Her mom stood on the new patio. Her apron was gone, and she was wearing a dress. And makeup. She looked really nice. And she was holding up a bottle of wine.
If she wasn’t mistaken, it happened to be the really expensive vintage sent by Great Aunt Adele from Provence. French wine at this very Italian meal? Oh no.
“Hi, Leo,” her mom said pleasantly. “Loretta, Cosmo, Marco.” She said their names like she said hi to them every day instead of not for the past twenty years. Then she addressed Leo’s dad directly. “I brought some wine in celebration of our children’s accomplishments.”
“They haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Marco said practically under his breath.
“Of course they have,” Tessa’s mom said with a big smile. Her mom looked really pretty when she smiled. Which she needed to do more often. “They’ve had the courage to marry despite us, and they’ve come up with these incredible plans.” She waved her arms over the patio to demonstrate. “That’s a reason to celebrate, isn’t it? That we’ve raised children with minds of their own who have come together to help save our businesses.”
Wow. Her mom blew her away. How had she not seen that before?
Her mom placed the wine in the middle of the table. “This is an excellent pairing with seafood. The grapes are from Giverny, which of course is where Monet painted.” She looked at Leo. “In our tradition, a bottle of wine with a meal is good luck. We Montgomerys wish you every success with your new venture.”
Her words and gracious gesture made Tessa a little teary.
This was such a weird day. First of all, her mom never dressed up during a workday. She also almost never drank, let alone at noontime. And third…how long had it been since Tessa had seen her without an apron on? Tessa vowed to give her more excuses to get out of the bakery.
Leo walked up to her mom and hugged her. “Thank you for the wine, Joanna.” He guided her to the table. “Please join us.”
“I didn’t want to intrude,” she said with a sweet smile. “But if you insist.” Her gaze wandered to Marco, who looked at her a little grumpily and signaled for her to have a seat.
Leo grabbed a chair, and Gia ran in for another plate. Her mom sat down on the end, near Marco, who stared at her like she’d just landed in a spaceship in the parking lot.
“Our children are always innovating,” her mom said as she proceeded to open the wine herself. “It’s the way of a new generation, Marco.” She poured the wine and passed him a glass, smiling. “Cheers.”
He glanced from her to the glass. Tessa, holding her breath, caught Leo’s eye. He was as focused on the moment as she was.
Slowly, Leo’s dad took the glass and lifted it, first to Leo and then to Tessa. “Okay, fine. Cheers.” Then everyone drank and dug into their food.
Leo approached Tessa’s chair. “I’m glad your mom came,” he whispered in her ear, which sent an unwelcome shiver running down her back. “Is your grandmother around?”
Tessa nodded toward the bakery. “She’s working today.”
“I’ll be right back.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze before running next door.
Aw geez. How could she not like this guy?
This was turning into a real family affair. For better or for worse. While her grandmother was nearly always Tessa’s fiercest ally, she also had the Montgomery propensity to cut with a phrase.
“The bread is fantastic today, Tessa,” her mom said. “The crust is perfect.”
“I totally agree.” Gia waved a torn piece in the air. “I can eat just this for lunch, it’s so good.”
Then Tessa’s grandmother appeared on Leo’s arm…with both her sisters in tow.
Holy cavatelli. They must have closed the bakery for lunch. The last time that happened was when her grandfather had died.
Tessa’s already roiling stomach took another plunge. She needed to get off this roller-coaster ride before her lunch ended up coming right back up.
Leo appeared like magic with more chairs and more plates, and everyone had a seat.
“This looks so sweet,” Vivienne said, snapping photos with her phone of everyone around the beautifully set table.
That was the thing with Viv. You’d better not chew with your mouth open because you just never knew when she was shooting a little video of you—sleeping, eating, or doing something else she could hold for ransom.
Tessa’s mother poured more wine, a sure way to soften everyone’s spirits…and taste buds.
“The wine is excellent,” Uncle Cosmo said.
“It’s good,” Leo’s dad said. “But Italian grapes are sweeter. Italian wine has been made for the past four thousand years. And Italy has the perfect climate for growing grapes.”
“Funny, Marco,” Tessa’s mother said, “but I wonder why it is that thirty-eight of the top fifty most expensive wines are from France.”
“Hi everyone,” Juliet said from her place with a little wave. “I just wanted to say that I’m a certified marriage counselor, and I want everyone to be aware of harsh lead-ins and defensive responses, okay?”
“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aunt Loretta said sweetly, “but it’s so nice to see all you Montgomery girls. You’ve all grown up so lovely.”
Just then, Noah and Jack appeared from around the corner of the building. “Vivienne told us about the big lunch,” Noah said. “We came to support you.”
Leo looked thrilled to see his friends. And Tessa knew that somehow there would always be enough pasta for all.
“We came for the free food,” Jack said, slapping Leo on the back. “Just kidding. Mostly. And to wish you well. Knock ’em dead, buddy.”
“Here, we brought you this,” Noah said, handing him a gift bag.
“What is it?” Leo asked. Tessa could already tell by its shape that it was a candle.
“It’s called Calm Breezes. Great for stress relief, like when this is all over.”
“Thanks, Noah,” Leo said. Juliet took the candle from the middle of the table and sniffed it as everyone dug into the fancy salads.
“How are you doing?” Leo whispered as he came around to clear the plates.
He was asking how she was doing? “I’m so nervous I can’t even taste my food,” she admitted.
“No, Tessa,” he said in a low voice, only to her. “You need to enjoy every single bite, no matter what happens. Because we worked really hard and it turned out…awesome. No matter what happens.”