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"Sure Nick will take care of you Holler if you need anything else"
She nodded at Renee and figured it was ti behind the hostess stand
Sucking in a deep breath, Gia led Jason around the partition concealing the restaurant from the front door Instantly, she saw her fahed Mo at her folks Tony Jr played with a pair of plastic cars on the table, crashing the explosive sounds He looked so much like her brother sometimes that it hurt
The boy looked their way, his dark eyes piercing, then they lit up with recognition "An’ Gia!"
As he cla it and his booster seat over, he darted across the restaurant toward her Jason released her so she could crouch and welcome the happy child into her arms The moht her balance and laughed Automatically, Jason braced her with a hand on her back She sent hilance before she turned back to Little Tony
"How’s our big boy? You been good for your mama?"
He nodded earnestly "I helped"
"Of course you did"
"Colleen helped, too" The little boy grinned
From his smile, Gia had no doubt that he liked the wo her absence "That’s great"
As she stood and ruffled his hair, Jason took her hand again and nudged her forward She looked up to see her parents and sister-in-law all gaping and silent
She held up her pal as she closed the short distance between her husband and her faave her the once-over before their collective gazes slid over to Jason They studied him unabashedly Her father frowned
Her mother stood "Hello, dear Mila said you wouldn’t be here I’ht a…friend" She smiled wanly "Why don’t you introduce us?"
Here went nothing
"They’re not just friends, Sil," Mila corrected herto a scowl, her father stood and looked Jason in the eye "You dating hed "Daddy, be nice If you’ll give me a minute--"
"No, sir" Jason held out his hand and waited until her father shook it "I lare at Jason, but he just sent her a cool glance
Maybe it didn’t ood way to drop this boasped and blinked at her "You’re ?"
He cleared his throat, and they looked around to see irl she’d gone to high school with Their neighbors down the street sat two booths away She and Jason had e secret for nearly a year Between crazy Twitter peeps and gossipy folks in the neighborhood, the truth would travel so fast, they ht make the local ten o’clock news
"Why don’t we sit down, Mom?" She looked pointedly around her
Mama pursed her lips Her short dark hair didn’t quite hide the flush of her cheeks "All right"
Her father followed the down as she’d hoped
Aard prevailed as they pulled up spare chairs Gia lifted Little Tony and set hiain and have a buffer "Mo He’s my husband and he wanted toand ask hter’s hand?" Daddy scowled
Her mother looked uncertain "Do you love her?"
Mila frowned "How long have you been married and how did we not know about this?"
Gia slapped a hand over her face "Can we skip the interrogation, please? Dad, we chose to elope Mo? I’irl" Then she turned to her sister-in-law "We ot the phone call with the news, Jason and I were in Vegas When we returned, everything was crazy, and I couldn’t bring myself to lay more upheaval on any of you…so I made the choice to live separately from my husband while you needed me"
Her father’s scowl deepened, then he leaned across the table to glare at Jason "You supported this decision?"
"Not in the least She slipped throughto convince her for nearly teeks that we belong together She’s proving a little stubborn, but I intend to persevere"
Her father seemed to like that answer A little smile lifted the corner of his mouth "Good"
"Happy birthday" Jason set the present on the table between thee, stunned Her father hadn’t growled or thundered? She turned to her mother, keenly aware of the woman’s confused stare She also looked a bit hurt
"I didn’t marry him to upset you," Gia vowed
With a tilt of her head, the older woed that truth "He’s not Italian"
"Men of other nationalities can be equally wonderful," she pointed out
Moht be a little biased"
"I’ herhis hand over hers "But I assure you that I’ll always take care of your daughter and any children we have for as long as she’ll let hts "