It Had To Be You (12 page)

“Yes, please.” She nodded. “I want to learn everything I can, so use me as much as you like.”

“You don’t hear that every day.” Joey grinned.

We wrapped up our conversation and then said our goodbyes. As we climbed into the car, I noticed that Deanna looked a little melancholy once again. This was getting to be quite the routine.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes. No.” She shrugged. “All this talk of weddings is just making me …” She paused. “Making me miss Rocco.”

Yikes. Better change the direction of our conversation. No point in dredging up any more tears. Instead, I pointed my car toward the center of town, ready to deal with the flowers for Rosa and Laz’s big day.

We pulled up to Patti-Lou’s Petals, the flower shop Marcella managed. Patti-Lou, the original owner, had recently moved to Montana, where she’d finally found the man of her dreams. I knew the sign above the store would change names as soon as Nick and Marcella could afford to buy the business. In the meantime, my sister-in-law did a fine job keeping the island in flowers. And flowers we needed, especially in the wedding biz!

I stepped inside and breathed deeply of the fragrant aromas. Marcella saw me and grinned. “Bella!”

“Marcella, you look beautiful!” Why, she was beaming! I’d never seen anything quite like the glow on her face at this very moment. Of course, she had a lot to beam about, didn’t she? Her blossoming midsection spoke of exciting things to come. Hopefully exciting things with pink tutus and ballet slippers.

“Thank you.” She took my hand and gave an impish smile. “I have something to tell you, but it’s top secret.”

“Oh?”

“First I need you to promise that what I tell you will be kept between us.” She looked back and forth between Deanna and me. “Promise?”

“Of course!”

“Nick and I found out the sex of the baby this morning.”

“Really?” My heart began to thump wildly. “Is it a—”

“A girl!” She clasped her hands at her chest and grinned. “Isn’t that glorious? She’s a girl!”

At last, the evil spell was broken! “Oh, this is wonderful!” I began to gush over her, and soon Deanna joined the celebration.

“Oh, I’m going to pay for dance lessons!” I said. “Let me know when she’s ready to start ballet. And you know Mama will want to give her singing lessons so she can stand on the stage at the opera house one day and melt the crowds. And Pop will teach her to play basketball with the boys. He won’t have a clue.” On and on I went, talking about how we Rossis would sweep in around this little girl and share our love with her.

Marcella laughed. “One thing at a time, Bella! First we have to move into our new place, and then I have to decorate the nursery in pink. I’ve never done that before, especially not while taking care of a shop and raising two rowdy boys.”

Two rowdy boys was right. I wondered how Frankie and Deany-boy would take this news. Likely not very well. They were probably counting on a little brother, not a frilly girl.

We lowered our voices when a couple of customers came in and started browsing the flowers in the case. I did my best to keep things hush-hush. “So, do the boys know?”

Marcella shook her head. “No. No one knows but Nick and me. And now you two.” She put her finger to her lips. “And I know you would never tell.”

“Never!” Deanna and I spoke in unison.

“We’re trying to figure out when and where to tell everyone,” Marcella said. “We want it to be really special, but we don’t want to interfere with Rosa and Laz’s big day.”

“Understandable.”

“I’m open to suggestions,” she said. “Let me know if anything comes to you.”

“Hmm. Okay.” I paused a moment. “Hey, how’s the house hunt going? Did you and Nick find a place yet?”

“Actually, we’re looking at a Victorian just a few blocks from your place.” She nodded. “And speaking of houses, have you and D.J. decided where you’re going to live after you get married?”

I shook my head. “He’s renting a condo on the seawall, but that’s not long-term. We’ve given some thought to getting a place on Jamaica Beach, but that’s so far away.”

Marcella laughed. “You’re funny, Bella. My family lives in Houston, and I think that’s far away. The opposite side of the island doesn’t seem far at all.”

“We’re still praying about it,” I said. “God will show us what to do.”

“He always does.” She paused as the other customers approached the counter, ready to place an order. Deanna and I turned to the roses in the case while Marcella shifted gears. “Those are gorgeous.” Deanna pointed to a multicolored rose, and I nodded.

“Yeah, I agree. Those are Double Delights. That’s what Rosa has chosen for her wedding. Do you like the red and white mixed together?”

“Beautiful.”

