Finding The One Box Set

Chapter 6: Is It Supposed to Be This Easy?-2

Gus’s mom met them at the door when they reached the hotel.

“You owe me a huge favor, Gustav,” she hissed between clenched teeth. She turned around to run off, but when they didn’t immediately follow, she grabbed them each by the hand and rushed toward the ballroom where the ceremony was taking place. “The officiant wanted to leave,” she explained as they dashed through the hotel. “I thought I was going to have to go down on my knees and beg. Beg! Mona Hanson doesn’t beg!”

“I’m sor—”

“And when I finally convinced him to wait, I had to deal with the caterer.” Her heels clattered on the marble stairs, and Gus and Luca had to fight to keep up with her. She was surprisingly fast for such a short woman. “I’ve never met anyone with a bigger ego than that little French guy. He’s such a drama queen. I thought he was going to faint when I told him we needed to postpone for an hour.”

Luca couldn’t help but smile at her as she recounted what had happened when he’d lost his mind for a moment. He promised himself he was going to make sure she knew how grateful he was for her help.

They came to an abrupt halt outside the ballroom doors, and Luca managed to stop just before he ran into Mona. She turned and looked at them with lips pressed tight, but it only took a second before her face softened. She stepped toward Gus, fiddled with his bow tie, and brushed away invisible lint from his tuxedo.

“You know I’d do anything for you,” she said and walked around him to check him over from behind. “But I expect an explanation later.”

“Ja, mamma,” Gus said.

Luca smiled again. His fiancé tried to placate his mother by speaking Swedish to her. Clever. It always melted her heart.

Satisfied with Gus’s appearance, she turned to Luca. “The veil is lovely, dear,” she said with a smile.

She fussed with it, making sure it flowed in perfect folds. She stuck her hands underneath and straightened the already perfect boutonniere. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that Luca was shirtless under the jacket, but didn’t say anything about it. She twisted the ends of his hair around her index fingers to make the slight curl more pronounced, and she swept away the same errant strand of hair from his face Gus had tried to tame earlier.

“Take good care of my son,” she whispered.

Afraid his voice would break if he tried to answer, Luca just nodded.

Mona took a step back and gave them a final once-over. “Okay, I’ll go in and tell them we’re ready.”

“Mom, wait.” Gus grabbed her hand before she could open the doors. “Is Luca’s mother in there?”

“Yes, of course. She wasn’t happy about the delay, but I managed to talk her down.”

Gus turned to Luca and asked in a low voice, “Do you want me to speak with her?”

“Honey, you don’t have to—”

“I know. But I will. If you want me to.”

The serious tone and determined look on Gus’s face were humbling. No one had ever been on Luca’s side like that before Gus, and his eyes watered. He bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling and reached out and took Gus’s hand. He pressed it to his heart, feeling its warmth radiating into his body.

“Honey, she can stay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, but…” Luca glanced at Gus’s mother. “Maybe keep her away from me?”

“We promise to fill you in, Mom, but please?” Gus pleaded before she had a chance to ask any questions.

“All right, I’ll do what I can,” she said but didn’t look convinced.

Luca wasn’t certain she would have so readily agreed if they weren’t pressed for time, something he was grateful for at this particular moment.

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

She opened the door and snuck in. After just a few moments, the music they’d chosen for their entrance started playing. They opened the door and walked hand in hand down the aisle.