by Paula Kay
“You two go have some privacy. We’ll finish up in the kitchen,” Gigi said as Lia and Blu were already making their way back inside the villa.
“Actually, I’m dying for a little walk. I’m afraid if I sit down, I won’t get back up again after that long flight. Bella, what do you think? Are you up for the walk down the hill.”
“Ooh, yes. That sounds perfect. Let me just go grab my shoes. Jem, have you seen the house your mom got us?”
“Only what seems to be a very little bit of it. Mom’s getting my room ready along with my dress. I guess I’ll do a quick fitting when we get back.”
“I can’t wait to see you in the dress. Honestly, Blu’s sketches don’t even begin to show how gorgeous it is in real life.”
“That’s my talented mom for you. She is pretty amazing, that’s for sure. Go! I need to move before I lose my motivation.” She laughed as Isabella ran through the door.
Jemma followed after her to go into the kitchen, where Gigi had two warm scones wrapped in napkins for them.
“Would you like some coffee before you go?” Gigi said.
“Or here’s some fresh orange juice.” Blu handed her the beverage and leaned in to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “Honey, are you sure you’re okay to go out? I’d think that you’d be feeling pretty tired—after your flight.”
Jemma tried—unsuccessfully—to stifle a yawn. “Thanks for the juice. I am pretty wiped out, but I’m okay. We won’t be gone long.” She hugged her mom. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I always worry about you, my dear—it’s a mother’s duty.” Blu laughed and held out a second glass of orange juice for Isabella, who had just entered the kitchen. “Here you go, sweetheart. A little energy for the hike back up the hill.”
Isabella laughed and drank the orange juice down in fast gulps. “Let’s go, Jem.”
Jemma glanced over at her friend as they began walking, the silence easy between them as they both seemed mesmerized by the beauty that was Positano.
“Wow, it really is so gorgeous here, isn’t it? It’s just like the pictures I’ve seen, only a hundred times better and everything I’d imagine a quaint coastal town of Italy to be like.”
Isabella nodded her head in agreement. “It is—and made a hundred times better for me because now you’re here. Thanks again—so much—for coming. You have no idea what it means to me, Jem. I still don’t quite understand how you’re getting away for so long—and what’s happening with the orphanage? Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes. Tori arrived about a week ago. Sorry, I so badly wanted to tell you but I knew that once I started talking about all that was going on back home, I’d somehow let it slip about seeing you in only a few days.”
Isabella laughed. “Well, I’m sure I’d be the same if I were trying to keep a secret like that from you.”
“So, not that it’s easy being away from Raf for so long, it’s worth it to be here with you during this time—before the both of us are old married women and have no girl time to ourselves.”
“Bite your tongue.” Isabella laughed. “Thomas is well aware that I still want to be able to get together with my girlfriends—and old married women? Tell me you really don’t think that about yourself, Jem!”
They were teasing each other, and Jemma loved it—it was just like all the memories she had of their travels together during that first year after they’d met. Who’d have imagined that the two of them would be such fast friends? And now Jemma could hardly remember a time when she didn’t have Isabella to turn to whenever she needed a friend—for the good times and the not-so-good times. Isabella had been there for her through it all. If only she’d had Isabella in her life during her teen-age years. Maybe she wouldn’t have wasted so much time. She smiled. She couldn’t regret those times either—it was what had brought her and Rafael together.
“Hello? Earth to Jemma.” Isabella was giggling as they neared the bottom of the hill, where some little shops and cafes began.
“Sorry. And no—I don’t think that. I’m a happily married woman, and Raf and I are going to stay young at heart forever. And he does plan to come himself just as soon as Tori is feeling back on her feet with everything. I don’t think he’ll be able to stay away for too long. I can’t convince him not to worry—not to miss me too much.”
Jemma tried to recover from her slip-up, but the look on Isabella’s face told her that she’d not succeeded.
