Page 72 of Reclaimed Dreams
Chapter22
1 year ago
Dom struggled to keep to the speed limit as he drove Jo down for the final reveal at the vineyard. Valenti Vineyards was officially finished, and after months of waiting he was finally going to give her what she wanted. He wanted to be done with the reveal already, and Jo was getting anxious with the blindfold on.
“If this is some kind of trust exercise your therapist suggested, can’t we just tell him we’ve done it? The suspense is killing me,” Jo groused, and Dom had to chuckle.
Jo had never been particularly patient. He should have known better than to make her wait nearly three years for him to join her in retirement. This surprise would hopefully go a long way to making up for that.
Driving past the gate that now proudly proclaimed the new ownership, Dom slowed as he pulled in the driveway. This. This was his real legacy. Sofia and Adrian, Enzo and Natalie, and Frankie stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the grand estate they’d helped him create. The recent fire had done more than open his eyes to Jo’s strength. It had also made him realize that bricks and timber were nothing compared to the foundation of his family. He couldn’t quite remember now why it had felt so important to keep building. He had everything he needed right here. His children, his grandchildren, and hopefully after this reveal, his wife firmly back by his side.
“Showtime,” he muttered as he climbed out of the car and circled it to open the door for Jo.
"Dom, what is going on?" Jo asked, exasperation and laughter coloring her tone. "Where did you take me?"
Dom’s hands were shaking as he led Jo to their marks on the driveway. Had he done enough? Would this work? It had to. There was no other option.
"My Jojo." Dom's voice cracked on her nickname. He held her hands in his as they stood face-to-face, as he had that day so many years before in front of their priest, that day he’d promised to love and honor and cherish her.
Please God, let her see that’s what I’m trying to do.
"Josephine Valenti, do you remember back when we were young and newly in love? When we'd sit out at the beach bonfires and dream with a bottle of wine between us?"
Jo nodded her head, but her smile dropped a little.
He hated that he’d dimmed that memory for her, but he pushed on. "My dream was to own my own business. You stood by my side every step of the way while we made that dream a reality. You took care of the kids and kept the office running and got the bills paid and gave more years to my dream than I ever had the right to expect. And I thank you for that. Because of your sacrifices, we have a legacy to pass on to our kids."
Jo kept her lips pursed, and he hoped that was because she wanted to see what he said next, and not because she was biting back an argument. Dom pushed on, putting his heart on his sleeve for the world to see.
"I remember your dreams too. You were going to be a teacher, and when we retired we were going to travel and drink wine and watch the sunsets over a plot of land in the country. Do you remember?"
His voice was thick with tears now, but he had to get it out. Jo's shoulders shook as she nodded. He sucked in a deep breath and kept going.
"You've taught our children how to be wonderful adults. I know that's not exactly how you pictured your career, but you have to know the difference you made in all of our lives. I hope this second part shows our appreciation. I hope…" Dom cleared the emotion from his throat. "I hope it's everything you dreamed we could have."
He untied the blindfold, and Jo turned to get her bearings. Her eyes widened as she realized where they were. "Dom, what are you saying? What does this mean?"
She clutched his arm as he turned her more fully toward the house. He didn’t even know if she’d seen the cameras yet.
"It means this was all for you. For us. I'm walking away from the building business. I'm leaving it in very good hands," he said as he looked over his shoulder to where his legacy stood, watching. He could say with confidence that they could absolutely handle anything life threw at them.
For the first time, Jo realized she had an audience, and self-consciously wiped her cheeks. "Oh, Dom. This is too much. Is this what you've been hiding the last few months?"
"This, and a few other things I'll tell you about later. Do you like it?"
Dom held his breath while he waited for her answer.
"I'm overwhelmed. It's beautiful, of course, but I never thought it would be mine."
It wasn’t quite the resounding yes he’d hoped for, so he launched into the pitch he’d sold Jake months ago. Once they made nice for the cameras, which were already making him jump out of his skin, he could tell her the rest.
"Well, it's fifty acres in the country, and I thought we could give making our own wine a go. I know you want to retire and travel and do all those things we dreamed, and we will. But let's be honest. You'll go nuts with me underfoot, and I'll go nuts without a project to tackle. This solves all of those problems, but still gives us the freedom to do those things we dreamed about all those years ago. Will you let me show it to you?”
Jo looked up at him, and Dom took courage from the love he saw there. For the first time in too long, Jo looked at him with hope and happiness. All of this was worth it for that alone. He’d keep doing the work to fix his mistakes, but today? Today was a good day.
15 years ago
“Wait right there. And keep your eyes closed!”
