Coming Home to Love (Lakeside Porch Series Book 2) (33 page)

“Fontina. The spinach was dreary today. We’ll use some fresh basil.”

She tucked basil leaves around the mozzarella, and he finished with a heavy sprinkle of the fontina.

“Like snow on a Christmas tree. Tomatoes would add color another time,” he remarked, “but I don’t have any.”

Gianessa wiped her hands and cleaned the island. Justin removed a bowl of fresh-made salad from the refrigerator, along with a dish of homemade Italian dressing.

“You’re a prince among men, thank you.”

“I needed to keep busy while I waited. I knew we’d both want a salad.”

Gianessa could wait no longer. “Justin, I need to know if you were serious about being a father and helping me parent?”

“Completely. Scared but completely serious. Please tell me what’s wrong with—?”

“We’re having twins.”

Justin was speechless, his mouth open, his eyes round.

“A boy and a girl.”

His mouth curved, and his eyes softened.

“I need you, Justin.” Without warning, she burst into tears.

Justin wrapped her in his arms.

“I need you to do this with me. I love you, and I need you to do this with me.”

“Of course we’ll do this together. We’ll make it work, Gianessa. Somehow, God help us, we’ll make this work.” He stroked her back and kissed her forehead. “Please don’t cry. It will be all right.”

She nodded and pressed her hot cheek against his cool one. “I believe it. I believe you.”

“But I insist we get married.”

“Is that your best proposal?” She winked.

“It’s worse than Joel’s first proposal to Manda. We love each other, Gianessa, and I am committed to being sane and sober the way the program wants. I know we can be good together—good partners, good parents, good friends.” He laughed and shook his head. “Stop me, I’m babbling.”

She touched his lips.

He knelt and held both her hands in his. “Gianessa, will you do me the honor of marrying me and spending the rest of our lives raising these babies and cooking and compromising and—”

“I will do all of those things with you, and love you and support your work, and be the kind of wife you are proud of.”

The oven signaled its readiness. Justin slid the pan onto the rack and set the timer.

“Let’s enjoy the evening air for a few minutes and talk about a wedding and about you and me.” He motioned her out to the porch.

Gianessa sat in one of the tall white rockers and let the soft evening breeze cool the heat in her face. She watched sailboats moving in and out of the marina. When Justin joined her, he held two tall glasses of sparkling water, each with a wedge of lime.

“I like these rockers.” She accepted one of the glasses from him.

“And I like sitting next to you, talking and enjoying the lake.” He gave her a kiss before settling in the next chair to hers. “Our lives will be very busy in a few short months.” He reached for her hand, and she gave his a squeeze. “I want us to be married soon. I know I need to earn your trust, and I mean to do that.”

“Justin, are you going to AA meetings regularly?”

“Every day. There’s a noontime near campus that I especially like, but I’m trying different ones so I’ll have options, whatever my schedule is.”

“And you’re still working with Gwen in therapy?”

He nodded. “For now she’s acting as a sponsor as well as therapist for me. I see her once a week with homework between. She’s tough and smart, and that’s what I need. It’s hard work. And humbling.”

“Thank you for doing that and for sticking with it.”

She let the peace of the evening relax her, and she felt Justin relax a little beside her. “Justin, should we see a couples therapist, too?”

“I’m open to it. What made you ask?”

“I was thinking of that phrase we hear in the rooms, be ‘willing to go to any lengths’. I am willing, if we find ourselves struggling.”

Justin was quiet a while and then asked, “Are you as scared as I am to raise these babies?”

Gianessa turned to him with a warm, happy smile. “That part isn’t so scary to me. Pop and Ariella were great parents to me. I know if I’m sober and working my program I’ll be a good mom.” They held hands, and she ran her thumb across his knuckles. “I know you will be a good dad. I want you to believe in yourself, trust your instincts and don’t spoil them. And accept that you’ll get it wrong at least once a day.”

“Pizza critique,” Gianessa declared. “What worked, what didn’t?”

