by SJ McCoy
“Brayden is. I’m not sure about Ally. She said something about one of her friends being upset, so she was going to see her.”
“Oh.” Chris frowned. “Which one?”
“She didn’t say, and I got the impression that was deliberate.” Audrey smiled. “Now, I understand why. I’m finally figuring out how small towns work. If she’d told me, I’d be able to tell you, and you would no doubt know the friend, too, and you’d worry about her.”
Chris smiled. “That’s right. The only trouble now, though, is that I’m going to worry and not know who I’m worrying about.”
Izzy wondered what it must be like to not only have your kids around, but to have their friends around, too, and be invested in their lives. It wasn’t something she’d ever known, but she imagined it would be kind of cool.
Clay looked at her, and she could only hope that he wasn’t about to ask if she had kids. He didn’t. “How are you doing with small-town life?”
She smiled. “I’m getting the hang of it. I like it so far.”
He had such a kind smile. “I didn’t think I’d ever want to live in a small town again, but I love this place.” He put his arm around Marianne’s shoulders. “I’m happier here than I’ve ever been.”
Seymour nodded. “I’m the same. I’m not exactly a small-town kind of guy, but I love it here.” He smiled at her. “You’ll get used to it.”
“You will,” agreed Chris. “Especially if you start coming out with me.” She made a face at Diego. “You can’t keep her to yourself all the time.”
Izzy laughed when he wrapped his arms around her. “I know. She wouldn’t let me if I tried. I’m banking on you guys to help me keep her happy here.”
They all laughed, and Izzy couldn’t help snuggling a little closer against him. He was doing such a good job of making her feel at home.
He looked around at them all. “In fact, do you all want to come over to our place tomorrow afternoon? We could have a little housewarming.” He looked at Izzy. “And you can get to know the ladies better.”
She nodded and looked around at them. They were all nodding eagerly. She almost felt as though they knew something she didn’t. She laughed. “Okay, let’s do it.”
~ ~ ~
Diego watched her as she chatted with Chris. He could see the two of them becoming friends. He liked Chris—she was nobody’s fool.
He turned when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. His son had learned that one from him.
“How’s it going, Papá?”
He nodded. “Better than I even hoped. How about you?”
“Great. I’m enjoying watching you and Izzy. You’re good together.”
“I know.” He met Zack’s eye. “And you don’t have any reservations about me doing this?”
“Hell, no! I’m excited.” He chuckled. “Of course, I’m excited for you. And if you want to know the truth, I’m excited for me, too.”
Diego raised an eyebrow at him.
“I barely remember my mother. It’s been you and me most of my life. For a long time there, I barely had you. Now, I get you back, here in my life—and I get Izzy, too.”
Diego had to blink away the tears that pricked behind his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“No! Don’t be. I wouldn’t have wanted a woman to come into our lives before now. It was just you and me. But now, maybe this is selfish, but now I have Maria, I want you to have someone in your life also. And since the someone you chose is Izzy, I’m excited for her to be a part of my life. She’s not exactly the motherly kind, is she? But I couldn’t handle it if she were.”
Diego nodded. He didn’t want to speak because he didn’t trust himself.
“Did I say that right this time?”
“You did, mi hijo. You said it well.”
“Good. Then don’t go getting all emotional on me. Or I’ll have to walk away … before I join in!”
Diego had to laugh. “And we can’t have that. We have to keep up appearances. We’re supposed to be big, tough, macho guys, are we not?”
Zack laughed with him and jerked his head to the dance floor where Izzy and Maria were dancing with some of the other girls. “Perhaps we’re supposed to be. But if anyone knows better, it’s those two.”
Izzy looked over and smiled. Diego blew her a kiss. She knew him better than that now, even if she hadn’t believed it in the beginning.
~ ~ ~
Izzy went out onto the deck and then came back in again. There was nothing for her to do. Diego had called the catering company this morning—even though she’d been convinced that they wouldn’t be able to help—not at this short notice on a Sunday.
He came into the kitchen and smiled at her. “Relax. It’s all taken care of. The point of this is for you to have fun. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it would stress you out like this.”
She made a face. “I’m not stressed. Well, maybe a little bit.”
He came to her and closed his arms around her. “Relax.”
She let out a shaky breath and rested her cheek against his chest. That helped. It always did. Except he felt as though he might be more stressed than she was. She looked up at him. “What are you worried about?”
“What do you mean?”
She put her hand on his chest. “Your heart is pounding.”
He smiled and dropped a kiss on her lips. “That’s the effect you have on me, Miss Isobel.”
She wagged her finger at him. “I’m not buying your lines, mister. What is it?”
He laughed. “Very well! I suppose I’m a little nervous, also. But only because I want you to enjoy this. I want you to be happy here.” He looked more serious. “I want you to be happy with me in this life that we’re building together.”
