smiled even as a pang of jealousy traveled through her. “I can remember the feeling myself.”

  Tierra laughed. “You should since you’re still there.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Tierra shrugged. “You just seem to be a lot happier now than you were with Ignacio.”

  Daníella groaned at the mention of his name. “I am. Although I would be a lot happier if I never hear his name again.”

  Tierra shook her head. “I think you should hear his name at least once a day to remind you not to be so stubborn next time.”

  Daníella rolled her eyes. “What are we going to do to remind Carlo to keep him from being so stubborn?”

  “Simple. We will remind him of what life was like without you.”

  Daníella laughed. “I’m not sure it will be enough motivation.”

  Tierra gave her a sharp look. “Trust me, it will be.”

  The rest of their ride was in silence, but it didn’t matter. Both she and Tierra were both thinking about things needing to be completed for Amalía’s party to go off without any problems.

  When they walked into the house, it was obvious Mona was in the kitchen. Heavenly smells were coming from the kitchen. Smells that made Daníella’s stomach grumble even though she and Tierra had grabbed a quick lunch.

  Mona greeted them excitedly. “Sophia and Talía just called to say they were on their way.”

  Tierra kissed Mona on the cheek while hugging her. “Buon. It will make putting up the decorations quicker, and then we can help you finish up dinner.”

  “That’s fine. You girls go do whatever it is you need to. I’m fine right now.”

  Daníella followed Tierra to the car. They grabbed all of the bags before heading back into the house.

  Sophia and Talía arrived a short while later, carrying their own load of bags. Talía took over balloon duty. Tierra took over the duty of hanging streamers. It left her and Sophia with tablecloth and place setting duty. Daníella didn’t mind. Once all of the decorations had been put up, they all piled into the kitchen. By the time everything was finished, they had less than an hour to get ready. Daníella smiled when she saw Sophia’s outfit.

  “I like it.”

  Sophia smiled in response to the compliment. “Thank you. Tierra helped me pick it out. Now I’m trying to figure out what to do with my hair.”

  Sophia had a gorgeous, curly, black mane that fell a few inches below her shoulders. It was clipped back out of her face in a semi-ponytail. Normally, Sophia wore it pulled completely back into a ponytail.

  “How about you wear it down?”

  Sophia shook her head. “Then it will be in the way.”

  Daníella tilted her head to the side. “Not if you clip it back on the sides.”

  Sophia slowly agreed to the experiment. “Okay, we can try it.”

  “Good. Talía, do you have any hair clips?”

  Talía rummaged around in her bag before handing a few over. Sophia took a seat, and Daníella began the job of styling her friend’s hair. Daníella slid the clips into place before surveying her work.

  “It looks good.”

  Sophia turned to look in the mirror before smiling. “I like it. Grazie, Daníella.”

  “You’re welcome and anytime.”

  Tierra came rushing breathlessly into the room. “Is everyone ready? We have about five—maybe ten minutes—before Amalía and Hayden arrive.”

  Tierra paused when she saw Sophia. “You look great.”

  Daníella looked up in concern, realizing they were in a time crunch. “Are the guys here?”

  Tierra nodded. “They are downstairs pacing like caged animals because Mona won’t let them touch the food.”

  Talía frowned. “It is amazing those guys are not fat.”

  Sophia scowled. “Actually, it is amazing we aren’t fat.”

  Daníella nudged Sophia playfully. “Hey! Speak for yourself.”

  Everyone took one last look at their reflections in the mirror before heading downstairs. The feelings that raced through her every time she laid eyes on Carlo never failed to amaze her. There were times when it felt like every time she saw him, it was if they were meeting for the first time. Daníella’s eyes never left him even as he headed in her direction. She smiled as he pulled her into his arms before placing a kiss on her lips, leaving her breathless and without doubt of his desire for her.

  “You must have missed me today.”

  He nodded. “I always miss you when we aren’t together.”

  Tierra interrupted her response. “All right, everyone, Hayden and Amalía just pulled up. Everyone take your places.”

  Daníella allowed Carlo to pull her to a private area, hiding them from the view of the front door. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face when the front door swung open, signaling Amalía and Hayden had entered the house. She jumped out and yelled “surprise” with everyone else. The look on Amalía’s face was priceless. Amalía took in all of the decorations and party preparations made in her honor.

  “Thank you. I can’t believe you did all of this.”

  Daníella walked forward to hug her friend. “You are more than welcome, but you should thank Hayden. Not only was this his idea, he funded all of it.”

  Amalía turned and looked at Hayden, who only smiled in response. Nothing else needed to be said.

  Daníella was well aware that Amalía and Hayden were having a little trouble in the area of their living arrangement. It was mainly on Amalía’s end. She wanted Hayden to move in with her, but he wouldn’t. Hayden’s logic was rational, and Daníella had a feeling Amalía was more upset at Hayden telling her no. No wasn’t a word Amalía was used to hearing, but Hayden was brave enough to say it.

