In plain sight of everyone, Jeremy boldly took Jeisa’s left hand in his. Jeisa turned to look at him and lost herself in the emotion she saw in his face. He mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
She whispered back, “Me, too.”
In an act driven by the emotion of the moment, Jeisa turned and put her right hand on her father’s on the table. He looked down at her and some of the anger in his face lessened. He let out a long sigh as if releasing some tension. In a soft voice loud enough for only her father to hear, she said in Portuguese, “I know that you’re angry with me, but try to enjoy today. These are my friends and this is the life I’m hoping to have.”
Her father didn’t say anything, but he rubbed his forehead in the way he often did when he was reconsidering his position on something.
Jeisa turned back to Jeremy and whispered, “I think he’s starting to like you.”
Jeremy coughed doubtfully. His response was more serious than she’d expected. “Maybe not yet, but he will.”
As Victor Andrade’s toast ended, Jeisa whispered to Jeremy again, “Did you see who they sat on his other side?”
Jeremy leaned back in his seat to see, then whispered back, “Your father had better behave.”
Jeisa laughed into her hand. “He will.” Watching her father bend his head to hear Marie better, Jeisa felt proud of the older woman. When she’d received a polite thank-you note for the dress, Jeisa had wondered if Marie would actually wear it. But there she was, looking elegantly sexy draped in the sleeveless, floor-length golden gown, dotted with silver appliqués, and a complementary sheer shawl.
And her father was hanging on her every word.
Jeremy interrupted her observation by asking, “Can we talk after dinner?”
With her heart fluttering in her chest, Jeisa asked, “So, you’ve made your decision?”
He leaned across to kiss her cheek. “There was nothing to decide, just foolishness to forget.” He nuzzled her ear.
Jeisa’s breath caught in her throat. She nodded.
He does love me.
Dominic growled into his wife’s ear as he watched the couple across the table talking. “Look at him talking Marie’s ear off. She can’t wait for this meal to be over.”
Eyes dancing with humor, Abby said, “I’m not positive that’s what she’s thinking.”
“If he says one rude word to her, I’m throwing him out the front door.”
Abby placed a soothing hand on Dominic’s tense thigh. “He’s a diplomat. I’m sure he knows how to behave himself at a social gathering.”
Dominic glared at Romario. “You wouldn’t think so if you’d heard him talking to Jeremy.”
Abby rubbed her husband’s thigh beneath the table until his attention refocused on her. “Tell me you didn’t get involved in their family dispute.”
Instantly attentive, Dominic lowered his head and whispered suggestively, “Move your hand a little higher and I’ll tell you whatever you want hear.”
Abby slapped his stomach playfully. “I’m serious.”
Dominic kissed his beautiful wife’s neck, knowing there was no way to avoid her lecture but enjoying the delicious pink it brought to her cheeks. “So am I.”
Despite the desire that lit her eyes, Abby chastised her husband playfully. “You are incorrigible.”
He kissed her neck again, but also offered her what he knew she was waiting for. “I may have exchanged a few harsh words with Romario.”
Abby’s head cocked to the side in doubt. “May have?”
It was impossible to stay upset when his wife smiled at him that way. He conceded, “He doesn’t think Jeremy is good enough for Jeisa.”
Tongue-in-cheek, Abby asked, “Is any man good enough for a father?”
“Do not mock me, woman,” he said, but there was no bite to his words.
Instead of continuing down the teasing thread, Abby took Dominic’s hand and laid it on her small belly bump. “It couldn’t have been easy for Jeisa’s father to come here today. He doesn’t know any of us, and from what I’ve heard, Jeisa wasn’t entirely honest with him about what she’d been doing here in the States. He flew over here because he was worried about her and he met a suitor he’d previously never heard a word about. Can you blame him for being protective? How would you feel if Jeisa were our daughter?”
Dominic shook his head ruefully. “I’d want to kill the bastard.”
“And?” Abby pushed.
With a groan, Dominic conceded, “And I might not want her to hang around with people who have been in the news for as many questionable reasons as we have been.” He closed his eyes for a pained second. “Don’t ask me to be nice to him. I’m only human.”
Abby smiled up at her husband. “Do you know what I think?”
Looking down at his wife’s beautiful, concerned face, Dominic said, “No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“You know that Jeremy looks up to you.”
Dominic waved one hand in the air in frustrated emphasis. “He’s just so . . . naive. He doesn’t understand how the world works.”
Tears of emotion filled Abby’s eyes and she said huskily, “And you want to protect him. Oh, Dominic, you went through hell and it shaped how you see families. But this isn’t the same, and Jeremy needs to work this out on his own. He’ll be fine. He knows how to love through adversity. Romario is not like your father. It’s too easy to judge him by what we see today, but he’s trying to protect her. Today must be difficult for him. There is nothing worse than watching your child do the exact opposite of what you consider safe for them. It unhinges even the nicest person.”