“Aww. I am. I love you. You know I do.”
He nodded. “I do.”
She looked outside; it had been threatening to rain all morning. “Do you think we should have them move the food inside?”
“It’ll be fine. They can move it if it rains. We don’t need to look for problems before they arrive.”
“True. What time are Zack and Maria coming?”
“They’re on their way. He called a few minutes ago.”
As if to answer her question, the doorbell rang, and they went together to answer it.
Zack and Maria stood there, grinning at them.
“Come on in,” said Izzy. “You really don’t need to ring the bell.”
Zack smiled at her. “It seemed rude to just come in, but you’re right. We’re family, after all.”
She smiled back at him. He’d gone out of his way to be nice to her last night, and it seemed he was doing the same today. She wrapped him in a hug. She liked him a lot.
Maria pushed him aside and hugged her next. “I’m the one who’s big on family around here. I should be in on the hugs.”
Izzy laughed and hugged her back. She loved that they were both so openly affectionate.
The doorbell rang again. This time it was Ted and Audrey. After that, people started arriving in droves, and Izzy had to give up and just relax and enjoy herself.
She was sitting chatting with Chris when little Sophie came running to her. “Aunt Izzy!” She climbed straight up into her lap and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Chris laughed. “I didn’t know you had family here.”
Izzy smiled. “Neither did I, but this young lady claimed me.” She dropped a kiss on Sophie’s head. “And I claimed her right back.”
Colt and Cassie appeared. “Sorry,” said Colt. “She’s been so excited to come see her Aunt Izzy.”
Izzy smiled. “No reason to be sorry. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her, too.”
Diego appeared beside them, and to Izzy’s surprise, Sophie cowered against her. Her arms instinctively tightened around her.
Diego nodded. He looked sad, but he understood. He took Colt’s arm, and they walked away.
Izzy put her head down near Sophie’s ear. “Did he remind you
of someone?”
She nodded.
“Who?”
“Jimmy. My mom’s boyfriend. He broke my arm.”
Izzy’s eyes filled with tears at the same time her heart raced. “Well, you can trust me that Diego is nothing like Jimmy. He’s big and strong, but he’s the kind of big and strong who looks out for little girls, not the kind that hurts them.”
Sophie looked at her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I can promise you.”
“Okay.” Sophie giggled. “He is handsome. Jimmy was butt ugly.”
Izzy had to laugh. It seemed she truly had found a kindred spirit.
She looked around when she realized that the chatter had died down. It seemed everyone had stopped talking, and they were all looking at Diego, who was coming back to her with a big smile on his face. He held his hand out to her. She hadn’t expected him to want to make some kind of speech or anything, but if he was going to, she was glad he wanted her with him when he did.
She set Sophie down and went to him. Chris gave her a weird look as she went.
“Miss Isobel.”
She looked up at him. He looked weird, too. He was smiling, but his eyes were too shiny. Was he about to cry?
She went to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Are you all right?”
He chuckled. “I am.” He looked around, and she realized that everyone was watching them. She stepped away from him, but he kept hold of her hand.
“There’s something I need to ask you.”
She glanced around the room, wondering what was going on. She caught Zack’s eye, and he nodded and gave her an encouraging smile. Maria was grinning by his side. Then she spotted Audrey. Ted had his arm around her shoulders, and she was wringing her hands together. Izzy couldn’t understand the look she gave her. She looked happy and nervous at the same time.
“Miss Isobel?”
She looked back at Diego, and he laughed.
“This is kind of important. If I could have your attention?”
She laughed. “Sorry. I’m just wondering what you’re setting me up for. I mean, this is obviously a setup, isn’t it? Look at them all.” She laughed again. “They’re giving you away.”
He did look around at everyone, but he chuckled and held his hands up. “You see what I have to deal with? Now you understand why I had to do it this way.”
They all laughed with him, and Izzy felt even more confused. “Do what? What are you up to?”
He took her hand and brought it up to his lips, brushing them over her wrist before he spoke again. This time he was more serious.
Her heart felt as though it might beat right out of her chest when he got down on one knee. His big, brown eyes were full of love as he looked up at her. “What I’m trying to do here, Miss Isobel is ask you to marry me. I asked you once not so long ago if you wanted to journey over the rainbow with me, to see if we might find the crock of gold.” He looked around at everyone. “She told me it’s a crock of shit!”
She had to laugh along with everyone. It was what she’d believed at the time. Since then, he’d proved her wrong.
“This time, I’m going to ask you in a simpler way. Just to be sure you understand. Izzy, I want you to walk through life beside me. I want to wake up with you every morning for the rest of our lives. I want to do everything in my power to make you happy. It won’t all be rainbows and unicorn farts. Even a romantic like me can admit that. But I can promise you, it will be real. And if you’ll have me, ours will be a life filled with love and laughter. What I’m asking is if you will do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She nodded, but her voice wouldn’t work. Tears were streaming down her face. He slid a ring onto her finger and got to his feet. There were tears on his cheeks. He looked down into her eyes.
