Lia Mariani and Dominic MacCleod were standing barely with barely an inch apart.  He had her face cupped in his hands, staring deeply into her eyes.  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this; to hold you in my arms, keep you safe from anything that scares you or makes you feel insecure.  To do this”.  He bent his head towards her and kissed her lips softly then pulled his mouth away from hers to look into her eyes again.  “Are you going to run from me now?  Tell me you don’t want me...don’t want this?

“I-I don’t know how to do this.  I don’t know how to love you”.

He smiled at her.  A smile as brilliant as the sun itself.  He dipped his head and captured her mouth again.  This time, his kiss was deep and needy.  She found herself weak in the knees. “I’d be happy to teach you how”.

“CUT!”  The director, Jonathan Headly, yelled out.  “That was perfect...and we are WRAPPED”.  The crowd of cast and crew whooped and clapped in celebration.  They were right to celebrate; they knew they had a hit on their hands and he knew that the success would be in large part due to the white hot chemistry between the two leads.  This was the second movie the two up and comers had done together and there was speculation that they were dating in all of the blogs and gossip rags.  They weren’t, but the assumptions were only natural based on their chemistry and the friendship they forged after their first movie “The Fellowship”.

Lia and Dominic hugged each other, and he lifted her off of her feet and squeezed her tight.

“You were brilliant as always little bit”.  In his rich scottish brogue.  His deep brogue always made Lia’s heart skip a beat.  That and he was exceptionally gorgeous.

He had ink black hair that was currently cut close to his head and a clean shaven face that was a departure from the short beard he preferred. His eyebrows were dark and thick.  Lia wanted to touch them every time she looked at his face.  And oh what a face it was.  He had a strong, squared jaw, deep set eyes that twinkled when he smiled, he seemed to alway be smiling.  His nose was perfectly shaped, she wanted to kiss the bridge of his nose whenever she was close to him.  His eyes were as blue as the bluest ocean. He had Eyes you could drown in if you found yourself the object of one of his gazes.  Lia seemed to often be the object of that gaze.  

His body was one of legend and impossible dreams.  He was 6’2 with strong, broad shoulders, well defined biceps, the left one sporting a half sleeve of tattoos of celtic symbols in honor of his heritage. He was big and muscular.  Not bodybuilder big, but big enough.  He had pecs you just wanted to caress.  And his abs; by god his abs!  If there was such a thing as a 24 pack, Dominic had it.  He had that “V” shape that her best friend Mimi referred to as “fuck muscles” leading down to his crotch.  Lia often wondered what was at the bottom of those muscles.  His ass was full and firm.  She knew this first hand because she’d had to handle it several times in both movies they’d co-starred in.  His legs were no less defined than the upper half of his body.  Dominic MacCleod was so hot he smouldered.

His personality didn’t match his looks, though.  His looks would suggest that he would be brooding and serious; nothing could be further from the truth.  He was sweet and goofy.  When she’d learned when they were working on their first movie that he was obsessed with the highly inappropriate cartoon, “Archer” she knew they’d be friends.  Even her cat Lollipop loved him, and she didn’t like anyone.  She’d do that figure eight around his legs whenever he came to the rented house she was living in with a couple of the female crew members.  When they were both reclining on the couch it was Dominic Lolli curled up next to, giving him kitty headbutts that she was otherwise stingy with.  Yup, her fickle cat loved him.  So did Lia. She loved him.  She was IN love with him.

“You weren’t so bad yourself, fella”, Lia quipped, smiling back at him.

“Wrap party’s at the Funky Chicken!”  The unfortunately named bar and grill in the Nevada town they were filming in.  The cast and crew frequented the place during their 2 months of filming and the owner had graciously offered to shut down the place so that they could hold their wrap party there.

“You goin’? I’m not goin’ if you don’t”.  Dominic as they walked off set.

“Bullshit, MacCleod’.  You can’t pass up free food and beer”.  Lia laughed.

Dominic threw back his head and laughed.  “Yeah, your right.  I just wouldn’t have as much fun if you weren’t there”.  He looked over at Lia and even though it was dark, he could still see her.  It was like she was lit from within.  She was beautiful.  The most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.  More beautiful than the most beautiful things found on this planet.  God took his time with Lia.  He wanted to get her just right; to make her perfect.  He did just that.

She was a little thing, no more than 5’3.  He constantly marvelled at her deep reddish brown skin.  Skin that was unbelievably soft and blemish free.  She had the cutest heart shaped face with high cheekbones and big hazel eyes that seemed to be able to see into your soul. She had the cutest button nose.  It suited her face so perfectly. And those lips.  Her lips were bow shaped and full.  They were so soft, thank God for the two movies they’d done together because he’d gotten to kiss those lips often.  Currently her dark brown hair was straightened with soft curls.  He didn’t understand why the set hair stylist insisted on straightening her hair.  Her natural texture was amazing.  Cottony shoulder length coils and curls that were soft to the touch.  He’d stroked that hair whenever they’d have movie nights and she’d inevitably fall asleep on his chest.  He loved movie nights.

Her body had womanly curves, but she kept her body tight and lightly muscled because if you wanted to be a successful lead actor it was necessary.  Lia’s ass bucked tradition, though.  It was more than full, but it was high and tight while still remaining soft and squeezable.  He’d squeezed it more than a few times.  Thanks again, movie career.

She was the perfect specimen, but it was her personality that made her loveable.  She was kind and thoughtful; didn’t have a mean bone in her body.  The supporting actress, Diana Canaan was a diva and a raging bitch.  Lia was such a respite from Diana’s antics that the rest of the cast and crew had taken to calling her the anti-diva.  She’d often cook elaborate meals for the cast and crew.  She was amazing.  Dominic could not deny that he was deeply, hopelessly in love with her.

“Don’t worry, Dom.  I will be at the wrap party with bells on”.

“Just bells?”  Dominic quipped.

Lia smacked his arm and laughed.  “You wish”.

“Yuup!”  He laughed.

She rolled her eyes at him.  “I’m gonna shower and change into CLOTHES.  I’ll be ready in about an hour”.

“Alright.  I’ll pick you up in an hour and a half”.  He knew his friend well.

Three weeks after filming wrapped, Lia was in New York walking into her family’s restaurant Mariani’s.  

“E’ possible? La mia bella e casa!” ( Can it be? My beautiful baby girl is home!) Lia’s mother Giulia exclaimed as she saw her daughter walked in the door.  Lia laughed and squirmed as her mother squeezed her tight and showered her face with kisses.

“Madre, di agire come se non l’avete visto in anni!  Ero solo andata per due mesi!” (Mother, you act as if you haven’t seen me in years! I was only gone for two months!)

Lia was born to a young ethiopian immigrant girl named Abeba in Italy when she was abandoned by her boyfriend and had nowhere to go.  She was heavily pregnant with Lia and grateful for a home and a warm bed.  She delivered a beautiful baby girl two weeks later and she asked Giulia to name her.  Giulia held the little girl and said “Assomigli a Lia per me. Ti piace questo nome, bambino?” (You look like ‘Lia’ to me. Do you like that name, little baby?)  Giulia and Gabriele brought the young girl and her baby home 3 days later.  When they woke up in the morning, Abeba was gone...but Lia still slept soundly in her bassinet.

Giulia and Gabriele thought that maybe the girl had gone into town to get supplies for the baby, but when she hadn’t returned they’d realized that she abandoned the child.

“Meglio si dovrebbe lasciare il bambino con noi di abbandonare la sua strada”. (Better she should leave the baby with us than abandon her in the street.) said Gabriele.  And just like that, baby Lia was the 4th addition to the Mariani brood.  Giulia and Gabriele had three sons: Gianni, Giovanni, and Giuseppi.

The Mariani’s emigrated to America when Lia was nine.  Gabriele’s cousin Francesco and his family had settled in New York City when they emigrated to America and had begged them to do the same.  The Mariani’s finally decided to make the move.  Gabriele invested money in Francesco’s restaurant which quickly became one of the best and most frequented restaurants in Manhattan.

Lia’s father made his way out of the kitchen.  “There’s mia bella!”, Gabriele said in heavily accented english.  “How was the filming? We gonna hit again?”

“HAVE a hit, papa”,  Lia laughed.  “And yes, I do believe we have a hit on our hands, if I do say so myself”.

“You and that boy Dominic do good together”, Giulia said.  “You should do all your movies together”.

“If I had my way, we would.  I love him...I mean I love WORKING with him”.  Lia blushed at her slip of the tongue.  Her mother hadn’t missed it.  Neither did her overprotective father.

“You like this boy?  He likes you?  Of course he does, the way he kisses you.  I don’t like him”.

“Papa, you don’t even KNOW him!  Stop being so overprotective.  Besides, Dom is really sweet and kind”.

“Yeah...you like him.  He’s not good enough for you, I don’t have to know him to know that”, her father blustered.

Lia walked over to her father and squeezed him around his waist.  “Don’t worry papa, you’ll always be my first love”.

“Lia bella, stop charming your padre and come here and tell me all about your movie.  And this Dominic who has stolen your heart”.

Lia couldn’t even argue with her mother.  Dominic MacCleod had surely stolen her heart.

*********************************

Dominic headed to his friend Mike’s house to pick up his dog, Seamus.  Before he could ring the doorbell, Seamus was at the door, whining and scratching.  Mike opened the door and Dominic was immediately tackled by a 90 pound rottweiler who had apparently missed his human.

Dominic kneeled down and let Seamus topple him over and cover him with doggie kisses.  Once he’d covered Dominic in a sufficient amount of dog slobber, Seamus laid down on his “daddy’s” chest and whimpered any time there was an attempt to move him.

“Alright crazy, you’re gonna have to let me up, so I can get your stuff and we can go home”.

Seamus heard the word ‘home’ and jumped off of Dominic’s chest, wagging his stubby tail frantically.

“So how was he, Mike?  He didn’t give you any trouble did he?”

“Well he whined for about an hour, but I gave him half my porterhouse and he settled right in”.

“A porterhouse, Mike?  I hope you went back to feeding him his dog food”.

Mike gave him a sheepish lopsided grin.

“Oh for fucks sake, Mike”.  Dom said with an exasperated sigh. He looked down at Seamus and said, “If you think you’re getting the kings treatment at home think again, buddy”.  The dog just looked up at him and gave a little bark.

Dominic and Mike walked into the house to gather up all of Seamus’ things.

As Mike wandered around the house collecting the dog’s things and putting them into a duffle bag, he got a mischievous smile on his face. “So, Dom.  How’s the earth angel?” Mike asked, referring to Lia.  “Did you ask her to marry you yet?”

“Fuck off, Mike”, Dom said, smiling.  “We’re friends, that’s all”.

“Yeah, I can tell by that goofy smile you get on your face whenever you hear her name that you're just 'friends'”.

“Shut up.  Now give me my dog’s shit so I can get out of here”.

“Here.  If you talk to Lia tonight tell her I love her and that anytime she wants to run away with me, my bags are packed”.

Dominic laughed.  “Fuck you, dipshit.  And thanks for watching my boy”.

Dominic bent down and put Seamus in his harness and then into his car and sped off.  His thoughts returned to Lia for about the millionth time that day and he smiled from ear to ear.

Lia and Dominic had a ritual where they Skyped once a week so that Lia could “talk” to Seamus.  Dom had brought Seamus along to the first movie they starred in and it was love at first sight for she and the canine.  Seamus wasn’t happy about being away from familiar surroundings, so he mostly spent time in Dominic’s trailer, whining.  The only time he perked up aside from being with Dom was when Lia paid even the slightest attention to him.  Then he would be beside himself, wagging his stubby tail like crazy, dropping down into the puppy play bow, running in circles and jumping around excitedly.  Dominic thought Seamus was lucky; the canine could openly express the way Dom felt about Lia whenever he saw her.

“Shamey!  How’s my big baby?  I miss you, big boy, did you miss me?”  Seamus jumped up and licked the computer screen and whined because he couldn’t actually reach Lia.

“Do you have to call him “Shamey”?  It’s like the least masculine nickname for a 90 pound rottie.”

“Shut up.  He likes it when I call him Shamey.  Don’t you baby?  My baby loves when I call him Shamey, “doggie talking” to the dog”.  Seamus barked his response.

“Okay, enough stroking the dog’s ego.  It’s time to talk to me. I’m feeling like chopped liver here.”  Dom said, chuckling.

“You big baby!  So what’s the haps big guy?  You got any new projects coming down the pike?”  

“Yeah!  I got that Mike Anderson project!  We start filming in four months”.

“Dom that’s great!  I knew you’d get it!”  Lia beamed at him.  

“Thanks, babe.  What about you?”  

“Ava Bentley wants me for the female lead of that movie adaptation for that awful and poorly written fanfic “The Red Door”.  

Dominic wrinkled his nose like he smelled something bad.  “Yeah, I heard the book was a piece of shite, but it has all the middle aged housewives creaming their knickers.  Bright side is, it’s a guaranteed hit.  Although I don’t like the idea of some guy simulating sex with you.  That’s been MY job for two movies now”.

Lia laughed.  “Yeah, I don’t necessarily want to be writhing under any other guy but you”.  Lia immediately realized what she’d said and felt a blush that began from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.

Dominic’s mouth spread into a wide, shit eating grin.  “Is that right, Mariani?  So would you say you ENJOY writhing under me?  Should we do that more often, because I can arrange that we end up in that position in every movie we appear in together in from here on out”.

“I’m disconnecting this video call right now”.

The last thing Lia heard before she disconnected was Dom laughing uproariously.  “Jerk”, she said with a laugh.

****************************

Lia arrived at her bestie Mimi’s house two hours after her video session with Dominic.

She knocked on the door and jumped when the door flew open.  “Get in here!”

What’s the matter with you, Mimi?”

“Spider, spider, spider, spider, SPIDER!”

Lia rolled her eyes at her extremely arachnophobic, highly dramatic friend.  “Where?”

Mimi pointed to the wall over her loveseat.  On the wall was a spider about the size of a quarter.  She slipped off one of her ballet flats, walked over to the wall and smacked her shoe over the spider.

“All gone, you punk.  Get me some spray cleaner and a paper towel so I can clean up the crime scene”.

Mimi perked up like she hadn’t just been panicking like a lunatic just a minute ago and grabbed her friend up in a tight hug.

“So how was filming?” she asked.

“It was great.  Nothing but positive feedback.  It’ll probably be a few months before the movie’s fully edited and screened for the studio, but John feels real good about the outcome.  The producers seemed really pleased.”

“That’s great, mama.  And now for the important question.  How is that fine ass scottish piece of man meat?

“I don’t know to whom you are referring”.  Lia teased.

Mimi smacked Lia with a couch cushion and they both laughed.

“Dom’s fine.  I talked to him today.  He’s got a new movie in a few months”.

“So when are you going to man up and tell that man you are in love with him?”

Lia covered her face with her hands. “Ugh!  I don’t know why I can’t just say the words, Mimi.  I come close every time and then I just chicken out”.

“You’re putting too much pressure on yourself, Li Li.  Don’t think, just do”.

“Maybe”.  Lia said, deep in thought.

**************************

Dominic and Lia were having their usual late night phone call.  Lia made Dom call her every night while she was trying to get to sleep.  Her nighttime ritual was to shower, put on her pj’s and call Dominic.  His silky, deep voice always lulled her to sleep.

They had been talking for about half an hour before he could tell she was falling asleep.  “Lia, you asleep”.

“Mm-hm”, Lia mumbled.

“Okay well, I’m gonna let you drift to dream land.  Good night, sweetheart”.

“Night ”, Lia whispered groggily. “I love you, Dom”.

Dominic held his breath.  Did he hear her correctly.  “What did you say, Lia?”

Lia smiled. “You heard me”.

“I did.  But I need you to say it again”.

“I love you, Dom”, she said sounding a little more awake now.

“Again”.  Dom said huskily.

“I love you”.

“I love you, too, Lia”.

Lia’s heart swelled. “I’m going to sleep now, baby.  I’ll call you in the morning”.

“Okay.  Sleep tight, baby.  I love you”.  Now that Dominic said it, he never wanted to stop.

“I love you, too”.

After they hung up, Lia rolled over on her back and began giggling and kicking her legs like a teenaged girl who just found out that the cutest boy in school liked her.  Only this was SO much better.

Fifteen minute later when she was just about drift off to sleep her phone rang.

“Baby", Dominic said, “I’m getting on the red eye to New York. I’ll be there in about seven hours”.

Lia smiled.  “Aren’t there faster planes?”

“No, baby but I promise it will be worth the wait”.

“I can’t wait, baby”.  I love you”.

“I will NEVER get tired of hearing that”.

“Good, because I’ll never get tired of saying it”.

Dominic smiled from ear to ear.  “See you in seven hours.

When they ended the call, Lia squealed, got up and began jumping up and down on her bed.  She scared the crap out of Lollipop, but she didn’t care.  Her man was on his way.

Dominic was frantically throwing clothes into a duffle bag.  It was 9pm and his plane wasn’t leaving until 12am, but he had to pack and he needed to call Mike to have him pick up Seamus.  He dialed his friends number and hoped he’d pick up.

“What do you want, man”, Mike said, irritation in his voice. Then he whispered “I’m about close the deal with this cute little latina mami”.

“Who says ‘close the deal’ anymore?  Anyway, I need you to come and get Seamus.  I need to get the red eye to New York”.

“Why do you need to get to New York so fast?”, Mike asked before he realized why.  “OOOOOHHHHH, you're going to see Lia.  But why in the middle of the nigh-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!  You’re gonna go GET some!”

“No, you asshole.  I’m going to spend time with my girl”.

“She can’t be your girl if she doesn’t even know how you fe-OOOOOOOOOHHHH, you TOLD her?”

“Yeah, I told her...she told me first but then we told each other, look, can you come get Seamus or not?

“Yeah, I’ll pick him up in an hour.  Dude, I’m giving up pussy for you.  I better be best man at the wedding and your firstborn better be named after me”.

“If you keep Seamus AND drive me to the airport, I’ll name ALL of our kids after you”.

**********************************************

Lia woke up around 7am.  She cleaned up her apartment which took all of an hour then she went out to buy groceries.  She wasn’t sure how long Dominic was going to be in town, but she wanted to make sure that she had enough food on hand so they could avoid leaving the apartment as much as possible.  She was expecting Dom at around 11am, so when she got back to her apartment at 10, she jumped into the shower, smoothed lotion onto her skin and pulled her hair into a top knot.  She initially pulled out some underwear then thought “What the hell for?”.  She didn’t plan on staying clothed for too long.  She pulled on pink and white short shorts and a white tank top.  About 10 minutes later, her doorbell rang.  Her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest.

“Holy shit”, she whispered. “This is really happening”.

She walked toward the door and looked out of the peephole.  It was him.  She opened the door and took in the sight of him.  Because it was late October and cold in New York, he was wearing a black peacoat over a lightweight grey turtleneck, a black and grey herringbone ivy cap and black jeans.  “Damn, why is this man so perfect?” Lia thought.

They eyed each other without uttering any words to each other.  Dominic walked inside of the apartment, and moved closer to her, his eyes heavily lidded; his lust evident.  Without breaking their eye contact, Lia began unbuttoning his coat.  She pushed it off of his shoulders and then removed his cap.  She picked them up and laid them over the arm of her sofa.  When her back was turned, she felt him walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist.  He bent down and kissed her ear then whispered, “I missed you, did you miss me?”  Lia’s voice caught in throat; all she could do was nod.  He turned her around and attacked her mouth, feeding on her like a starving man.  He broke this kiss and pulled her head to his chest, inhaling her scent.  “You smell so good, baby.  So good”.   

He ran his hands up to her breasts and noticed that she wasn’t wearing a bra.  “No bra?  You’re a naughty girl aren’t you Lia”, Dominic said, his voice thick with desire.  He lifted her t-shirt and pulled it over her head.  Dominic began stroking her nipples with his thumbs until they were as hard as diamonds.  He bent and gently kissed one and then the other.  He wanted to lick them; to devour them, but there would be plenty of time for that.

Lia nodded her head slowly. She found herself not being able to speak or control her breathing. She stared up into his blue eyes and suddenly pulled his face to her’s, kissing him deeply.  Dominic groaned into her mouth, then grabbed her lifting her up and wrapping her legs around his waist.  She placed her arms around his neck and held on tight.  

“Bedroom”, he said huskily.

“End of the hall”, she breathed into his ear.  He kissed her again before walking them towards the room.

Once they were there, he gently deposited Lia onto the bed.  She slid towards the middle of the queen sized bed and watched him languidly remove his clothes.  When he was stripped down to his boxer briefs, he stalked towards her like a predator about to devour his prey.  Dominic climbed onto the bed with Lia, blanketing her with his body.  He began covering her face with kisses, traveling down to kiss and nuzzle her neck.  She loved how masculine he smelled.  He didn’t wear cologne so his fresh, and earthy scent was all him.

Dominic continued to cover her with kisses, finally focusing on her breasts.  He admired them for a moment before palming them.  Her breasts fit perfectly into his big hands.  He began to roll and pinch her nipples, causing Lia to moan and arch her back.  Dominic smiled down at her.  

“You like that, sweetheart?” he asked.  

“Oh god, yes”, she sighed.  He chuckled and lowered his head to her left breast and began suckling at the nipple.  She hissed and arched her back again.  Dominic released her nipple with a “pop” and moved to her right, lavishing it with the same attention.

Dom continued his trek south; kissing, licking and nibbling every bit of flesh within his reach.  He lingered at her belly button for a moment before moving lower.  His fingers toyed with the waistband of her shorts before being hooked into the sides and sliding them down.  “No panties, either?” He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

Lia looked down at him and smiled.  “Easy access”.

Dom laughed lightly and continued to slide the shorts down her legs.  Once he got them off he tossed them to the side and admired his prize.

“Such a pretty pussy, she’s so wet.” he said softly.  He leaned in, pressed his nose to her mound and breathed deeply.  “She smells so fucking good, too.  Does she taste as good as she smells?”

“Only one way to find out”.  Lia said.

He smiled at her, pressed a kiss to her abdomen and said “be right back”.  

“Dominic!”  Lia cried, incredulously.

“Patience sweetheart”.

Lia was so worked up right now.  She didn’t want to lose that feeling, so she began fingering her clit softly.

Dominic walked back into the room with a box of condoms.

“Get your hands of my pussy”, he growled.  “I’m the only one who’ll be making you come tonight”.

He climbed back onto the bed then lifted and spread her legs.  Dominic worshipped with nips and kisses from her ankles to the top of her thighs and back down again.  He kissed and licked the outer lips of her pussy.  Dominic attended to every part of her body...except the part that was aching to be touched.  

“Please, Dominic”.  Lia whimpered. “Please”.

Dominic’s tongue laved her from the base of her pussy to the top of her mound, careful to avoid the little bundle of nerves that just begging for attention.  He was torturing her now.

“Dominic! Baby please stop teasing me!”  

“Tell me what you want, baby”.

Dominic’s deep, rich voice sent a thrill through Lia’s body.  “I want you to stop fucking playing with me and eat me.  Lick my clit!”

He laughed and said “With pleasure, baby”.  Dominic dove in with gusto.  He used his fingers to spread her lips and flicked her clit once then twice.  Lia squirmed, desperate for the feeling he was giving her.  He swirled his tongue around the little bud, causing Lia to let out a long moan.  

“That’s it baby”, she panted, closing in on the climax she was chasing. “That’s it!”  When Dom latched on to her clit and sucked it into his mouth, Lia reached her apex.  “OHHHHHMIIIIGOOOOOOD! DOMINIC!”

“Yes, sweetheart, let it go.  Come for your man.”

At that point, Lia’s ecstasy was so great that she began babbling in italian.

“Oh bambino! di Dio e giusto farmi venire!  Te amo cosi tanto prendere tutto prendere tutto!” (Oh god baby! That’s right, make me come! I love you so much! Take it all, Take everything!)

“Cazzo me! Cazzo me!  Non si fermano!” (Fuck me! Fuck me! Don’t stop!)

“Io sono tuo di sempre!  del bambino per sempre!” (I’m yours always! Forever baby!)

Anytime Lia spoke her native language, it turned him on.  His dick was so hard right now that it felt like the skin was going to split.  He removed his briefs, then lifted his face from between her legs, his beard glistening with her essence.  Lia pulled his face up to hers in a frenzy.  “Come here, I want to taste myself on your lips!”  She latched on to his mouth and licked and sucked away the juices.  

Dominic frantically grabbed for a condom.  He was so out of control that he fumbled while trying to put it on.  Lia sat up and pulled the condom out of his hands.  She leaned over and swiped the head of Dom’s cock with her tongue before rolling the extra large condom down his extra large appendage.  

Dominic hooked his arms under Lia’s legs and pulled her towards him.  He lifted her legs and placed them both on his left shoulder and plunged into her.  He’d wanted to take it slow the first time, but he needed to be inside her so badly he couldn’t wait.  Dominic held on to her legs and went for broke, pounding into her like a man possessed.  

