My Mr. Manny (20 page)

“Yes, baby, we’ll talk tonight. I love you.”

A smile was brought to my face. “I love you, too. And, Dominic . . .”

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Thank you.”

~*~*~

Winter in Los Angeles was cold for us locals, but according to people like my mother and Dominic’s parents, it was a reprieve from their typical, bitter winter. I had become so accustomed to California temperatures that I froze at night when the sun went down and the breeze from the ocean cooled the air. During the day, it was warm enough for a light jacket or sweatshirt and our East Coast guests loved it.

My nerves were calm by the time I got home for dinner, and that surprised me. Looking around the house, I noticed it looked empty. I wondered where everyone was so I called out, “Dominic?”

“In here,” he said, his voice coming from the direction of our bedroom.

Throwing my purse and keys on the bar, I ran toward my solace. I found him sprinkling rose petals on the floor around the bed. The glow from candlelight cast shadows on the walls, and the dozens of roses placed on every surface looked almost black in the darkness. The curtains were closed to block out the light of the moon. Our room had been transformed into a romantic love nest. Looking at Dominic, I saw the blush filling his cheeks.

“Hey,” I whispered. I was shocked that he had gone through all this trouble for me, and I had no idea why.

“Hey,” he replied.

“What is all of this?”

When he stretched his arms out to me, I walked right into them. He embraced me tightly, showing me that I could count on him always to comfort me when my thoughts and fears got the best of me.

“It’s for you — for us.” He kissed the top of my head. “Everyone is gone for the night. My parents have Lucia, and your mom is staying the night with Vitto. But before we start the night, we need to talk. Let’s go out to the living room.” He pulled back and gestured toward the door.

“Give me a minute? I’d like to change first,” I said.

I quickly changed into a sweat suit and my fuzzy Ugg slippers and met Dominic on the sofa. Sitting sideways with my back against the armrest, I laid my legs over his. We were closer this way, and my position allowed me to see his face.

Dominic rubbed soothing circuits from my thighs down to my feet. “So, tell me about Alex’s call,” he said, his voice steady and calm.

I took a deep, cleansing breath and gathered my thoughts; I had been considering it all day.

“Well, I’m torn. I mean, I’ve known his mother my whole life, and I hate to feel like I’m being cruel. But I think the logical thing to do is go with my gut, and my gut says they really have no right to request anything from us. I don’t want to confuse Lucia more than she may be already. She doesn’t even know his parents because she’s only seen them a handful of times, and that was when she was a baby. So no, I don’t think I want to disrupt our family at all. Alex should have thought about all of this before he just walked away without a second glance in my daughter’s direction. And I’m not being spiteful,” I continued.

“Good. I agree because I want to do what’s best for Lucia. I’m not concerned with anyone else’s feelings.” Dominic kissed my forehead. “So, do you feel okay about telling him no? I mean, since we agree?”

I caressed his cheek while gazing into his beautiful, caring eyes. “I do, and thank you for being here for me — for us.” I leaned in and touched my lips to his. “I love you,” I mumbled against his mouth, and then kissed him with all my love.

Dominic placed one arm under my legs and the other around my waist and stood. He walked us to our room so we could enjoy the romantic atmosphere he had set up for us.

We spent the next few hours expressing our love for one another.

Chapter 27

Stone Skipping

Seven glorious months later, Dominic and I found ourselves in Hawaii for our long overdue honeymoon. It felt so strange to be away without Lucia, but time alone couldn’t have been more welcome. Vitto and Susan had begged to take her to New York for part of their vacation so she could visit Dominic’s parents, Lori, and Chris. We thought it was a perfect idea. Lucia’s excitement over flying for the first time was palpable, and Dominic and I were sorry we’d miss it. We all promised to talk on the phone or Skype daily so Lucia wouldn’t get too homesick.