“Yes,” she finally managed to squeak.
He cupped his hands around the sides of her neck and looked down at her lips. Then he looked back into her eyes, and she nodded in the moment before he claimed her mouth in a kiss that told her so very eloquently just how much he loved her.
When they came up for air, everyone was clapping and congratulating them. Audrey hugged her, so did Ally and Brayden and Ted. All the friends that she’d already made here and the people she knew would become friends.
Little Sophie tugged on her hand. “Your ring is so pretty.”
Izzy looked down at it. She’d been so caught up with Diego that she hadn’t even noticed what the ring looked like. She was just thrilled that it was there.
Her mouth fell open when she saw it.
Maria appeared at her side. “Didn’t he do well?”
Izzy spluttered. “It’s … damn!”
Maria laughed. “That’s what I thought, too. But then I should have known he has great taste. He chose you.”
Izzy hugged her. “Thanks Maria.”
“Thank you! I can’t believe that I get such an awesome mother-in-law!”
Izzy smiled. “I never thought about that. I’ll be your mother-in-law, won’t I?”
Maria nodded happily. “And grandma to our babies.”
Izzy’s eyes filled with tears again.
Zack put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.
“Are you okay with this?” she asked him.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’m so much more than okay. And don’t worry, I won’t be a difficult stepson.”
She laughed. “I’ll try not to be a wicked stepmother. I’ve never been a mom before, though.”
Zack tightened his arm around her shoulders, and she saw Diego come to stand beside Maria.
“I’m going to tell you something that even Maria doesn’t know,” said Zack.
Maria raised an eyebrow at him.
“You’ve made me almost as happy as you’ve made my dad, Izzy. Don’t ever think that I’m not happy about this. You said you’ve never been a mom before; well, I’ve never had a mom before. I had a mother till I was six, but I don’t really remember her. I used to wish that one day my dad would find a really awesome woman and get married.” He grinned. “And today you made my wish come true.”
Izzy swiped at her eyes. “Damn. You’re going to have me bawling.”
Diego wiped his sleeve across his face. “And me.”
He came and put his arm around her. “Do you believe me now … that we’re family? That we want and need to be a family as much as you do?”
She nodded as she looked up into his eyes. “I believe you.”
“Good.”
Ted and Audrey came to stand with them. Audrey took hold of her hand to admire the ring. “It’s beautiful, Iz.”
Izzy looked at the diamond on her finger and then smiled at Diego. “It’s big and in-your-face and gorgeous! What else should I have expected?”
Diego swaggered his shoulders. “Nothing less than the best for my beautiful wife.”
Ted slapped his shoulder. “So, now we get to be each other’s best man?”
Diego’s smile faded, and he looked at Zack. Izzy understood straight away what he was thinking. He wouldn’t want to have to choose between his son and his best friend.
She smiled and slipped her arm through Zack’s. “Phew. And I thought you might ask my boy to be your best man.”
Diego still looked uncertain.
“I’m kind of hoping that he’ll walk me down the aisle.”
Diego’s eyes shone with tears again.
Zack smiled down at her happily. “It’d be my honor.”
~ ~ ~
As they lay in bed that night, Diego curled his arm around her and hugged her to his chest. “I love you, Izzy.”
“I love you more, Diego.”
He chuckled. “Impossible.”
She looked up into his eyes. “Don’t you believe it. I love you to the ends of the earth and back again.”
He smiled. “I love you all the way to where the rainbow ends.”
She laughed. “Rainbows don’t end.”
/> “Exactly.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “My love for you will never end. You’re going to be my wife, Izzy. I will love you until the day I die. And I promise I will do everything in my power to make you happy.”
She smiled up at him. “I believe you. And I already know that you are a powerful man.”
He winked at her. “But only when you want me to be.”
“I do want you to be. I want you to be who you are.”
It was true. He’d loved her past all her hang-ups, and she knew that he would love her until the day he died. This big, beautiful man had taught her what love and family really meant, and she intended to spend the rest of her days loving him and their family right back;
;
~ ~ ~
I hope you’ve enjoyed Diego and Izzy’s story. I just love them - as individuals and as a couple. We’ll see more of them around Summer Lake in the future. The next book out will be Austin and Amber in Tell the Stars to Shine, Summer Lake Seasons, Book 6. You can learn more here.
If you’re holding out for the next pair of fifty-somethings in Summer Lake Silver, I’m sure that you won’t be surprised to hear that Manny is next up. His book will be coming out this summer.
If you want to go back and learn how Maria and Zack got together or see what else you might have missed you can find all my books listed in chronological order here.
A Note from SJ
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