Lia loved the fury of the fucking Dom was delivering.  She was delirious with lust and she never wanted it to stop.  She envisioned their first time to be slow, loving and passionate.  This was better.  It was raw and powerful and still took nothing away from the deep love they had for one another.

Dominic removed her legs from his shoulder and turned her over.  “Ass up, face down, baby”.

Lia looked back at him and smiled while bending over.  Dom positioned himself behind her and slid into her with a sharp thrust.  Lia yelped then moaned.  Dominic remove the ponytail holder from her hair and grabbed a handful of hair.  He was holding it tightly when Lia exclaimed, “Harder! Pull it harder!”  He did what he was told and the pain/pleasure combination brought her to her second orgasm.  Feeling her sheath tighten and ripple around his shaft caused Dominic to climax with a long, loud groan.

Dom collapsed on top of Lia and then rolled onto his back.  They were both panting and sweaty.  Once their breathing was back under control the looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“That...was...intense”.

“That it was.  I thought our first time was going to be all candle light and romance”.

Dominic rolled over on his side, facing her.  “Are you disappointed that it wasn’t like that?”

“Hell NAW!  That was amazing!  It was the best sexual experience of my life”.

He grinned and said, “Me too.  Without a doubt”.

Lia yawned and Dom pulled her to him and rolled them over so that she was laying on his chest.  He noticed that she’d fallen asleep almost immediately.

He stroked her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead.  “My angel”, he whispered before he drifted off, too.

Lia woke up momentarily startled that there was a huge body next to her.  She looked over and saw Dominic on his stomach with her cat, Lollipop curled up on his back.  She couldn’t help but smile as she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the adorable scene.  Lolli lifted her head and looked at Lia as if to say, “I was sleeping, hussy”.

Dominic began to stir.  He lifted his head, turned toward Lia and smiled.  She was beautiful, even with the crazy bedhead she was currently sporting.

“Well good morning, sleepyhead”, Lia said, running her hands through his hair.

“Morning, baby”, he said groggily. “Wait.  What’s on my back?”

Lia giggled.  “Lolli.  You know she loves sleeping on you.”

“I didn’t even know she was here.  I don’t remember seeing her last night”.

“She probably got scared.  We were pretty loud last night.  In fact, I’ll probably have a note from my neighbors on my door this morning”.

Dominic turned slowly onto his side in order to remove the cat from his back.  She meowed in protest but jumped off of him.  Lollipop walked over to Lia and put her paw onto her leg and meowed at her.

“She’s demanding food.  I’m gonna feed her and then take a shower”.

“Want some company?”  Dom asked wiggling his eyebrows.  “I’ll wash your back for you”.

“No sir.  If you join me in the shower no actual washing up will take place and I am too sore for that.  Besides, we did PLENTY of “that” last night”.  It was true.  Lia and Dominic made love three more times before they finally passed out from exhaustion.

“You’re no fun.  Alright, you go take your shower and I’ll feed Lolli and cook breakfast”.

“You cook??  I’ve never seen you cook before”, Lia said skeptically.

“Yes I cook, woman.  Just because you’ve never seen me do it doesn’t mean I can’t”.

“Will it be edible?”  Lia teased.

Dominic scowled at her.  He pulled her on top of him and smacked her ass.  “Go take your shower”.  Lia giggled and walked to the bathroom.

*******************************

When Lia finished her ablutions and walked out of the bathroom, she was met by the heady aroma of bacon.

“Mmmmm.  That’s smells SO good, babe.  What’s on deck?”

“The basic: bacon and eggs, fried potatoes, toast and coffee.  Typical diner fare”.

“Sounds good to me”.

“Well sit down and allow me to serve you, my dear”, Dominic said as he pulled out her chair with a flourish.

Lia giggled and sat down while Dom plated the food and brought it to table of the eat in kitchen.  They both tucked in and took a few bites before Dominic asked what she had planned for the day.

“Well, I figured we could drive to Beacon and check out the Dia Art Foundation’s museum.  I’ve never been there and I figured it’d be a nice little day trip”.

Dominic audibly groaned at the thought of going to some stuffy art museum.

“...or, you could always accompany Mimi and I while we shop on 5th avenue”.

“Art museum it is”,  Dominic said with a sigh. “As long as I can bring you home and make love to you, I’ll do whatever you want”.

“Yeeeaaaahhh...we have plans this evening”.

“Why do I feel like I’m not going to like these plans we have this evening?”

“I don’t know why.  It’s nothing too horrible, it’s just that Josiah, you remember me talking about him, right?”

“Your EX?”  Dom DEFINITELY didn’t like where this was headed.

“Well, we’ve mended our friendship and he wanted to take us out to dinner. He wanted to meet you and I didn’t think it’d be a huge deal”.  Lia could see Dominic struggling not to blow his stack.

“You want us to have dinner with your ex-fiance?”  he asked, his voice low and deep.  “Why would you think I’d be okay with that, Lia?”

“I didn’t”, Lia said before bursting out laughing.  “I just wanted to see how you’d react.  We’re not having dinner with my ex.  Who does THAT?”

“You little imp!  I had truly thought you’d lost your mind!  I should pull you over my knee and spank you!”  Dom said before a sly smile split his face. “I may still do just that later on tonight”.

Lia rolled her eyes and giggled.  “Well, no worries, we’re not having dinner with him.  We are, however having dinner with my family tonight.  I just told you the whole ‘dinner with the ex’ to show you that there was something far worse than meeting my family for the first time”.

Dominic looked up at the love of his life and chucked.  “Woman, YOU are diabolical”.

**********************************

Lia and Dominic got back from their trip to Beacon at around 4pm.  They had to be at her parents’ house at  7pm, so they decided to “save time” and share a shower.  Everything was going smoothly until helping each other wash their backs turned to kissing and kissing turned into Dominic licking and sucking Lia’s pussy until her legs felt like Jello that hadn’t set yet.  By the time they were ready to leave it was 6:30pm; they’d surely be late to dinner.  Lia called her mother to let her know that she and Dom would be late.

Once Lia finished her call to her mother, they headed off to Brooklyn.

*********************************

When Dominic and Lia arrived at her parents house, it was already filled with the noisy chatter of children either playing or crying, and adults arguing about sports, discussing school districts and recipes and the latest juicy gossip.  Lia loved that sound.  She loved the sound of family.

Lia’s mother, Giulia noticed the pair enter the home and rushed to greet them.  “Mia Bella!  How is my baby girl?”  she asked while showering her only daughter with kisses.  

“Mammaaaa…”,  Lia laughed.  “Stop kissing me and say hello to Dominic”.

“Ah! Dominic, cosi bello, such a handsome boy!”  The older woman said, grabbing his face and planting kisses on both cheeks.  “Come...come meet everyone”, she said, leading him into the livingroom where most of the family was located.

Dominic couldn’t help but smile at how sweet and affectionate Lia’s mother is.  “Like mother like daughter” he thought.  Even though Giulia was not Lia’s birth mother, they seemed to have some physical attributes in common.  They were both tiny little things.  He knew Lia was 5’3 so Giulia couldn’t be any taller than that.  Interestingly, they both had hazel eyes and both of their eyes were equally wide and expressive. And both women were gorgeous. Giulia had a round face with smooth skin that belied her age with lush, dark brown hair. She was 55, but could easily pass for someone 15 years younger, which is why she liked to announce her age whenever she had the opportunity.

Giulia started by introducing Dominic to Lia’s father Gabriele, who shook Dom’s hand but still gave him the “you’re going to have to prove you’re good enough for my daughter” glare.

Gabriele was a tall, lean man with black hair that was sprinkled with gray and piercing steel gray eyes and olive colored skin. He stood at about the same height as Dominic.  He was slight, but Dominic could tell that Gabriele Mariani was a formidable man.  Very alpha male without coming off as an alpha male.  Lia had once told him that he’d had that in common with her father and it was one of the things she liked most about him.  He didn’t understand what she meant by it at first, but after meeting her father, the statement made sense.

Next was Lia’s brother, Gianni.  At thirty-five, he was the oldest of the four Mariani children.  He was like his father in that he gave off the distinct “hurt my little sister and that might be the last thing you do” vibe.  Dominic knew that attitude well.  He felt the same when any boy came sniffing around his little sister, Nessa.  Despite that, Gianni welcomed him warmly.

Gianni was tall like his father, but he was more muscular.  He had his mother’s hazel eyes, brown hair and fair skin.  He was friendly, but Dominic could tell that he was probably the more staid of all the siblings.

“Good to finally meet you, Dominic”,  Gianni said with a smile and a handshake.  “I’d like you to meet my wife Tira”,  Gianni said gesturing to the tall, attractive dark skinned black woman walking over to join them.  “And those are our twin boys Michael and Daniel” he pointed to two identical boys with brown curly hair and honey colored skin, contentedly playing games on their tablets.  They couldn’t have been more than 8 years old.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dominic.  Lia talks about you all the time”, Tina said.

“Yeah, I encourage you to only believe about half of that”.  They were all laughing when Lia’s brother Giovanni joined the group.  

Giovanni was the spitting image of his father; tall with black hair and steel gray eyes.  He was muscular in a way that was similar to Dwayne Johnson.  He was outgoing and gregarious...a real charmer.  At 27,  he was a year older than Lia and the brother she was closest to.  He was also the brother she fought with the most.

“Dominic, it’s nice to meet the man brave enough to take on my bratty little sister”, He said as Lia joined the group. “You must be a real glutton for punishment, my friend”.  

“Shut your face, Gio”, Lia said, punching her brother in the arm.

“See how she is, Dominic?  And in front of company, too.  No home training”.

Unlucky for Giovanni, his mother heard his last comment.

“Gio, non farmi umilieremo di fronte all societa. Sai che lo faro”. (Gio, don’t make me embarrass you in front of company.  You know I’ll do it.)

“Mamma, mi dispiace” (Sorry, Mamma) Gio said, contrite in his apology.

“That’s what you get you big dummy”, Lia said, mocking her brother.

“Lia, don’t make fun of your brother”, Giulia said sharply.

“Yes, Mamma”.  Dominic smirked at Lia who promptly swatted him on his arm.

**************************

The Mariani’s were loud, passionate and hysterically funny.  They would be yelling at each other one minute and laughing with each other the next.  Dominic fit right in.  He argued with Gianni and Giovanni regarding soccer and football, and traded friendly barbs with her uncle Paolo.  He played with the kids and commiserated with her father about missing their respective homelands.  They also talked about Lia.

“I see that my daughter really loves you.  And I also see that you return that love two fold”.  Gabriele said, smiling softly.  “In my mind, no man will ever be worthy of mi principessa, but if SHE feels you are worthy, that’s good enough for me.  And know that from this day forward, you are part of mi famiglia.”  Gabriele patted Dominic on the back affectionately.  Lia watched the exchange with misty eyes.

Before the couple left for home, Dominic had a Men’s Day Out scheduled with Lia’s father and brothers. He’d get to meet her other brother Giuseppi, who was away on vacation with his family on the night of the dinner.  They were going to take in a Giants game and do other “man things”.  Lia was happy that Dom got along so well with her family.  She didn’t really doubt that he would, but you could never really assume how things would go.  When they finally left the house she was grinning from ear to ear.

“I really love your family, Li.  They’re crazy, but in the best possible way”.

Lia surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.  He held her head to his chest and kissed her forehead.

“What was that for?  Not that I’m complaining?” Dominic asked with a chuckle.

“That was for being you, for loving my family.  For being my best friend and the love of my life, I’m so lucky to have you”.

“I’m the lucky one, Lia.  You’re a gift I don’t deserve, but I’ll be forever grateful that you were sent to me”.

Lia raised herself up on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on the lips of her future husband and father of her children.  She didn’t doubt for one second that she would be with Dominic MacCleod for the rest of her life.

Dominic woke up to something wet and warm caressing his cock.  He looked down to see Lia treating his shaft like it was her favorite all day sucker.

“What are you...oh shiiiiiiit”,  He groaned as Lia engulfed his dick, taking it deep into her throat.  She pulled her head back up slowly, applying suction as she went.  She let him out of her mouth with a “pop” then swirled her tongue around the head, concentrating on the sensitive underside.  She dove down and sucked his balls into her mouth, massaging them with her tongue.

“Fuck! What are you doing to me, baby?”, Dominic said through gritted teeth.

Lia looked up at him and smiled before taking him back into her throat.  She held him there for as long as she could before she began to gag then she pulled back and bobbed her head up and down rapidly, causing Dom groan and squirm.

“You like that baby?  You like the way I’m sucking your cock?”

“Oh shit yeah, baby.  I love it”.

Lia ran her hands up and down his shaft while sucking the head.

“Oooooh FUCK! Take it all the way down again, let me feel it in your throat!”

She licked him from root to tip then inhaled him again.  Once she had him in her throat again, she swallowed, increasing his pleasure.

“I’m gonna come, sweetheart.  I’m gonna come.  You want me in your mouth, huh?  You want it in your mouth?”,  Dom was breathing rapidly and fisting Lia’s hair.

“Come for me, Dom.  Give me every drop”,  Lia said before taking him back into her warm mouth.

Dominic shouted and came harder than he’d ever come in his life.  That was the best blow job he’d ever gotten.  Lia swallowed his entire offering.

“Oh my god”, Dom panted.  “You’re incredible, you know that?  That was a fantastic way to wake up”.

Lia giggled.  “The pleasure was all mine”.

“Oh I SINCERELY doubt that”, Dominic said with a laugh.

“Hurry up and get showered and dressed.  Mimi is coming over for breakfast”.

“So I finally get to meet the infamous Mimi, do I?”  Dominic teased.  “I was starting to think she was imaginary”.

“Shut up and go wash your butt!”  Lia laughed, swatting at him.

*****************************************

Mimi arrived to the apartment at around 10am with a couple of bottles of fresh squeeze orange juice in hand and Lia’s brother Giovanni trailing behind her.

Mimi Jenkins and Lia had been best girlfriends since the fifth grade.  Lia and her family had immigrated to America a year ago.  She spoke english, but her italian accent was heavy.  One of their classmates, Shawn Pettway, would tease her unmercifully about it.  He would push her and tell her to “speak english, stupid”.  One day when Shawn was being especially hateful while they were on the playground, Mimi had come to her rescue.

“Shawn, if you don’t leave her alone, I’m gonna knock you out”.

“Shut up and mind your business, Mimi.  It’s not my fault she too stupid to know how to speak english good”.

“How you gonna talk about somebody not being able to speak english WELL when you can’t do it yourself”.

The kids within earshot began laughing, embarrassing the bully.  Instead of addressing Mimi, however, he turned his anger on Lia.  He pushed her and she fell to the ground.  Before Lia had a chance to react, Mimi punched him in the stomach, put him in a headlock and made him apologize to Lia.  The two girls have been best friends ever since.

Mimi had was 5’7 with skin the color of milk chocolate.  She had shoulder length dark brown hair that she kept in its natural state.  Her were eyes were light brown and almond shaped.  She had high cheekbones, a slightly wide nose and bow shaped lips with a full bottom lip all set into an oval shaped face.  Her body was a perfect hourglass with big breast and an ample bottom.  She was the definition of the term “brick house”.

“I found a stray outside, Li”, Mimi said, jerking her thumb towards Giovanni.  “Don’t feed it, you’ll never get rid of it”.

“Oh Mimi, ever the hateful shrew”, Giovanni snarked.

“Alright you two, knock it off”.  Giovanni and Mimi have been sniping at each other for as long as she could remember.  They had the quintessential love/hate relationship.  “Gio, what are you doing here anyway?”

“Well, I know that you and the Mouthasaurus have your weekly Sunday brunch and since I knew that Dom would be stuck with you two hens, and I figured you’d need another man to balance out the numbers.  I’m just doing my future brother-in-law a solid”.

“Well, when’s the other man gonna get her?”  Mimi teased while mushing Gio in the back of the head.

Dominic walked out of the bathroom fully dressed in a black henley that showed off his well defined muscles and baggy blue jeans.  His damp hair had been raked away from his face with his fingers.

Dom and Gio greeted each other by clasping hands and pulling each other into a half hug.

“Lia, did these two white boys give each other the “black guy handshake”.

Lia laughed and said, “Looks that way”.

The two men just looked at the women and rolled their eyes.

“Dom, this is my best good girlfriend Mimi”, Lia said throwing her arm her friend’s shoulder.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mimi.  I’ve heard so much about you”.

“All good, I hope”.

“Mostly”,  Dominic said with a chuckle.

“Oh, I like him”, Mimi said, laughing.

*****************************

Brunch was a raucous affair.  The quartet ate, laughed, argued and laughed some more.  Once the meal was over, Lia and Mimi cleaned up the kitchen while the boys started watching a football game.  

“Are we really doing the cleaning while they are sitting on their asses watching football”, Mimi said incredulously.

“I know right?  They didn’t even offer to help, the little shits”.

“Anyway”, Mimi said changing the subject.  “Dominic really is perfect for you.  I like him and I approve...preliminarily.  I need to ask him what his intentions are toward my best friend”.

“You do and I’ll punch you right in your throat”, Lia said sweetly.

“You are SO violent”, Mimi said before wiping away imaginary tears.  “I’m so proud”.

“You are TOO stupid!”  Lia said, cracking up at her friend.

The two women joined the men in the livingroom.  Lia sat on Dominic’s lap and asked who was playing.

“Philadelphia and New England”, Dominic said as he kissed his girlfriend’s cheek.

Gio looked at Mimi and patted his lap, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Eww”, Mimi responded while wrinkling her nose in mock disgust.

After they watched the Pats spank the Eagles, Mimi and Gio headed out.  When they exited the building the walked to the parking garage. Gio walked Mimi to her car and when they got there he pressed her up against it, and kissed her hungrily.  Mimi reached up and stroked the hair on the back of his neck.  A car pulled into the garage so they reluctantly broke their lip lock.

 “Meet me at my place”, Gio whispered against Mimi’s ear.  She grabbed the back of his head and pulled it down for another quick kiss.  “See you there”, She said with her lips still lightly pressed against his.

Dominic had been in New York with Lia for about 3 weeks when he got a call from his agent advising him that date set for filming his upcoming project was pushed up and he had to be ready to travel to Thailand in three weeks.  Unfortunately for the couple, that meant he was going to have to fly back to Los Angeles in three days in order to prepare for the trip.

Lia and Dominic were sitting on her sofa, fingers intertwined, her head on his shoulder.

“Well, we knew you’d have to go back at some point”.  Lia said sadly.  “It sucks though.  I’ve gotten used to you being the last face I see at night and the first face I see in the morning”.

“Me too, angel.  And even if I weren’t traveling to Thailand, I hate the thought of being 2000 miles away from you.  So I was thinking that I’d move to New York once I get back”.

Lia pulled her head back to look him in the eye.  “Don’t joke around, MacCleod.  Are you serious???”

“I want to be with you as much as humanly possible, Li.  I can’t do that with you here and me in California.  You said Mimi’s sister is a real estate agent, right?”

“Yeah, but why would you need a real estate agent when you could just move in here with me?”

“Babe, I love this place, but it wouldn’t be big enough for you, me an ornery cat and a 90lb dog”.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right”.

“But you do want to live with me...right”,  Dominic asked.  He looked at her like he was afraid she’d say no.

“Are you kidding?  After these past two weeks, I couldn’t imagine a scenario where we were in the same city and NOT living together”.

Dominic looked relieved.  “Okay, so while I’m out of the country, you can start checking out spaces big enough for all four of us and you can keep me updated through Skype”.

Lia straddled Dom’s lap and kissed his forehead.  “We’re doing this?  Because once you, me, Shamey and Lolli are under one roof, that’s it.  We’re in for the long haul”.

“Ms. Mariani, you are IT for me.  The only place I want to be is wherever YOU are”.  He lifted up her left hand and kissed her ring finger.  “Make no mistake, I WILL be putting a ring on this finger, but in my mind and my heart you are already my wife.  We are definitely in for the long haul”.

Lia had tears in her eyes as she pressed her forehead against his.  “Have I told you today that I love you?”

“You did indeed, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again”.

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his lips softly.  “I love you.  So much”.

“I love you, too my angel”.  Dominic wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him, lifted her up and took into the bedroom.  He laid her on the bed and nestled between her legs, kissing her softly.  He stroked her hair, staring deeply into her eyes.  “I love you, Lia” he said as he nuzzled and kissed her neck.  Lia moaned softly, running her fingers through his silky hair.  He peppered her neck with kisses.  He sat back on his haunches, pulling her with him then pulled her baby tee over her head.  Dominic wrapped his arms around her unclipping her bra and sliding it off of her shoulders.  He laid her back on the bed and began kissing her dark brown peaks.  He swirled his tongue around one of her nipples then lightly sucked on it.  He suckled and licked until Lia said, “I have two of those, you know”.  Dominic chuckled and moved over to the other breast and lavished it with as much attention as he had to its twin.  Lia arched her back and moaned in appreciation.

Dominic slid lower, caressing her smooth skin as he went.  Lia reached down and relieved him of his shirt and pulled him up so that she could kiss him passionately and feel them chest to chest.  She ran her fingers up and down his back sensually, enjoying the feeling of her hands against his muscles.  Dominic reluctantly removed himself from her grasp and continued his previous task, ghosting kisses on her stomach.  He hooked his fingers into her yoga pants and slid them off of her, taking her panties with them.  He spread her legs tenderly and lowered his head to her mound, inhaling her heady scent.  He licked and sucked her outer lips before sliding his tongue upward, gathering her essence, eliciting a moan from Lia.  He savored the taste of her, drinking from her, intoxicated by her sweetness.  He probed her center with his tongue, causing her to squirm and moan.  Then he sought out his prize, swirling and sucking and nipping at her clit. “Dominic!” she cried out as he flattened his tongue and rubbed it against her bud vigorously.  Lia’s legs began to shiver as he took her higher and higher.  She clamped her thighs around Dominic’s head as her orgasm hit her like a tidal wave.  “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...Oh my...nnnggggh!”  Lia jerked and cried out as Dominic continued to torture her with his mouth.  When she couldn’t take anymore, she pushed his face away.  She was gasping and sobbing, overcome by the extreme pleasure he gave her.  He watched her as she finally started to come down from her climax.  When her breathing was finally under control, Dominic kissed his way back up her body, reaching her mouth, capturing it hungrily.  Lia loved the taste of her juices on his lips.  It caused another wave of arousal, her essence rushing from her like a river.

Dominic pulled away from Lia long enough to remove his jeans and underwear.  He reached into the nightstand, grabbing a condom packet, removing the latex and sliding it onto his shaft.  He spread her legs a little wider and placing the head of his manhood to her entrance.  He glided into her slowly, enjoying the feeling of her sheath closing around his cock.  He made love to her languidly, taking his time to savor the feeling.  Lia wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him to her.  He buried his head in her neck and she combed her fingers through hair.  He then lifted up onto his arms and they gazed at each other, their eyes communicating every emotion they were feeling.  Lia felt herself once again closing in on her second orgasm.  “Oh, oh, ooooh, baby.  I’m coming!” she said breathlessly.  “Let it go, angel.  Don’t close your eyes...look at me. Look at me baby.”  Dominic said huskily.  Lia began to tremble, then arched her back, crying out Dominic’s name as her orgasm crashed down on her.  He slowed down his thrusting, allowing her time to come down from her high.  Once her breathing returned to normal, he began to pound into her.  He felt the familiar tingle in his balls and began thrusting frantically.  “Are you gonna come for me baby?” Lia whispered. “Come for me”.  Dominic thrusted twice and then exploded, shooting rope after rope of semen into the condom.

Dominic rolled off of Lia, landing on his back.  She laced her fingers between his, pulled his arm around her and rested her head on his chest.  He sunk his fingers into her hair and rubbed her scalp.  No words were spoken, they just listened to each others breathing before sleep took them both.

*************************************

Because Dominic would be leaving town soon, Lia’s parents arranged a bon voyage dinner in his honor.  Dominic was looking forward to the get together.  He had really grown very fond of the loving and boisterous Mariani family.

Lia and Dominic entered into the Mariani home to shouts and cheers.  

“Good the guest of honor is here”, Lia’s uncle Paolo said over the din of voices. “Now can we PLEASE eat?”

“Oh essere tranquilla, Paolo!”, Giulia admonished. “Un paio di minuti non ti uccida’! (Oh be quiet Paolo! A few more minutes won’t kill you!)

It WILL kill me!  I haven’t eaten all day.

“Hai mangiata tre ora fa, avidi porco!” (You ate three hours ago you greedy pig!) laughed Paolo’s wife Anetta.

Everyone sat around the table filled with enough food to feed a small country.  They laughed and ate and enjoyed the each other the way only a tight knit family could.

Gabriele tapped his glass with his fork and there was quiet in the diningroom.  Everyone turned to him as he spoke.

