She slapped her hand against his chest playfully and he laughed, taking her hand in his. He entwined his fingers with hers and she looked down at the ring that sparkled brightly on her hand. She took a good look at it, appreciating its beauty for the first time.
“We’re getting married.” She shrieked happily as she stared at the ring on her finger in awe. Her face suddenly changed and she bolted upright. “Oh my God, we’re getting married! I have to call my parents.”
He laughed as he casually propped the back of his head on his hands. “They already know.” He said with a smug smile and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “You didn’t think I’d ask you to marry me without asking your father for his blessing first, did you?”
She looked at him, surprised. “When?” She stammered, confused.
“When I left here before, I went to your parent’s house.” He bit his cheek. “I also told them about the baby.” He said quickly, hoping she didn’t hear him. Her eyes widened. No such luck, buddy. “I thought you had told them and I wanted to assure them that had nothing to do with why I was asking you. The truth is…” he sat up and leaned against the headboard and looked at her sincerely. “I had every intention of asking you to marry me when I got back from Seattle, before I even knew that we had a baby on the way.” He looked down at her stomach. “The baby’s just the icing on the cake.”
She bit her lip as she stared at him in amazement. “You are quite the romantic, Foti.” She smiled and inched closer to him. “You’re really happy about the baby.” She stated because there was no need for her to question him.
“I am and I think that once she’s born we should immediately work on providing her with a slew of brothers and sisters.” He said in a matter of fact tone as he wrapped his arms around her naked frame pulling her against him.
She raised an eyebrow as she nestled into the crook of his arm. “She? You sound pretty sure it’s a girl.”
He thought about it for a moment and kissed the top of her head. “I am.” He said confidently and then thought of the first little girl who stole his heart and how he made good on his promise to her. He’d be officially Ava’s uncle. He smiled at the thought and suddenly he hoped that Sam really was having a girl. He’d love to have a little version of Sam running around calling him daddy. He squeezed Sam closer to him and realized tonight he had closed the most important deal of his life.
Epilogue
Luke walked into the swanky steakhouse that was, located in a neighboring town just outside of Riverdale. He wasn’t into upscale restaurants like these, sure he’d been to them, but he was more laid back and didn’t like to be told he had to wear a sports jacket to eat a meal. He stepped towards the hostess who smiled politely at him.
“Do you have a reservation, sir?” She asked and flipped open the book that held all the reservations.
“I believe so.” Luke said as he yanked on his tie. He felt as if he was suffocating, so he loosened the knot a bit. “I’m supposed to meet a couple. The reservation would be under Lanza.” He rolled his eyes and remembered his best friend had asked his little sister to be his wife. “I’m sorry, it’s probably under Foti.”
She scanned the book in search for the reservation. “Ah, yes. I have a seven thirty reservation for four under Nick Foti.”
Luke glanced at his watch and scowled. He was a half hour early, knowing his sister and how fashionably late, she tended to be, meant he was really forty-five minutes early. Damn him and his punctuality, just once he’d like to make her wait for him once. He pondered the idea and then shook his head slightly. Never happen. He looked back at the hostess, who looked at him expectantly.
“I’m sorry. Did you say something?” He asked.
“I said you could have a seat at the bar while you wait for the rest of your party.”
He smiled at her and scanned the oversized restaurant and found a large old fashioned bar in the center of the restaurant. He made his way to the bar and took the first open seat he saw. He looked around the heavily packed restaurant as he waited for the bartender.
“What can I get you?” The older gentleman asked Luke. He turned around and gave the bartender his attention.
“I’ll have a Dewar’s on the rocks, sir.” Luke said as he tugged at his tie again.
“Right away,” the bartender said with a smile. Luke had to admit the service was wonderful. Everyone was so polite thus far. He didn’t remember the last time he ordered a drink where the bartender didn’t scowl at him or grimace. He thought about that for a moment, maybe that was because the only bar he frequented was Rudy’s. Or maybe the fact that the only time he had a drink at the bar was if Cara was working.