He groaned. “I have Franny.”
“And she’s the world. It wasn’t all bad.”
Luca collected her hands in his. “Anything else to blow my mind today?”
Brooke laughed. “No. That’s all I got. I’ll try again tomorrow.”
His nose brushed against hers, and he looked deep in her eyes. “I want you to have my children,” he whispered.
“Luca.”
“When the time is right.”
“You better not say that in front of your mother or she’ll lock us in a bedroom and not let us out until the stick has two pink lines.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “That is a collaboration I can approve.”
“You’re killing me here.”
He pulled her off the bench and they turned toward home.
Luca gathered her in his arms from behind, placed his hands on her belly.
She brushed him away, laughing. “Stop it.”
“No.” He reached for her.
Brooke dodged him.
He returned and swung her in his arms. “Thank you for this woman!” he shouted toward the sky.
A couple walking by pointed at them.
“He’s off his meds,” Brooke shouted.
They were still laughing and playful when they walked back into the restaurant.
They stopped short when the woman they’d been discussing stared back at them.
She tried not to look disturbed and failed. “I see you two are acting like teenagers.”
Brooke laughed, looked at Luca. “We have the rest of our lives to act old.”
Antonia gave up any pretense of being amused. “I came to discuss our daughter.”
Luca indicated a booth in the back. “We can all go over there.” He kept Brooke’s hand in his.
“Alone.”
“Whatever you have to say about Franny can be said in front of Brooke. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“That isn’t always true, now, is it?”
“Antonia, let it go. Brooke and I are solid from the foundation up. Now, can we move this conversation from the middle of the restaurant and let the patrons eat in peace?”
“Fine.”
They sat as waiters walked by. “Did you want something to drink?” Brooke asked Antonia as if showing her that it was Brooke’s place to extend hospitality.
The other woman looked taken aback.
Brooke turned to Luca. “I could use a glass of rosé. And food, I forgot to eat today.”
Luca laughed at her. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.”
He waved at a waiter, spoke in Italian.
Brooke loved listening to him talk in his native tongue.
“Antonia, would you like something?” Luca asked.
Antonia responded in Italian—she didn’t sound nearly as musical as Luca—and the waiter left.
“I need to learn to roll my Rs better,” Brooke said to Luca before glancing at Antonia. “Franny’s been teaching me. She reads me children’s books. It’s about as precious as it gets,” Brooke told Antonia.
“So she’s said.”
Mari walked around the corner with a cautious smile. “What a surprise.”
Antonia greeted her speaking so fast Brooke only caught a few words.
“It’s good to see you all getting along,” Mari said. “Best for Francesca, vero?”
The more welcoming everyone was, the more Antonia squirmed.
“Couldn’t agree more, Mama,” Luca said.
The waiter arrived, and surprisingly put glasses of wine before each of them. Brooke had a rosé while Luca and Antonia both drank red.
Any other time the two of them having a similar drink or a passing smile would have brought up a boatload of insecurity.
Only it didn’t.
“I’ll leave you alone,” Mari said before walking away.
Antonia lifted her glass. “Our favorite,” she said.
“You should try the 2019. It’s even better. Giovanni changes my favorite every year.”
Antonia basked in what she felt was the upper hand.
But Luca’s hand was on Brooke’s thigh saying, It’s only wine.
Besides, Luca wasn’t wrong about the 2019, it was better. However, it was the middle of the day and as much as day drinking was a thing, red wine would put her to sleep by five.
That didn’t stop Antonia.
As the first sip went down, all Brooke could think about was her unborn child. A sip here or a sip there is fine . . . but why take the risk?
“What did you want to discuss about Franny?” Luca started.
Another sip and Antonia put the glass down. “School is out for the summer tomorrow.”
“It is.”
“I’d like to have her spend more time with me.”
Brooke felt, more than saw, Luca tense beside her. “She’d probably like that,” Brooke said.
“I’ll leave that up to Franny,” Luca said.
“Weekends to start.”
Brooke and Luca both looked at Antonia.
“What do you mean by ‘start’？”
Antonia put the wine to her lips, drank more.
Brooke felt her empty stomach rebel.
“To start.”
“I’m not following you,” Luca said.
The waiter arrived, put food on the table, and walked away.
“This looks delicious,” Antonia said.
As the seconds ticked by, Luca grew more tense at Brooke’s side.
“You were saying?”
Antonia picked up her fork and knife, cut into the caprese salad. “I was very depressed when I left.” She took a bite of the salad, chased it with wine.
Brooke cut into her food and hung on for the woman to continue.
“Terrible postpartum depression. Clinical depression, if I’m completely honest. More than one doctor told us that, isn’t that right, Luca?”
“What is your point?”
Another drink of wine.
“I wasn’t in my right mind.”
Brooke grasped Luca’s hand and squeezed.
“Are you in your right mind now?” Brooke asked.
Antonia dropped her fork. “What kind of question is that? Of course I am.”
“You are sitting here with your ex-husband and his significant other talking about your daughter. On the outside, that can look stressful,” Brooke said.
“My mind is quite sound, Brooke. Luca’s significant other does not need to imply that I’m crazy. What does ‘significant other’ mean anyway?” Another drink from her glass.
“We’re talking about giving Franny a sister or brother. That’s what it means,” Luca said, deadpan.
Antonia lost her momentum.
The silence had Brooke reaching for her glass of wine and realizing Antonia’s was nearly empty.
“How progressive of you.”
Brooke let the silence eat at the woman.
Luca played with his wineglass.
“I want to spend more time with Francesca. I don’t want to have to go to a court to prove I’m capable of doing so.”
“No one is denying you.”
“Right.”
More wine.
“Did you expect opposition?” Luca asked.
“Yes.”
“Again. This is up to Franny. If you put pressure on her, then you’ll get resistance.”
“Sometimes children don’t always know what’s good for them.”