Francesca pulled to the side by the multicar garage her parents had built when their daughters had started driving their own cars.
Kelly turned to her. “Your family is rich. Why don’t you have money?”
Francesca laughed. “My grandfather is rich. He’s the one who owns the winery.”
“But when he dies, doesn’t this all go to the family?”
“That’s a complicated question.”
She stepped out of the car and slammed her door shut. Kelly followed suit. As they approached the rear door of the house, Francesca put a hand on Kelly’s shoulder.
“Brace yourself.”
Kelly stalled in mid-step. Francesca saw the hesitation in her eyes, but before she could head back to the relative safety of the truck, the backdoor opened and the Grands appeared.
“Francesca,” Grandma Tessa called. “We thought maybe you were too busy to come to plan your own sister’s wedding.”
Grammy M smiled as she hurried behind her taller in-law. “Don’t be scoldin’ her, Tessa. She’s here. And with a wee one.”
Francesca wrapped her arm around Sam’s daughter. “This is Kelly, the daughter of a friend. She’s joining us for the afternoon. Kelly, these are my grandmothers. Grandma Tessa is married to Grandpa Lorenzo.” She leaned close and lowered her voice. “They’re the Italian side of the family.”
Kelly nodded. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Ma’am? Francesca nearly fainted. Was Kelly being polite?
“And this is Grandma Mary-Margaret. When we were little, her name was a mouthful, so we call her Grammy M.”
“Hi,” Kelly said.
The Grands exchanged a look.
“A friend?” Grammy M asked. “Would this friend be a man?”
Francesca glanced at Kelly. “Here goes.”
Kelly actually smiled. “Francesca dates my dad.”
“You don’t say,” Grammy M murmured, her pale eyebrows rising toward her hairline. “Well, don’t just stand there, Kelly. Come give us a hug.”
The Grands descended. Francesca stepped out of the way as Kelly was hugged, kissed, and cheek-pinched. The latter caused her to wince in pain and rub the affected patch of skin. But her look of “rescue me” quickly changed to wonder when they were all hustled inside and she caught a glimpse of the food spread set out for the afternoon meeting.
Francesca was used to the array of cookies, cannolis, scones, cakes, and pastries that were her grandmothers’ hobbies, but she doubted Kelly had seen anything like it outside of a bakery.
The girl had just been seated at the table with a plate and two hovering grandmothers when Brenna strolled in. She glanced from Kelly to Francesca.
“Is this who I think it is?” she asked as she leaned on the counter.
“Sam’s daughter.”
Brenna took off her baseball cap and brushed her short hair off her forehead. “Sam of the hot, naked sex?” she asked, her voice low enough to keep Kelly and the Grands from hearing.
Francesca refused to think about what had happened the previous night. Seeing her blush would only encourage Brenna. “I don’t actually know any other men with children.”
Brenna reached for one of the cookies and took a bite. “How long are you on baby-sitting detail?”
“Just today. He’s hired someone from a service.”
Brenna glanced at the Grands, then lowered her voice. “And the naked part?”
“Oh, that’s still going great.”
Brenna grinned. “Good for you!”
The backdoor opened and Katie breezed in. There were hugs all around, then Francesca introduced Kelly to Brenna and Katie. More hugging followed.
Katie gave Francesca a speculative glance as she looked at Kelly. Obviously there were going to be plenty of questions later.
Francesca watched Kelly closely to see if this was all too much for her, but the preteen seemed to be soaking up the attention.
“Am I the last one to arrive?” Francesca’s mother asked as she hurried in from the hallway. “Your father and I have that sales trip in two days, and I’m still trying to get ready.”
She kissed each of her daughters, then smiled at Kelly. “Hello. I’m responsible for these girls being here. But please don’t hold it against me.”
Kelly carefully wiped her hands on a napkin and stood. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Marcelli.”
Once again, the shock of the girl’s excellent manners nearly made Francesca fall into a coma.
Francesca’s mother smiled. “Call me Colleen.” She turned back to everyone else. “Are we ready?”
There was a chorus of agreements. The six of them headed for the dining room. Francesca pulled Kelly aside.
“We’re going to be talking about Katie’s wedding. Planning it and discussing the dress she wants. You’re welcome to join us, but if you think you’ll be bored you can watch TV in the family room.”
Kelly ducked her head. “I’d like to stay with everyone.”
“Absolutely. But if you change your mind, it’s okay.”
Kelly nodded and followed her into the dining room.
In a matter of minutes they were working their way through wedding details like dates and how many for the guest list. Katie sat at one end of the table, with her mother next to her. Francesca sat next to her with Kelly beside her. The Grands and Brenna were across the table. Pads of paper had been distributed along with pens, cups of coffee, milk for Kelly, and plates of the treats from the kitchen.Her mother pulled off her glasses. “If we’re talking about early October, we have the rain issue.”
Katie shrugged. “I’m willing to take my chances. I really want to be married here by the house. We can have tents in reserve. I know a terrific place that rents them. They’ll give me a good deal.”