“It has been a few weeks since I have met the young man we are celebrating today.  I will say, I was prepared not to like him.  He had designs on taking my only daughter from me, after all.  But in this all too short period of time, I have seen what an honorable man he is.  Family is important to him, as it is to all of us at this table.  A man with a sense of family understands what is important and what will be important when he closes his eyes for the last time.  That is a real man.  That man”, Gabriele said, pointing at Dominic, “is a real man.  And I am happy that my Lia has someone who will love and protect her in the same way that I have for the past 26 years.  It is no surprise to me why my baby gave her heart to him.  He, in this short time has become part of this family.  Another son to me.  We welcome you, Dominic.  Saluti!”

“Saluti!” The whole room intoned.

Dominic was touch by Gabriele’s speech.  I meant so much to him that the family of the woman he loved and intended to marry welcomed him so warmly.  And with his family still in Scotland, having these people in his life was like a slice of home.  He looked over at Lia who was looking back at him with a smile that said everything words could never express.  He pulled her close and kissed her softly.  Of course, the room erupted.  Dominic heard Gabriele say “you’re pushing it, boy”.  Dominic raised his hands in apology.

As the night wore on, the family began to trickle out.  Lia’s brother Giuseppi and his wife April had to get home to their brood.  They were being watched by the daughter of a good friend and they wanted to hurry and relieve the girl.  After a while it was just Lia and Dom, her mom and dad, her uncle Paolo and her aunt Anetta, Gianni and Tira and Gio and Mimi.  They sat in the livingroom and watched a couple of episodes of Game of Thrones before Mimi decided to call it a night.

“I’m gonna head out, too.  Permit me to walk you, Mouthasaurus?” Gio said with mock formality.

“Whatever, butthead”.  They hugged and kissed their goodbyes and headed out.

After they left, the remaining group sat in silence.  Tira spoke up first. “So...you guys want to start a pool predicting when those two idiots will finally admit that they’re in a relationship?”

The room erupted in laughter.

********************************************

The next two days passed way too fast.  Lia and Dominic spent most of those days in bed, saying the “long goodbye”.  She’d wanted to go with him to the airport, but they were recognizable now and the two of them together would just start unnecessary chatter.  They both valued their privacy, and now that they were official, they were even more protective of it.  Gio offered to take Dom to the airport, an offer he was grateful for.  Plus, he had something he wanted to talk to Giovanni about before he left for Thailand.

On the day Dominic left, Lia couldn’t help but be emotional.  They’d spent almost three weeks together, but it had felt like they’d squeezed several months of intimacy and friendship into those almost three weeks.  She was sad to see him go, especially because she wasn’t going to be seeing him for two and a half months.  The bright side was that when he came back to the states, they’d be merging their households, the prospect of which made her grin from ear to ear.

Gio arrived at 10am in order to get Dominic to the airport before his departure time of 12:45pm.  

Dominic pulled Lia into a hug then lifted her chin.  “Skype me every other day to let me know how the house hunt goes.  I’ll be home and we’ll all be together in no time at all. Okay?”

“Okay”, Lia said, blinking back tears.  “I love you.  Call me as soon as you land”.

“I will. Now kiss me”.  They kissed each other passionately before Gio cleared his throat.  The pair hugged each other then Dom and Gio headed out.

Lia plopped down on her sofa and sighed.  Lollipop jumped up on the arm of the sofa and gave her a kitty headbutt before curling up in her lap, purring.  Lia scratched the cat behind the ear.  The apartment suddenly seemed so quiet and lifeless.  What was she going to do with herself for the next two and a half months?

One Month Later

Dominic was not enjoying this shoot.  Not one bit.  Not only was going to be away from Lia during the holidays, but there was behind the scenes drama that was pushing back production.  The producers weren’t happy about the rough cuts.  They wanted to replace Damon Everly, the actor playing the heavy in the film because he didn’t have box office appeal.  Mike Anderson, the director fought for Everly.  The screenwriter wrote the part with him in mind.  And Damon really brought the character to life, but the producers and the studio didn’t like him and they were digging in their heels.  At this rate, he wasn’t going to be back in the States until after the new year.  Add to that, he was once again working with that insufferable shrew Diana Canaan.  If production wasn’t being held up by the studio and the producers, it was being held up by her diva antics.  She wanted the wardrobe mistress fired because she dared suggest that she needed to let out the seams in the gown she’d be wearing in a scene taking place at a formal party.  She refused to come out of her trailer until the woman was let go.  Wardrobe only wanted to let out the seam because Diana was going to have to be doing a lot of running in that dress and she’d need the dress to accommodate the movement.  The director had suggested it himself and when he told Diana so, she walked off the set, costing the studio hundreds of thousands of dollars because production was halted for the rest of the day.  Mike Anderson had requested that SHE be fired, but because she was a box office draw, they nixed the idea.  Adding to the on set drama was the fact that someone was leaking false stories insinuating that there was something going on between he and Diana.  He was sure that it was either her team, the studio or a combination of the two in order create a buzz about the movie.  Dominic wished he could pull out of this shit storm, but he’d be sued for breach of contract.  He was officially over the bullshit.

He was grateful that Lia understood how the Hollywood machine worked so she wasn’t concerned about the rumors, but she was concerned about Diana Canaan.  Diana had made a play for Dominic on the last film they’d all worked on together.  He’d quickly shot her down, but she’d still get handsy with him.  He and Lia weren’t together at the time, but it didn’t stop her from seeing red every time Diana would place her hand too far up Dominic’s thigh or “accidentally” brush her breasts against his arm.  “No” just didn’t seem to be in her vocabulary, and while Lia trusted Dominic she didn’t trust Diana Canaan as far as she could throw her.

The one thing keeping them both sane was their daily Skype sessions.  They both felt so much better when they were able to see and talk to each other.  Being wrapped around each other would have been a much more ideal situation, but they knew when they’d become official that they were going have to deal with being separated for extended periods of time.

A bright spot in all the fuckery was the fact that Lia found an amazing 3 bedroom, 3 bath apartment in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Manhattan.  It had large rooms, a great view of the city and incredible amenities and the building allowed for pets.  Lia had wanted to wait for Dominic to see it in person, but her realtor encouraged her to move on the apartment quickly because apartments in that neighborhood got snapped up quickly.  So Lia was going to have to organize the move into the new apartment without Dom. Because Mike was able to pack up and ship Dominic’s clothes and other items, Lia could concentrate on was renting out Dom’s Hollywood bungalow.  It was fortunate that a friend of Mike’s was looking for a place in the area so that turned out to be easier than expected. Her cousin Antony was a lawyer so he was able to draw up a standard rental agreement signed by both parties.  Once that was done, Lia handed over the keys of the furnished bungalow to Dominic’s new tenant.

Getting Seamus from California to New York was the last order of business to be taken care of on the west coast.  Mike wasn’t able to fly out with Seamus because he was stuntman on a film that was shooting in London.  Lia decided that she’d fly out to California and retrieve the dog herself.  It proved to be easier said than done because Seamus hated to fly and he HATED taking the tranquilizers that would make it easier for him to fly.  She tried hiding the pill in his food, but he always managed to eat around it.  She’d tried coating it in peanut butter, but he wasn’t having it.  She finally wrapped in about ten pieces of bacon and he finally ingested the pill.  No one can resist the lure of bacon.

And now the final few pieces of her furniture was moved in to the new apartment.  Because her previous apartment would comfortably fit INSIDE of the new one, once everything was moved in, the place still looked empty.  Thank heaven her sister-in-law Tira was one of the most sought after interior designer’s in New York.  She was able to arrange to have a fledgling designer, Bethany Daniels, recently hired on at Tira’s design firm handle the job.  Lia was impressed with Bethany’s portfolio, so she was more than happy to agree to working with her.  After meeting with Bethany so that she could come to the apartment and get a feel for the space, she presented Lia with her ideas.  Lia loved them and Bethany got to work immediately.  It took her two week to transform the blank slate apartment into a home filled with rich colors and sumptuous fabrics.  It looked stylish without feeling like a showroom.  It was home.  Lia couldn’t wait for Dominic to see it.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait too long.  One of the film’s backers’ company went belly up during filming so the studio pulled the plug on the whole production.  It sucked, but Dominic saw it as a blessing in disguise.  He still got a substantial payday and he’d be headed back to the States two days before Christmas.  He Skyped Lia to tell her the good news.

“Oh my GOD baby, that’s fantastic!  We’ll be able to spend our first Christmas in our new home!”

“I know.  I was afraid that we weren’t going to be able to celebrate the holidays until March”, Dominic said with a chuckle.

“Are you okay with the project being scrapped, though.  I know you really wanted to opportunity to work with Mike Anderson”.

“Babe, this whole production was a fiasco from start to finish.  You never want a project you’re working on to go tits up, but I’m just glad to be done with the whole thing.  Between the studio and Diana Canaan and HER bullshit, I’m over the whole damn thing”.

“I know, sweetheart.  Just hurry home so I can take care of you and make you feel all better”.

Dominic began to think of all the ways she could make him feel better and his cock began to swell.  Because Lia knew her man so well, she said, “Hey, get your mind out of the gutter!”

“Why, it’s so fun down there”, he said with a sly smile.  “Oh, yeah!  I forgot to ask; how are the “kids” getting along”.

Lia laughed and rolled her eyes.  “Well, Seamus tried to make friends, but Lolli wasn’t having it at first.  Shamey gave her her space and she came around.  And now they are the best of friends.  They groom each other and they even curl up together to sleep.  Our babies are so cute!”

Dominic laughed.  “Well there’s one less thing to worry about.  Ugh...I can’t wait to get home!”

“Two days, baby.  Two more days”, Lia reminded him.  “Listen I know it’s the wee hours there, so I’m gonna let you get your sleep, plus I have to walk Seamus. I love you, honey”.

“I love you, more”.

“Not possible”,  Lia blew Dom a kiss and disconnected the call.

**************************************

Lia was returned to the apartment with Seamus’ tethered to his leash in one hand and a grande house blend and two chocolate croissants from Starbuck’s.

“Good afternoon Miss Mariani!” said James, the building’s second shift doorman.  

“Hi James!” Lia said, returning the greeting.  Seamus sat down in front of the older gentleman as if to say “you may pet and admire me”.  James chuckled at the dog and gave him a good scratching behind the ear.

“He’s such a cuddle slut”, Lia said with a laugh.  “Take care, James”.

As Lia was making her way through the lobby of the building when she saw the elevator doors starting to close.  The the sole passenger on the elevator was a tall, blond man who held the door for her.  “Thank you”, Lia called out as she trotted towards the elevator with Seamus.  When they got close to the door, Seamus stopped and wouldn’t move any further.  “Come on, Shamey”, Lia coaxed.  The animal walked closer to Lia, looked at the man on the elevator and began to growl.  “Seamus, what is WRONG with you”.  She looked up at Elevator Man and apologized for the dog’s behavior.  Elevator Man moved so that his body was holding the elevator open, putting his body in closer proximity to Lia and Seamus lost his shit.  

“Ohmigod, Seamus stop”,  Lia looked over her shoulder at the gentleman and apologized again for her dog’s behavior.  

“It’s quite alright.  He’s just being protective of his very pretty mommy”.

Seamus was still a little growly after the elevator doors closed, but he soon returned to his sweet, goofy self when another tenant joined them in their wait for the elevator.  Lia had never seen the dog have such a negative reaction to someone; he loved people.  What was it about that man that set him off?

*******************************************

Dominic arrived at home on the 23rd of December at 3:45am.  Lia left his key with the front door man, so he didn’t have to wake her.  Unfortunately, when he walked in the door, Seamus welcomed him home by barking and whining.  

“Seamus please be qui-”  Lia said sleepily as she walked out into the great room.  She saw Dominic standing there, ran towards him and jumped into his arms.  She began kissing him all over his face.

“I missed you SO much, baby”,  she said, cupping his face in her hands.  

“You can’t believe how much a missed you, angel”.

“I know you’re exhausted now, but tomorrow I’m gonna need you to show me how much you missed me”.

Dominic grinned at her.  “I think I can manage that.”

******************************************************

Lia went out with Mimi to keep her company while she did some last minute Christmas shopping.

“I am NOT happy about this Meems.  Why do you ALWAYS wait ‘til the last minute to shop?  From January 1st on, you know that Christmas is coming, jeez”.

“I LIKE shopping at the last minute.  I enjoy the rush of it”.

“Fine, but why do you insist on dragging ME along with you?”

“Because you love me and want to keep me safe”.

Lia rolled her eyes at her friend.  “Let’s go, simple ass”.  She walked over to Dominic who was sitting at their desk, surfing the web.  “See you later, babe”, she said, kissing his cheek.

“Okay.  Be careful”.

When Lia left the apartment, Skyped his parents. William and Aileen, in Scotland.  It was not something he wanted to do, given the conversation that he’d had with them when he’d told them about his relationship with Lia.

“Aye Da!  How are ye?”

“Fine, boy-o, jus fine!  How are ye?”

“Lovely.  Where’s maw?’

“Right here, love.  How’s me boy?”

“Good, maw”.

“Any chance you met a young lady you can settle down with an’ give me more bairns to cuddle?”

“I think Donal’s given you quite a few already, but there is someone”.

“Well who is she, son? When to get to meet her?”

“You’ve met her already.  Lia Mariani.  You remember meeting her at the ‘Fellowship’ premiere”.

Both of his parents sat and stared in stunned silence.

“Aileen, why don’t you leave and let me talk to the boy a moment”.

“Yes...alright”, Aileen walked away from the computer.

“What are you doin’ boy-o?  A girl like tha’ ya cannae marry.  It’s one thing to bed her, have some fun, but you don’ bring ‘er home.”

Dominic look at his father, appalled.  “What do you mean by ‘a girl like that’ da?”

“You know wha’ I mean.  A...black.  It’s not righ’ Dominic”.

Dominic was truly stunned by his father’s words.  He’d never expressed any bigoted ideologies before.  He and his brother and sister were raised to believe that it wasn’t okay to discriminate against people who were different.  I guess that flew out of the window when it came to the prospect of marrying outside of his race and culture.  

“I don’t get where this is coming from, da.  You and maw didn’t raise us to think like that”.

“We raised ye to respect all people, but Dominic...you should still stick to your own.  Life will be hard for you two.  People won’t accept it”.

“I don’t care about “people”, da.  

“Well you SHOULD!”  said him mother, having joined in the conversation once again.  “What if you have children.  They’ll be discriminated against, all because you and her are selfish!”

“HER name is Lia, maw, and the world is a different place when you were younger.  Lia was RAISED by an italian family.  Her brother is married to a black woman and their kids seem pretty happy to me.  Mike is biracial, his life has been marred by that in ANY way.  Would like to hear more examples, maw?”

“NO!  I don’t accept it!  If are serious will tha’ girl, I donnae think I’ll EVER accept it”.

“Da…”  Dominic said, the despair in his voice.  “I’ll not give her up”.

William shook his head and disconnected the call.

He’d decided to call his parents to wish them a good holiday.  He didn’t agree with him, and if they were determined not to accept that he loved Lia and intended to spend the rest of his life with her, there’s was not much more he could say.  They were still his family, however, and he wanted to at least wish them a happy Christmas.

The previous day he’d sent his father an email stating that he wanted to Skype that 3pm, his father’s time.  He hadn’t received a response, but that wasn’t entirely unusual.  Sometimes his dad would forget to respond and just wait at the computer for Dominic to connect.  This time, his dad wasn’t waiting for him.  He waited for 15 minutes and emailed his father.  The response came quickly.

“We will miss you this holiday season, but if you are intent on marrying that girl, we do not wish to speak with you”.

Dominic slammed his laptop shut.

Lia and Mimi returned to Lia’s apartment about 3 hours after they left.  Lia felt like she’d been worked over by Mike Tyson and she just wanted to get upstairs and get off of her feet.  Maybe she could convince Dominic to give her a foot rub.

As they walked into the lobby, Lia noticed Elevator Man.  He turned to her and while his smile was friendly, there was something about the look in his eyes that made her uneasy.

“Hello there.  I see you’re without your four legged companion today”.

“Yes, he’s at home with his dad today”.

“Oh?  I wasn’t aware that you were living with a man”, his voice taking on a hardened tone.

Lia cocked her head to the side. This guy was beyond inappropriate.  “Well, why would you?”

Elevator Man chucked lightly.  “Well I suppose you’re right, Miss…”

Lia and Mimi reached their floor just as he was asking his question.

“Well, this is us.  Have a great night!”  Lia said with all the enthusiasm she could muster given the situation and rushed off of the elevator.

“That dude put the ‘creep’ in creepy”, Mimi said after the elevator doors had closed.

“I know, right?  I was bringing Seamus in from his walk and was headed into the elevator.  That guy was in there and Seamus lost his shit, barking and growling like crazy”.

“Whoa.  Seamus loves everybody”,  Mimi said as they walked into the apartment.  “They say that dogs can sense when something ain’t right about someone.  I’d avoid being anywhere alone with that guy.  AND you should tell Dom about it, too”.

“Tell Dom about what?”  Dominic said as he came out of the bedroom and sat on the sofa.

“About the creepy guy on the elevator who was looking at Lia like she was a three course steak dinner”, Mimi said.

“Mimi!” Lia admonished.

“What creepy guy?  Li, is someone harassing you?”

“It’s nothing babe.  Just one of our upstairs neighbors being a little creepy.  No real reason for concern”.  Lia sat on Dominic’s lap and turned his face towards her.  “YOU on the other hand, are a different story.  What’s wrong...and don’t say ‘nothing’ because I can tell something’s upsetting you”.

‘She knows me WAY too well’, Dominic thought.  “It’s not something I want to get into, babe.  It’s Christmas Eve, angel.  It’ll keep until after the holidays”.

Lia gave him a worried look.  Something was clearly weighing on his mind, but she wasn’t going to push.  He’d tell her when he was ready.

“Well, can I feed you at least?  I was going to make burgers and asiago steak fries”.

Seamus’ head popped up seemingly at the mention of food.

“You’re not getting any more steak, Seamus”, said Dominic. The dog whined and dropped his head.

“Meems, you staying for dinner”, Lia asked her best friend.

“Uh...yeah.  Why’d you think I kept you out so long?  I knew the longer I kept you out, the better the chance that you’d feed me”.

“Well, you WILL be making up for me having to throw ‘bows in Macy’s just so you could get your hands on that Coach bag”.

Mimi laughed saying,  “Dominic, your girlfriend is a BEAST.  She was gut checkin’ bitches and mushing old ladies in the faces just so her bestie could get her hands on the cutest red leather satchel ever made”.

When Dominic didn’t respond, they both looked up and saw him staring off into space while chewing his thumbnail pensively.

Mimi nudged Lia as if to say ‘go take care of your man’.  “I’ll take care of things in here”, she said, gently.

Lia walked over to the sofa, bent over and kissed his temple.  “Come in the room.  Let’s talk”.

Once they were in their bedroom, Lia sat Dom down on the bed and climbed on next to him.

“Tell me what’s on your mind, love.  Don’t say it’s nothing, because I know you.  If you’re this distracted, it’s not something that will keep until after the holidays”.

Dominic pulled her onto his lap and held on to her for dear life.  “I told my parents about you...about us”.

“Just in the past few day?  Why di-”

“No Li.  I told them a couple of months ago…”,  He didn’t want to talk about this.  He didn’t want to hurt her.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go well”,  she whispered, sadly.

Dom shook his head solemnly.

“Oh.  Well, that was months ago”,  Lia said, brightening.  “Maybe they’ve had time to think; to reconsider”.

Dominic dropped his head.  “I tried to Skype with them earlier.  Me da sent me an email  sayin’ that if I was going to be with you...they weren’t going to talk to me anymore.”

Lia stilled.  Her heart began to race and her breath quickened.  Anger elbowed sadness out of the way with a vengeance.

“How DARE they put you in that position!  That is the most manipulative thing I’ve ever heard of!”

“I know, Lia”, Dominic sighed, wearily.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Li, I don’t know.  They’re my family”.

“Are you saying that you’re considering breaking up with me because of your parent’s bigotry?  If you are, and I say this as someone who loves you more than life, then you aren’t the man I thought you were.  I’m not asking you to pick me over them, but I want you to see that they’re being unreasonable”.

Dominic regarded the woman he’d fallen in love with.  The woman he’d waited his whole adult life to meet.  The woman he wanted to marry and bear his children.  He couldn’t give her up.  He wouldn’t.

“No way in hell I’m even considering giving in to that manipulation, but they’re my family, Li. Call me selfish, but I want all of you.  Them AND you”.

“That’s not selfish, baby.  That’s perfectly reasonable and most people in your position would want the same thing.  Your parents are being SO unfair to you, but they ARE your parents and of COURSE you want them in your life.  You may just have to let them live with the idea of not being in your life in order for them to see how wrong they are”.

Dominic reached up and pulled Lia’s head down, bringing her forehead to his own.  “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Yup”, Lia said with a grin.  She pulled his lips to hers and gave him the softest of kisses.  “Now, let’s get out there before Mimi destroys dinner.

****************************************

Dominic woke up to the bed shaken violently.  He opened his eyes to see a fully clothed Lia jumping up and down on the bed excitedly.

“It’s Christmas!  Wake up, Dom!  Let’s open presents!”

Dominic looked over at the clock and saw that it was 6am.  “Lia, it’s 6 in the morning!  What are you, five?”

“Get up, you grumpasaurus!  It’s Christmas and I want to open presents!”  She jumped off of the bed and skipped into the living room.  She literally SKIPPED.

Dom threw the covers off, grabbed his underwear and walked into the living room, grumbling.  Lia looked up at him and whined, “Dom, you have to get dressed.  Put on some jeans and a t-shirt”.

“Mariani, may I remind you that it is 6 in the bloody morning? Let’s open presents so I can get a least another hour of sleep before we have to head over to Brooklyn”.

Lia poked out her lip in an epic pout.  Dominic sighed, “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Dom threw on a pair of jeans and a hoodie. “You owe me, woman.  And I mean to collect.  Tonight I want sex so hot and dirty we won’t even be able look each other in the eye in the morning”.

Lia giggled and said, “Deal.  Now, put on your shoes.  I have to take you to your present”.

Dom’s curiosity was officially peaked.

************************************************

Before the pair got on the elevator, Lia tied a blindfold around Dom’s head.

“Really, Lia?” He said, incredulously.

“Really, Dom”, was her reply.  When the elevator arrived, she led Dom on to it and pressed the button for the underground garage.  Once the elevator stopped, she walked him into the garage a ways then stopped.  “Merry Christmas, baby”, she said as she removed the blindfold.

There sitting in front of him just as pretty as a picture was a fully restored, cherry red 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Super Bird.  

Dominic stood there staring at it for a full minute before he laughed and shouted, “Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME??!!!!” before he finally grabbed Lia, lifted her up and swung her around.  “I’ve been looking to buy this car for months.  There were twelve sellers in the country who had advertised that they had one for sale but had it sold by the time I could reach them”.  He looked at Lia and noticed a sheepish look on her face.

“What’d you do?” he asked.

“I called all the sellers and begged them to tell you that the car was sold.  I was already in the process of having one restored the way you described it to me the time we talked about what frivolous purchase we’d make and feel no guilt about”.

“You remembered that?”

“Of course.  It meant something to you, so...it meant something to me”.  Dominic leaned down and captured Lia’s mouth for a deep kiss.  They then headed back up to the apartment to open more presents.  Aside from a few stocking stuffers, most of the presents under their tree aside from the ones for the family were for their pets.  They were officially “those people”.

Just as they started cleaning up all of the discarded wrapping paper, Dominic disappeared into the bedroom.  When he came back, he looked a little nervous and sweaty.  Lia looked at him with a furrowed brow.  

“What’s the matter?  You feel sick?”

“Little bit, yeah.”

“Did you want to skip breakfast with my parents?  We don’t have to go if you don’t feel up to it”.

“No, it’s not that.  Listen, before I came back from Thailand, I had a long talk with your dad.  I just wanted him to know that when I say that I love you more than my life, I’m serious.  I’ve never felt for anyone else the way I feel for you.  I would never want to be apart from you.  So...I asked your father if he would be okay with me asking you to marry me.  I know it’s old fashioned, but I wanted your dad to be 100 percent sure of my intentions”.

As Lia listened to Dominic, her heart began to pound and her breath came rapidly.

“Lia Gabriela Mariani, you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.  I can’t imagine my life without you”,  he slowly sank to his knee as he pulled the most beautiful vintage diamond ring from his pocket.  “Will you marry me?”

Lia clasped both hands over her mouth and gaped at Dominic.  She knew this would come eventually, but this had truly caught her off guard.  “Dominic!!”, she shouted.  She dropped to her knees and launched herself at him, toppling him over.  She began to kiss him all over his face.  “YES! I will marry you!”

Dominic laughed and rolled Lia over on her back.  “I have to put the ring on you, silly girl”.  He put the ring on her finger, but she never took her eyes off of his face.  “Don’t you want to look at your ring”, he asked.  

She held her hand out and looked at the sparkling cushion cut diamond ring.  It was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the man in front of her.  Her treasure.

