They’d both been shocked when his younger sister, a top-notch paralegal in Brooklyn’s law world, asked to be part of their new endeavor. She offered money, too, for part of the rent.
“I came to tell you I gave notice at my firm.”
“Were they unhappy about you leaving?”
“That wasn’t what stuck in their craw.” Zofia rolled her eyes. “They don’t like that you two moved here and will give them competition.”
She and Paul grinned at each other.
“What can I do today?” she asked them. “Jan’s picking up the kids so I have a lot of time.”
“We’d be happy to have help.” This from Hayley. “We had the space cleaned, and some furniture has already come in. Want to help us set up?”
“I’d love to.”
She linked both their arms as the three of them walked toward the front of the building. “What a lucky girl I am to have my big brother, and his lovely fiancé in my life.”
Paul grinned over at Hayley and said, “I think I’m the lucky one.”
“No, I am,” Hayley retorted.
Paul teased, “You still gotta have the last word.”
“I do. And don’t expect it to change any time soon.”
Hayley looked up at the sunny sky, feeling the gods had smiled down on her. And for that she was grateful.
Epilogue
* * *
The sunset was beautiful on the deck of Paul and Hayley’s condo. It turned pink and red as it settled in the west. She was entranced at the sight.
From behind her, someone said, “Thank you for hosting this, dear.”
Hayley turned.
Paul’s mother gestured to the people on the deck. All of her children and their spouses sat on the outdoor furniture close together. “I cannot believe this has finally happened.” Her eyes moistened. Paul had said his mom was tough, but the prodigal son returning had turned her to mush.
Hayley squeezed her arm. “I’m so happy you all found some peace.”
“Not all.” She shook her head. “My Filip is more stubborn than the rest of us.”
“Paul believes he’ll come around. Meanwhile, you have five of your children here.”
“Yes, I need to be grateful for that.” She searched Hayley’s face. “I can see with my own eyes that my Paul is in love. Are you, Hayley?”
“I am. Very much so.”
“That is all you need.”
Hayley hesitated. “We don’t know each other, Mrs. Covitz, so I was hoping we could have lunch, just you and me.”
“Please, call me Nadia. And yes, I would like very much to have lunch.”
The youngest, Lena, called out, “Matka, come over here and listen to Paul’s story.”
His mother squeezed Hayley’s arm and left.
Paul took great joy in this family gathering, despite the fact that Pa refused to attend. He still got a twinge of regret when he thought about his estranged father, but Hayley wouldn’t let him go down that road.
He grinned when Matka joined them and sat in one of the padded chairs.
Alek’s eyes were mischievous when he said, “Paul’s telling us about going to jail with his new love.”
Paul shook his head. “I’ve got a lot of good stories to tell you, you know.”
“What fun is that?” Jakub put in. “We want dirt.”
He motioned to Hayley. “Come over, too, sweetheart.”
Soon she was by his side.
They laughed at the judge yelling at them.
They cringed at the scuzzy bed story.
And howled when Paul told them how he complimented her pink suit and she got mad. Zofia huffed. “I don’t know what’s so funny about that. Hayley was right to be insulted.”
They argued about that, the kind of argument Paul had envied for years in other families.
Not long after, one of the caterers came out. When the idea of entertaining his family had come up, and since neither of them could cook that well, this was the only option. His brothers had razzed him about having money to hire out the cooking, but it was all in fun.
“Ms. Casella, you wanted a fifteen-minute warning as to when dinner will be ready.”
“Thank you, Barbara. And please, call me Hayley.”
She turned to the group. “If everybody would get seated, we’d like to open the champagne.”
Of course, they jockeyed for the best seats, mostly who was going to sit next to Hayley. Paul dropped down next to Matka and stared at the empty chair at one end. She leaned into him. “Let us enjoy who came, Pawel. We cannot wallow in who is absent.”
“You’re right.”
A waiter poured the bubbly. Paul stood and picked up his glass. “I’d like to make a toast.”
“I think that is my job in this family.” The booming voice came from the entrance to the deck from the condo.
Paul dropped his glass. It fell onto the table and broke. Champagne spread everywhere. But the people with him hardly noticed. They were open-mouthed as they stared at Filip Covitz, who’d come to dinner after all.
He strode closer, but instead of sitting in the empty seat, he approached Paul. They looked at each other, wordlessly. They both swallowed hard. And Paul felt his throat clog again.
Until his father reached out and hugged him.
Over Paul’s shoulder, Filip winked at Hayley. No one else knew she’d gone to see Filip, more than once, and spent hours with him talking about being abandoned and how she’d forgiven Ronan. She used all her charm and wits to convince him on successive visits, but she had no idea what he’d decided.
Finally, they broke the bear hug and Filip walked to the seat Paul vacated, next to Matka. Hayley knew she hadn’t gone home to him yet. He squeezed her shoulder and a waiter handed him a full glass of champagne. “To my family,” he said hoarsely. “NaZdrowie!”
Ten happy voices chimed NaZdrowie.
* * * * *
If you liked this book, you might want to post a review of it at AMAZON.
For notification of Kathryn’s new work and information about her books, be sure to sign up for her newsletter here.
Author’s Note
* * *
Welcome to my new spin off series, The Casella Cousins. First seen in TAKE ME BACK, the characters really stuck in my head and I knew I had to tell their stories. What I like about this group is their variety of outlooks on life, of the careers they’ve chosen and what personal baggage they have.
So, what did you think of Hayley and Paul? Did you buy the enemies-turned-lover theme? I have to say, this is one of my favorite subjects to write about. Attraction can be masked by adversity. Not always, of course, but I thought theirs was believable because they’d known each other for a year, fought like cats and dogs and then were jailed together. That overnight stay behind bars was the first time they ever got to really talk, to know each other as people. Then, after the trial ends, they throw caution to the wind. They both knew at that point there was more between them than animosity. I must admit though, I didn’t expect the moonlit sail to include lovemaking, but I always go with my gut when the characters make their own decisions.