“Do you have a date for the wedding yet?” One of the group asked.
“Not yet.” Luca smiled. “I’m pushing, but Bella doesn’t seem to be in a hurry.”
“It’s not that, darling.” She stroked the side of his face with a smile. “Let’s just enjoy all the attention and excitement from being engaged for a while, and then we can plan a show-stopper event.”
Luca pressed a kiss to her lips. “Whatever you desire, Bella.”
“It takes time to plan these things you know,” Melody continued telling the table. “It can’t be during fashion week or while everyone is vacationing in August. I want to be sure all the important people are there.” The table murmured in agreement, but Wes’s brow knit again. Luca didn’t seem to mind the mercenary way Melody was approaching their wedding. Wes had always known that Melody was ambitious. In fact, he had always admired that about her.
“Better enjoy the parties now before the bambinos arrive,” one woman teased.
Melody laughed and then gave a mock shudder. “No bambinos in our future. If I could get myself fixed now, I would!”
“Really?” Even her fashion friends seemed surprised.
“I wouldn’t mind a kid or two,” Luca shrugged, “but Bella is dead set against it. Whatever she wants is fine with me.”
Wes stared at her, dumbfounded. Melody wanted kids. Hadn’t she always said she wanted a family, too?
“You don’t want kids?” He knew his voice was too loud, and Melody avoided his eyes. “Since when?” he challenged.
Melody glared at him. “Since I realized I’m not ‘mom’ material.”
“That’s not true!”
“Really?” Melody arched a brow at him, and for a moment, it was just the two of them, as they’d always been.
“Yeah, really.”
She didn’t feel that way. Melody was just afraid. “I’m not saying you should have kids tomorrow, but you neverwant kids?”
“Wes…” Her voice was weary.
“Don’t you want to fix all the mistakes? To prove we can do it the right way?”
Wes was vaguely aware of the others at the table following along, but this moment was too important to be embarrassed.
“Wes?” Her eyes softened, and he saw pity in them. “Don’t you see? We are wired the way we are. Everything we’ve been through and saw—do you want to pass that genetic poison on to another generation?”
“It doesn’t have to be like that.” His brain flashed to Cara, saying how she would do it differently. “It could be different.”
“But I don’t want it to be different.” She reached across the table and laid her hand across his. “I like my life the way it is.” She spared a sideways glance at her fiancé, and Luca smiled in return. But the tension between Melody and Wes had set a pall over the table.
“Perhaps it’s time for a refill. Come to the bar with me,” Luca said.
Melody left her half-full glass on the table and followed her fiancé away.
Wes sat there awkwardly, avoiding the glances from those around him. His eyes sought Cara again where she stood laughing with her brother.
He pushed back his chair, barely catching it when it tumbled back in the grass. He stalked to the bar.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Wes said when he reached Melody. Over her shoulder, he saw Cara watching them, her face puckered in concern, which in turn drew Declan’s attention.
“Amico, I know the two of you are close, but this is too much.” Luca stopped when Melody placed her hand on his back.
“It’s fine. Wes and I are overdue for a conversation. I haven’t been the best friend lately.”
Luca’s shoulders tensed beneath his blue suit, but he inclined his head. Without another word, Melody caught Wes’s hand and dragged him into the gardens away from the other guests.