Eric stared down at the picture of her on the cover of the sports magazine.  She was SO beautiful.  He’d never seen anyone as beautiful.  When he first caught a glimpse of her after she moved into the building, she took his breath away.  He’d inquired about her and found out that she was a celebrity; an actress of some sort.  He didn’t like that.  The thought of sharing her with the world didn’t appeal to him.  Once they were together, he’d insist that she give that up.  No wife of his was going to display herself as wantonly as she was on the cover of this magazine.  Still, staring at her in the little black bikini caused his penis to react.  He released his cock from his pants and began to stroke vigorously.  He felt the delicious tingling begin in his balls.  He grabbed them and pulled brutally them with his left hand while squeezing and stroking his shaft with his right.  Equal parts pleasure and pain brought him to a powerful release.  He shot his seed all over her image.  Soon he’d have the real thing.

***************************************************

Giulia Mariani couldn’t keep a secret.  Even if she never uttered a word, the truth was written on her face.  Lia looked at her mother’s face and knew immediately that she knew that Dominic had proposed.  And if SHE knew...EVERYONE knew.

“Miei bambini! Buon Natale! Vieni stai lasciando tutti al caldo” (My babies! Merry Christmas! Come in, you’re letting all warm out)

“Buon Natale, Mamma” (Merry Christmas, Mama), said Lia.

“Merry Christmas, Mamma”, said Dom.  He didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable referring to Giulia that way.  His affection for his future mother-in-law had grown exponentially over the past few months.

As Dominic was helping her out of her coat, Lia was suddenly struck by how quiet the house had gotten.  The usual roar had been reduced to a dull one.  What the hell?

They walked into the living room and looked around.  “Buon Natale, mi famiglia”, Lia said to the room.  The family returned the greeting, but she noticed that there were smirks on some of their faces, and curious eyes seeming to pointedly gaze at her left hand.  Then there was her dear Mamma, standing by the Christmas tree, grinning from ear to ear.  Lia looked up at Dominic.

“They already know”, she said disappointedly.

“So much for making a special announcement, mamma”, Dom said looking at Giulia pointedly.

“I didn’t tell!  It was your padre.  HE told!”  Giulia said, throwing Gabriele under the bus.

“I told YOU, moglie (wife).  YOU told everyone else”.

“Well that was your first mistake, Pop”, said Lia’s brother Giuseppi.

“You hush, Giuseppi!” Giulia said, swatting at her son.

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be anti-climactic now, but…WE’RE ENGAGED!”  Lia yelled.

The house erupted in celebratory noises.  There were hugs, kisses, handshakes and back slaps.  Lia turned to look for Mimi and she caught a glimpse of her looking up at Gio and smiling while he pushed a curl out of her face.  When Mimi saw her she came over and pulled Lia’s hand up to get a look at the ring.

“You know”,  Lia said, keeping her voice low. “You two are getting REALLY sloppy”.

“What are you talking about?”  Mimi had an excellent poker face, but Lia knew her friend for a long time.  She decided to go in for the kill shot.

“I know you and Gio have a thing going”.

“You musta bumped your head.  Gio’s a neanderthal”.

“Mm hm.  I guess that’s why I’ve seen his car outside of your apartment building at hours that would be unseemly for just a friendly visit”.

Mimi pulled Lia further away from the crowd.  “And just WHY were YOU driving past my house at said unseemly hours?”

“My favorite coffee shop is over by you, you know that.  Now, don’t try to deflect, this is about you and Gio.  How long has this been going on”.

Mimi sighed in defeat.  “six, seven months”.

“Sooo, is it just a sex thing or what?”

“It started out that way, but now I don’t know.  I think I’m falling for him but it’s GIO for goodness sake!  I’m not supposed to LIKE Gio”.

“Well forgive me for saying so, but you should have thought of that before you started letting him dip his pen in your ink well”.

“REALLY, Lia!”  Lia began giggling.

“Seriously, how do you feel about him?  And don’t think about it, just say how you feel”.

“I like him.  Like, REALLY like him”.

Lia grinned and started bouncing up and down.  “If you marry Gio, we’ll be sisters for realsies!”

“Whoa!  No one said anything about marriage and can you PLEASE keep your voice down”.

“Oh please!  Everybody knows.  We were thinking about betting to see when you two would actually come out with it”.

“Shit!  I gotta talk to Gio”.

*******************************************

Breakfast was the usual Mariani family smorgasbord.  After everyone ate their fill, everyone opened presents, ooohing and aaahing over the gifts.  Once all the gifts were exchanged and opened, the kids took their new toys and games into the game room in the basement.  The adults kicked back watching Christmas movies.  Lia noticed that Gio and Mimi had disappeared for a bit.  When they came back into the living room, they were holding hands. Everyone turned and looked at them. Gio sat down and pulled Mimi close to him and put his arm around her, almost defiantly.  The room turned back to the television and continued to watch “A Christmas Carol”.  The only one to acknowledge the newly minted couple was Uncle Paolo who simply muttered “about damn time”.

*******************************************

Lia and Dominic arrived back at their apartment around 7pm and quickly put Seamus’ harness on him so that they could take him for a walk.  They waited for the elevator and when the door opened, Seamus immediately began to bark and growl.  Creepy Elevator Guy.  

“Seamus!”  Dominic boomed, trying to quiet the dog, but he wouldn’t back down.  Seamus began to lunge at the man.  Dominic pulled the canine back into their apartment.  Lia turned to Creepy Elevator Guy and apologized.  The doors of the elevator were just about to close when the man stopped the motion.  Holding the elevator doors open, he leaned out and said with what wasn’t so much a smile as a baring of teeth.  “You really should learn how to control your dog, Lia”.  She was startled by his use of her name as she’d never gave it to him.  This guy had gone from creepy to scary.

“Have a lovely evening, Ms. Mariani”.

The day after Christmas Dominic received a text from his sister Nessa that read: “Please Skype me in an hour”.  The text had come in about an hour ago, so he opened up his laptop and called his sister.  Her face quickly filled the screen.  Dominic smiled at his baby sister.  His smile faltered as he noticed tears in her blue eyes.

“Ness, what’s happened?”

“Dominic, maw and da told us what’s happened and I just want you to know that I don’t feel that way!” she said, her voice breaking.  “Dommy, I don’t care what race your girlfriend is, I just want you to be happy because I love you.  And if she makes you happy, I love her too!”

“Ness, she’s not my girlfriend anymore, sh-”

“WHAT!!  Dominic MacCleod you did NOT break up with the woman you love because of our narrow minded parents!  I didnae think you were such a gob (pussy), Dommy!”

Dominic smiled inwardly as he listened to Nessa rant.  At 22, she was the youngest of the three MacCleod children.  She was definitely the smartest and most outspoken.  He knew in his heart that at least his little Nessa wouldn’t fall in line with his parents’ backwards way of thinking.

“Nessa, calm down.  She’s no longer my girlfriend, she’s my fiancee.  Popped the question on Christmas morning and she was crazy enough to say yes.”

“DOMMY!  That’s feckin’ brilliant!  Where is she?  I want to say hello to my new sister!”

Dominic was grinning from ear to ear as he called to Lia.

“Li, can you come here for sec, love.  Make yourself presentable baby, there’s someone I want you to meet”.

Lia walked into the living room with Seamus following close behind.  She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and one of Dom’s old t-shirts and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.  Dominic reached for her and pulled her into his lap.

Lia looked at the screen and smiled into the eyes of the woman looking back at her.  She knew immediately that this was Dom’s sister, Nessa.  They had the same amazing blue eyes.  And apparently, gorgeous ran in the family.  

Nessa had the same dark, curly hair that Dominic had with clear porcelain-like skin.  She had a round face with heart shaped lips and a nose that was slightly upturned.  She looked almost angelic.  

“Lia Mariani”, Dominic said, beginning his formal introduction, “This is my little sister Nessa MacCleod.  Nessa, meet Lia, my fiancee”.

Both women were grinning from ear to ear when they let out a simultaneous “Hi!”  The two seemed to be vibrating with excitement as they began chatting, completely ignoring him.

“I have been DYING to meet you!”, Lia said excitedly.  “Dominic talks about you all the time”.

“You TOO!  From the moment he met you on your first movie, he’d go on and on about how great you were.  He never went on about other girls the way he went on about you, so I knew that ya had ta be special”.  Lia looked back at Dominic and smiled.

“Hey, don’t tell her that.  Don’t want her to go thinking she has me wrapped around her finger”.

“Oh, I’m sure she knows she has you wrapped around her finger”, Nessa said, laughing.

“True.  But we don’t need to confirm it for her”.  Dominic lifted Lia off of his lap and sat her back down in the chair he vacated.  “I’ll let you two burds chat.  I’m gonna go walk Seamus.”  Dom called Seamus, put his harness on him and walked out smiling.

**********************************************

Dominic was still smiling when he re-entered the building after walking Seamus and went to check their mail.  In with the other correspondences was a letter from the apartment buildings management company.  He stood and stared at the letter, stunned.  It read:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. MacCleod,

It has come to our attention that your dog has been aggressive towards one of our other tenants. Our policy on animals is clear.  If any animal residing on our property attacks either a tenant or one of their guests, or behaves in a manner that is aggressive,  the animal MUST be removed from the premises.

We request that you remove the canine in question within 30 days of the date of this letter, or we will be forced to begin eviction proceedings.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Highland Management Company

Dominic felt his face heat up with rage.  “No way in hell”, he said through gritted teeth.

*************************************************

When Dom walked into the apartment Lia could immediately tell that he was seething.

“What’s wrong??”  Lia asked.

“Li, the management company is telling us that we have to get rid of Seamus.  Someone reported our dog to management saying that he was aggressive.  Seamus has never been aggressive towards anyone!”

“He was, Dom”, Lia said softly while rubbing Seamus’ ears.  “That creepy guy from the elevator?  Seamus barked and lunged at the guy...twice”.

“Shit!”  Dominic shouted, startling Lia and Seamus.

“Baby, calm down.  We’ll figure this out.  Maybe we could have the landlord come out and meet Seamus.  He’ll see what a sweet dog he is and then maybe he’ll get the management company to reverse their decision.”

“Yeah, we can try that.  I’ll call them tomorrow”.

“Um...maybe I should call, Dom.  I don’t know if you’ll be in the right frame of mind to be...polite”.

Dominic wanted to be offended but he knew she was right.  “You’re right.  You’ll put the right amount of sugar on it.  Not too much, though.  Don’t want them falling in love with you”, Dominic said, pulling Lia onto his lap. “You’re MINE”.

Lia lifted her head and kissed him softly.  “Always”.

***********************************************

Eric Davison smiled, very pleased with himself.  His complaint to the building’s management would surely result in that mangy cur being removed from the building.  “One less obstacle in the way of him and his love”, he thought.  That damned dog had kept him from her one too many times.

He realized, however, that his biggest obstacle was the brute she lived with.  What man has a treasure like Lia in his hands and doesn’t claim her fully?  When she was his, they’d be married right away and then he’d plant his seed in her; they’d make beautiful children together.  He smiled at the thought of his life with the woman who would be his wife.  He knew he could make her happy if she’d just give him the chance.  She’d see that that APE was beneath her.  Once she saw he was sincere, she’d accept his love.

**************************************************

Mimi called Lia around 1pm to ask her if she wanted to grab a late lunch and have some girl time.  She didn’t know if she should leave Dominic given his frame of mind, but he encouraged her to get out of the house.

“Well, maybe you should invite my brothers over for some guy time”, Lia said.  “It’ll get your mind off of things”.

“Yeah...maybe I will do that.  I’ll ring them up”.

“Okay, baby”, she said before giving him a kiss on his temple.  “I’ll see you later”.

Lia headed out of the apartment towards the elevator.  She and Mimi decided to meet up at a little bistro in the neighborhood that had great gourmet sandwiches.  It was their favorite new lunch spot.

When the elevator doors opened, she was once again face to face with Creepy Elevator Guy.  Her immediate thought was to go back to the apartment, but she was propelled onto the elevator to ask the man if he was the one who had called in the complaint about Seamus.

“Good afternoon”, she said, stiffly.

‘Oh no’, he thought. ‘She’s angry with me’.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Mariani”, he said with an unsure smile.

“How do you know my name?”  Lia asked, sharply.

He was taken aback by her tone.  Maybe he’d gone too far reporting the dog.  He hadn’t anticipated her assuming it was he who’d contacted the management company.  The last thing he wanted to do was upset her.

“W-well I-I confess to being curious about you so I asked around.  Then I saw your picture on a magazine cover.  I apologize if I was too forward.  Please forgive me”.  He almost sounded desperate.

Why hadn’t it occurred to her that he’d know her from her work?  She felt a little stupid.  

“Oh...right.  Well, I apologize for snapping, Mr…?”

Eric felt relieved and smiled. “Davison.  Eric Davison”.

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Davison”, she said, forcing a smile.  She may have overreacted about him knowing her name, but he still gave her the creeps.

“Please, call me Eric”, he said, extending his right hand for a handshake.

Lia reluctantly reached out with her left hand and placed it in his.

When Eric saw the diamond ring on her finger, he felt his blood begin to boil.  All semblance of decorum left him.

“What is this?”,  he said, tightening his grip on her hand.

“Oh...it’s my engagement ring”, she said warily.  “My boyfriend and I got engaged on Christmas day.”

Eric was furious, but fought for composure.  “Well, isn’t THAT nice.  Congratulations”.

“Eric, you’re hurting my hand”, Lia said, panic beginning to edge into her voice.

She looked up into his eyes and saw a flash of anger before he managed to compose himself.

“Oh, I beg your pardon.  Your ring reminded me of my dear departed mother’s engagement ring.  It took me back to fond days is all”.

To Lia’s relief, the elevator door opened.  She quickly exited, before tossing a “have a good day” over her shoulder.  She flew out of the building like the devil himself was chasing her.  Perhaps he was.

Lia arrived at the bistro visibly shaken.  From anyone else the encounter on the elevator may have been rude and off putting, but there was an undercurrent of menace with Eric.  She wasn’t just freaked out, she was scared.

Mimi saw the distressed look on Lia’s face as she walked in the door.  “Lia, what’s wrong?”  Lia sat at the table and recounted her interaction on the elevator with her neighbor.  Lia hadn’t realized that she was shaking like a leaf until Mimi mentioned it.

“Oh, honey you’re shaking!  Let me go back to that building and see that motherfucker.  He’s gonna get these paws Brooklyn style!”

“I don’t want to go back there right now! Let’s just wait a little bit.  I don’t want to see that man again”.

“Okay, sweetie.  We’ll wait”.

**************************************

In his apartment Eric was pacing and berating himself.  “You SCARED her, you IDIOT!”  He shouted.  “You’re never going to win her over if she’s AFRAID of you!”  He began violently slapping his forehead.  “You have to figure out how to fix this”.  

Eric continued to pace.  How could he have been so stupid.  He was too aggressive with her, he just lost his cool when he saw that ring on her finger.  How could she say yes to that bastard?!  She’s mine.  She’s meant to be mine!  He picked up a glass sitting on an end table in his living room and threw it against a wall.

“Eric!  This is why she’s afraid of you.  You don’t know how to control your emotions”.  He said to himself.  “Get a hold of yourself and think.  How do we win her back?”

He suddenly stopped his pacing and smiled.  He knew just what to do.

*****************************************

Mimi and Lia walked back to the apartment building about an hour later.  Lia had lost her appetite, but still bought a sandwich because she didn’t like the thought of sitting in the little restaurant taking up space without buying something.

As they waited for the elevator, Mimi noticed that Lia was wringing her hands nervously.  She’d never seen her this out of sorts.  Even when that idiot Shawn Pettway harassed her at school, she never gave him the satisfaction of showing any nervousness or fear.  Mimi was livid.  She knew Lia didn’t want another interaction with that creep, but Mimi had hoped that fucker was on the elevator when it opened.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on which of the two women you asked) he was not on the elevator.  Lia had relaxed a bit, but she was still shaken up.  Mimi but her arms around her friend and pressed her head against hers.

They walked into the apartment to find Dom, Giovanni, Giuseppi, and Gianni in the living room watching a ball game.

“Hey darl-”, Dominic began before he saw the stricken look on her face.  “What happened, baby?”

“She ran into that creepy dude on the elevator again.  He grabbed her arm and was inappropriate with her, in general”.

“Sorellina(little sister) who is this guy and where can we find his ass. I can guarantee he won’t be ‘inappropriate’ with you again”, said Gianni.  He was the least volatile of her three brothers, but where family was concerned, especially his little sister, he quickly came out of character.

Lia could see a muscle begin to work in Dom’s jaw.  “He put his hands on you?”.  Dominic was still and speaking softly...not a good sign.  He was a hairs breadth from losing it.  “Do you know what floor he’s on?”

Both women shook their heads.  They knew he lived on the 24th floor; they remembered that from the time they were on the elevator with him.  Neither of them saw the wisdom in setting four angry men on the path to catching a case.

Dominic walked over to Lia and pulled her into his chest.  He was beyond angry and if he saw the guy he was going to work out some aggression on his ass; no one puts their hands on the woman he was currently holding in his arms without getting handled.

Dominic placed his finger under Lia’s chin and lifted her head so that she was looking into his eyes.  “I will NEVER let anyone get away with hurting you.  EVER.  I know you and I know you don’t want me to take this matter into my own hands, but I will see that guy about this.  Trust me”.

“And if he DOESN’T, your fratelli(brothers) WILL put hands on that fucker”, Gio said, angrily.  The other two Mariani brothers nodded in agreement.

“I don’t want any of you getting in trouble for doing something crazy”.  Lia said wearily.  “I’ll just make sure to stay clear of him from now on”.  

Mimi shook her head vigorously.  “This guy is obsessed, Li.  He’ll find a way to feed that obsession.  I’m not trying to scare you, sweetie, but we need to be proactive here.  I’m gonna call Ellis later tonight and see what he suggests”.

Ellis was Mimi’s cousin.  He was a police officer and would definitely be able to advise them on what their options were.

Dominic would do whatever it took.  He never wanted to see the woman he loved with that look of fear on her face again.

The New Year passed without incident.  Lia and Dominic rang in the New Year with the family Dom now considered his own.  Mariani’s was closed for New Year’s Eve, so the party was held there. It was a great night, full of laughs, good food, music, dancing and arguing.  In other words, it was a typical Mariani event.

A week after the New Year, Dominic was headed to Abu Dhabi to begin filming a new action movie.  This was a two month shoot that would have them filming in Abu Dhabi, London and Italy.  Lia also had a new project set to start filming around the same time.  The comedy was set in New York so she was glad to not have to travel, but because her shoot overlapped with Dom’s she wouldn’t be able to join him in Italy like they’d planned.

Even though the couple was glad to have new projects to concentrate on given the stress of the past few weeks due to the issues with her neighbor, Eric Davison, they were both still concerned about Lia being alone in their apartment.  Mimi had contacted her cousin Ellis, who was with the NYPD and explained the situation to him.  He told them that according to the laws in the state of New York, Davison hadn’t done anything that he could be charged with.  And even if he had repeatedly had the same kind of contact with her, it’d only be considered 4th degree stalking,  which is considered a class b misdemeanor.  It only carries a penalty of no more than 3 months in prison and a fine of no more than $500.  Understandably, this irritated their friends and family.

“So, your telling me that he has to threaten her with a weapon or actually cause her physical harm before he’d get any real time in prison?”  Mimi questioned, frustrated.

“Yeah, cuz.  It’s fucked up because the law doesn’t really deter stalkers at all.  They do a little time, pay a fine and it’s business as usual”.

“You’re damn right it’s fucked up!  So what do we do?  We don’t want this situation to escalate”.

“My advice?  Tell her to hire a bodyguard.  If this guy is showing signs of obsession, better to be safe than sorry”.

“Yeah.  Well thanks anyway, Ellis.  Tell Aunt Gladine I said hey”.

The situation was really pissing Mimi off.  Stalkers were a serious threat, especially if they escalate.  You shouldn’t have to wait until your life was in actual danger for the crime to be treated as a felony.  Mimi would definitely suggest the bodyguard to Lia.  Right now, she was going to head to the store and purchase some mace and a whistle for her bestie.

************************************

Filming had been arduous for Lia today.  They didn’t finish the filming day until 3 am, which meant that Gio had to sacrifice some sleep in order to pick her up and get her home.  Her brothers had decided that there was no way she was going to be traveling back and forth by herself while Dominic was away.  Because Giovanni was single, he moved in to Lia and Dom’s apartment while Dom was away.  He had insisted on it and although Lia was hesitant to ask him to uproot his life for her, she was frightened enough to be grateful for the gesture.  

Her whole family had closed ranks around her.  Anyone who could be there when Gio couldn’t was there.  Uncle Paolo had begun taking her to the gun range to teach her to shoot.  It was unfortunate that the waiting period for a gun permit was 6 months; Paolo wanted her to be armed in case this guy decided to push his luck.  Her father was an expert in Krav Maga and a black belt in Jeet Kun Do and began training her in those fighting techniques.  Her family was going to make sure she could defend herself in the event that the worst case scenario happened.  She would also have Seamus with her for protection.

About a week after Dom left for filming she got a call from the apartment building’s management company.  It was surprising, to say the least.  It was a Tuesday when the call came in.

“Hello, may I speak with Dominic MacLeod or Lia Mariani?”

“This is Miss Mariani”.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Mariani.  This is Sarah Camp from Highland Management”.

Shit! This was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.  “Ms. Camp, hello.  Listen, my fiancee and I are still trying to re-home our dog.  We can assure you, we’ll have him placed somewhere else before your deadline”.  She tried to keep the anger out of her voice, to no avail.

“Well, that was why I was calling you, Miss Mariani.  The other tenant has withdrawn his complaint.  He admitted that he’d overreacted and didn’t want you to lose your dog, who we were told by both of our doormen is quite docile, over a misunderstanding.  As a result, we are reversing our decision to have your dog removed from the property”.

Lia couldn’t believe it.  She felt the sting of unshed tears in her eyes.  “Thank you!  Thank you, SO much, Ms. Camp.  You don’t know how much this means to us”.

“I’m happy I could be the one to deliver the good news”.  The woman then lowered her voice to a whisper.  “I’m a huge fan of you and your fiancee’s work”.

Lia chuckled.  “Well, thank you.  For everything”.

When the call ended Lia called Seamus.  “SEAMUS!  Come here baby boy!”  Seamus came running.  When he sat in front of her, she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the dog.  “Seamus, you can STAY!  You can stay with mommy and daddy!”  

Seamus had no idea what Lia was saying, he was just excited that she was on the floor with him.  It made it easier for him to give her his doggie kisses.

She called Dominic and they “high fived” each other via Skype.  It was a great day.

A week later, the gifts began coming.

*******************************************

The first thing to arrive was a beautiful arrangement of roses and lilies, two of her favorite flowers.  The card simply read “for my love, you’re always in my heart”.  Lia assumed that Dominic sent them so she sent him a text thanking him for the lovely bouquet.  He called her an hour later.

“Hey babe, I got your text.  Um...I didn’t send you flowers, honey”,  he said.

“But they had a card that said “for my love, you’re always in my heart”.  As soon as the words left her mouth, her heart began to race.  

Picking up on her distress, Dominic said, “You don’t think they’re from HIM, do you?”

“I don’t know.  But if you didn’t send them, who else could have?”  Dom could hear the fear in her voice.  He was pissed, but he knew he needed to stay calm for her.

“Okay, here’s what I want you to do, baby.  Call the florist and ask them if they can give you the name of the sender.  We are going to need to collect that information in order to have enough evidence to press charges against him”.  You are not to go ANYWHERE without someone with you, alright sweetheart?”

“Okay.  I’ll tell Gio what’s happening now”.  Lia took a couple of deep breaths in order to get her heart rate under control.

“Baby, it’s gonna be okay.  None of us is going to let anything happen to you, understand?”

“Yeah.  I just can’t wait for you to come home”, she said around the lump in her throat.

“I know, angel.  I can’t either”.

****************************************

Lia had a 7am call time.  She decided that she was going to hire a car service to take her to and from the set so that she wouldn’t have to wake Gio up.  He reluctantly agreed to that, but he still walked her to the car in the morning.  

The whole Eric situation was at the forefront of her mind, but she tried not to let it affect her work.  She took her career seriously, and she wasn’t going to let anyone cause her to lose focus.  Transforming herself into a character, inhabiting their skin, expressing their emotions was cathartic for her.  It helped her to momentarily forget her problems.  Unfortunately, her problems were determined to follow her wherever she went.

While she was waiting for the next scene to be set up, there was a knock on her trailer door.  She opened it and saw one of the production assistants standing there with a bouquet of sunflowers.  

“Lia, some guy asked me to deliver these for you”.

Lia’s blood ran cold.  It couldn’t be.  She took the card from the bouquet.  “For my love.  Always thinking of you”.  “And you saw the guy?”  she asked the p.a.

“Yeah, he handed the flowers right to me.  Why, what’s wrong?”

“What did he look like?”

“Tall, thin, blonde.  Handsome, but kind of creepy”.

“Oh God”, Lia whispered.

