Page 34 of Innocent Union
Footsteps descend the stairs, and Lucia and Luca come running into the room, playing a game of tag.
“You’re it,” Luca says, shoving Lucia so hard she falls against the mantle. She immediately starts crying.
Mom sighs. “Luca, don’t shove your sister.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. “I have to deal with this. You talk to Killian and tell him you want your wedding your way. End of discussion.”
She walks over to Lucia and comforts her. Through her tears, Lucia shoots daggers at Luca.
Luca just shrugs and walks off like it’s no big deal.
Watching my younger brother and sister reminds me why I’m happy I don’t have a brother closer in age to me to torment me. Antonio is so much older, so he never bugged me when we were kids. And Luca is so much younger, so that’s out of the question.
But despite that, I think it would be nice to have a twin. Someone who, even when we fight, would still be there for me. I’d feel slightly less alone.
As I walk through the foyer to get to the stairs, the front door opens, and Cecilia enters. Each of my older siblings still has a key to the house. Mom likes knowing her kids can come over whenever.
I stop when I see her. “What are you doing here?”
“Mom made some pie and told me to come over and get it. Theo and I are hosting a dinner party.”
“Oh.”
Cecilia smiles, but there’s tension behind it. “Yeah. Our first dinner party as a married couple. It’s some of our friends.”
“Right.”
“Mia.” She takes a step toward me, and I force myself to stay in place. “Are we ok? After dress shopping, I’m still not sure.”
I’m not ok. I’m filled with guilt over wanting the wedding of my dreams while also feeling frustrated Killian doesn’t understand me. And Cecilia has this picture-perfect marriage where she’s hosting dinner parties. It’s like salt in the wound.
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “I just … can’t talk right now.” I hurry up the stairs, feeling her eyes on me the entire time. I only get relief after I make it to my bedroom and shut the door.
I’m workingon the wedding invitations when Killian shows up to my house. I know it’s Killian because my mom answers the door, and the annoyance in her greeting makes it obvious.
“What do you want?” she asks.
“I’m here to see Mia.”
Mom sighs audibly. “She’s in the living room.”
I hold my breath as Killian comes into the room. He looks so handsome, but my conflicted feelings make me feel weird.
“Hey, Mia. We didn’t get the chance to talk after you left the hospital. I wanted to see how you were doing.” His eyes flick to the wedding invitations on the coffee table. He picks one up. “Venue, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.” He looks up at me. “I didn’t know we agreed to that.”
“Would you be ok with having the wedding here and filming it for your mom?”
He sets the card down. “I was really hoping you’d agree to having the wedding at the hospital.”
“Well, we can do both, couldn’t we? Have the wedding at the hotel as well as the hospital?”
“I mean … it’s not a bad idea, but isn’t that a waste?”
“Typical men,” I mutter.
His eyebrows raise up. “What does that mean?”
“You don’t understand the importance of this wedding, do you?”
“Tell me, then.”