I’d booked us at the Moana Surfrider Resort in Waikiki. The pictures on the website did not do it justice. The grand hotel stood like a palatial plantation home right on the beach. A row of rocking chairs followed the front lanai. The entry into the foyer was lined with columns all the way to the front desk. Candle lanterns hung from the ceiling of the lobby, and the whole setting brought tears to my eyes. I had never seen a plantation-style home in person, and somehow I felt so welcome in that hotel. Beyond the definition of beauty, the hotel also had a lot of history. In 1901, it became the first large hotel in Waikiki, and soon after, became a hangout for the Olympic gold medalist in swimming, Duke Kahanamoku. Restored to its original look, the hotel was an amazing sight.

“Baby, look at this amazing hotel. God, I’d love a house in this style,” I said.

“It is really nice, honey, but I don’t think California has too many houses in plantation style.”

“I know,” I groaned.

After we checked in, we found ourselves in the tower suite, where we got ready to hit the beach. Our room was lavish with a bed that was bigger than king size. Stepping down from the bedroom area, there was a living room with sofas, a table, and chairs. Looking out the sliding glass doors, I saw a big lanai with two lounge chairs for sunning. The view of the blond sand and the vast blue ocean stretched out before us. Tall, thin palm trees swayed in the light ocean breeze, and the scent of flowers blew back at us.

Dominic stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist while we gazed out at the beautiful view.

“I’m so happy to be here with you,” I said, looking up at him.

He smiled down at me with his gorgeous mouth and sparkling green eyes. “There’s no one else in this world I’d rather be with than you, so wherever you go, I’ll always follow.” He bent down and kissed me.

We spent a few more moments appreciating the view, and then Dominic decided he wanted to shower so we could go out and explore the beach. While he was in the bathroom, I leaned against the railing of the balcony and thought about what had happened in the past seven months since our wedding.

Both of our families had worked hard to stay close, even though many of us lived far from each other. I spoke with Lori and Chris most often, and they had even come to visit a couple of times on long weekends. My relationship with Dominic’s parents had grown, as well. I spoke with them a few times a week and had come to care for Emma so much. The love she had for her boys made me respect her even more. She wanted them to be happy, and it showed in everything she did. Thinking back even further, I knew that when I had overheard her conversation with Dominic in our living room, it was her way of ensuring he knew what he was doing. Emma wanted to know he was thinking not only with his heart but also with his head. She looked out for her boy, and when he’d confessed his love for Lucia and me, she knew he meant it and had thought it out. From that moment on, she had been on board.

Vitto and Susan had become a very serious couple. My crazy, fun-loving, silly cousin had finally settled down. He’d found a woman who could handle his loud, boisterous, Italian mouth, and one who loved him despite all his immature flaws. He had grown so much with her. Vitto had always been a very intelligent man, but he was not always sensible; Susan had helped him be both. When he asked her to move in with him, she made him move in with her instead. He didn’t care; he just wanted to be with her. I had a feeling that, before the year was over, he’d ask her to marry him.

Dominic, as promised, started his own accounting business with the intention of keeping it low key. Starting with just a few select clients, his skills became known to a few bigger businesses that soon fought for his services. He tried in vain to keep it small, but he ended up with more than a handful of customers. The bigger companies had employees inputting all of the expenses into a bookkeeping program, while Dominic just reconciled everything and checked over their calculations. His work was not overly time-consuming—he still spent plenty of time with Lucia and me—and they paid well for his services. The smaller companies paid Dominic to do everything they needed, and he was able to accomplish it all from our dining room table. The amazing part was, he managed to work while Lucia was in school and still had dinner on the table most nights by the time I got home. With Lucia on summer vacation, he’d work a few hours every day and set Lucia up next to him with her own busy work. She’d read a book or work on some workbooks he’d bought to prepare her for her next year of school. He truly was the best man I had ever known. No one could ever understand my gratefulness for meeting him and the hoops he went through to keep us happy.

When Alex had called and begged us to allow his mother to see Lucia, it was a difficult time for me. I didn’t want to seem like an unreasonable person, but my feelings weren’t important. All that mattered was what was best for Lucia, and allowing her to become acquainted with people who didn’t know her was not a good decision. A short time after that, the paperwork we’d filed for Lucia’s legal adoption was finalized. Dominic made another adoption certificate on the computer for Lucia because she’d adopted him, too, and they both hung up their certificates with pride. My heart swelled at the thought of them choosing each other—something so much more special than loving someone just because you were supposed to.

