Page 151 of Pucking Tangled
Celia filled her wine glass and asked, “And you boys—how did this all come together, if you don’t mind me being nosy?”
Waylon arched his brow. “You want the PG version or the extended cut?”
Dean cleared his throat, and Celia smacked Waylon lightly with a napkin. “Boy, youbettergive me the version I could repeat to your future children.”
At the mention of children, Waylon’s eyes lit up with amusement, while Casey and Owen smirked at Mia, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Luca wanted to crawl under the table and hide because of Waylon’s antics.
“Honestly?” Luca finally said. “It wasn’t one big moment. Just…a thousand little ones. Mia moved in, and suddenly the house was warmer. Homier. Quieter when it needed to be. Loud in the best ways. She made space for all of us. And we made space for each other.”
“Some of us, slower than others,” Casey teased.
“But it’s all been worth it,” Owen added softly.
Luca’s father studied them, nodding. “It’s notconventional. But there’s a lot of strength in knowing what works for you and standing in it.”
Celia dabbed the corners of her eyes. “I raised a good man,” she said quietly, reaching across the table to touch Luca’s hand.
He swallowed hard. “Thanks, Momma.”
“Now that we’ve gottenthatout of the way,” his mom continued breezily. “Mia, what’s something about Luca that absolutely drives you crazy? And you can’t say there’s nothing.”
“Are you sure you want her to answer that, Celia?” Waylon asked, wiggling his brows.
Dean let out a chuckle. “Well, we know who the troublemaker is.”
“You have no idea,” Luca grumbled and tossed a roll at Waylon.
“Hey, no throwing food at the table, Luca,” Celia playfully scolded.
“You have to forgive him,” Mia said, narrowing her gaze at Waylon. “I think he’s been hit in the head one too many times.”
Waylon stuck out his tongue, making Celia laugh out loud.
“Hmm…one thing Luca does that drives me crazy?” Mia tapped her chin. “Oh! I know! He folds towels like we live at some five-star resort.”
“Don’t look at the towels in our bathroom then.” Dean threw his head back and laughed.
“Wait.” Mia smiled. “So who taught him to fold towels like that?”
Dean immediately looked at his wife and raised a brow.
“Guilty.” Celia said, feigning embarrassment.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t re-foldallthe towels,”Owen interjected, pretending to fold his dinner napkin like Luca folds towels.
“It looks ridiculous when they’re not all folded the same way,” Luca defended himself.
His parents continued asking questions while Waylon, Casey, Owen and Mia answered and cracked jokes like they’d known his family forever.
When dessert came out—warm peach cobbler with cinnamon cream—everyone was already half-stuffed and lazily happy.
Celia brought out a bottle of the winery’s small-batch muscat, pouring small glasses for toasts.
“To new beginnings,” she said, lifting hers.
“To found families,” Casey added.
“To Luca’s towel-folding therapy,” Waylon muttered, earning another round of laughter.