******************************************

Lia explained the situation about the man stalking her to the producers and director.  Security was immediately beefed up and the studio arranged a personal security detail for Lia.  She felt safer knowing that she’d have constant protection, but she resented the upheaval Eric Davison was causing in her life.  The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.  She became fearsome during her Krav Maga and martial arts training.  She had a single-minded focus...and if Eric ever came within 10 feet of her she vowed that he would be the object of that focus and she would unleash a fury she’d never felt before.

Her father was proud to see his daughter’s progress.  She took to both combat disciplines like a duck to water.  He just hated the circumstances under which she started her training.  A father doesn’t want to see any of his children hurting and living in fear, especially his daughter.  But Gabriele would do whatever he could to arm Lia with the tools to defend herself.

*********************************************

Eric smiled when he thought about Lia’s face when she got his flowers.  He knew she’d be happy with them.  He read an article about her in a magazine and she’d said that her favorite flowers were roses, lilies and sunflowers, so he’d sent her bouquets he knew she’d like.  He’d wanted to make her happy, to not be afraid of him.  That’s why he withdrew his complaint about her dog with the management company.  He didn’t want her to be distressed, he wanted to see her smile.  He wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face.

Now he was looking online for the perfect piece of jewelry for her.  He would have preferred to pick out the item in person, but he wanted to remain anonymous for now.  He wanted to maintain some mystery; to reveal his intentions slowly.  It was more romantic that way.  He was courting his woman, treating her with respect.  Not like that neanderthal, who didn’t have the decency to marry her before he began an intimate relationship with her.  He realized that she held some blame in that, too, but she was probably tricked into it.  He probably filled her head with nonsense and promises.  He hated men who didn’t appreciate the worth of a woman.  He’d show Lia that she deserved better.

He was pulled out of his reverie when he saw the perfect pair of sapphire earrings on a jewelry store website.  ‘They’re so her’ he thought with a smile.  “She’ll love them. My darling Lia”, he whispered as he ran a finger over the framed picture of her sitting on his desk.

************************************

Lia signed for the package at 10am on a Tuesday.  Production had shut down because the male lead, Randall Livingston, had broken two fingers during a stunt sequence.  She was grateful for the day off.  She invited Mimi for some much needed girl time and she’d been there when the package arrived.

“What’s that?”,  Mimi asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s from a jeweler”.  Lia opened the package and found a velvet box inside.  She opened it and gasped when she saw a beautiful pair of sapphire earrings.  Sapphires were her favorite gemstone.

Mimi looked in the box the earrings were packaged in and found a card.  “For my darling, Lia.  I’m always thinking of you”,  said Mimi, reading the card out loud.  “Awww.  Dom’s so sweet”.

Lia’s blood ran cold.  “They aren’t from Dominic”, she said flatly.  “They’re from Eric”.

“Goddamn him!!”,  shouted Mimi.  “I want to go up to his apartment and beat the shit out of him!”

“Yeah, and then you’d find yourself carted off to jail while he’s free to keep harassing me.  I’m tired of this!”

Lia took out her phone and texted Dom asking him when she could Skype him.  He responded stating that he had time now.

When the call connected, Lia didn’t even say hello.  “I need to get out of this building.  We need to move as soon as possible”.

“What happened, baby?”  Dominic asked, worry knitting his brow.

Lia began to weep.  “I can’t take it, Dom.  I feel like a prisoner; like my life is not mine.  All because of some crazy, obsessed guy.  I can’t live like this!  We either move, or so help me I’ll get one of Paolo’s guns and put two between that bastards eyes!”

Dominic hated seeing her like this, and him not being there to comfort and protect her was killing him.  “I’ll be home in two weeks.  We’ll start looking for a house as soon as I get back to New York”.

“I shouldn’t be burdening you with this while you’re working”,  Lia said, sniffling.  “I know you need to concentrate on work right now”.

“You’re my first priority, angel.  Don’t you dare feel like you’re burdening me with ANYTHING.  We’re one entity; what hurts you, hurts me”.

Lia nodded.  “Thank you, baby.  I love you”.

“I love you more, sweetheart.  Don’t worry, we’ll get out of that building and never look back”.

When Lia disconnected the call, Mimi came over to the desk and hugged her best friend.  She wanted to get one of Paolo’s guns and put two in him, herself.

*****************************************

After Dominic disconnected the Skype session with Lia, he got notification that another call was coming through.  It was his father.  Fan-fucking-tastic.

As his father’s face filled the screen, Dom said “What happened to you not contacting me as long as I’m with my fiancee?”

“Yes, Nessa told us you’ve gotten engaged”, said Dominic’s father, William.

“Uh huh”, was Dom’s only reply.

“Well...your maw and me decided we wanted to come to New York and see you...and meet Mia”.

“Her name is LIA, da...and you KNOW it”.

“Dinnae take that tone with me, boy-o.  I’m still your father”.

“Don’t disrespect the woman I love and I won’t be so quick to forget that fact”.

“I dinnae call to fight, boy-o.  We want to see ya, is all.  Me, your maw, and Nessa.  Donal and Irene are coming as well”.

‘Great.  Juuuust great’, thought Dominic.  “Well, all right.  It’s going to have to wait a few weeks until I get back to the States”.

“Next month?  Is that alright then?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.  I’ll make the arrangements and pay for the tickets and a hotel”.

“Ya dinnae have ta do that, we can pay”.

“I know, but I’m still going to take care of everything. Alright?”

“Yeah.  I’ll talk to you later, Dom”.

“Alright, Da”.

When the call ended, Dominic scrubbed his face with his hands and sighed.  Lia had some guy stalking her and now his family coming to visit.  Dom felt a real shit storm brewing.

Dominic was exhausted, both mentally and physically.  Filming had brutal; the fight scenes had left him bruised and aching.  They were a good outlet for his growing stress over what was going on at home.  The stunt coordinator and director had both told him that he needed to hold back before he injured someone, but it just felt so good to release some aggression.  He’d needed that release; his sanity depended on it.

Now, as the Towncar that picked him up from the airport pulled up to the front of the building, he felt the fatigue closing in on him.  He just wanted to get upstairs to Lia, hold her in his arms and rest.

He climbed out of the car, grabbing his bag as the driver pulled it out of the trunk.  He tipped the guy then headed towards the front door.  He greeted James, the doorman on duty and headed towards the elevator.  He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder as he waited.  When the doors opened he stilled.  Standing before him was the source of 99% of his and his future wife’s stress.  Eric Davison.

******************************************

Eric had never been face to face with Dominic before.  He hadn’t realized what a large, intimidating man he was.  His narrowed eyes and clenched fists only added to his menace.  That and the fact that Dominic was blocking his path out of the elevator.

“Excuse me”, Eric muttered as he tried to move past the angry, hulking man.  Instead of stepping aside, the man pressed his palm against Eric’s chest and firmly guided him back into the elevator.

Dominic pushed Eric against the wall of the elevator and held him there.  They lived in a 40 story building, so Dom pressed the button for the 40th floor.  He wanted plenty of time alone with Lia’s not so secret admirer.  He stood in front of the panel of buttons so that Eric could derail their trajectory.  What he needed to say to this man would all the time traveling up 40 floors would give him.

“Eric”, Dominic began, his voice low and calm.  “You and I have a problem.  Do you know what that problem is?”  The blonde man gave an imperceptible shake of his head.  “No, I think you do, Eric.  You know EXACTLY what our problem is, but we’re going to solve it.  TODAY”.

“What are you going to do, beat me to a pulp?”,  with a bravery he didn’t really feel.  “Are you going to risk your reputation, your freedom for that satisfaction?  Go ahead.  It’ll just prove me right; you’re a brute who doesn’t deserve Lia”.

At the sound of this sniveling little shit saying Lia’s name, Dom’s restraint almost snapped.  He fisted the man’s expensive wool coat in his hands and slowly pulled him towards him.  When he was about five inches from his face, Dom said, “Do not. EVER. Utter her name. Again”, effectively shutting down Eric’s bravado.

Dominic put his hand under Eric’s chin and pushed it up so that he was looking at the row of numbers above the elevator doors that indicated what floor they were on.  “What floor have we reached, Eric.  DO. NOT. LIE”,

“T-twenty e-eight”, Eric sniveled.

“Okay, then.  I want you to hear me clearly, Eric.  You will no longer speak to, speak of or send gifts to my wife”.

“S-she’s n-not your w-wife”, Eric stuttered.  He knew immediately that it was a mistake.  Dominic grabbed Eric around the throat and pushed him roughly against the back wall of the elevator.

“Don’t get cute.  I don’t think you’re in the position to be mouthy”, Dominic said, his calm holding despite his aggressive action.  “Now, where was I?  Oh yes, no more contact, do you understand me?  No more gifts.  NO. MORE!  If we have to have another face to face, it will be...unpleasant.  I hope we can avoid any nastiness, don’t you?”  The chime signalling their arrival to the 40th floor went off and the doors opened.  “This is where you get off, Eric”,  Dominic said as he guided the man towards the door and firmly shoved him off.  “Good talk”, he said, with a smile that didn’t reach anywhere near his eyes.  Then, low and ominously he said, “Pray we don’t need to have it again”.  With that, Dominic pressed the button for the 15th floor where his love was.

Lia was sitting on the sofa with Lollipop curled up in her lap and Seamus laying on her feet when she heard the door being unlocked.  Dominic.  She didn’t even wait until he was completely through the door before she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.  Dom began rubbing his hands up and down her back, kissing her cheeks, forehead and lips.  Lia let out a long sigh.  She felt like this was the first time she’d been relaxed in two months.

“I missed you so much, baby”, she said into his chest.

Dominic cupped his hands on each side of her face and lifted her chin.  “I’m here, baby.  Everything is going to be fine”.

“Can you just hold me? Hold me for as long as you can and don’t leave me”.  The weariness in her voice broke his heart.  He hated that she’d been dealing with all the craziness without him.

Dominic dropped his duffle, took off his coat, picked Lia up and carried her to the bedroom.  He laid her on the bed, then backed up to take off his boots and climbed on the bed after her.  He gathered her up in his arms and placed her head on his chest.  He stroked her hair and pressed sweet, soft kisses to her forehead.  He held her until she fell asleep, reveling in the weight of her; the soft scent of coconut wafting up from her hair filled him with a sense of well being.  He buried his face into her soft, curly hair, relishing the way it felt on his skin.  She was his paradise, his home.  He’d do whatever he needed to do to protect her.

***************************************************

Dominic woke up three hours later and looked down at Lia, who was staring up at him.

“Hey, beautiful.  How long have you been awake?”  He said, giving the tip of her nose a kiss.

“Not too long.  I was just looking at your handsome face thinking about how happy I am to be in your arms”.

“Missed me, did you”, he said, chuckling softly.

“So much.  Did you miss me?”

“I don’t think I could express with words how much I missed you.  But I’d like to show you”, his eyes hooded and his voice gentle but still filled with want.

“Please show me, Dominic.  I need you to show me”.

That night the made love slowly, savoring every delicious moment.  It wasn’t about reaching climax for them.  It was about the expression of love between the two of them.  They kissed, clutched at and caressed each other, basking in their union.  It was the most sensual experience either one of them ever had.  They were so consumed with each other that they hadn’t taken the time to use a condom.  That night, Dominic’s sperm cell made it’s way to Lia’s womb and fertilized the egg that had implanted there.

**************************************************

They both woke up feeling better than they had in months.  They were back together and finding some normalcy.  Dominic hated to have to shake that up.

“Babe, I talked to my father about two weeks ago”.  Dominic started slowly.

“Oh, really?  What did he have to say for himself?”

“He uh...wants to come visit.  Him, my maw, Nessa, my brother Donal and his wife, Irene”.

Lia looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  “They know we live together, right?  They know that if they come to see you, they’re coming to see me, too?”

“Yeah, babe, they know.  Da mentioned that they all wanted to meet you”.

“Uh-huh”.  Lia wasn’t looking forward to meeting Dominic’s parents.  She was looking forward to meeting his sister face to face.  She didn’t know much about his brother and sister-in-law, but she knew she was NOT looking forward to meeting his racist, backwards thinking parents.

“Look, I know that given how they behaved when they found out that we were dating, my parents aren’t high on your list of people you’d like to meet.  But I can’t just tell them not to come.  No matter how much I hate what they stand for, they’re still my folks.  Besides, you’re more than just my girlfriend now, you are the woman I’m going to marry.  You’d have to meet them at some point”.

Lia walked over to Dom and put her arms around his neck.  “I know, baby.  And I will welcome them with open arms when they get here.  So when will they be visiting?”

“Next month.  I still have to firm up the arrangements”.

“Those arrangements wouldn’t include them staying here, would they?”

Dominic gave her an ‘are you insane’ look.  “Hell no!  I’m going to pay for a suite at the TriBeCa Grand”.

She kissed her fiancee on the cheek.  “Smart man”.

*********************************************

Eric had been drinking heavily since his encounter with that bastard.  ‘How dare he threaten me!’ He didn’t deserve her, his Lia.  HIS Lia!  She was gentle and sweet; he was a brute.  How dare she agree to marry him!  Was she just trying to make him jealous?  Make him angry?  Well if that was her intention, it was working.  

He was tired of this game she was playing with him.  She sent the earrings he bought her back to the jewelers and she’d refused the last few floral arrangements.  What was she playing at?  She knows he loves her.  And if she didn’t know it by now, she wasn’t as bright as he thought she was.  He tried to show her with gifts, maybe he needed to tell her...face to face.

************************************************

Lia and Dominic had finished eating his welcome home dinner which consisted of roasted chicken and fingerling potatoes, spinach sauteed with garlic infused olive oil and her mother’s famous tiramisu.  They’d just finished cleaning up the kitchen and Lia was about to take the garbage to the chute down the hall.

“I’ll take that out, babe”,  Dominic said when he saw her tying up the bag of trash.

“It’s just down the hall honey, relax”.

He looked at her for a long moment.  He’d put a scare in the creepy bastard, he was sure of that.  Was it enough to keep him at bay, though? But she was right, it WAS just down the hall.  Against his better judgement, he let her go.  “Ok, but hurry back”.

Lia pulled the garbage bag out of the trash can and strode out of the door.

The trash chute was on the left side of the hallway, next to the emergency exit.  As Lia went into the small room that housed the chute, she didn’t see that the door to the exit was slightly ajar.  Normally, the door was always closed flush to the door jamb.  She didn’t spare it a glance, so she didn’t see him peeking out at her from behind that door.  Her shriek was muffled by a hand over her mouth as she was lifted and pulled through the exit door.

********************************************

“Don’t scream, Lia”, Eric said as he continued to cover her mouth with his hand.  “Please don’t be afraid of me.  I love you, I would never hurt you”.

Lia stared at him with fear and loathing in her eyes.

“Please don’t look at me like that Lia”, he said firmly.  “What I’m doing, I’m doing for your own good.  That man you’re ENGAGED to, attacked and THREATENED me.  Is that the type of man you want to marry?  To father your children?  He doesn’t deserve you, don’t you see that?”

Lia knew that if she was going to get away from him, she was going to have to make sure he trusted that she wouldn’t scream.  She tapped the hand over her mouth and looked at him with pleading eyes. She was asking to remove his hand.

“If I remove my hand, do you promise not to scream?”

Lia nodded her head vigorously.  Eric slowly dropped his hand.

“Oh sweetheart, thank you.  Thank you”,  he said.  He looked at her lovingly and began stroking her hair and her face.  She fought not to cringe at his touch.  He needed to believe she trusted him.  He pulled her to him and smiled as he pressed his lips to her hair.  “I’ve waited so long for this.  I’ve wanted to hold you in my arms since the moment I saw you, the very first moment.  You’ve awakened something in me, Lia.  Something I didn’t even know was there.  I need to be able to take care of you; to love you.  Let me love you”.  Eric stepped closer to her and kissed her.  He pulled back and placed his lips against her temple. “So sweet”, he murmured.  He kissed her again, more urgently this time.  He ran his hand from her face to her breast.  He slid his hand further down and cupped her mound.

“No, no, no...please”.

“You’re absolutely right, darling.  I want to have you in my apartment, in my bed”.

Eric pulled her in for another kiss and  she clamped down on his lower lip with her teeth, hard enough to draw blood.

“You little BI-”  Lia hit him with a hard left hook before he could finish that statement.  He rushed at her before she could administer another blow.  He slammed her back against the cement wall of the stairwell, his hand around her throat.  Lia screamed as loud as she could.

********************************************

Dominic began to panic.  She’d been gone too long.  He knew he shouldn’t have let her out of the apartment without him.  He heard her scream as soon as he flew out into the hallway.  His blood began to boil with fury as he ran towards the sound.  It was coming from the emergency exit.  Dominic almost yanked the metal door off of its hinges just in time to see that asshole punch Lia in the face.  Dom let out an inhuman roar as he powered into the tall, blonde man, pinning him to the wall.  He administered blow after punishing blow to Eric’s face.  Lia ran back to the apartment, picked up her phone and called the police.

Lia threw open the apartment door, sprinted down the hall and pulled open the exit door.  She found Dominic still violently pummeling Eric.  

“DOMINIC STOP!”  She yelled.  “The cops are coming, baby.  Stop”.  She reached out and touched his arm.  Dominic stilled at her touch and let Eric slump to the ground, battered and bloody.  He turned to Lia as if seeing her for the first time.  He grabbed her and hugged her tight.  She was shaking like a leaf.

“It’s okay, angel.  You’re okay now”.  Lia began to weep, fisting his shirt with both hands.

He squeezed her even tighter, placing his hand on the back of her head.  “Shhh.  You’re alright now.  I’m never going to let anything happen to you”.  Never again, Dominic thought to himself.  Never again.

*****************************************

The police arrived 20 minutes after Lia called 911 and had the scene processed in about two hours.  Dominic and Lia had been questioned.  One of the police officers on the scene turned to Lia.

“Miss Mariani, would you like to press charges against the man who attacked you?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely”.  Fear had been replaced with a rage she’d never felt before.  

The police officer smirked at that.  “Okay, then.  We’ll finished here.  We’ll be in contact.  Get some rest”,  the officer handed her a card with the number of a victim’s support group.  “If you feel like you need to talk to a professional about what happened to you tonight, you can call the number on that card.  Good night”.

Some of the other tenants had gathered due to the commotion.  Their neighbors, Julia and Seth Goldman were waiting by the elevator on their floor.  They’d always been friendly so Julia came up to Lia and gave her a warm hug.

“Are you going to be okay, honey?”, Julia asked.

“Yeah...I think so”.

“You know, I’m not at all surprised that that Davison fellow turned out to be a bad guy.  He had developed a fixation on another young female tenant.  She finally had to move it got so bad”.

“Oh my God!  Why was he still allowed to continue living here if he was stalking another tenant?  The management was quick to send us a letter telling us we had to get rid of Seamus when someone reported that he was vicious.  They didn’t even investigate the charge!”

“That’s B.S., excuse my french”, said Seth.  “For one, that sweet dog wouldn’t hurt a fly and two, there is ALWAYS supposed to be an investigation into accusations like that.  It was probably Davison who filed that complaint.  He gets away with stuff like that because his father owns the management company.  It’s why he was able to continue living here after that young girl, I forget her name now, filed her complaint”.

Lia felt like it was imperative that they find out the name of the young woman who’d been harassed by Eric.  She might be able to help build a case against him regarding the stalking.

“If you guys remember the name of that girl, would you let me know?” Lia asked.

“Of course, honey.  And if you need anything all you have to do is knock on our door”.  Julia hugged her again and Seth gave Dom a friendly slap on the back.  “Get some sleep you two”.

“Thank you Julia, Seth.  Goodnight”.

When Lia and Dominic were safely behind the door of their apartment, he took her in his arms and said “I’m calling a realtor tomorrow”.

********************************************

One Month Later

So much had happened in weeks that passed since Eric Davison had attacked Lia.  The first, Davison was released from jail when his father paid his bail.  Dom and Lia hired a lawyer and filed for a restraining order against Davison.  This created a logistical problem because he still lived in the same apartment building they did.  They had to quickly find another apartment or house to rent while they were house hunting for a permanent residence.  They’d found it easier to put their furniture in storage and stay in a hotel until they found a home.  Her parents had offered to put them up during that time, and they’d considered it for a moment before decided to move into the hotel.  They needed their privacy.  Her parents understood.  

They didn’t want to stay anywhere near the TriBeCa neighborhood; they didn’t want to run the risk of seeing Davison.  They decided to stay in a hotel that offered month to month accommodations in Times Square.  

Dominic’s family also came for their week long visit.  Dominic and Lia paid for their travel and a suite at the same hotel they were currently staying.  As expected, the visit was awkward.

Lia and Dominic greeted his family in the lobby of the hotel.  Lia was surprised as they weren’t quite what she’d expected.  For some reason she’d expected his parents to be the scottish version of your typical midwestern tea party supporter; portly with fanny packs and a wardrobe as outdated as their racist ideologies.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  Dominic’s father William was an older version of Dom with salt and pepper hair and a beard to match.  At 54, he was tall and fit.  He would easily be mistaken for a man 15 years younger.  His mother Aileen was also tall and shapely with dark hair and green eyes.  His sister Nessa was as pretty in person as she was on the computer, maybe prettier.  She was tall, about 5’9 with a curvy figure like her mother.

His brother Donal could have been Dominic’s twin, although he wasn’t as tall or as muscular and he had green eyes.  His wife Irene was just a little taller than Lia, with red hair and emerald green eyes.

Dom greeted his family with hugs for the men and hugs and kisses for the women.

“It’s good to see you, all of you”.  Dominic said, slightly uncomfortable.  

“It’s good to see you as well, son”, his mother replied.  She looked up at him and nodded slightly towards Lia.

“Oh, yes!” Dominic reached for Lia and wrapped an arm around her. “ Maw, Da...this is Lia, my fiancee.  Lia, my parents, William and Aileen”.

Lia held out her hand to shake her future in-law’s hands in greeting.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both”,  she said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Lia” said William.  

“Yes, lovely to meet you”, Aileen said lightly.

Dominic gestured to his sister.  “You already know Nessa”.   Both women grinned at each other, but Lia still offered her a handshake.  “What that, then?  We are almost sisters, we hug!”  Nessa engulf Lia in a hug that she enthusiastically returned.  She was going to love Nessa.

“And this”, Dominic said guiding Lia to his brother and sister-in-law, “is my brother Donal and his wife Irene.  Donal offered his hand for a handshake.  “Lovely to meet you, Lia”, he said in a stiff business like tone.  Irene simply gave a light wave and curt hello.

‘Well, they’re at least being civil.  Cold, but civil’,  Lia thought.  It’s all she could really expect given their feelings.  “Why don’t we get you to your suite so that you can get settled”.

The group headed to the suite that the MacCleod’s would be staying in.  

Dominic jumped in to explain the temporary living arrangements. “The suites here are 2 bedrooms each, so Maw and Da you can share your suite with Donal and Irene and Nessa can bunk in our second bedroom”.

“Oh, BRILLIANT!” Nessa squealed, clapping her hands.  “Lia and I can have girl time.  Dommy, you can’t do whatever it is you do when you’re not harassing your fiancee”.

“You can have her for a couple of hours, Ness”,  Dominic said, wrapping his sister in a loose headlock.  “But you’ll not be keeping her from me for the whole night”.

Lia noticed Irene roll her eyes.  She had a feeling that the woman was going to be testing her good nature this week.

“Oh! Tomorrow my parents have invited us to dinner at their restaurant.  It’ll be a private party, just the two families”.

“That’s right.  Dominic told us your parents own a restaurant”, said Aileen.  Italian?  Is that right?”

“Yes.  It’s actually family owned.  My parents and my aunt and uncle are partners”, explained Lia.

“A black family with an italian restaurant?” Irene said incredulously. “That’s unusual”.

“Actually, my family is italian”, Lia explained, trying with control her rising anger.  “We moved to the States when I was in grade school”.

“There are BLACK italians?” Irene asked sounding as if the idea of black italians was preposterous.  ‘This broad is really pushing her luck’ Lia thought to herself.

“Yes, there are black italians, I’M a black italian, but my family is mostly white”.

“Well where did YOU come from?”

“Irene you rude, miserable cow!” Nessa shouted.

“Nessa!”  Aileen said sharply.

“Well it’s true, maw!  She’s being rude!”

“You are being VERY rude, Reeny”, Aileen warned the younger woman.  Lia’s eyes widened in surprise.

Irene stood up and stormed into a bedroom and slammed the door.

“Donal, you need to talk to your wife.  If she continues to disrespect Lia, I’ll make sure she’s on the first flight back to Scotland.  And if you don’t like it, you can go with her!”

Donal rolled his eyes and sighed.  “I’ll talk to her.  Lia, I apologize for Irene’s behavior”, he said as he followed his wife into the bedroom.

Yeah, this was going to be a long week.

Jet lag finally caught up to Dominic’s family, so he and Lia got some time alone during the early evening hours.

“So you’re sister-in-law is quite the bitch”, Lia said after they’d settled down on the sofa.  She cuddled up closer to him and leaned into his chest.