We had also been trying in vain to make a baby, but much to our disappointment, nothing had happened yet. At first we made love to show how much we felt about each other, but then when I wasn’t getting pregnant, we began making love just to try and conceive. It still hadn’t worked. My heart ached at the thought of not being able to give Dominic this one thing he wanted so much. If my period was late for even a day, my hopes would soar, only to be crushed again, month after month. I had heard from many people that when you actually
tried
to make a baby it was almost impossible, but when you just let go it would happen. So, without giving it too much thought, we hoped this vacation would relax me enough to let go.

“Babe,” whispered Dominic from behind me. I jumped a mile. I’d been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn’t heard him come up behind me. He laughed at my startled expression. “You okay, there?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking,” I answered.

He kissed the side of face and pulled me into a hug. His clean scent filled my nose and warmed my heart.

“I love you,” I mumbled into his chest.

“I love you, too, babe. Why don’t you go and get ready so we can enjoy the sun on the beach, okay?”

I nodded, and with a gentle shove from Dominic, I was on my way.

~*~*~

Before jumping in the shower, I tied up my hair. It felt good to rinse away the recycled air from the airplane. I always felt so gross after flying. Since I knew that dirty airplane air was in my hair as well, I decided wash it after the beach. Cleaning it too many times in one day would damage it. I threw on a cute bikini, a pair of shorts, a tank top, and my favorite pair of flip-flops. Then, to avoid sun damage, I put some moisturizer and a strong sunscreen on my face.

“Dominic, I’m ready,” I yelled when I walked out of the bathroom. I found him on the lanai, sitting on one of the lounge chairs.

With a few towels and a bag packed with sunscreen and books, we headed down to the beach behind the hotel. People were spread out all over the sand, some under umbrellas or soaking up the sun’s rays, and others doing all sorts of water activities. The sand was hot under my feet, and the sun wrapped me in a warm cocoon. We opted for a spot with an umbrella for a small fee. To the left, Diamond Head volcano sat, protruding out into the ocean, and to the right, the beach stretched on for miles. Once we were lying down on the lounge chairs, Dominic reached for my hand. We read while holding hands, stopping every once in a while to comment on something. It was easy to distinguish the professional surfers from the newbies receiving lessons. Surfing looked like a lot of fun, perhaps something for us to try together. We discussed things we’d want to do during the coming two weeks. I wanted to climb Diamond Head, and Dominic wanted to get Matsumoto’s famous shaved ice in the North Shore. The hotel put on a huge luau every night with dinner service, which we were excited to attend, and I also wanted us to do couples massages. Of course, some days we didn’t have to plan anything.

A few hours of sun did us good, but soon we were starving. Dominic suggested we go back up to shower and get ready for a nice dinner somewhere. Walking through the lobby, he stopped to speak with the concierge, who suggested a restaurant with French cuisine, Michel’s, a short drive away. We rushed upstairs and pulled out our dressy clothes. I wore a linen blue dress, and Dominic wore a Hawaiian shirt with embroidered hibiscus flowers in the same shade of blue.

The restaurant was beautiful, set right on the beach near Diamond Head. They had outdoor seating surrounded by billowing palm trees and a perfect view of the sunset. The sky turned different shades of purple, orange, and pink that reflected on the ocean. The lights from the restaurant lit the greenery that framed the balcony, and shadows played on the sand that looked as dark as dirt. We were engulfed in the most romantic setting. Sitting at a small table for two next to the railing, we had the ideal view of it all.

The menu, which was full of decadent choices, made my mouth water. The decision to choose between
cioppino
and blackened ahi seemed too difficult to make, but eventually I decided on the former. Dominic ordered the New York steak with a bottle of white wine. We held hands over the table, made goo-goo eyes at each other, and whispered sweet nothings all throughout dinner. I was sure we looked either adorable or sickeningly sweet to onlookers; I loved every minute of it.