  “Well, let’s not stand here and chat all evening. We have a party to get underway.”

  Amalía was led to the dining room where more decorations were arranged. Everyone took their respective seats, and food became free flowing. Daníella allowed Carlo to serve her Ribollita before digging in. Tonight’s menu was a compilation of Amalía’s favorite foods. The seafood crespelle was the next course to be serve
d. Amalía’s face lit up again once she realized her birthday cake was Zuccotto.

  Everyone joined into to sing happy birthday, and Amalía blew all of the candles out on the first try. Zuccotto was passed around the table. Amalía shook her head as she looked at everyone around the table.

  “I can’t believe all of you put this together for me.”

  Hayden leaned over and gave Amalía a kiss on the lips. “You deserve it.”

  Mona cleared her throat before standing up. “Hayden’s right, but this celebration is not over yet. We still have presents for you to open.”

  That detail excited Amalía, and after everyone finished their dessert, the table was cleared and the presents were brought in. Amalía opened her gifts one by one, thanking everyone for each gift. After she opened the last one, she thanked everyone again, but Hayden interrupted her.

  “You didn’t open my gift.”

  Amalía looked at the clear table in puzzlement. “There isn’t anything else on the table.”

  “Are you sure?”

  While she was busy searching for the unopened present, Hayden stood up. She continued to look for it, not realizing Hayden was going down on one knee.

  “Amalía.”

  Amalía was still frowning. “I still don’t see it.”

  “Amalía, the present isn’t on the table.”

  “Then where is—”

  Daníella smiled when Amalía finally noticed Hayden was on his knee holding a jewelry box only large enough for a ring to fit in. Hayden flipped the lid open, and a gasp escaped from Amalía. A gold diamond engagement ring sat nestled in the box. Most importantly, Daníella knew it was the ring Amalía wanted.

  Hayden smiled as he began to speak. “A few weeks ago, I started thinking about how I could make your birthday perfect. I could think of nothing better than to give you what we both want.”

  Daníella had to fight back tears when Hayden reached for Amalía’s hand.

  “You have seduced me mind, body, and soul. I am yours forever, and nothing would give me more pleasure than to have you honor me by becoming my wife.”

  Daníella laughed through her tears as Amalía launched herself into Hayden’s arms, almost throwing him off-balance.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you,” Amalía blurted out before proceeding to kiss Hayden eagerly. Hayden pulled back long enough to put the ring on Amalía’s finger, and cheers went up around the room.

  Daníella was excited for both Hayden and Amalía. This was a surprise she hadn’t expected. From what she knew, no one had. Still, she was happy for her friend. Daníella could remember how excited she had been when Carlo had proposed to her. He’d done it in private, but it had been exactly what she wanted. She looked over at Carlo and wondered if he would consider proposing to her again. More importantly, was she ready to say yes if he did?

  Chapter Eleven

  “So have you told Carlo you are in love with him?”

  Daníella struggled to keep the water she just taken a sip of down. The impulsive reaction immediately caused her to choke. Silvana stood up and began to pat her on the back. Nikkía only looked at Daníella as if she were the one who’d lost her mind.

  “So we can take that as a no?” Nikkía responded.

  “Are you okay?” Silvana asked.

  Once Daníella was able to get her coughing and choking under control, she glared at her sisters.

  “Do I look like I’m okay?”

  To Daníella’s irritation, Nikkía nodded. “You look fine to me. Just seems like you are trying to avoid the question to me.”

  Daníella pinned her sisters with a heated stare. “I’m not trying to avoid the question. I’m trying to avoid the two of you.”

  “Now, Dani, that isn’t nice.”

  “With the two of you around, how could I be? I can’t understand why the two of you are so nosey.”

  Silvana shrugged. “It’s hereditary.”

  Daníella felt her mouth nearly hit the ground with shock. “Silvana, I can’t believe you would make up such a blatant lie.”

  “So you have forgotten about Aunt Enea?” Silvana retorted.

  Daníella shook her head. “I think I’m going to move to another country.”

  Nikkía laughed. “Then you would be away from Carlo.”

  “Who says he wouldn’t come with me? Better yet, we would probably get Mom and Dad to come with us.”

  She had the satisfaction of seeing Nikkía’s mouth drop open.

  “You wouldn’t do that to us,” Nikkía stated.

  Daníella shrugged her shoulders. “I would if it would give Mom and Dad peace of mind from the two of you.”

  “I can’t believe you would go so far to avoid our question.”

  She scowled at Silvana. “I think you mean questions. It’s sad you ask so many that you forget what—or I should say how—many you ask.”