“Yeah...I’m sorry about that, sweetheart.  She could alway be a bit bitchy, but that was...actually I don’t know what the hell that was”.  He said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I hope Donal speaks to her about her rude behavior.  If he doesn’t I’ll have to sick Nessa on her and no one wants that”.

Lia smiled.  “I really like Nessa.  She’s sweet and funny.  And not at all afraid to speak her mind”.

“Yeah, she’s a little spitfire”, Dom said laughing.

“So, I know your parent’s are being civil, but when are we all going to deal with the huge elephant that’s in the room whenever we’re all together?  Do we just pretend that they don’t want you to be with me because I’m black?”

Dominic dropped his head and sighed.  “A conversation should definitely take place, but I think it’s one I should have with them...alone”.

“I suppose you’re right.  I think I’d end up being too angry to be of any help”,  Lia shook her head at the situation.  “I don’t need them to love me, I just want them to respect me.  I want them to respect our relationship.  We are going to be married and have children together.  Are they going to have a problem loving their grandchildren because they’re biracial?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t want you to get worked up over this.  I will talk to them and if they don’t come around they don’t come around.  We’ll still have the fantastic Mariani family to love us, make us laugh and drive us crazy.  And more importantly, they accept us exactly as we are”.

Nessa had been walking out of her room to head for the kitchen for a drink of water when she heard Lia and Dominic talking.  Her narrow-minded parents were going to drive Dominic away forever if they didn’t come to their senses.  And she loved her brother too much to let that happen.

**********************************

Lia and the MacCleod’s arrived at Mariani’s at 6pm on the dot.  As was her way, Giulia greeted them warmly like the wonderful hostess she was, despite the fact that she knew that the parents were bigoted morons.

“Welcome to our restaurant.  We’re so glad you’re here.  Come sit, dinner will be served shortly”.

“Thank you for your hospitality”, Dominic’s mother said politely. “Dominic has told us a lot about you all”.

“Yes...Lia has told us a lot about you, too”,  her aunt Anetta said dryly.

“Zia Anetta”, Lia warned.

If the MacCleod’s picked up on her mother’s meaning, they ignored it.  This was going to be a long night.

*******************************************

Dinner was a sumptuous affair.  Lia’s father and the kitchen staff really pulled out all the stops.  The food was served family style and the table was laden with pastas, antipasti, fish and assorted meats.  Nessa was having a great time chatting and laughing with Mimi and Gio, even Dom’s parents were loosening up and engaging in the conversations around the table.  Even Donal was more relaxed, deep in conversation with her cousin Antony.  They were both lawyers and were talking shop.  The only one not making any effort was Irene.  If anyone tried to engage her she would give one word answers.  But for the most part, she sat in her chair with a look of mild disgust on her face.

Lia’s sister-in-law, Tira noticed that Irene had barely put anything on her plate and what she did put there, she just push around.  “Irene, are you alright?” Tira asked.  “You’ve barely touched your food, would you like something else?  I’m sure my father-in-law wouldn’t mind whipping something else for you”.  Tira was always sweet and tried to make everyone feel comfortable.  She didn’t realize she was fighting a losing battle with Irene.

“No, I don’t want anything else”, she snapped. “I just don’t like italian food”.

“Since when??”  Nessa exclaimed.  “At home you suck down italian food like a vacuum cleaner”.

Mimi, who had been taking a sip of wine nearly choked on the liquid in her mouth.

“NESSA!”  Donal yelled.  “Apologize. Right now”.

“Fine.  Irene, I’m sorry you’re such a miserable witch with horrible manners.  And I’m sorry that I’m not sorry about calling you on your crap every chance I get”.

Gio, Mimi and Gianni all lowered their heads, but it was clear by their bouncing shoulders that they were laughing.  Tira elbowed Gianni and he stopped with great effort.

“Nessa, I am tired of your big mouth.  I don’t know why you are so intent on kissing the arses of these people, but I find it disgusting?”

‘Ha detto ‘queste persone’ come se fossimo sotto la sua scarpa? Mi chiedo come lei vorrebbe avere il suo viso sotto la mia scarpa!” (Did she just say ‘these people’ like we were beneath her shoe? I wonder how she’d like having her face beneath my shoe) Aunt Anetta said venomously.

“Explain what you mean by “these people” please”,  Giulia said patiently.

Not expecting to be put on the spot, Irene just sat glaring.

“That is okay, I know what you meant.  I just wanted to give you the opportunity to be a woman and come out with it.  No matter.  How ever, I think we SHOULD address the elephant in the room.  William, Aileen, Lia has told me about your feelings regarding Dominic being involved with my daughter”,   She gave them a pointed look before continuing.  “The only reason you are in this restaurant is because Lia begged.  I would normally NEVER let anyone who hurt any one of my children to darken my doorstep.  She wanted to give you a chance, because she believes everyone deserves the opportunity to redeem themselves.  For me, once you cause physical or emotional damage to my babies, you are less than a ghost to me.  But she asked us to treat you like family because Dominic loves you, and if he loves you she was willing to give you a chance”.

“Mamma, please”, Lia implored.  Things had been going so well.  She had hoped everyone would have just ignored Irene’s attitude and continued to enjoy the evening.

“No bambino, this needs to be said”, Giulia turned back to William and Aileen. “Why do you think my daughter is not good enough for your son?  Why does the color of her skin matter?  You see my family, we are everything; many colors, many ethnicities.  You see white, black, asian and hispanic at this table. Does it matter to us? No, because love doesn’t have a color or an ethnicity, it’s just love.  This is what your son feels for my daughter and what she feels for him.  You would mar that with your bigotry?  Will you hold on to your old ideas when the grandchildren come? Will you hold yourself back from the grandchildren because they are biracial?  What a shame THAT would be.  Your whole attitude is shameful”.  

Giulia then turned her attention to Irene.  “And YOU!  You are a vile woman!  You think you are above us because we are not lily white?  Well...screw YOU!”

Everyone gasped at Giulia’s last words.  Paolo threw his head back and laughed loudly until Anetta pinched him hard on his cheek.  Giulia was never one to use coarse language, even when she was really upset.

“If you don’t want to be here, there’s the door. You can leave whenever you want.  What do the kids say?  Oh yes...don’t kill my vibe”.

The kids at the table began laughing, but were quickly shushed by their parents.

William stood up and threw his napkin on the table and stalked towards the door.  “Aileen, Donal, Irene, Nessa, we’re going.  Dominic, call us a cab so we can go back to the hotel, we’ll speak when you get back”.

“I’m not going anywhere, Da.  I’m staying right here”, Nessa said, looking at her father defiantly.  “You don’t want to stay because you know what Mrs. Mariani says is the truth”.

Aileen looked at Giulia.  “It’s not that we don’t think that Lia’s a nice girl, it’s just that their lives will be difficult.  People don’t accept interracial couples”.

Gianni spoke up.  “With all due respect Mrs. MacCleod, you have no idea what you are talking about.  My wife and I have been married for over 10 years.  Have we encountered narrow-minded people?  Sure, but no one is chasing us with pitchforks or burning crosses on our lawns.  We aren’t living in a post-racial society...not by a long shot, but you can marry outside of your race and not be pariahs”.

Aileen got up, shaking her head.  “I just don’t like it.  I’m sorry, I don’t believe in interracial marriage”.  She walked out of the restaurant to join her husband, son and daughter-in-law.

There was a deafening silence at the table.  Lia was afraid to look at Dominic.  She knew this had broken his heart.  His mother said  ‘I don’t believe in interracial marriage’.  Those 5 words fractured his relationship with his parents.  Lia didn’t understand how parents could turn their backs on a child.  She didn’t know if Dominic’s relationship with his parents could be repaired.

Lia reached for Dominic’s hand and grasped it.  He turned towards her with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.  She grabbed his hand and led him to the hallway between the mens and womens bathrooms.  She reached up, put her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her.  He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in the crook of her neck.  Lia felt his tears on her neck and held him tighter.  

“It’s going to be okay, baby.  Shh...it’s going to be okay”.  She ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp.  “We’re going to get through this, sweetie.  Remember what you said?  We still have the funny, crazy, loving Mariani’s who love us just as we are.  And we have Nessa.  We’re going to be okay.  And who knows?  Maybe they’ll come around”.

Lia desperately wanted to believe that was true...for Dominic’s sake.

Lia, Dominic and Nessa arrived back at the hotel a little after 10pm.

Dominic’s father, William was waiting for them.

“You want to explain to me what that was tonight?  Was it the plan to ambush and humiliate us?”

Dominic’s emotions were raw.  He remembered his mother’s words: ‘I’m sorry I just don’t like it.  I don’t believe in interracial marriage’.  Those words cut him to the core.  Those words meant she was completely disregarding his feelings; disregarding his love for Lia.  And now here was his father red faced and angry at THEM.  They’d pushed him over the edge.

“Humiliate YOU!  Lia’s family welcomed you with open arms, even AFTER they learned about your bigoted, narrow-minded reaction to Lia and I being together.  Then fucking IRENE embarrasses ME by treating my fiancee’s family like dirt!  Giulia had EVERY RIGHT to say the things she said”.  Dominic’s breathing was labored, his voice cracking; his scottish brogue getting more pronounced the angrier he got.  “You would turn your back on me, my own FAMILY, because you can’t see past your prejudices?!  I’m HAPPY, Da!  Dinnae you and maw and Donal even care that Lia makes me happy??”

“We’ve said our piece, Dominic.  This innae what we want for ya.  You find yourself a nice white girl to marry or you’ll not see us again.  I swear it, boy-o.  I’ll not support this”.

“DA!  Ya dinnae mean that!” Nessa yelled.  “Ya cannae do this.  Turn yer back on your son and for what??  He loves Lia, and if you’ll set aside your stupid ideas, you’d see why!  You’d love her, too!”

“I will not discuss this further.  Nessa go pack your bags.  Donal has paid the fees to change our flight; we go back home tomorrow”.

“Well, he wasted his money on my ticket.  I’ll not be going with ye”.

“NESSA!  Pack. Yer. Bags.”  Seamus began to growl at William’s aggressive demeanor.

Lia, who had been sitting on the sofa, taking in the horrible scene,

called Seamus to her in order to calm him down.

“No. You cannae tell me what to do.  I’m staying here.  You, maw, Donal and that BITCH Irene can all go back to Scotland and live with yer antiquated ideas.  I’ll not be going with ya”.

Dominic dropped heavily on to the sofa next to Lia; all the fight had gone out of him.  “If she wants to stay, she can stay”, he said wearily. “She’s an adult, she can do what she wants.  I’ll pay Donal back for the price of changing yer flight.  Anything to see yer go”.

“Dominic…” Lia whispered.  This wasn’t what she wanted for him.  She didn’t want him to cut ties with his family.

“No, Li.  I don’t want to be around people as selfish as them.  They can go.  If I never see them again it will hurt me to the depths, but I’ll not give in to emotional blackmail.  They can go”.

Nessa began to sob.  “I’ll never forgive ya for pushing Dom away!  Never for as long as I live.  If you turn your back on him...I turn my back on you!”  She turned and went to her room calling Seamus with her.

“What’s said can’t be unsaid, boy-o.  What’s done won’t be undone”,  William’s voice now took on a pleading tone.  “For yer mother’s sake, dinnae do this”.

Dominic flew to his feet, fist clenched.  “Leave.  Before I forget you’re my father”.

“Dominic, please…”  Lia got up and placed her hands around his arm.

William snorted in disgust and left their suite.  Dominic turned to look at Lia.  He stroked her face then turned and walked into their bedroom.  Lia ran to their guest bathroom and vomited the contents of her stomach.  She wiped her mouth and sat back against the tub, weeping.

***************************************

Dominic woke up around 1pm to an empty bed.  He walked into the living area to see Nessa in the kitchen and Lia asleep on the sofa under a blanket.  She looked very pale.

“Is she okay, Ness?  She doesn’t look well”.

“She’s been throwing up all morning.  I was making her soup and crackers but I guess she fell asleep”.

Dominic stroked Lia’s hair then walked over and sat at the kitchen bar.  “Did they leave?”

“Yeah”, Nessa said softly.  “Early this morning.  Maw tried to convince me to go with them...I said no, obviously”.  

Dominic nodded his head, somberly.  “I dinnae want you to have to choose between them and me.  It’s going to make it hard for you when you go home”.

Nessa turned towards the sink.  “I’m not going back.  I don’t want to”.

Dominic looked at Nessa incredulously.  “Ya cannae mean that!  Yer whole life is in Scotland. What would you for work once you got here?”

“I’m an au pair, Dom. Someone is always going to need a nanny.  I have excellent references, finding work shouldn’t be a problem”.

“You’ll be uprooting your whole life.  What about your friends?”

“Dominic, stop it”.  I love my friends and if our friendships are strong they’ll survive me moving to America”.

“Well, you’d have to get your green card.  I think if I hired you as a personal assistant I can apply for certificate that will get you permanent resident status.  We might be able to make it work.  But what about your belongings?”

“I called my roommate Shelley and she’s going to start shipping things next week”.

“Of course you’ve already gotten the ball rolling on this.  I should have guessed it”.  He smirked at his sister.  “It goes without saying that you’ll stay with us until you get on your feet, but once you’re on your feet we’re pushing ya out of the nest”.  Dominic smiled and pulled his sister’s head towards his and kissed her forehead.

“Dom”,  a weak voice called from the sofa.

He walked over to Lia and sat down on the edge of the sofa.

“Are you okay?  I was so wor-”,  she frantically pushed him out of the way and ran to the bathroom.  He followed behind her and held her hair as she dry heaved.  When she done she slumped down to the floor and began to cry.

“Baby, don’t cry”,  He sat on the floor and pulled her to him, rubbing her back.

“It’s my fault, Dom!  It’s all my fault!  If it weren’t for me, you and your family would be fine!” she said, sobbing.  “I should have let you go.  I should have just let you go”.

Dominic pushed himself up to his knees and grabbed Lia’s chin and lifted it.  “Don’t you EVER say that to me again!  If you left me it would KILL me!  Don’t you understand that?  It hurts me that my parents and my brother have made the decision to turn their backs, but I would NEVER, EVER give you up!  There’s nothing that could make me even consider giving you up.  Jesus himself could come down and tell me I couldn’t have you, and I’d tell him to go fall off a bridge”.

Lia looked at him and started to laugh.  “You would not!”

Dominic began laughing with her. “I would do it in half a heartbeat.  I don’t want to be anywhere but right here, with you.  No matter the cost”.

Just then, Lia had another bout of dry heaving.  Dominic went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.  She needed something in her stomach to bring up.  It would be preferable to the dry heaves.

“Baby, we need to get you to a doctor.  I’ve never seen you this sick before”.

“I’m not sick, Dominic.  I’m pregnant”.

Two Weeks ago

“Hey girl”, Lia said, her fatigue evident in her voice.

“Hey mama.  What’s wrong with you? You look like death warmed over”, Mimi said, eyeing her best friend.

“Nothing, just a little tired.  I feel like I may be getting some sort of stomach bug, I’ve been feeling nauseous and just...off”.

“Did you eat any questionable street food lately.  I know how you love your food trucks”.

“No, I haven’t had much of an appetite.  Sometimes just the smell of certain food makes me sick to my stomach”.

“I see”, Mimi said slyly.

“What’s that look for?  I don’t like that look”.

“Nothing.  I was just wondering if it’s possible that you’re pregnant”.

Lia opened her mouth to protest, but then realization dawned.  She and Dominic had made love a few weeks ago and forgot to use protection.  “Oh my God!”

She looked over at Mimi whose face had split into a huge grin.

“Stop looking at me with that goofy ass grin and help me!”

“TO THE PHARMACY!”  Mimi shouted.

Thirty minutes later Lia was looking down at the pregnancy test, two blue lines staring up at her from the results window.

“OH...shit”.

**********************************************

Dominic was staring at her with an indecipherable look on his face.  “What did you say?”

“I’m pregnant”.

“We’re having a baby?”  A silly, lopsided grin began to form on his face.

“You’re not mad?”  She was scared he’d be upset because of everything that had happened with his family.

“Am I mad?  Are you insane??”  Dominic placed his hand on her still flat abdomen, then bent over and kissed her there.

“Hey little bairn, it’s your da.  I love you, little girl”.

Lia laughed as more tears threatened to escape her eyes.  “You know she can’t hear you yet.  She doesn’t have ears.  And how do you know she’s a ‘she’?  There could be a big scottish brute in there”.

“You’re carrying my daughter, woman.  I know because I say so”.  The smile on his face was so sweet as he rubbed her tummy.  “I love my baby girl already”.

Lia pulled him in for a deep kiss.  She didn’t think she could love this man any more than she did at that moment.

*****************************************

“Well, you are pregnant.  I’d say about seven weeks based on my exam”, Lia’s obstetrician, Dr. Angela Riley said. “ We need to get you on prenatal vitamins as soon as possible.  Have you been experience any morning sickness”.

“Yes, it’s been pretty awful, actually”.  Lia responded.

“I don’t know why they call it ‘morning sickness’, she’s sick all day long”.  Dominic said while staring in horror at a plastic replica of a uterus on the exam room’s counter.

“Yes, that’s a common complaint”, Dr. Riley said, chuckling.  “Because morning sickness is often caused by low blood sugar, it’s important for Lia to eat small meals throughout the day.  Ginger is helpful for nausea, just use fresh ginger, and no store bought ginger-ale.  Normally, that either contains ginger flavoring or barely enough ginger to be any help, not to mention all the sugar.  Stretching and keeping active can also help minimize the nausea”.

“Doctor, when will we be able to learn the sex of the baby?”  Lia asked.

“I already told you, it’s a girl”, Dominic said, cockily.  Lia just rolled her eyes.

Dr. Riley laughed out loud.  “Well, we should be able to confirm that via ultrasound at around 12 weeks”.

“I don’t know why we need to waste money on an ultrasound, my baby girl is in there.  I can feel it in my bones”.

“Oh yeah, I forgot...you’re psycho”.

“You mean, PSYCHIC, dear heart”, said Dominic, correcting her like she was a child.

“I stand by my statement”.

“Okay, you two”, Dr. Riley laughed.  “Get out of my office.  Make sure to make your next appointment with Janice before you leave.  And congratulations!”

***************************************

“I don’t want to tell anyone about the baby until we’re past the first trimester”, Lia said while they were eating lunch in their temporary apartment.  Lunch for Lia consisted of a cup of rice, applesauce and some ginger tea.  “Well, I mean Mimi knows, but I think we should wait to tell the rest of the family”.

“Awww, c’mon.  Can’t we just tell one person?  I’m too excited, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep it to myself”.

“Tell Seamus. He won’t blab”.

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea.  Come here Seamus, come here boy!”  Seamus trotted over to Dominic and sat at his feet.  Dominic crouched down to the dog’s level. “Hey Shame, guess what?  You’re gonna be a big brother.  Mommy has a little baby in her tummy.  Just don’t tell Lolli, she’s a blabbermouth”.

“Oh My GOD, you’re PREGNANT?!”  Dominic and Lia looked towards the front door to see Nessa standing there with a huge grin on her face.

“Nessa! Haud yer wheesht! (Be quiet) and close the door!”

Nessa walked into the apartment and closed the door. “Oh my God, you’re having a baby?”  She said quietly.

“Oh, NOW she whispers!” Dom said, rolling his eyes.

Lia laughed at the two of them. “Yes, there’s a baby cookin’ in here”, she said patting her tummy.  “You can’t say anything, though.  We’re going to wait until we’re in the second trimester to tell everyone”.

“My lips are sealed”,  Nessa said with a goofy grin on her face.  After a moment her eyes suddenly lit up.  “You know what that means, right?  I can be your nanny!”

“That’s right!”, Lia said excitedly.  “I hadn’t planned on using one, but this is perfect!  I’ll have help with the baby, which means I’ll still be able to work and more importantly, get some sleep”.

“The bairn can call ya “Auntie Nanny”,  Dom said, chuckling at his cleverness.

“No dunderhead, she’ll call me Auntie Nessie and I’ll put her in pretty dresses and put dainty ribbons in her hair.  Oh this is BRILLIANT!”

“See Lia, Nessa says it’s a girl, too”, Dom said feeling vindicated.

“Well, I hope you’re not too disappointed if we find out “baby girl” MacCleod is “baby boy” MacCleod”.

“I’ll love him just the same.  But we’re having a girl”.

“If you say so”.

“Exactly”, Dominic said with a wink.

*************************************************

6 Weeks Later

About 4 weeks after Lia’s first prenatal visit, she, Dominic and Nessa were moving into their new home.  Their house hunt wasn’t really a hunt because they found what they were looking for almost immediately. Their realtor took them to the property in Briarcliff Manor and it was love at first sight.  The house was located on a tree lined street in a great school district. It had 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen and plenty of room to spare. There was a kid’s playroom in the basement just waiting for baby MacCleod, and a huge fenced in yard for Seamus to run and play.  The house was a little over an hour outside of the city, and although it was going to be an adjustment being farther away from the family, it was an adjustment they’d gladly made because the house was so perfect.  Two weeks later and they were still getting settled in.  Nessa’s former roommate had shipped the final bit of her belongings and Dominic had started the process of getting her an employment green card.  They finally felt like their lives were out of limbo.

Lia was in the kitchen putting away the pots, pans and dishes.  She also took the time run her hand over all of the bells and whistles in her favorite room of the house.  She had a subzero refrigerator, double oven, a huge kitchen island/breakfast bar and a walk in pantry.  She was in kitchen heaven.

Dominic walked into the kitchen for a bottle of water only to find Lia hugging the subzero.  He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Ummm, what are you doing?”

“Trying to make love to my dream refrigerator”,  Lia said, her voice muffled because she was kissing the refrigerator door.

“Should I be jealous?”

“No.  Well, maybe a little bit”.

Dominic walked over to her, peeled her off of the shiny appliance and carried her into the living room.  He sat back down on the lounge chair with her in his lap.

Lia sat comfortably on her future husband’s lap and took in the scene around her.  Nessa was at the patio doors laughing at Seamus as he ran and jumped around the backyard happily.  Lolli was sunning herself in the kitchen's bay window.  Everything was well appointed due to Tira’s good counsel and fashion sense.  She snuggled deeper into Dominic’s arms contentedly.  They were home. They were finally home.

3 Weeks Later

“Mamma, leave the dishes!  I’ll put them in the dishwasher later”,  Lia found her mother’s constant puttering and fussing a little nerve wracking.

“Perche’ aspettare quando ho due mani perfettamente buone per lavarli con?”, (Why wait when I have two perfectly good hands to wash them with?) Giulia explained.

“Perche’ tu mi rendi nervoso con la pulizia”, (because you make me nervous with all your cleaning)  Lia replied.

“Sei stato sciocco. Inoltre, mi piace aiutare voi”, (You’re being silly.  Besides, I like helping you).

Lia sighed.  There was no use arguing with her mother when she decided something needed to be done and she was the only one who could do it.

“Si abitua all’aiuto ora, saro solo sempre piu di esso piu lungo si ottiene nella tua gravidanza”, (Get used to the help now, you’ll only be getting more of it the further along you get in your pregnancy.)

Lia’s shock flashed across across her face, but she recovered quickly.  “Mamma, I think that’s just wishful thinking on your part”, she said with a nervous laugh.

“Oh please.  A woman can recognize the signs of pregnancy in another woman, ESPECIALLY when the other woman is her child.  You’re always sleeping, if you’re not sleeping you’re peeing and your breast are getting bigger”.

Lia could deny it no longer.  “Yes, Mamma, I am pregnant we-”

“UN NUOVO NIPOTINO!”(A new grandchild!) Giulia clapped her hands gleefully “Mi figlia...una mamma poco!  Sono cosi felice!” (My daughter...a little mommy!  I’m so happy!)

Giulia rushed around the kitchen island, grabbed Lia by her face and began covering it with kisses then hugged her tightly.

Dominic walked into the kitchen and eyed the two women before he walked over to them and joined in on the hug.

“Why are we hugging?”  he asked.

“Because you’re giving me another grandchild”, said Giulia, her voice muffled due to being swallowed up in Dom’s embrace.

“You TOLD!  I thought we were going to tell everyone at the housewarming party!”

“I DIDN’T tell, she guessed!”

“I didn’t guess, I KNEW”.

“Well...I get to tell Pop, then”.

“You WILL NOT tell Pop.  Everyone else will find out at the housewarming next week”, Lia said, smacking Dominic on his chest.

“Mamma’s gonna tell him anyway”, he huffed.

“Mamma”,  Lia said, her tone carrying a warning.  “You CAN NOT tell papa, okay?”

“I won’t tell, I promise”, she said with a smile.  “Wait...what about the wedding?  You can’t be walking down the aisle with a big belly, and my grandson certainly shouldn’t be at his parent’s wedding”.

“Well first of all, it’s a girl.  Second, what’s the problem with Lia being visibly pregnant when we get married?  I’m sure she wouldn’t be the first woman to wear a maternity wedding dress”.

Both women looked up at him like he’d just summoned the devil.  