“Keep the portabella. Next time spinach or broccoli. Fresh tomato for color. Great cheese combination. Fontina, you say?”

“And mozzarella. But the crust was too salty. Think it’s worth trying again with a homemade crust?”

“How about tomorrow?” Justin said with a grin.

“We’re a good team.”

He said softly, “Yes, we are. We can take on any project together. Raising beautiful babies. Building a pizza. Remaking a college.”

Gianessa reached across the table for his hand. “Tell me how the college is going.”

“There’s hope for it,” he answered. “The bad actors have packed their bags and left for new territory. The trustees are on board with a complete overhaul of the curriculum. The faculty have sent the consultant packing and are clamoring to take charge of the new curriculum.”

Her eyes sparkled. “They sent your consultant packing? Isn’t that a bad thing?”

Justin grinned and squeezed her hand. “You knew that was the plan all along, sweetheart, and it worked perfectly.”

“You knew he was a fool, and you used him to unite the faculty.”

“The fact that they united and took ownership is what I hoped, but it’s not possible to guarantee such an outcome. They might have united against me, sent me packing and continued their dysfunctional existence.”

“In which case you’d have closed the college?”

He cocked his head. “If they didn’t put themselves out of business in a year, yes, I would have.”

“It was a gamble.”

“I’d say it was a chess match, and I played a skillful game, with your inspiration. We’re all fortunate that the faculty stepped up to the job. They’re a fine lot. However, I do need to talk one thing over with you.”

Gianessa smile warily.

“There’s talk of my becoming the next president of the college. It may not go anywhere, but I need to know how you feel about that.”

“I feel proud about that.” She sat up straighter. “Do you want to do it? What does a college president do?”

“I want to do it, yes. It is mostly a fundraising position in this day and age. In the past, most presidents came from other, high-profile administrative roles in a college, but today some are coming from outside academia. It’s critical to have credibility with the trustees, which I have, and it helps to have credibility with the faculty, which I have, because of my long-term faculty affiliation with the University of Chicago. The fact that I have ties to the global economy and understand new ventures and funding sources is seen as a big advantage. But I wouldn’t do it if you didn’t want to be a president’s wife.”

“What does a president’s wife do?”

“Charms, entertains, watches for trouble, goes on trips with the president, and advises him on every aspect of the work.”

“That says we probably can’t live in Joel’s apartment very long.” She laughed.

“We’ll need a home for our family and a home suitable for entertaining.”

“You’re not suggesting we open the Cushman mansion, are you?” She shuddered.

“It’s been leveled and cleared away, and there are plans on the drawing board for a house up by the birches. I hope to start construction in a month.”

Gianessa gave him a radiant smile. “Let’s build something we love, and something suitable for the job.

“Since the two may not be compatible, we need to make decisions soon.”

Gianessa reached for his hand. “Thank you for consulting me. Yes, I will be a president’s wife, if you want the job. Can we sit down with the plans one day soon?”

“Yes, very soon. This week. Tomorrow if we can manage it.”

“What are you going to call your college? Still Tompkins College? I don’t like the way Cushman College sounds, do you?”

Justin made a face. “We could have a name-that-college contest, what do you think?”

“Very wise, President Cushman. How about letting the incoming freshmen organize it?”

“Yes, good, or advertise to donors. Put your name on a new concept in higher education for a hundred million.”

Gianessa murmured a reminder in his ear. “You and I need to name a couple of babies.”

“And plan a wedding. Unless you want to elope?”

Gianessa shook her head. “Very simple wedding with Joel and Manda and a handful of others.”

“Agreed.”

“Can we manage a short trip to Italy to meet Pop and Ariella?”

“How about a honeymoon trip to Italy?”

Joel leaned closer and told his uncle, “You’ll make a great father, you know.”

“I hope you’re right. I am scared to death.”

Joel’s smile told him he understood that feeling. “Glad you can admit it, uncle.”

