Jeremy’s head snapped around. Did he really just say that?
Alessandro shrugged and smiled. “Don’t tell my wife, but sometimes I get her angry just to spice it up.” The older man dismissed Jeremy’s surprised look. “You’ll understand after you’re married awhile.” He tossed his chin at Romario and said, “Papa doesn’t look very happy with you, my friend.”
Jeremy didn’t spare Jeisa’s father a glance. “I don’t care what he thinks of me.”
Alessandro’s voice deepened as he said, “Yes, you do. And so does Jeisa. You’re a good man, Jeremy. I have no doubt you’ll win him over as I did Elise’s father. Show him that you will be good to his daughter and he’ll overlook many things.”
A weight lifted from Jeremy’s chest. He and Alessandro had spoken at length during several past functions and Jeremy felt comfortable with him. He was exactly what he appeared to be: a self-made man who loved his family very much. Alessandro and his brother, Victor, shared an enjoyment of people that made everyone feel like a part of their family, regardless of the length of their acquaintance. Across the foyer, his mother was huddled with Elise and appeared to have discovered the same quality in her. It was good to see his mother laugh again, and he regretted not doing more to remove her worries earlier. This is all going to work out.
The absence of an older generation made Jeremy inquire, “Are you still close to Elise’s father?”
A shadow passed over the older man’s face. “He left us about eight years ago. A good reminder why not to keep a grudge, no? None of us are meant to be here forever. When you remember that, it’s much easier to sort out the important from what should be forgotten. Jeisa’s papa is here to protect his little girl. Respect that. It’s his love for her that will outlive him, not whatever he says today.”
Jeremy nodded. “You’re a very wise man, you know that, Al?”
Alessandro’s smile widened and he gave Jeremy’s back a final pat. “I’ve always thought so, but don’t tell Victor. He likes to think he’s the smart one.” After checking on the progress of the others, Alessandro said, “Most of the men are in the solarium and on the patio. Come, it looks like my brother is herding your future papa that way.”
Jeremy hesitated. He wanted to say something to Jeisa, but didn’t know where to begin.
Noting the direction of Jeremy’s attention, Alessandro said, “Eat first, then talk to her. Everyone’s temper is better on a full stomach.”
Jeremy wasn’t sure turkey would soften Jeisa’s mood, but he wasn’t about to ignore sage advice from a man with a happy marriage and a loving family. Evidence of his expertise on family matters was scattered throughout the house in the form of multiple generations.
Jeisa watched Victor Andrade lead her father away, leaving her with Victor’s wife, Katrine, a tall Norwegian blonde who looked like she could still grace the cover of a fashion magazine. “Everyone will be thrilled that you’ve arrived, Jeisa,” Katrine said. “Come, they’re gathered in the kitchen.”
The infamous Andrade kitchen. Jake’s fiancée, Lil, had described it to her once, but it was larger than she’d imagined and a bit overwhelming at first. Everywhere Jeisa looked, the women were dressed in high-fashion gowns and enough diamonds to support a small nation. Her nude silk Carlos Miele spaghetti-strap gown was simple and fit in perfectly with what the other women had worn.
Through her time with Jeremy, Jeisa had gotten to know each of the women in the room. Alessandro’s wife, Elise, was an elegantly dressed, petite, auburn-haired woman in her fifties who gracefully shared her role of hostess with her much taller and equally exquisitely dressed sister-in-law, Katrine. Although Alessandro and Elise owned the home, they lovingly shared it with Victor and Katrine when they visited. It was hard not to envy the closeness of the group.
Although the women had chosen the kitchen as a meeting area, it was obvious from the wine in their hands and their attire that their choice had nothing to do with cooking. One loud Frenchman was barking out orders to the kitchen staff as he orchestrated the countless dishes that were cooking on every heated surface.
Lil bounded forward in a deep-blue formfitting Mouret gown with her infant daughter, Colby—dressed in a complementary light-blue cotton dress and sweater—on her hip. Another woman might have handed her daughter off to a nanny, afraid that the young child might mar the perfection of her dress, but Lil looked unconcerned. “So, let’s see it.”
Her sister, Abby, was equally elegantly dressed in a melon-hued Oscar de la Renta strapless maternity dress with her hair swept up in a style that looked both effortless and modern at the same time. She rushed to her sister’s side and said, “Lil, give her a minute to settle in.”
Feeling like she’d walked onto a stage and forgotten her next line, Jeisa looked around the room and noted that all eyes were on her, waiting for her to say something. She directed her question to the most reliable source of unfiltered truth. “See what, Lil?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeremy’s mother shaking her head and waving for them to stop.
Lil looked down at Jeisa’s left hand, then back to her face, and went red. “Ooh . . .”
Abby suddenly also looked quite uncomfortable. “Lil, didn’t you want to change Colby before dinner? We should probably do it now.”
Lil glared at her sister. “Come on, how was I supposed to know?”
Abby sighed. “I’m not saying it’s your fault, I’m just . . .”
Jeisa’s temper rose. “Will someone please tell me what is going on?”
Elise’s daughter, Maddy, stepped into the group. Her playful manner made it impossible to do anything but smile when one saw her. She said, “Don’t mind them, I’m sure they’ve been dipping into the cooking wine.”
Therese said softly, “I am so sorry, Jeisa. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that Jeremy was so excited and I was positive that we’d be greeting a newly engaged couple.”
A growing understanding made the room spin. Jeisa held onto the back of one of the chairs. “A what?”
Lil spoke to the room in general, “I really don’t think she knows.”