“And picture this,” I said, growing more excited by the minute. “Once we get all of the greenery mixed in and topped off with gold ribbon, the whole place will have a Christmas feel to it. That’s what Rosa wants, anyway.”

Deanna nodded. “It’s going to be gorgeous. And I think I heard her say something about having miniature Christmas trees on all of the tables?”

“Yes, I bought those a couple of weeks ago on the Web,” I said. “They’re pre-lit and work off of batteries, so we don’t have to worry about plugs or anything. We’ll do red bows on top of half of them and gold on the rest.”

“Perfect. Are you decorating the trees?”

“I thought about putting some red and gold bows on them. Nothing too elaborate. The lights will really look pretty, even if the trees aren’t too dolled up.”

“I know Rosa’s going to love that. She’s always been crazy about Christmas, so I think it’s perfect that her wedding falls during the Christmas season.”

Deanna was just a few sentences into her explanation when the door to the flower shop opened and Tony DeLuca walked in.

“Tony?” I stared at my ex, curious to find him here.

“Oh, hey, Bella …” His words trailed off, and his gaze shifted to the flowers in the case. “What are you doing here?”

“Same thing I’m always doing here,” I responded with a shrug.

He walked to the glass case and stared at the roses. “So, roses are the best, right?”

“Of course.”

He began to speak in Italian, and Deanna responded.

“Do you need help, Tony?” Marcella asked, coming out of the back room.

“Well, I, uh …” He shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Roses for Sophia?”

He looked my way, a hard-to-read expression on his face. “Yeah. Is that weird for you, Bella? I mean—”

“Say no more. It’s not weird for me. I think it’s wonderful. And I happen to know Sophia loves yellow roses.”

“Yellow, huh?” He stared at them.

“It’s that ‘Yellow Rose of Texas’ song,” I explained. “She always used to say that she wanted to find a true-blue Texan who would give her yellow roses.”

“What about a true-blue Italian who happens to live in Texas giving her yellow roses?” He quirked a brow, and we all laughed.

“That’ll do.” I nodded. “The point is, the roses are coming from someone who cares about her.”

“I do. Very much.” His eyes filled with tears, and my heart quickened. The last time I’d seen that look on his face, he’d been fighting for my attentions. Now it looked like everything had come full circle.

“I’m so glad.” I reached out and touched his arm. “She’s a great girl, Tony. And I think you two are a wonderful couple.”

Deanna began to tell him—in Italian—all of the reasons why he and Sophia made a perfect match. Somewhere along the way she mentioned Rocco’s name, going on and on about how he’d given her two dozen pink roses on her last birthday and how much they’d meant to her. How she had hoped to see the next bunch of roses in a lovely shade of red, since red symbolized love. How she’d probably never get another rose from another man as long as she lived.

“You know, it’s funny,” she said, peering into Tony’s eyes. “You remind me so much of Rocco. You look alike, even sound alike.”

Uh-oh. Better stop this train from barreling down the wrong track. “Tony is from Sicily, Deanna,” I said. “No doubt he looks and sounds like your Rocco.”

She sighed. “Only, he’s not my Rocco anymore.” She dabbed her eyes. “Of course, I once thought he really cared about me.” She sniffled. “Now I know better.” Her smile quickly faded, then reappeared a moment later, this time more forced. “Anyway, buy the roses. She will never forget them. Or you. Ever. For the rest of her life. No matter where she goes or how many times you forget to call. Or write.”

Wow.

Tony, undeterred by Deanna’s odd explanation, nodded in Marcella’s direction. “I’ll take two dozen yellow roses.” He turned to look at me. “Bella, you’re sure about the yellow?”

“Sure as I’ve ever been about anything in my life.”

“Okay, because Brock said I should buy red. He’s pretty good with the women, so I took his advice seriously.”

“Wait.” I stopped dead in my tracks. “Brock? As in Brock Benson?”

Deanna’s eyes lit with recognition. “Brock Benson, the Hollywood superstar hottie? The guy who starred in
The
Pirate’s Revenge
?”

Tony nodded and then shrugged. “Yeah. We still talk sometimes.”

Deanna looked my way, clearly dumbfounded. “Brock Benson? Are we talking about the same guy, Bella?”

“Yes. The same Brock Benson.” A warm feeling washed over me at the mention of Brock’s name. Should I tell Deanna the whole story—how Brock had played the role of best man at the recent medieval wedding I’d coordinated? How the media had shown up and we’d all ended up on the national news? How the Rossi family had taken in Brock—a lost soul— and made him part of the family?