Isabella stopped walking to look at her. “Worried? Why would Rafael be worried about you? Jem, you’re freaking me out a little bit. What are you not telling me?”
Jemma bit her lip, trying to decide if she could successfully alleviate her friend’s concern or if now was really the right time to divulge the rest of her secret. But she wanted the morning to be all about Isabella. She didn’t want to take anything away from hearing her friend’s excitement about everything that was happening in her own life.
Jemma laughed and reached out to squeeze Isabella’s hand. “Oh, I didn’t even mean to use the word worried. You know Raf. He just doesn’t like for us to be apart for too long. He’s so darn romantic, that one.”
Isabella laughed, and Jemma thought she seemed satisfied enough with her response. “Hey, Thomas too—I must say—and let’s not complain about that any time soon.”
“Good point.”
“Now, have you had enough walking? Not to be rude, but you are looking a bit tired, Jemma. Shall we pop into one of these cafes for a coffee?”
“Yes, I’m done walking, yes, I’m quite tired, and yes to a coffee—although I’ll warn you now that I’m sticking to decaf this morning. I don’t want anything to disrupt this much-needed nap I’m going to take when we get back.”
“Sounds good too me,” Isabella said, and Jemma linked her arm with her best friend’s as she said a little prayer in her head that her stomach would settle.
Chapter 11
Blu helped her daughter up the two steps to the makeshift podium she’d set up in her workspace at the villa. The room she’d selected had a magnificent view of the sea, as did all the suites in the villa. Yes, she was going to be very inspired here.
She smiled. She had taken on a lot, but making the dresses for Isabella’s wedding was pure fun for her. Aside from Isabella’s dress and the two dresses for the bridal party, she’d already finished the ones for herself, Emily, and Lia. Gigi had promised to give her the fitting she needed this week, and she knew that the weeks in Positano would give her all the time she needed to complete the work.
She looked up at Jemma as together they adjusted the bodice of the dress.
“Honey, did you get enough sleep?”
When Isabella and Jemma had arrived back from their walk, Blu had taken one look at Jemma before sending her straight to bed. Now she examined her daughter’s face for signs of how she was feeling.
“Yes, I did. Thank you very much. It’s hard to sleep with you all out here in this gorgeous house. And I’ve hardly had a chance to say hello to Gigi and Lia.”
Blu turned as they both heard a light knock at the door. “Your call, Jemma. Shall we invite them in to see?” There were obvious issues with the dress that Blu and Jemma both knew needed to be addressed.
Jemma nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“Come on in—the whole lot of you.” Blu laughed as she called out.
Just as soon as she’d spoken, Lia and Gigi were through the door with Isabella calling out from down the hallway that she was coming.
“Oh, Jem! I knew you were going to look gorgeous, but seriously. Do you like it? The color is good for you, yes?” Isabella walked over to touch the satin skirt of the dress. “And Annie’s will match. It’s really adorable.”
Gigi and Lia were nodding their heads and Blu bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. She could practically see the thoughts swirling in their heads as they eyed Jemma on the pedestal from top to bottom.
Finally, Jemma laughed and caught Blu’s eye as she looked toward the women
standing around her. “What? We know it needs to be taken out just a bit. Isn’t that right, Mom?”
“Mm-hmm.” Blu took a pin from between her lips to place it at the hem of Jemma’s dress as Isabella reached out to pull the fabric away from Jemma’s waist a little.
“Don’t worry, Jem. I’m sure it’s not a problem. And you look stunning!”
Blu could hardly contain her laughter. Isabella was such a diplomat, not wanting to say the slightest thing to offend her best friend, least of all something that had to do with as delicate a subject as her slight weight gain—which was arguably much more noticeable in the tightly fitted dress than in the clothes Jemma had worn earlier.
Blu winked at her daughter. “Honey, why don’t we take a little break?”