“I don’t want to wear a maternity wedding dress, and I don’t want to get married after the baby gets here”.

Giulia walked over to the patio doors and looked out at the backyard.  “We could have the wedding right here.  I’m sure Tira can pull something together in a couple of weeks.  You could have a small, simple ceremony in the yard, and have a little reception inside”.

Dominic and Lia looked at each other, both considering the idea.

“What do you think, baby daddy?  You wanna marry me in the backyard next month?”

“Woman, I wanted to marry you the day after I met you.  And I’d marry you in a landfill, as long as I get to call you my wife”.

“It’s settled, then”.  Giulia said with a glint in her eyes that made Lia a little nervous. “I’ll call Tira today so that we can get started.  We girls can go shopping for your bridal gown on Saturday. I’ll call papa’s friend Emilio.  He’s the best tailor in the city and he’ll get you fixed up with suits at a discount. He owes papa for catering his daughter’s wedding at a steep discount.  Well, what are you standing there for?  Muoviti!”

Dominic turned and looked at Lia.  “You heard her!  Move it!”

****************************************************

Dominic called Mike later that evening.

“Why do you ALWAYS call when I’m about to get pussy?!” Mike said in a hushed tone as he answered his phone. “Do you have some kind of ‘no pussy for Mike’ radar, dude?”

“Well hello to you, too asswipe”,  Dominic said, laughing. “Dude, you’re always ‘about to get’ or ‘trying to get’ pussy.  You either get it, or you don’t, brother.  Maybe if you stopped BEGGING some not too bright woman will take pity on you”.

“Fuck you, man.  I have a very lovely, very FLEXIBLE young lady currently cooling off on my couch that I need to get back to, so state your business...quickly”.

“Fair enough.  I remember you saying the night you took me to the airport-”

“And watched your dog…”

“And watched my dog, that your request for compensation would be to stand up with me at my wedding.  Well, I would like to pay in full.  Lia and I are getting married next month and I want you to be my best man”.

The silence on the other end of the call went on long enough for Dom to wonder if the call got disconnected.

“Mike?  You there, mate”.

“You’re getting married next month??  Is she pregnant?  She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

“What? No...why would you?  No...not pregnant.  Definitely not pregnant”.

“Dom, how can you be such a great actor while managing to be the worse liar on the planet?”

Dominic lowered his voice to a whisper. “Yes, she’s pregnant, four months along now”.

“HOLY SHIT!  Congratulations, man.  I’m happy for you.  Although I am sad that I’ll no longer have the opportunity to steal the Goddess away from you”.

“You NEVER had that opportunity, mate.  Lia has better taste in men...clearly”.

“And again I say, FUCK YOU”.

“So, you haven’t answered the question, fuckwit.  Best man...you in or out?”

“All in, brother.  I’m surprised you would even have to ask.  Just give me the particulars and I’ll be there”.

“All right, mate.  I’ll let you get back to your guest.  Call me tomorrow so we can go over travel plans and dates and things”.

“Will do.  Kiss Lia for me.  And make sure it’s slow and sensual with a lot of tongue”.

“Do you WANT to die, asshole”.  

Mike laughed.  “Talk to you later, bro.  And congrats man, seriously.  I’m happy for you”.

“Thanks Mike. Take care man”.

******************************************

“I’m excited.  Are you excited?”,  Dom whispered while they were waiting for the ultrasound technician.  

Lia looked at him and giggled.  “Yeah, I’m REALLY excited”.

“Where’s the person?  I want to get this show on the road”

“Be patient, honey.  I’m sure it won’t be much longer”.

And as if conjured by her words, the technician, a petite indian woman,  entered the room and greeted them warmly.

“So we’re taking baby’s first picture today?”

“And settling a bet.  My mother-in-law says we’re having a boy, but I believe we’re having a girl”.

The technician laughed.  “Well it’s a safe bet that one of you will be right.  Let’s get started”.

The technician moved Lia’s paper gown out of the way and squeezed cold gel onto her abdomen.  She began moving the wand and suddenly on the monitor they could see their baby’s little body.  Neither of them could take their eyes off of the screen.  Dominic took Lia’s hand and kissed her palm.  

“Well, Mr. MacCleod, it’s looks like you will have to inform your mother-in-law that she lost the bet.  Your baby is definitely a girl”.

Dom and Lia looked at each other with big grins on their faces.  He leaned in close to her and kissed her gently on her lips.  “Never doubt me again, woman”.

The Mariani clan along with Nessa and Mimi were their usual boisterous selves at Lia and Dominic’s housewarming.  Gabriele and Giulia catered the event, and as usual, the food was plentiful.  Because they had a very large great room, they were able to set up an additional table to accommodate all the attendees.

The house was filled with a cacophony of talking, laughing, arguing and utensils scraping against dinnerware.  Dominic looked around at the family that had welcomed him as one of their own and couldn’t help but smile.  He’d fallen in love with the most beautiful woman in the world and gaining the love and respect of her family, now HIS family, was the icing on the cake.  They’d also warmly embraced Nessa and for that he would forever be grateful.  Although he hoped that someday he and Nessa would be able to make amends with their parents, he was proud that he would officially become part of this close knit group.  He was also thrilled that he and Lia would be adding a new member in five short months.

“Hey! Can I have everyone’s attention for a few minutes”, he called out, trying to make his voice carry over the din of the noisy crowd.  No one appeared to hear him so he tried again, to no avail.  Having no luck with more polite means he decided to use a time honored UK method.  “OI! Shut yer traps!”  The room quickly grew silent.

“Dominic! Mente la bocca! (mind your mouth)  Giulia chided.

“Sorry, mamma”,  Dominic said, properly chastened.  “I just wanted to get everyone’s attention”.

“Well, alright. You’re forgiven this time.  But know this, mio figlio (my son), you are not to big to get a wooden spoon to your backside”.

“Yes, Mamma”,  Dominic said as Lia, Gio, Nessa and Mimi snickered under their breaths.  “Now, go ahead and say your piece”.

“Oh-Okay.  Well first, Lia and I want to thank you all for coming to celebrate us finding our home. We love all of you and we’re thrilled to share this milestone in our lives with you”.  He looked over at Lia and they grinned at one another.  “In fact, there are a couple of other milestones we’re happy to invite you to share in as well.  The first being our marriage.  Lia and I have decided to be married next month, right here at the house and we expect you all to be here”.

A blending of cheers and congratulations filled Dom’s ears and he couldn’t help but smile.

“But why so quickly Dominic?”  Gabriele said with a twinkle in his eye. Lia and Dominic glared at Giulia who promptly began picking at invisible lint on her blouse.  That woman was a blabbermouth.

“Well, that’s our other bit of news”,  Lia chimed in, “We’re having a baby!”

More cheers rang out as the couple was bombarded with hugs and kisses from the family.  When Giulia walked up to Dominic for his hug, he wrapped her in his arms and bent down to her ear.  “You owe me a lemon cake, Mamma”.

“It’s a girl?” she whispered. Then she turned to the crowd and shouted “E UNA RAGAZZA!” (It’s a girl)

Cheers once again erupted the crowd.  Because Nessa hadn’t been around the family long enough to pick up more than the basic italian phrases, she leaned over to Mimi and asked, “What’d she say?”

Mimi chuckled. “She said ‘it’s a girl’.  Nessa, now that you’re part of the family, we’re gonna have to get you up to speed on your italian”.

“Y-you...see me as part of the family?”

Everyone in close proximity looked at her like she’d gone crazy.  “Of course you’re part of the family”,  Gio said, making a face and pointing his thumb at Nessa and said  “THIS girl”.

Mimi smacked him on the back of the head.  

“I didn’t know that you guys felt that way about me”, Nessa said softly.  “I thought you just saw me as Dominic’s baby sister”.

“Mmm-hmm, and because Dom’s our brother, that makes you OUR baby sister”,  said Giuseppi.

Nessa was speechless.  This family was so amazing.  They embraced her as their own despite her family’s despicably bigoted behavior.  Of course she was aware that they knew she didn’t feel the way her parent’s did, but she didn’t know if she could welcome someone who was raised by bigots into her family.  They barely knew her and now they considered her one of them.  She found herself overcome with emotion.

As tears spilled from her eyes, Nessa said, “Excuse me for a moment”, and hurried towards her room.  

She was in her bathroom dabbing the tears from her eyes when Lia walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her on her cheek.

“Are these happy tears or sad tears?”

“I’ve never known any group of people as nice as you and your family”, Nessa said, smiling through her tears. “You’ve all accepted me without so much as a backward glance.  My family would NEVER do that.  They always said that we should respect all other people, but obviously they don’t practice what they preach.  But your family...they don’t preach it, they live it.  I’m just so grateful that you all think so highly of me as to allow me into your family”.

“We don’t just think highly of you honey...we love you”,  Lia said smiling.  “I don’t know if you know this, but you’re very loveable.  Despite your parents’ terrible ideologies, they did something right because you and Dominic are warm and sweet and loyal.  You are two of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met and I feel blessed to call you family”.

“What happened?  Who made my Nessa cry?”  The two women turned to see Giulia walking through the bedroom towards them.  When she entered the bathroom, she tapped Lia on her hip, urging her to step aside.

“Why are you crying, bella?  Tell me who was being mean so I can get my wooden spoon and crack some skulls”.

“Mamma, no one was being mean.  Nessa just didn’t realize that we loved her as much as we do.”

“What??”  Giulia exclaimed. She smacked Nessa on her backside. Hard.  “How could you doubt how we feel about you?  You were family the moment you sat down to the table at that awful family dinner.  You became my daughter on that day”.

Nessa felt a rush of emotion and grabbed the older woman into a tight hug.  Giulia pulled back, held Nessa’s face in her hands and smiled.  “Piccola mia (my baby)” she said as she began kissing her new daughter all over her face.

“Yup”,  Lia said chucking.  “You are DEFINITELY a Mariani now”

********************************************

One Month Later

Lia stood in front of the full length mirror in her and Dom’s bedroom and stared at her reflection.  She was in the wedding dress that she’d picked the Saturday after the housewarming party.  It had been the third dress she’d tried on and it was perfect.  It was a white strapless, floor length empire waist gown.  The bodice was pleated satin with silver and white beading at the bust and waist lines.  The length of the dress was a soft, chiffon sheath that camouflaged her now very visible baby bump.

Her hair was pulled into a messy chignon with a gardenia tucked into it on the left side.  Her ears were adorned by antique diamond earrings that she borrowed from her mother and a sapphire and diamond pendant necklace that she received as a gift from Uncle Paolo and Aunt Anetta hung around her neck.  She had the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” covered.  She wore a pair of comfortable flat sandals on her feet.  No way she was going to be in her own backyard in heels.

Her mother walked in the room and gasped as she viewed her daughter in her wedding dress. “Mia bambina e cosi bella”, (my baby girl is so beautiful) Giulia said in a hushed tone.

“Thank you Mamma”,  Lia turned to take her mother in.  She was wearing a cream and champagne two toned,ruched satin dress that complimented her figure without being too form fitting. The dress was low cut, but still modest. The dress was sexy and the champagne colored, modestly heeled sandals added to the effect. “Mamma, you look HOT!”

“Thank you, bella”, Giulia said as she took her daughter in, marvelling at how beautiful she looked.  Her baby was marrying the man she loved and would be giving birth to her first child in a few months.  She could still remember her birth mother handing the newborn to her and asking her to name the baby.  She was such a sweet little thing.  Now here she was, an adult about to embark on a new journey, she was very proud of her daughter.  

“Are you ready to get married?” Giulia asked as she straightened the pendant at Lia’s neck.  

“So ready, Mamma.  I’m so excited I want to skip all of the pomp and circumstance and just run down there and marry that man!”

Giulia laughed at Lia’s impatience.  “Your papa would ring your little neck if you deprived him of the honor of walking you down the aisle”.

“She’s absolutely right, principessa.  I’m losing mia bambina to another man, the least you can do is let me have the privilege of presenting you to him”.  Gabriele felt his throat constrict at the thought of giving his daughter away and cleared his throat.

Sensing her father’s discomfort at becoming emotional, Lia changed the subject.  “Have you gotten an eyeful of your wife, papa?  Doesn’t she look hot in that dress”.

“Si, lei sembra bellisima in quel vestito. Lei guardare ancora piu bella con esso riuniti attorno alle sue caviglie”, (Yes, she looks beautiful in that dress.  She’ll look even more beautiful with it pooled around her ankles) Gabriele said, levelling a heated look at his wife.

“PAPA! EWW”,  Lia shouted.  “Now I need bleach for my ears and brain!”

“Oh grow up”, he chuckled.

Mimi entered the room to tell them that Father Vincenzo and all the guests had arrived.  She looked stunning in her knee length one-shoulder, pleated chiffon dress with an illusion neckline.  It was lemon colored and complimented her dark brown skin perfectly.  

“Mimi, you look fabulous in that dress”, Giulia gushed.

“Thank you, Mamma”, Mimi said smiling. “You look smoking hot yourself.  Doesn’t your wife look good, Papa?”

“Don’t ask him that! You’ll get an R-rated answer.  He was in here talking dirty to Mamma a few minutes ago.  Right in front of me!  I don’t think I’ll ever be the same”.

“Yuuuuck”, Mimi said while making a face and shaking her head.

Tira and Nessa entered the room just as Giulia was going to respond with a sarcastic remark.

“Lia!”, Nessa gasped.  “You look gorgeous!  Dominic is going to shit!!”

“Nessa!”  The whole room exclaimed.

“What?  He is.  He is going to shit”.

“Where’s my spoon?  I will smack those legs missy!”

“Alright, alright everybody.  It’s time to get Lia hitched.  Let’s go”.

****************************************

The yard was beautiful.  Tira had outdone herself, especially considering she’d only had a few weeks to pull everything together.  From the beautiful arched trellis they were to be married under; festooned with lilies and white roses, huge tent that Lia was surprised fit into the space of the backyard, to the ornate guest chairs arranged artfully on either side of the aisle she was about to walk down.  She couldn’t have imagined a lovelier setting to marry the man of her dreams.

The wedding was a small affair.  There weren’t more than 75 people in attendance, all family and close friends.  Dominic had even sent an email to his parents and his brother telling them about the baby and inviting them to the wedding.  He’d received no response.  He’d tried and it hurt to be rebuffed, once again, but he wasn’t going to let it dampen the happiness he felt on the best day of his life.

Lia watched her niece, Giuseppi’s 7 year old daughter Angelina, decorating the white runner leading to the “altar” with red rose petals.  She was quite entertaining; tossing the roses up in the air like confetti.  The guests were laughing while her mother, April and Giulia were trying to draw her attention in order to tell her to stop, but as long as Angelina had a responsive audience there was no stopping her.

Gianni’s boys Michael and Daniel were next.  They were acting as co-ring bearers.  The boys actually worked out an arrangement in which both of them shared the responsibility equally.  Daniel carried the ring down the aisle and Michael would hold it during the rest of the ceremony.

Mike and Mimi followed the boys.  They looked fantastic with Mike in his grey tuxedo with grey silk trim and Mimi in her yellow dress.  She hooked her hand in the crook of his arm as they proceeded down the aisle.  When Mimi walked past Giovanni, she smiled gently at him and quickly stroked his cheek. He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles before she was too far away.  Both Gabriele’s and Giulia’s eyed widened to saucers, then they looked at each other as if trying to confirm that they’d seen what they just saw .  In the months since the family found out they were seeing each other, they only outward sign of affection they’d display was Gio putting his arm around Mimi’s shoulder or waist.  It looked like the couple’s relationship had moved well past lust into...love?  Her father leaned in to her and said, “Mi devi 10 dollari”. (You owe me ten dollars).  She looked at her father and laughed.

Once the maid of honor and the best man had taken their places at the altar, Lia and Gabriele made their way down the aisle.  She looked at Dominic looking so handsome in his grey tuxedo and wanted to run to him, dragging her father behind her.  She hadn’t realized that her thoughts caused her to walk a little faster.  The change didn’t go unnoticed as audience members began to chuckle and Uncle Paolo exclaimed “Slow down, bella, he’s not going anywhere!”

The crowd burst into laughter at that.  Lia giggled, her face growing hot.  Aunt Anetta turned and pinched her husband’s neck causing him to yelp.

When Lia finally reached her destination, she locked eyes with her soon to be husband and they exchanged smiles.  Father Vincenzo began the ceremony, thanking those for coming to celebrate Lia and Dominic’s union.  When he asked “Who gives the bride in marriage?”  Gabriele managed to choke out, “Her mamma and I do”.  Lia turned to look at her father who had tears shining in his eyes.  “Oh Papa”, she said as she grabbed him and laid her head on his chest, tears rolling down her face.  Gabriele kissed Lia’s forehead and then turned to Dominic and embraced him, the two men clapping each other on their backs before Gabriele placed Lia’s hand to the hand of the man he regarded as a son.

For Lia, the vow ceremony was a bit of a blur.  She knew when to respond to the priest’s questions, but for the most part, she couldn’t take her eyes off of Dom.  In fact, when it was time for the exchanging of rings, Mimi had to nudge her to get her attention.  After the pledges of faith, fidelity and forever and the exchange of wedding bands, Father Vincenzo pronounced them husband and wife and granted Dominic permission to kiss his bride.

“Finally!” He said, smiling. Dominic leaned down and captured Lia’s lips in a gentle kiss.  He bent down further, cupped her belly and placed a kiss on her bump.

Their guests whooped and clapped their hands happily as the couple made their way back into the house.  When they were alone in the house, Dom gave Lia the passionate kiss he wouldn’t give her in front of a priest and all the eyes watching.

“I am very much looking forward to making love to you, Mrs. MacCleod”.

“Well, I don’t know if my husband will be okay with that, sir”.

“I have it under very good authority, that he wouldn’t mind in the slightest”.

“Oh really?  Who knew I was married to such a freak!”

Dominic laughed and pulled her into an embrace.  “Are you happy?” he asked.

“Baby, I’m happier than any one person has a right to be”.

**************************************************

The guests had all filtered into the big tent for the reception festivities.  The crowd was enjoying the music provided by the DJ when Tira signaled for him to cut the music.  She took to the mic to announce the newlyweds.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you. Mr. and Mrs. Dominic MacCleod!”

Lia and Dominic entered the tent as “Like a Star” by Corinne Bailey Rae began to play.  They walked to the middle of the dance floor and commenced their first dance as husband and wife.

Dom looked down at Lia and kissed her forehead.  He rested his chin on the top of her head.  For the rest of his life he would love this woman.

After their first dance, it was time for their dance with the parents.  Since Dom’s mother wasn’t in attendance he danced with Giulia.  Actually, he wouldn’t have had it any other way.  In the short time he’d known her, she’d become more of a mother to him than his own.

The foursome took to the floor and made like they were going to begin dancing to a slow song when the intro to “Uptown Funk” began to play.  Everyone watching hooted and hollered as the two pairs began dancing to the Bruno Mars hit.  Gabriele had surprised Lia when he agreed to this and she was further surprised when he began to dance.  He was good!

He gave her an amused look and said, “che cos’e quello sguardo”? (What’s that look)

“Scossa!” (Shock) She said laughing.

About halfway through the song, Giulia invited everyone to the floor and it was a full-fledged party after that.  

After the buffet dinner and a good amount of merriment was made, it was time for the best man’s toast, the bouquet toss and garter toss and cake cutting.  Mike stood up from his seat on the dais.

“I’ll keep this short because, you know, cake.  I’ve known Dom for 8 years and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen him happier, and that’s all due to the lovely woman sitting next to him.  He’d always said that he was a confirmed, unrepentant bachelor, and that tiny spitfire changed that within a week.  He was smiling more, whistling...it was actually quite sickening.  It took FOREVER for them to admit what everyone else could see as clear as day, but once they stopped being punks, they were all in.  And seeing them now, happy and in love and with a baby on the way...it’s beautiful.  It makes a man want that for himself.  Not me, though...some other guy.  In all seriousness though, Dom and Lia, I wish you all the happiness you can stand plus a little more. You deserve it.  I love you both”.

After the applause died down, it was time for the bouquet and garter toss.  All the single women gathered on the dance floor as they waited patiently for Lia to throw the bouquet.  She pretended to toss the bunch of flowers then turned and walked towards Mimi, handed her the bouquet and kissed her on the cheek.  Mimi looked over at the table where Gio sat.  His eyes were on her and he was smiling that secret smile that could both piss her off and gave her butterflies.

Next up was Dominic.  After running his hand seductively up his wife’s leg and receiving a death stare from his father-in-law, he pulled the garter off of her leg.  All the single men lined up behind him as he made to toss the garter.  Then just as Lia had done, he turned and handed the garter to Gio.  Dominic then grabbed him by the back of the neck and pressed his forehead against Gio’s and said “Don’t let her get away, mate”.

“I don’t intend to”, Gio replied.

**********************************************

Lia watched Mike as his eyes followed Nessa as she moved about the tent. She also noticed the shy way Nessa looked at him.  She moved to sit closer to him.

“Don’t even entertain the thought, Mike.  Dominic will rip your intestines out and feed them to you”.

“I know, Li.  She’s just so pretty and sweet”.

“And you want to corrupt her”.

“No...I want...nevermind”.

“You want what?”  Lia asked.

“I want some of what she is to rub off on me.  When I look at her and she smiles I want to make sure that smile stays there.  How can I feel that way?  I’ve only seen her a handful of times”.

“Sometimes you just know.  But I suggest you bide your time, because it will take a LONG time for Dom to accept you wanting to date his sister.  If he ever does.  I’ll try to soften him up to the idea, but I make no guarantees”.  Lia then grabbed him by his lapel.  “Know this, Michael, IF you get Dominic’s blessing and IF Nessa agrees to date you, if you hurt my sister-in-law you will have more than just my husband to contend with.  She’s a part of my family and we don’t take kindly to heartbreaking rascals”.

“Rascals? What are you, 60?”

“Take this seriously!” Lia said, jerking on his lapels.

“I am! I am!  If I get the chance to be with her, I won’t ever hurt her.  I promise”.

“Good man.  Now, go dance with her, but keep at least a foot of space between you”.

“Wouldn’t that just be us dancing by ourselves?”

“Mike, please don’t make me smack you”.

“Alright, Alright.  You’re mean!”

Just as Mike left Dominic sat down next to Lia.  “What was that about?” he asked.

“Oh nothing.  Mike just wanted some relationship advice”.

“Mike??  Mike doesn’t do relationships”.

“Well, maybe he wants to turn over a new leaf”.

“Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it. But enough about Mike, how are you feeling?”

“A little tired, and your daughter has been karate kicking me in the ribs for the last half hour”.

Dominic leaned over and addressed Lia’s womb.  “Hey little girl, settle down in there or I’ll be forced to place you on punishment the moment you’re born”.

“Yeah...I’m sure that worked”,  Lia said sarcastically.  “You’re going to be wrapped around her little finger.  I’m going to be the one administering punishments”.

“Very true”, he said as Lia yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.  “Okay, you’re too tired now.  I’ll tell Tira to wind the party down and then we’re gonna get you to bed”.

“You take such good care of me”.

“Now and forever, sweetheart” he said as he took her hand and led her out of the tent.  “Now and forever.

Little Allegra Rose MacCleod was born on September 14th, at 3:48am.  She weighed in at a whopping 9lbs, 1oz and according to everyone who saw her, was the prettiest baby they’d ever seen.  She had a head full of dark hair, a round face like her Auntie Nessa, but she was Lia’s mini me in every other way (except for her fingers and toes...those were all Dom).  She had dark blue eyes, but that was typical in newborns.  Dr. Riley advised them that while a child’s eye color didn’t actually set until they were 2 years of age, they’d have a pretty good idea what color Allegra’s eyes would be in a few months.

Dominic sat in the plush glider in Lia’s hospital room, cuddling his daughter, looking down at her sweet face.  Her eyes were open and she appeared to be listening intently to her father.  “Well little girl, you and your mamma have had quite a morning, so far.  She seems to be the worse for wear, though.  Here you are with your eyes wide open, takin’ it all in and your mamma looks like she’s been run over by a truck”,  He laughed then said, “Don’t tell her I said that.  That’s between us, little missy.

I gotta tell ya, Allie girl, you’ve struck me.  It’s love at first sight for me, dearie.  That’s only happened with one other person, and that’s your mamma.  Struck me like a bolt of lightning, she did.  And now here you are, her spitting image.  I’ve got the two of ya to love and protect, and I feel blessed, little bairn.  You and your mamma have blessed me, I swear”, Dom said with tears in his eyes.  “Yup, I’m blessed indeed”.

****************************************************

2 weeks later

Edinburgh, Scotland:

Aileen MacCleod opened her Gmail account and saw an email from her daughter.  It had been too many months since she’d seen or spoken to her two youngest children and she missed them terribly.  She had been especially close to Nessa and her heart ached for her.  As such she opened the email, her heart racing.  She’d hoped that her daughter was reaching out to pave the way for reconciliation.  When she opened the email, there was one line written ‘ Dominic and Lia MacCleod, married May 19th. Allega Rose MacCleod, born September 14th.  9lbs, 1oz.’ along with two picture attachments.  Aileen clicked it open and there on her computer screen was her son, Dominic smiling proudly, holding the most beautiful little baby she’d ever seen.  The second was a picture of Dominic and Lia, standing under a flowered trellis, engaged in a kiss.