Nah. I’d leave that for another day.

“I’ll fill you in later,” I whispered to Deanna. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“O-okay.” She grinned, and we returned to helping Tony with his rose order. Still, I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about Tony talking to Brock. Who would have guessed those two would turn out to be fast friends?

We spent the next few minutes finalizing plans for Rosa’s wedding flowers, then Deanna and I hit the road. As we climbed into the car, my cell phone rang. I smiled as I read the words Bridal Boutique on the caller ID, then answered with a happy “Hello.”

“Bella?”

I recognized the voice at once. Stacey O’Farrell, owner of my favorite wedding dress shop.

“Hi, Stacey. What’s up?”

I could hear customers talking in the background but did my best to focus as Stacey spoke. “Your sister came in to be fitted for her bridesmaid dress this morning. She was the last one on the list, so we’re good to go to place the order now. You should have the dresses in plenty of time for the big day.”

“Awesome.” One more thing I could check off of the list, praise the Lord!

“I just wanted to double-check something before I place the order,” Stacey said. “Because one thing about it struck me as odd.”

“What’s that?” I reached for my keys and put them in the ignition as I waited for her reply.

“I thought you said your bridesmaids’ dresses were going to be a deep red.”

“Right.” I turned the key in the ignition.

“Then why did you write the word
gold
on the order form?”

“W-what?” I groaned, my thoughts suddenly reeling. Finally it hit me. “Oh, Stacey, I’m sorry. My aunt’s bridesmaids are wearing gold. I must’ve gotten confused.”

She laughed. “That’s what I figured. You’ve seemed a little scattered lately. Good thing we caught this before the order was placed. Would’ve been catastrophic, and I don’t think there would’ve been time to reorder.”

“No kidding. I’m indebted to you, Stacey. Please change the color to red and place the order.”

“Will do.”

As we ended the call, I scolded myself for having been so careless. “I can’t believe I did that,” I muttered. “Guess I’m trying to handle too many things at once.”

Deanna gave me a curious look, and I filled her in, telling her about the near miss.

“You poor girl!” She shook her head. “You’ve really got your hands full, Bella.”

“Don’t I know it.” I shook my head, deep in thought. Pondering the color of my bridesmaids’ dresses drew my thoughts to Jenna again. Thinking of Jenna caused a gripping sensation in my chest. If I didn’t figure out why she’d stopped taking my calls, I was going to go crazy.

I turned to Deanna. “Hey, do you mind if I make one more quick call? Something’s been bothering me all day.”

“Sure.” She gave me a curious look. “Everything okay?”

“I’m about to find out.” I punched in Jenna’s number and waited for her to pick up. Oddly, the phone went to voice mail just after the first ring. When I heard the beep, I left a long, detailed message.

“Jenna, I’ve been trying to reach you for days. I’m hoping you’re not sick. If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow, maybe I’ll swing by your place to check on you. I’m a little worried because …” I wanted to say, “Because Bubba is missing too,” but didn’t. Instead, I said, “Because you never do this. You never disappear on us like this. I’m worried. So, call me. Or text, if you’re too sick. Anyway, let me know you’re okay.”

I ended the call and tossed the phone in my purse. Deanna looked at me. “Still can’t find your best friend?”

“No.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I know just what that feels like. It’s so weird, not hearing from Rocco every day. He was my best friend.”

“Mm-hmm.” I couldn’t even imagine what it must be like to lose your best friend.

On the other hand, Jenna was now my second-best friend, since D.J. was in the picture. She’d slipped out of the number one spot the minute he slipped that engagement ring on my finger. Surely she wasn’t upset about that though, right? If so, she’d done a great job of hiding it till now.

More concerned than ever, I pointed the car toward home.

On Wednesday morning, I finished up my shopping for the wedding with Deanna at my side. She particularly enjoyed our local Walmart, still carrying on about how she wished they had one in Napoli. Francesca came with us, but she didn’t look as impressed. Perhaps before all was said and done, I could take her up to Houston to see the Galleria. It was always so beautiful at this time of the year. Likely she’d be more at home there, with the high-end shops and large ice-skating rink in the hub of it all. And the Christmas tree in the center of the ice always made it very conversational.