“I’m determined to be a good husband, Joel. Gianessa is everything I could want in a woman, and for some crazy reason she loves me.” He looked around the garden and noticed that the chairs were filled now. He wanted just a moment longer sitting beside Joel, drinking in the love and acceptance his nephew offered.

“And you love her?”

“I do, with all my heart, and I didn’t know that was possible before I met her. But I wonder if I’m equal to the task of loving her,” Justin said humbly. His heart beat a little faster at the thought, and his cheeks flushed.

“I think it’s something we grow into. I’m still learning how to love Manda the way she needs. It’s probably a lifetime job,” Joel assured him.

Justin braced himself, hands on his knees, arms straight. “You’re saying there’s no formula?”

Joel let out a laugh. “I wish. No, there’s no formula. I had to learn early on to listen to her tell me what she needed. And take it seriously, even when it sounded silly.”

“Such as?”

“Well, there was the time she came to visit me in the hospital after a shopping trip and wanted to know what kind of lingerie I liked. The fact that I prefer her naked was not an acceptable answer.”

Justin chuckled along with Joel.

“We tried to talk about styles and fabric and colors and yada yada. Finally she produced a bag and showed me what she’d bought, and it was nothing I ever thought of as lingerie, but I dug it and she loves it and that was the end of the discussion.”

“And I can tell from your smirk that you were rewarded for your dedication to the task and have been enjoying the lingerie ever since.”

“Well, yeah, come to think of it. Just having that conversation was really important to her, although I have no idea why.”

Justin clapped him on the shoulder, the good shoulder, although there was little visible difference now. Joel’s muscles were well developed again on both arms. “I think I get what you’re saying.”

Joel distilled it, “I went with it and it made her happy. If I’d said, ‘You decide, honey,’ she would not have been happy.”

Justin heard someone clear a throat. He glanced up and stood tall to shake the minister’s hand. Joel’s generous tip from his own wedding six weeks ago was all the incentive the pastor needed to officiate at Justin’s wedding on short notice.

“Justin, Joel, good to be back here with you for another wedding. Everyone is assembled. Are we ready for the ceremony?”

Justin nodded, although his breathing was suddenly a little shallow.

“Rings?”

Joel stood, produced the rings, and put a calming hand on his uncle’s shoulder.

“We’ll do the standard ceremony. Anything I need to be aware of?” the minister asked.

Justin filled him in. “My best man, Joel, and the matron-of-honor, Manda, will both be seated during the ceremony. Our friend Phil will walk the bride down the aisle.”

“Coming down from the upper terrace again?”

“No, we’re using just the lower terrace this afternoon, keeping everything simple.”

The pastor inspected the assembled guests. “Most unusual to have everyone in casual dress. Except that lady in the first row wearing the expensive silk suit. Is that the bride’s mother, I suppose?”

Justin looked where he pointed and saw a raven-haired woman with an aura of power. She wore a Paris original made of deep rose silk, with an abundantly flowered scarf and heavy gold jewelry at her earlobes, left wrist, and two fingers of her right hand. “I have no idea who that is. Nor do I recognize the woman with her.” The two fifty-something ladies were deep in conversation.

“Friends of the bride, evidently.”

Justin shrugged. “We’ll meet at the reception, I’m sure. Pastor, we’d be honored to have you join us for the reception. I hope your wife will as well.”

“We wouldn’t miss it. Now, if we can assume our places, I will cue the bridal party.”

“Deep breath,” Joel said.

They exchanged a handshake and broad smiles before turning to the guests.

Today the terrace accommodated sixteen friends in four pairs of chairs on the left, four on the right. On the groom’s side were Sydney Shorey and her husband Danny, the trustee Patrice from New York with her husband, the president of Tompkins College with his wife, and the provost with her husband. On Gianessa’s side were the mystery women in the first row, Gwen with an open seat for Phil, Sara and Grace, and, behind them, Tony and his girl, Sunny. Just off the terrace at the far end, Justin spied Manda peeking from behind a screen of evergreens.