“Allegra Rose”, She whispered. Aileen put her hand to her mouth and wept in shame.  She was going to miss out on her granddaughter’s life if she fix what she and her husband had broken.  “WILLIAM!”, she shouted to her husband.  “WILLIAM!”

“Are ya mad, woman?  Shouting out like that, ya scared me half ta death!”  William exclaimed as he flew into the room, eyes widened.

“Didn’t mean ta scare ya.  Just wanted to show ya something”.  She moved away from the computer and pointed at the picture on the screen.  “That’s yer son...and yer granddaughter”.  William moved closer to the computer and looked at the picture up close.  He clicked the picture closed and left the room.

Aileen followed closely behind him.  “William, yer granddaughter.  Did ya not see her?  She’s beautiful, simply beautiful and yer going to miss out on her life because of yer pride?  It’s foolish, William.  Just foolish”.

“Dominic chose that woman over his blood kin!  He turned his back on us and turned our only daughter against us!”

“Lia’s his wife now, Bill.  They were married in May and we missed it.  Our granddaughter was born on September 14th and we MISSED it!  If we don’t mend our relationships with our children, there’ll be more moments missed.  You won’t get to walk Nessa down the aisle when she marries.  Will ya miss more of your grandchildren’s births because of anger and pride?  I’ll not do it, William MacCleod.  I’m going to call yer son and daughter and tell them that I’d like to come to see the baby and them, and beg for forgiveness.  On my knees if I have to.  I’ll not miss another moment of their lives”.

“I’ll not allow that, Aileen”,  William said firmly.

“Well it’s a good thing I’m not asking yer permission then, isn’t it?”

Dominic looked down at his ringing phone and blinked twice when he saw the number on the display.  He swiped the screen and answered.  “Maw?”  He said incredulously.  “Is everything okay?  Has something happened?”

Aileen felt tears fill her eyes at the sound of her boy’s voice.  She cleared her throat of the tightness she felt there and finally spoke.  “Everyone here is fine, but something HAS happened.  Dominic, I realize after all of these months that I was an ignorant fool.  We’ve all been fools.  We let our prejudices cloud yer happiness; Lia’s a sweet, good girl, and she makes ya happy.  That should have been good enough for us.  If I’d not been so selfish and prideful, I’d not have missed your wedding day or the birth of that gorgeous baby girl”.  Aileen’s voice broke then, her regret at having pushed her son and daughter away evident.  “I am ashamed at how I behaved.  I’m ashamed of we all behaved; your father, Donal and Irene.  If I could take it all back, God knows I would.  All I can do is say that I’m so VERY sorry”.

“Maw...I-I don’t know what to say.  Rejection hurts, especially when it’s at the hands of yer own family.  And you did hurt me...you hurt me AND my wife.  But I’ll not subject you to that pain, because I love you and I’ll not trade pain for pain.  So...I do forgive ya, Maw”.

At her son’s words she felt both relief and conviction.  The tears that had been threatening to fall since before she picked up her phone and dialed Dom’s number spilled over her eyelashes.  “Thank you, son”, she said, her voice thick with emotion.  “It means the world to me”.

“Me too, Maw.  So I take it Nessa told you about the wedding and Allegra?”

“She sent me pictures”, Aileen said, sniffling as she composed herself.  It looked like a lovely wedding.  And that baby, OH!  She looks like the sweetest little angel.  And Allegra Rose is such a beautiful name”.

“She is that, maw.  She’s our little angel.  We’re trying to get her on a sleep schedule that is actually conducive to US getting sleep, but It’s not quite worked yet.  The little minx is up wanting to be entertained at 11pm every night”.

Aileen laughed out loud.  “Ya were the same way.  Ya’d be wide eyed and awake when everyone else was ready for sleep.  We’d bring ya into the bed, your da and me, and put you between us.  We’d be singing and cooing at ya sometimes until 2 in the morning.  Ya just wanted our undivided attention”.  

Dom laughed.  “And I’ve been craving attention ever since”.

“Yes, I suppose that’s true!” she laughed.

“Maw.  I’d like you to come to see your granddaughter, if you want to”.  I could set the arrange-”.

“Donal and I have already set the arrangements, hopeful thinking on our parts”, Aileen laughed nervously.  “He could have cancelled them if yer’d said no”.

“I wouldn’t have said no, maw”, Dom said softly.  “So, it’s just you and Donal then?”  Aileen heard the sadness in her boy’s voice and it broke her heart.  “Yes, lad.  Just yer brother and I”.

Dominic grew quiet as he contemplated the implication of his mother’s words.  His father had not been moved by the fact that his first granddaughter had been born.  He had reinforced his disregard for Dom’s feelings due to arrogance, pride, hatred or a toxic combination of all three.

“I guess a reconciliation with both my parents AND my brother was too much to hope for”, Dominic said, pain lacing his words.  “Why is he SO angry, maw?”

“He feels like ya chose Lia over yer family”, his mother said, her voice small and sad.  “It’s no longer about the differences in yer races, he feels like ya’d forsaken yer family to spite him”.

“You can’t possibly be serious, maw!  I refused to let the lot of you disrespect the woman I loved, that didn’t mean that I didn’t love you all.  I didn’t want to be on the outs with my family.  Family means everything to me.  Hell, the two of you raised me that way!  HE feels forsaken, but it was him who turned his back on me and Nessa”,  Dom’s voice was thick with emotion now and he didn’t try to mask his hurt or stop the tears that were falling from his eyes.  “I reached out repeatedly only to be ignored or told point blank that you both wanted nothing to do with me.  What was I supposed to do, maw?  You turned your backs on me first!”  He was sobbing openly now.  He supposed it was the months of keeping the pain bottled up, allowing his happiness with Lia and the Mariani’s distract him from it.  Now the wound was opened and the dam broken.

“Dommy, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry”, said Aileen who was now sobbing, too.

Lia happened to be walking by their home office and heard her husband talking to his mother on the phone.  He was crying.  She wanted to go to him and wrap her arms around him, but he needed to get his emotions regarding the way his parents’ shunned them.  She knew that he’d compartmentalized his feelings regarding the situation and now he was unburdening himself.

“Maw”, he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and regaining his composure.  “Listen, his attitude isn’t your fault, but as far as I’m concerned he can stay as far away from me and MY family for the rest of his life.  I’m done with his bullshit”.

“Dominic! Ya can’t mean that.  He’s still your father”.

“Maw, no father of mine would shun his granddaughter.  No father of MINE would turn his back on his own kids and then BLAME them for his ignorance.  As of today, William MacCleod and I share a last name and that’s it!”

“Dommy, don’t say that, don’t say that.  Please wait before ya give up on him.  Wait and give him a chance.  Please, Dom!”

Dominic said in a voice that was calm and almost monotone.  “No Maw...I’m done.  When are you and Donal going to be here?”

“Dominic...please, I’m BEGGIN’ ya, don’t give up on yer, Da”.

“Maw, when are you and Donal going to be here?”

“Two weeks”, Aileen said, deflated.

“And if Donal is planning on bringing Irene, let him know I don’t want her here”.

“She’ll not be joining us, Dommy”.

“Good.  I’ll talk to you later, Maw.  I love you”.

Aileen managed to push out an ‘I love you, Dommy’ around the lump in her throat.

Dominic ended the call and sat at the desk with his head in his hands.  Lia entered the room and walked up behind Dom and ran her hands along his back then wrapped her arms around him.  He turned in his chair and buried his face in her midsection and wept like he hadn’t since he was a little boy.  Lia didn’t say a word, she just stroked her husband’s hair and provided the only comfort she could give him.  She just hoped it would be enough.

Dominic had decided to meet his family at the airport instead of hiring a car for them.  He felt like sending a car would be incredibly impersonal, and if he was attempting to start over with the members of his family that were willing to try, he wanted to do it right.  

The plane had finally pulled up to the gate and passengers were beginning to disembark.  He saw his mother walking down the ramp and he immediately felt a tightness in his throat.  She didn’t see him, so he was able to watch her without her seeing him.  She looked tired and worried.  Not at all like the vibrant, happy woman she’d once been.  Dominic swiped at his eyes at the thought that he had something to do with her unhappiness.  Yes, how she treated the woman he loved was beyond the pale, but she was his mother and he still loved her very much.  Dominic began to crane his neck and wave, trying to get Aileen’s attention.  She finally saw him and her face split into a grin that tugged at his heart.  He had always loved seeing his mother smile.  He smiled back at her with a grin that mirrored hers.  She began to move faster, trying not to jostle the people in front of her.  She finally cleared the tunnel and ran towards him.  She stopped when she got close enough to touch him.  “Son”, she said breathlessly.  “I’ve missed ya, Maw”.  Dominic grabbed his mother and hugged her tight, lifting her off of the ground as he did so.  “You put yer Maw down this instant!”  She said laughing.  A few people walking past them looked at them and smiled, with one elderly woman going so far as to say, “That’s how every son should greet their mother; with unabashed love”.  If she’d only known what had transpired between them and what it took to get them to this point, she wouldn’t reduce what was happening here to such a trivial platitude.  Aileen pulled back from her son and said “You look good.  Marriage and fatherhood agree with ya.”  Dom smiled.  “Yeah, my girls make me happier than I ever thought I could be”.  

Dominic suddenly looked over his mother’s head.  He hadn’t seen Donal exit the tunnel yet.  “Where’s Donal, Maw?”  He watched his mother get a bit twitchy and he automatically knew something was up.  “What’s going on, Maw?”  Aileen began to wring her hands.  “I told him that you wouldn’t be happy, Dommy, but she caused such a stink…”  ‘He wouldn’t have’, Dom thought to himself.  Then, as if God decided to provide proof of his brother’s disregard for his wishes, Donal walked out of the tunnel...with Irene in tow.

***************************************

Dominic glared at Donal and Irene.  He was pissed.  If Donal was trying to mend fences, he was going about it the wrong way.  “Dommy, let me explain…”  Dom turned towards his brother, his jaw ticking, “Do. Not. Speak.”  The group of four made their way out of baggage claim and headed towards the lot where Dom’s truck was parked.  He refused to make eye contact with Irene and barely uttered a greeting to her when he saw her.  He opened the front door for his mother then stowed their luggage in the cargo area of the truck.  Dominic climbed into the front seat of the truck, then unleashed hell.

“WHAT THE FUCK, DONAL?!  I had ONE request...ONE!  Do NOT bring her with ya.  Why is she here?  Why are ya here, Irene??  You don’t like my wife...not one bit.  So why the FUCK did ya come?”

“So you can spare forgiveness for yer Maw and Donal, but ya can spare none for me?  Is that fair, Dominic?  We’ve been family for a lot longer than ya have yer wife and her kin, ya should have some loyalty to us as well.”

“Yer speaking outta turn, Irene”,  Donal warned his wife.  “Lia’s Dominic’s wife and the mother of his child.  They come first, as they should”.

“Oh shut up, Donal.  Just shut up”. Irene said, rolling her eyes at her husband.  Aileen turned and glared at her daughter-in-law.  “Irene”, she said, her voice full of venom, “mind yer mouth.  I don’t like that ya strong armed yer way onto this trip, especially since ya were told ya weren’t welcome.  If ya do anything else to upend what is supposed to be a happy time, I’ll pull yer pretty blonde hair from yer head...strand by strand.  Do ya understand?”  Irene looked at her mother-in-law with wide eyes, then folded her arms over her chest and turned her face towards the window.  She stewed for the entire ride to Dom and Lia’s home.

*****************************************

Nessa was outside sitting on the front steps of the house when Dom pulled up.  She ran over to the passenger side of the truck and yanked the door open.  “Maw!” she shouted excitedly as Aileen jumped out as fast as her body would let her.  “Nessa, my wee girl!”  The two women wrapped each other in a warm embrace.  Aileen pulled back, cupping Nessa’s face in her hands.  “Ya look lovely, my girl”, she said with tears in her eyes.  “I’m so so sorry.  For everything.  For running ya off, for not practicin’ what we always preached.  I miss ya and yer brother so much”, she said, tears running down her face unchecked.

“I missed ya too, Maw.  So much.  I’m so happy yer here!  Wait till ya see Allie.  She’s just the most fantastic little thing.  Such a sweet little baby!”  

“Hey wee girl”, Donal said from over Nessa’s shoulder, “spare a hug for yer big brother?”  Nessa turned and threw herself at her brother, hugging him hard.  “I missed ya big brother!”  She looked to her right and her face hardened.  “What’s SHE doing here.  Dominic said not to bring her”.  “It’s good to see ya too, Nessa”, Irene said snidely.  “Oh shut up, ya hateful cow!” Nessa snarled.

“Now, Nessa”, Aileen chastised her daughter.  “Keep a civil tongue...for Dom’s sake.  Irene promised to be on her best behavior.  Isn’t that right, Irene”.  Aileen gave her a silent warning and the blonde woman nodded slightly.

They all entered the house to find Lia sitting in one of the wing chairs in the great room holding her daughter.  She was cooing softly at the baby while gently stroking the soft hair on her head.  Aileen gasped when she saw the two of them.  Lia lifted her head and smiled at the woman.  “Would you like to hold your granddaughter?”  Aileen placed her hands over her heart and walked over to Lia and the baby.  The young mother stood and placed her infant daughter into her grandmother’s arms.  “Oh dear”, Aileen whispered.  “Yer even more gorgeous in person, wee baby.  Look at those eyes.  So like yer da’s”.  She looked up at Lia, smiling through her tears.  “She’s an alert one!  Eyes wide open, just taking everything in”.  She looked back down at the tiny girl. “Yer a clever one, I can tell”.

Donal entered the house with his and Irene’s bags and deposited them by the door.  He walked over to Lia.  He reached down to her and pulled her gently to her feet.  He engulfed her in a warm hug and whispered in her ear.  “I’m so very sorry for the way I treated ya and yer family.  I was foolish; cutting off my nose to spite my face.  I hope ya can forgive me”.  Lia pulled away from him, touched by his gesture.  “Of course I forgive you.  That’s what family does”.  Donal smiled down at his sister-in-law as if seeing her for the first time.  He now understood why his brother loved her so much.

“Now, let me take a look at this little bairn”, he said sitting next to his mother and peering down at his infant niece.  “She’s a pretty little thing, right Maw?” he said smiling.

“She’s absolutely perfect.  Just beautiful”.  Aileen bent her head and kissed her granddaughter on her forehead.  “Okay Maw, give her over.  Let her uncle have a good look”, Donal said reaching for Allegra.  “No.  I’ll be gone from this earth long before ya, I need to get all my squeezes in”.  Donal rolled his eyes.  “First off, stop saying that.  Second, you’ll probably live forever.  Lastly, give over the bairn, Maw”.  

Aileen begrudgingly handed the baby over to Donal who cradled his niece in his arms, cooing and smiling at her.  He looked over his shoulder to see Irene hovering on the periphery with an unreadable expression on her face.  “Irene, come see yer niece”.  She made her approach, but stopped behind the sofa Aileen and Donal were sitting on and leaned over slightly.  “Yes, she’s very cute”, she said with a tight smile.  

Dominic entered the room and leaned over Lia’s chair and pressed his lips to her forehead and stroked her hair.  “Um...Dom, I’m feeling quite tired from the flight”, Irene said.  “Can ya show me where Donal and I will be sleeping.  I’d like to take a bit of a kip before dinner”.  “I’ll be happy to show you, Irene”, offered Lia.  Irene hesitated and then nodded.  

Lia led Irene down to the guest room on the lower floor.  “Okay.  Here’s the room you and Donal will be in.  The bathroom is attached, but there’s another one just a short way down the hall-”

“Ya know, ya have the life I wanted”, Irene said, interrupting Lia.  “Everything ya have...the perfect home, perfect baby, perfect life, really.  And ya have all of those things with the man I’ve loved since I was just a girl”.  Lia turned and met the woman’s eyes.  She wasn’t the least bit surprised at this revelation.  She had assumed that Irene’s disdain for her had less to do with her race and more to do with her feelings about Dominic.  “I loved him, I did.  We dated for a while, did he tell ya?  Of course he didn’t; water under the bridge I suppose.  No matter, he didn’t want me.  No matter what I said or did, he said he could never love me the way I loved him.  He was a gentleman about it, but that’s our Dommy, right?”, she said with a bitter laugh.  “I went so far as to start dating Donal to make him jealous.  Ya see how well THAT went”.  Irene’s voice dripped with sarcasm.  “I worked so hard for his attention and ya got it all without any amount of effort”.

Lia cocked her head to the side and surveyed her sister-in-law.  “Why are you telling me this, Irene?  What is there to be gained?  Am I supposed to feel bad because you didn’t get what you wanted?  Would you like me to step aside so you can fulfill your lifelong dream?  I don’t understand you at all.  You have a husband that loves you and two adorable little boys.  You have a great life, by all accounts.  If you’re unhappy, I hate to sound cruel, but that’s not my problem.  You didn’t lose Dominic because of me.  It sounds to me like you never had him”.  Lia didn’t want to come across as heartless, but she wasn’t going to walk on eggshells because Irene was holding out hope that she and Dom would get their happily ever after with one another.  No way in hell was that EVER going to happen.

“Irene, I harbor no ill will towards you.  Life's too short for that.  I would hope that you would see your way clear to relax and enjoy your visit.  But please know this, I’m not going to entertain drama in my own home.  If your intent when coming here was to cause trouble between Dominic and I, please let me know and I’ll buy you a first class ticket back to Scotland and drive you to the airport myself.  If not, I welcome you to make yourself at home”.  The two women stood eyeing each other for a minute.  Irene’s silence seemed to indicate that she’d be on her best behavior, so Lia took that at face value.  She wouldn’t put anything past her, but she was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.  “Do you think you’ll be needing anything else before your nap?”

“Yes”, Irene said wearily.  “Aspirin, please”.

“She said what??!!”  Nessa shouted.  “I’m going to pound that bitch’s face in!”  Nessa made to march downstairs but Lia grabbed her by the arm.  “You will do no such thing.  I believe she and I have come to an understanding.  But...if she causes any more trouble, she and my fist will have a come to Jesus meeting before I send her ass back to Scotland”.

Nessa was taken aback by Lia’s comment.  Her sister-in-law was so sweet and even tempered.  She didn’t think she’d ever seen her angry.  She didn’t doubt for one second, however,  that Lia wasn’t capable of following through on that threat.  She was protective of her family.  She became even more protective after Allegra was born.  “Well, ya won’t be the only one whose fists Irene’s face will become acquainted with.  In fact, I’m sure there will be quite the queue up for the honor of giving that cow a thrashing”.

Lia was still in shock from her chat with Irene.  What was her endgame?  Was she here to make a last ditch effort to win Dom’s affection?  What about Donal?  She wondered if he was aware of his wife’s obsession with his brother.  She was sure he knew that they’d dated and it was hard to believe that he didn’t know that she’d been in love with Dom.  So why did he marry her?  She decided to ask Nessa.

“Ness, what’s the deal with all that, anyway?  Donal had to know that Irene had strong feelings for Dominic.  Why would he marry her?”

“It was all a mess, really.  Donal had it bad for Irene, even though he knew that she had her cap set for Dominic.  She pursued Dom relentlessly and when they got together she was possessive and clingy.  She was suffocating him, so he broke up with her.  She tried win him back, sending him gifts, cooking for him among...other things, if ya get my drift.  She started running off girls that he dated after he broke things off with her.  Finally, in a pathetic act of desperation, she started coming on strong to Donal.  Poor thing had to know she was just using him, but he didn’t care.  He was in love with her.  When she didn’t get the reaction from Dominic that she’d hoped for, I guess she decided to accept Donal as some sort of consolation prize.  When Donal asked her to marry him, she said yes without hesitation.  I think she felt it was her way to stay in Dom’s life, the sick she devil”.  Nessa shook her head in disgust.

Lia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She just didn’t know what to make of the whole situation.  She felt as if Donal was allowing himself to be made a fool of just so he could hold on to a woman who didn’t love him.  It was sad, but he and Irene’s relationship was none of her business.  Now, Irene’s relationship with Dominic was another story.  She hoped the woman took what she’d said when they were alone seriously.  If she didn’t...heaven help her.

*******************************************

Mimi and Gio showed up at the house the next day bearing gifts for the baby.  They’d been showering their goddaughter with gifts everyday since the day she was born.  Lia and Dom had told them several times that it was enough now.  They were running out of space for all the clothing and toys they’d been giving the baby.  Mimi and Gio were having none of that.  “You can’t tell us how to spend our money and you can’t tell us not to buy things for Allie.  She’s our baby, too”, Gio huffed one day when Lia told him that he didn’t have to bring the baby a gift every time he and Mimi stopped by.  “You’re being selfish, Lia”.  She and Dominic decided to let the matter drop for the time being.

Dominic let the couple in and made note of the gift bag in Mimi’s hand.  ‘At least it’s only one bag today’ he thought as they walked past him and into the living room.  “So what’d you bring her this time?” he asked, trying to hide his mild irritation at having to find space for whatever they brought in the dwindling real estate that was Allegra’s nursery.  “It’s nothing huge.  You’ll have space for it, I’m sure”, Mimi said as if reading his mind.  Dominic moved over to the sofa where Lia was nursing their daughter and sat down.  He opened the bag and pulled out a cute pink teddy bear and a picture frame.  The frame held a picture that appeared to be a selfie of Gio and Mimi.  They were leaned in to each other with huge grins on their faces.  “That picture is an important one that we wanted Allie to have.  It’s the picture her godparents took the day they got engaged”.  Mimi said it so matter of factly that Lia and Dominic didn’t catch it at first.  Dom was the first one whose brain caught up with his ears.  “Wait!  Did you just tell us that you’re engaged??”  Mimi and Gio nodded rapidly and Mimi held out her hand to show them the ring, both of them had goofy grins on their faces.  

Lia’s smile was so wide her cheeks hurt.  “I can’t shout or jump up and down while the little miss is enjoying her lunch, but please know that I am jumping up and down and shouting on the inside”.  Lia gave a pointed look to her very best good girlfriend and said, “I told you we’d be sisters for real one day”.  Mimi smiled at Lia.  “You sure did, didn’t you?”

“Hey Dom, I thought your mom and brother were here for a visit.  Where are they?”  Gio asked.  “Nessa took the three of them out for lunch”.  Mimi looked up, her eyebrows lifted in surprise.  “Your dad came, too?”  Lia and Dom both looked at each other.  ‘No.  Donal’s wife managed to wrangle her way onto the trip with him and Maw”.  Mimi’s eyes immediately narrowed.  “That hateful bitch is here??  How very brave of her”.  Her voice was filled with menace.  Lia gave Mimi a look that said ‘You don’t know the half of it’ and stood up.  “I’m gonna go put the little princess down for her nap.  Meems, come help me”.  Dominic looked up at the two as they made to leave the room.  “You need help laying a wee baby down for a nap?” he asked.  “Stay outta grown folks business”, Mimi tossed over her shoulder as they walked away.

*********************************************

Mimi stood staring at Lia with her mouth opened in shock.  Lia had just finished telling her friend what transpired between her and Irene when the MacCleod’s first arrived.  “I can’t even believe it!  What would she have to gain by telling you all of that?  Other than a foot up the ass, that is.  I mean, was she hoping you’d say ‘well since you put it that way I’ll scoot to the side and let you have him since you want him so bad’.  That heifuh is asking for a two piece to the dome”.  Lia shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what she thought, but I know I’m not putting up with any of her bullshit.  The only reason she’s still here is because I don’t want to put a damper on Aileen’s visit.  She’s so in love with our girl, here”, Lia said smiling while gesturing at her sleeping daughter.  “So she’s come completely around, then?” Mimi asked.  Lia smiled and nodded.  “Girl, babies are magical.  The will warm even the coldest heart.  Especially Miss Allegra Rose with her exceptionally beautiful self”.  Lia felt a wave of sadness wash over her.  “Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to melt her granddaddy’s cold heart.  Dom hides it well, but it broke his heart that his father wouldn’t even put his pride aside to come see his granddaughter.  He’s still holding on to that racist bullshit and saying that Dom turned his back on his family”.  Mimi scoffed.  “Well, from where I was sitting at that table that night, HE was the one turning his back”.  Lia nodded and lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.  “He doesn’t see it that way.  He may never see it that way and it’s a damn shame.  That man would risk his whole family because of his pride”.  Lia seemed lost in her own thoughts for a minute before shaking her head.  “I just hate to see my husband hurting because of his father’s ignorance”.

Mimi walked over to Lia and put her arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.  “All you can do is what you’ve been doing.  Support and love him.  Dom knows you have his back no matter what.  And who knows, maybe William will come around the same way Aileen and Donal did”.

“Maybe”, Lia said chewing her bottom lip.  “Maybe”.