Zach glanced at Katie, who shook her head. He knew what she was trying to tell him-not now. Not in front of the family.
“Oh, they’re beautiful,” Colleen said as she pulled out a stack of embossed heavy card stock. “So lovely and elegant.”
She handed an invitation to her husband, who passed it on to Grandma Tessa. Marco walked another one around to Mia. Rather than study the writing or the graphic, Zach watched Mia and David.
His son glanced at the invitation, then at Mia. His eyes darkened and his mouth pulled into a straight line. Mia’s identical expression of suffering made Zach’s gut clench.
Holy hell. He didn’t have to break them up. They’d already done it themselves.
Apparently he wasn’t the only one watching them. Grammy M picked up an invitation.
“Is there something wrong, darlin’?” she asked. “You don’t seem happy.”
“They’re lovely,” Mia said, shifting in her seat.
“Why not tell them the truth,” Zach said.
Mia looked at him. Her eyes widened. “I d-don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do. It’s time, Mia. The situation is only going to get more complicated. You want to have this conversation after three hundred of these have been mailed?”
“Zach,” Katie warned. “Please.”
He knew she was right; he knew he should wait. But he couldn’t. Not with both David and Mia looking miserable and trapped.
“If you’re old enough to get married, you’re old enough to admit you’ve changed your mind about getting married,” he told them. “Go ahead and tell the family you’re not engaged anymore.”
21
Mia ducked her head. David looked as if he wanted to crawl under the table. Grandpa Lorenzo’s fist crashed down next to his plate.
“What are you doing?” the old man demanded, his voice rising with every word.
“Making sure this is what David and Mia really want,” Zach said.
Grandpa Lorenzo’s thick eyebrows drew together. “You’re trying to break them up?”
“I didn’t have to. They made the decision on their own.”
“You what?” Colleen asked, staring at him incredulously.
Katie shook her head. “I warned you,” she murmured just before conversation exploded at the table.
“What the hell is going on?” Lorenzo demanded.
“Mia, what is this about?” Marco asked at the same second.
“We should all calm down,” Grandma Tessa urged.
“Calm?” Colleen echoed. “The invitations are here.”
“When did this happen?” Brenna asked.
“This is no time for shoutin’,” Grammy M warned.
Katie reached for her wine, while Zach watched the show.
“You didn’t want them to marry?” Colleen asked him, then rose to her feet. “Zach, I don’t understand.”
Zach stood as well. “I thought the engagement was a mistake from the beginning. Mia is David’s first girlfriend. They’re both too young to be settling down. David still has two years of college left. Mia wants to go to Georgetown.”
He glanced at the kids, who both looked miserable. Grandpa Lorenzo roared for everyone to be silent.
He stared at Zach. “You come into our family. We welcome you with open arms, but you’re not what you seem. You’re a traitor and a thief.”
Zach recognized the beginning of the tirade. He braced himself for a lot of bluster.
“You can’t dictate to me,” he told the older man. “I worry about my son as much as you worry about your family. Katie had it right before. You pick a side or an opinion and you expect everyone to embrace it, to put it on, no matter how ill-fitting it may be. You have no respect for personal differences. You want what you want, not what they want. If they agree with you, they’re smart. If they don’t, you badger them. That’s not leading the family, that’s being a bully.”
A collective gasp shot from the family.
Color flared on Grandpa Lorenzo’s cheeks. He muttered something in Italian, then pushed himself to his feet. “You are not welcome here. You’re a snake and we don’t tolerate your kind.”
“Or the truth,” Zach said. “Everyone at this table can see David and Mia are miserable. But you don’t care about that. Having more heirs is more important than your own granddaughter’s happiness.”
“She’s a child. What does she know of what is right?”
“If she’s a child, Pop,” Marco said, “then she’s too young to be getting married.”
Zach was surprised by the unexpected support.
“Get out!” Lorenzo roared. “Both of you!”
Marco shook his head. “That’s always your solution, isn’t it? Get rid of the dissenters. Soon you’ll be living here all by yourself.”
Colleen gripped her husband’s hand. “That’s right.”
“Yeah. You can’t talk to my dad that way,” David said, coming to his feet. “He’s right. You tell Mia and her sisters what to do, but you don’t listen to what they want.”
Mia clutched his arm. “David’s telling the truth, Grandpa. Why can’t you see it?”
Lorenzo ignored her and turned his attention to David and frowned. “If you defend your father, then you can go with him.”
“Fine. I will.” David looked across the table. He shrugged. “Because you’re right, Dad. I’m not ready to get married. Neither is Mia. We’re not engaged anymore. We broke up yesterday. We just didn’t want to tell anyone yet.”
There was a second explosion of conversation. Zach ignored all of it. He looked at his son and nodded, proud that David had made a stand.
“You okay with that?” Zach asked.
“Breaking up or making everybody mad?”
“They’re mad at me, not you.”
David smiled ruefully. “I think that just changed.”
Zach didn’t care about that. What was important to him was keeping David safe. That’s all he’d ever wanted. Now his son had a chance to grow up and find out what he wanted to do with his life, without the added responsibility of a family.
Katie looked at Mia. “That’s why you didn’t show up for your fitting. You were having second thoughts about the engagement. I figured you were mad at me about the house.”
Mia moved close and hugged her. “No way. I knew you just wanted me to be happy.”
“Happy?” her grandfather asked. “When you’re not getting married?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Grandpa, you’re going to have to get over it.”
The older man glared at her.
Zach looked at them all. “I’m sorry,” he said loudly, to be heard over the cacophony. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“What do you care for us?” Lorenzo asked. “You care only for yourself.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Get out.”
“No, don’t,” Katie said. “No one’s going anywhere and no one is being thrown out of this family ever again.”
Zach shook his head. “You’re wasting your time. He’s not going to change.”
Lorenzo pointed to her. “You’re to have nothing to do with this man. Ever. He’s not welcome here.”
“Grandpa-” she began.
Zach cut her off. “Don’t bother. It’s not worth it.”
“You can’t just leave,” she said.
“Sure I can. It will end the fight sooner.”
He headed for the door.
Katie watched him go. Her heart tightened as he walked down the hall, then turned and was lost from view. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to be a part of this right now. He’d never been one for families, and hers could try the patience of a saint. Walking away made sense. He-
She caught her breath. He’d left. That’s what Zach did in his relationships, and he’d just walked out on her.
He was gone. The thought repeated itself over and over again. She wanted to run after him, but shock rooted her in place.
She loved him and she’d never told him. How could she blame him for treating her like any other woman when she’d never told him how she felt?