Jemma smiled and turned to address all three of the other women in the room. “So, I suppose I may have a little announcement of my own.” She moved her hands purposely to her just slightly protruding stomach.
“I knew it!” Gigi almost instantly had her arms around Jemma. “Oh honey, that’s so wonderful.”
“Jem! How exciting! I knew something was up with you. Yay! I’m going to be an auntie,” said Isabella.
“I thought you had a certain glow about you,” Lia leaned over to kiss Jemma on the cheek. “Congratulations, sweetheart. This is wonderful news.”
“Wait! How far along are you anyway? You sure have been keeping secrets, haven’t you?” Isabella laughed.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you—all of you, but Rafael and I decided that it was best to wait until the second trimester and—well, I’m not quite there, but almost. I can’t keep it from you—not when we’re all here together like this. Mom knows and you all would have known something was up, as I have definitely been feeling more tired these past few weeks.”
Isabella was counting on her fingers. “Okay, so you’ll be due in the new year?”
“Yes, the due date is early February. And Bella, I have been wondering how this dressing-fitting business is going to go, but Mom assures me that she can alter it even the week before, if I need it.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s not a problem at all, and you should go along your merry way, keeping my grandchild happy and well-nourished.” Blu laughed.
Grandmother. She still could hardly imagine the role, but it did make her happy. Her thoughts flashed to everything that had happened between her and Jemma over the past years. Jemma’s learning the truth about their relationship and Linda had nearly caused their entire family to crumble—it had nearly caused Jemma her life at one point. Blu felt her body tremble at the thought of it.
But things had a way of righting themselves—of coming full circle, Chase liked to say.
Linda would help Jemma and Rafael to care for the baby when he or she was born, and Blu could feel the healing that was still taking place after all these years. Their mother deserved their forgiveness and every happiness that being in their lives brought her.
Blu brought her attention back to Isabella and Jemma, who were laughing because Isabella was saying that Jemma could and should eat anything her little heart—and that baby—desired. The dress would be perfect and Jemma was perfect, baby bump and all.
Gigi and Lia walked over to where Blu sat getting her sewing items together. She’d finish later with Jemma, who seemed to be having the sweetest conversation with Isabella in the corner of the room. The two girls had their heads bent over Jemma’s phone, and Blu guessed that she was showing Isabella the ultrasound pictures that she’d shown Blu just a few minutes earlier.
“Shall we leave the kids to chat for a bit? I can bring some tea to the sitting area for us,” Lia said.
“That sounds great. I’ll be right there,” said Blu before she turned toward Jemma. “Jemma?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Would you like me to help you out of that dress before we go?”
“Oh yes, thanks.”
Jemma handed Isabella her phone and came over to the partition that Blu had set up for changing in the suite.
Blu looked Jemma in the eye before she had a chance to turn to be unzipped. “You are glowing, you know. You’re positively the most beautiful I’ve ever seen you.”
Jemma’s eyes seemed to tear up instantly. She’d warned Blu that she’d become so emotional lately that it was driving her mad, but watching her now, Blu thought it was a good thing.
“Rafael says he can’t get enough of me.”
Jemma looked down, but not before Blu saw the red flush creep onto her cheeks. She loved how close they’d become, and even more so since Jemma had become a wife and now mother-to-be. She carefully unzipped Jemma’s dress, loving the intimacy of the moment between them.
“Chase used to say that about me too—when I was pregnant with Kylie. I remember worrying when I was first pregnant—and I think a lot of women do—it was hard to imagine what he’d think with all the changes.”
“I worried about that too—but not anymore. Rafael is so good about reassuring me. And I can just tell—the way he touches my stomach and even talks to our baby…” Jemma laughed. “Mom, he’s just really sweet. I didn’t think I could love him any more than the day we married, but I do. I really do.”
Blu couldn’t help it. She wiped her eyes and waited until she was composed enough to speak, admiring the way that Jemma just let her be with her tears, putting her arms around her and hugging her close.
