“You’re serious about the coin toss.”
“Young lady, never more serious in my life. Two wedding dresses is a serious undertaking. And you have the banns to announce at church, and the pre-Cana conference, and setting up the hall and the invitations and everything else. As much as I love both of you, we are going to have order for these weddings.”
Chrissy’s eyes swept her mother’s spotless kitchen with not a thing out of place. “Okay, Mama. Toss it, and we’ll see where the coin falls.”
“Heads!” Gloria squealed as soon as their mother flipped the coin into the air.
CHRISSY STOOD AT THE doorway of her father’s library, waiting for Saks to make eye contact with her. Her gut churned, because she knew what she would tell him next would send him into near fits. He looked up from an earnest conversation between her father, him, and Uncle Vits. The men who reported to her father and grandfather left an hour ago. Saks broke out in a smile that lit his face.
“I’ve got my cue, gentlemen, that it’s time to leave.”
Her father looked up. “Yes, yes. The young people need time together, eh?”
“Dad, you should get some rest, too. No sense in tiring yourself out. That medic should be watching that.”
Her father waved a dismissive hand. “I just told him to give me fifteen more minutes.”
“It’s up,” Chrissy said sternly.
“Well,” Vits said. The leather of the chair he sat in creaked when the man stood straight. “I know when to leave. I’ll be calling you, Vince. And if you need anything, you call right away.”
“Thank you, Mr. Rocco. I will.”
“And you,” he said to Saks, “don’t cause any more trouble.”
Saks gave a wry smile. “Sure, Uncle Vits. I know I’m such a troublemaker.”
As Vits passed Chrissy, he gave her a quick peck on the check. “Thank you, Chrissy. You made an old man very happy.”
She couldn’t help but smile back. “We’ll see you out.”
“No need. My driver is outside waiting for me.” Vits gave a side wave of his hand, and left before Chrissy’s father eyed her warily.
“I know that look,” he grumbled. “You are about to tell me something I won’t like.”
Chrissy nodded. “There’s a problem with my job. I need to go back to Europe.”
Her father gave her a dark look.
“Christina,” he said, “I told you that man is no good. You need to stay away from him.”
“My assistant, Jessica, isn’t answering her phone, and Mr. Pearson isn’t available. Dad, I sent her there. If anything happened to her, I couldn’t forgive myself.”
Her father frowned. “I don’t like the idea of you going.”
“You can’t stop me, Dad. I had Mario put my bags in my car. I’m taking the first flight out I can get.”
“So that’s where he disappeared to,” her father grumbled beneath his breath.
“Yes. And don’t get angry with him for it. I just didn’t want you upset over this, and me hauling my bags out would’ve made too much of a scene.”
“Stubborn,” he muttered.
“She’s not going alone, sir. I’m going with her,” Saks assured.
“Saks,” Chrissy quietly protested.
“If you think I’m going to let you go over there alone to face Pearson, you don’t know me as well as you think. Pearson is dangerous, and if something happened to Jessica then it can happen to you, too.”