  Nikkía and Silvana looked at each other and smiled. “She still hasn’t answered our question, which means she hasn’t told him.”

  Daníella sighed in exasperation at her sisters. “The two of you are such mindless creatures. I’m going home for the day.”

  She stood up and gathered her bag and purse before walking into her parents’ office. “Mom, Dad, I’m leaving for the day.”

  Her mother looked up and smiled sympathetically. “Are your sisters bothering you?”

  She gave her mother an irritated look. “They bother me every day. Today they are getting on my nerves.”

  Her father walked over to give her a hug. “They only do it because they know it bothers you.”

  “That may be, Dad, but I can only ignore them to a certain extent.”

  Her father rubbed her arms soothingly. “Just go home and try to relax.”

  She gave her parents a grateful smile. “I will. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I will see you tomorrow.”

  Daníella left as quickly as possible, walking by her sisters so quickly they probably thought she was a figment of their imagination. She headed straight home and collapsed onto her couch. Just being in the quietness of her apartment was calming to her nerves. Her thoughts automatically went to Carlo. It had been two days since she’d seen him. Due to their conflicting schedules lately, she hadn’t seen him since the night of Amalía’s birthday party. The benefit was it gave her time to think about where she and Carlo were headed with their relationship. Yes, they had just rekindled their passion, but she was starting to realize it had never fizzled.

  Daníella knew without a doubt she was in love with Carlo. The truth was she had never stopped loving him, so it had never been in question. She was pretty certain Carlo was still in love with her as well. However, the entire situation was mentally exhausting at times. She wasn’t always sure which direction to go in with Carlo, especially when a good relationship between them fell apart for a reason she still wasn’t too sure of.

  She and Carlo hadn’t sat down to talk about the facts had led up to their separation, and it bothered her. She knew their relationship would only go so far if they didn’t. They only issue was trying to figure out how to approach the subject. Daníella knew Carlo didn’t do anything without good reason, and that scared her.

  * * * *

  “Don’t you have some work to do?”

  Carlo opened one of his eyes to look at Giovanni. He smiled when he saw the scowl on his younger brother’s face.

  “You seem upset today, little brother. Have you talked to Sophia today?”

  Giovanni’s response was foul and vulgar. Carlo opened both of his eyes, and his smiled widened.

  “What? Has she come to her senses and gotten over you?”

  Giovanni’s frown deepened. “For the last time, Sophia and I are only friends.”

  Carlo laughed. “So she has come to her senses?”

  His statement earned him a hard look from Giovanni. “It’s only a matter of time before Daníella comes to hers.”

  Carlo laughed. “She already has. That is why she took me back, but I will admit it w
asn’t easy.”

  “You just got lucky,” Giovanni responded with a shake of his head.

  Carlo shrugged in response. “You may be right, but I will take lucky for as long as I can get it because lucky keeps me from being lonely and grumpy.”

  Giovanni mumbled something unintelligible before turning on his heel and walking away.

  Carlo closed his eyes again only to reopen them as soon as he heard his sister’s voice.

  “What’s wrong, Carlo? Daníella didn’t let you get any sleep last night?”

  He smiled. “I wish that was the reason I’m so exhausted.”

  Amalía gave him a sympathetic look. “Was it that bad?”

  He nodded because it had been. Last night he’d been awakened out of a good sleep to go into the hotel to deal with paparazzi.

  The infamous photographers had decided to camp outside the hotel to catch a glimpse of a movie star who wasn’t even checked into their hotel. He had been close to calling in the police to help assist the on-site security team when a call had gone out to the group, telling them another star had been spotted. The paparazzi cleared out quickly. He’d gone home only to catch a few more hours of sleep before dragging himself back into work.

  “Yeah, it was, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

  “You look tired. I can cover for you if you need me to.”

  Carlo shook his head appreciative of his sister’s concern. “I will be okay for now, but thank you for the offer.”

  Amalía nodded before leaving his office. He hadn’t seen his sister so happy in a while. She had been glowing since Hayden had proposed to her. Carlo was glad his sister had found a guy like Hayden.

  Hayden was good to his sister. She deserved to have a good guy like Hayden in her life. His thought automatically went to Daníella. Even though he hadn’t seen her in the last forty-eight hours, he’d talked to her. Hearing her voice was enough when he couldn’t see her. He cared a lot about Daníella. Was even willing to say old feelings were coming back to the surface, feelings that had never really gone away, he just tamped them down. A yawn escaped him, and he shook his head. Reaching for the phone, he placed a call for a cup of black coffee. He needed it to get through the last two hours of work. The coffee arrived quickly, and Carlo accepted it gratefully. The first sip of coffee gave him the slight jolt he needed. His thoughts went back to Daníella. Carlo tried to imagine what the rest of his day would be like if he hadn’t screwed things up with her.