“Oh, honey. I’m just so happy for you—so proud of you.”
Jemma tilted her head back to create a little space between them. “Thanks Mom—for everything. If I can be half the mother you’ve been to me, my child will be doing okay, I think.” She laughed. “Now you scoot. Lia and Gigi are waiting for you and I’m sure they have lots to say about the news. I’m going to go fill Bella in on her list of things to be done as my child’s favorite auntie—or favorite of two aunties, I should say. Shh. Don’t tell Kylie I said that. She’d be devastated.”
They both laughed, and Blu tucked her last items away before blowing a kiss to Isabella. As she headed out the door she could hear the two of them laughing and talking in hushed voices, reminiscent of only a few years ago when they’d been young girls introduced for the first time.
She smiled. “Our babies are all grown up, Ari—and you’d be so proud of them.” She couldn’t keep herself from whispering the words out loud. It was one of those moments when she could have sworn she felt Arianna’s presence all around them.
Chapter 12
Lia set the tray of tea and cookies down on the table just as Blu entered the room.
“Well, you’ve been doing a good job with that secret of yours these past weeks,” she directed toward Blu, laughing as she spoke. “Gigi and I were just talking about how hard that must have been for you. Well, you knew how happy we were going to be as soon as we heard the news.”
“Yes, in fact, I did imagine that you’d both be pretty pleased. I imagine that the two of you are already planning for the little one’s first Christmas at the vineyard.” Blu laughed.
Lia laughed too, as that was exactly what they’d been discussing before Blu had walked into the room.
Gigi leaned over to hug Blu. “Congratulations, sweetheart. You and Chase must be so excited.”
“Yes, we are. It’s going to be a whole new chapter, that’s for sure. We’re already trying to convince the kids to come stay with us in Florence. We’ve got that great apartment above the garage that we’ve already started renovating—and Guatemala just seems so far away and—oh, I don’t know. I’d feel more comfortable having them here really when the baby is to be born.”
“That makes sense to me. And is that something that Jemma and Rafael are open to?” Gigi asked.
“Well, Jemma is, for sure. She says she’d love to live back here with us. Rafael might take a little convincing, but Jemma thinks she just needs to wait until Tori is feeling settled with the handoff at the orphanage. Rafael has been so busy lately with the kids and the other thin
gs that needed to be done around the orphanage, that they’ve hardly had much time to discuss things, let alone a future move.”
“And what about Kylie? Does she know that she’s going to be aunt?” Lia asked.
“No. Actually Jemma wanted to wait until after she’d told you all—I think for fear of Kylie spilling the beans early. She’ll tell her now, I’m sure—either over video or maybe she’ll just wait until the kids get here. Kylie will be as surprised as you all were to see Jemma here early.”
“Well, there certainly is lots of great news going on around here, isn’t there?” Lia glanced down at her ringing phone. “If you’ll excuse me. It’s Antonio.”
Lia left the others chatting and enjoying their tea as she carried her phone out to the patio, where she could speak with Antonio privately. He’d texted her earlier in the day that he had a few things to discuss with her—something he thought she was going to be very happy about.
As she listened to him on the other end of the phone, she could feel her whole body growing lighter and lighter. It was amazing how one could go through all the emotions that she’d been through over the past year. She thanked God every day that she had Antonio by her side through everything. From the moment she’d truly given him her heart all those years ago—after he’d forgiven her for the secrets she’d kept from him—she’d trusted him completely. He would never leave her side and he would always be her best friend in life. It certainly didn’t get much better than that.
She smiled as she listened to him now, thinking about the kids and how alike Thomas and Antonio were when it came to the things of the heart. Thomas’s devotion to Isabella was clear in that it was her happiness that he always put above his own. He was a fine young man, and Lia hoped that Isabella could let go of any remaining fears and doubts she might have about their future so that she too would know the joy of what it was to truly trust another with her happiness.