Brenna leaned toward Kelly. “My sister runs a company called Organization Central. She plans parties and puts people’s lives in order. Speaking as someone who can barely find matching socks some mornings, I find that very frightening.”
Kelly grinned.
Katie turned to her sister. “Are you complaining already?”
“Yes. What if harvest isn’t over? Have you considered that, Oh Sister-bride?”
Katie bit her lower lip. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess if it isn’t over, you’ll have to shower fast, come to the house for the wedding, then head back out to the fields to be with your precious grapes.”
“Maybe I’ll even stay for the reception before going back to work,” Brenna said with a grin.
Everyone laughed.
Katie reached into her briefcase and pulled out a folder neatly labeled with the words wedding gown.
“About the dress,” she said.
Francesca laid her head on the table and groaned. Her mother patted her arm.
“I know sewing isn’t really your thing, dear, but it’s a family tradition.”
Francesca opened one eye and glanced at Kelly. “We make the wedding dress. No store-bought confections for our family. It’s so much work, and I’m not very good at it. I bleed on the satin. You’d think that would be enough to get me out of helping, but it isn’t. Grammy M and Katie always manage to get the stain out. How sick is that?”
Kelly giggled.
“So here are my choices,” Katie said, passing around several pictures of wedding dresses.
Francesca straightened and glanced over her mother’s shoulder. Her heart sank. The first dress was a sheath style literally covered with beaded lace. The second dress would be even more work. Beading swirled through the long sleeves and full skirt, then wove an intricate pattern on the train.
Francesca passed the picture to Brenna, who actually blanched. Even Grammy M looked a little concerned.
“I’m thinkin’ they’re lovely gowns, Katie darlin’, but we’re only givin’ ourselves a few months to get everything ready. Even if we beaded day and night, I’m not sure we could finish this one in time. Will you be wantin’ to change the weddin’ date?”
Katie gazed at them all with a wide-eyed, innocent expression. Brenna groaned, then tossed a cookie at her sister.
“I’m thinking the B word, Katie, and it’s not bead,” Brenna said as she took back the picture of the heavily beaded dress and ripped it in half.
Katie laughed. “You should have seen the looks on your faces.”
Relief tasted sweet. Francesca wrinkled her nose. “Aren’t you the humorous one. Where’s the real dress?”
Katie pulled out a picture of a sleeveless wedding gown with a scooped neck. The dress was fitted to the waist before flaring out into a full skirt. Seed pearls were scattered across the bodice and skirt. There wasn’t a speck of lace in sight.
“We could practically do this in a weekend,” Francesca said in surprise.
“I know.” Katie looked pleased. “I love the dress and you guys are going to owe me for picking something simple. A win-win.”
Kelly took the picture and studied the gown. The Grands got up from their seats and crowded around her.
“What do you think?” Katie asked, coming over and pointing at the picture.
The twelve-year-old sighed. “The dress is beautiful.” She glanced up. “Do you think I could help with the beading?”
“Sure. There’s plenty of work for everyone.” Katie lowered her voice. “Maybe you could help Francesca. She’s really awful at sewing.”
“I heard that,” Francesca said sternly.
Kelly giggled.
Katie touched her chest. “What? I didn’t say anything.”
“Uh-huh.”
The Grands disappeared into the kitchen only to reappear with big bowls of salad.
“Because all the sweets weren’t enough,” Brenna muttered. “I’ve got to get out of here before I end up looking like a sumo wrestler.”
Francesca followed her out of the dining room. At the backdoor Brenna pulled on a baseball cap.
“The kid seems okay. What happened to Teen-zilla?”
“I don’t know. She was her usual surly self on the drive over. I guess the Grands are working their magic. If this keeps up, Sam is going to be thrilled.”
“And how exactly will he show his appreciation?”
Francesca grinned. “I’m not going to tell you.”
“That’s okay. I can imagine, which is really depressing. Just don’t go falling for this guy. Remember—Katie’s relationship with Zach aside—marriage sucks.”
“I know. I’m not about to go there a second time. I don’t love Sam, I’m just using him for sex.”
Brenna laughed. “You make me so proud.”
“Their house is huge. It’s really pretty and there are vineyards all around. Brenna is the sister who knows the most about wine. Katie runs some company that organizes parties, and Mia—I didn’t meet her—she’s in Washington, D.C., studying languages and stuff. The Grands were great. There was so much food. It was like a buffet or something, but it was just their house. And then we talked about Katie’s wedding, and the whole family makes the dress. Well, just the women. But Katie said I could help.”
Kelly paused and sucked in a breath. “With the sewing and stuff. And I’m going to. Not because it’s like fun or anything, but to be polite.”
Sam actually rubbed his eyes. He checked the clock over the stove and saw the second hand moving in the normal direction.
So if he hadn’t fallen into an alternative universe, what the hell was going on?
He didn’t recognize the girl sitting across from him at the dinner table. She looked like his daughter, but she didn’t sound like her. Plus, this kid was smiling. Until this second he hadn’t known Kelly had teeth.