Page 67 of Look on the Bright Side

Lark shuddered. “You’re better off without him.”

“I know. Still.” She rolled her eyes. “Sofia’s the only one of us who found the golden ticket so far.” She smiled at her sister, who stood just a few feet away.

So Dante was single, too, then. She hadn’t seen a date, but she was also trying not to pay attention to him, and also not to ignore him, and also not to blush if she did catch his eye, and also to feign interest in and chemistry with Lorenzo. And she’d thought organic chem had been hard.

“Did you just call my son the golden ticket, Isabella?” said Jocelyn, approaching with a glass of champagne in her hand. “Thank you, honey. He’s a good boy, for sure.”

“When do we get to meet his dad?” Izzy asked.

“Oh, he’ll be at the wedding. He lives in Oregon with his second family and couldn’t make it tonight. We talk every now and then. Amicable divorce and all that. He went back to his parents in China for a while after we divorced…Henry was fifteen or so…and we didn’t talk much then. I think his second wife really brings out the best in him, though. She pushed him to reconnect with Henry. I really like her. Maybe she upped his game in the bedroom, too. He was terrible in the sack. Don’t tell my son I said so. Sorry, am I oversharing?”

“You are,” said Izzy, smiling at Lark. “And we love it.”

“Any secrets on Lorenzo, Lark?” Jocelyn said. “He’s a bit of a mystery in the family, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, Lark. Any secrets?” Izzy raised an eyebrow.

Did she know?

Lorenzo was looking at her. Like a dog hearing his name, he was paying abrupt attention.

“You know,” Lark said carefully, “I think he takes the role of firstborn son very seriously. Always feels like he has to be in charge, which makes him a great surgeon. But it’s hard for him to relax. Once he does, though, he’s great.” A statement that might well be correct, Lark thought. Not that she had any firsthand knowledge of it.

“He is?” Isabella asked, looking at her brother. “Lorenzo, are you great when you relax? Because that’s the rumor over here.”

“Whatever Lark says must be true,” he said somberly.

“Okay, then.” Izzy smiled at him. “I look forward to you relaxing.”

See? Lark wanted to tell Lorenzo. She likes you. You could be friends.

During dinner, Lark sat between Lorenzo and Anita, and to his credit, Lorenzo spoke to her. “Is your dinner okay?” and “No, thank you” when she offered him bread. Otherwise, he spoke in Italian to his grandmother, with Silvio occasionally commenting.

“Sofia, Dante and I don’t speak Italian,” Izzy said in response to her unasked question. “We feel very inferior, right, Dante?” The two sat across from her.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We’re the Luddites of the family. Lorenzo got all the smarts.”

“I resent that,” Izzy said. “I mean, you’re dumb, Dante, but I’m quite smart.”

“You’re not dumb, honey!” Anita said. She put her hand on her younger son’s arm. “Do you have a single sister, Lark? Maybe you could fix him up.” She beamed.

“I do have a single sister,” Lark said, smiling back.

“Sign me up,” Dante said. “I don’t even need to meet her. If she’s your sister, Lark, she must be great. Call the priest, Ma.”

“And you said you have a single brother, so that takes care of me,” Izzy said.

“I’m pretty sure he won’t be single for long,” Lark said. “He’s in love with our big sister’s best friend. You’ll need to move fast.”

“It would make holidays very simple, if three of my kids married three Smith kids,” Anita said.

“Okay. I’ll tell my parents,” Lark said, laughing. “We could do a three-for-one wedding and save money.”

“Are you and Lorenzo already talking marriage?” Anita asked, her eyes wide. Lorenzo gave Lark a knifelike look. “Because if the answer is yes, I approve! I’d be over the moon! I’d—”

“Easy, Ma,” Dante said as Izzy laughed. His dark eyes were warm on Lark. “You have to be more careful,” he explained. “She’s been saying novenas for my brother to find a wife since he was fourteen.”

“Sorry, Anita,” Lark said. “It’s way too early for anything like that just yet. I was kidding.”

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