Nicole put her hand through the opening that separated them and gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “I don’t know if I deserve to be, but I am, Arnold. I finally am.”

Nicole could have sworn he flushed a little. She sat back in her seat with a happy, albeit tearful grin. “I’m going to put up the divider now, Arnold, so you can have some peace.”

“Thank you, Miss Corisi,” he said, returning to formality.

Before cutting off their brief connection, Nicole added something that needed to be voiced, “Thank you for not leaving me, Arnold.”

He didn’t say anything, but Nicole caught a glimpse of his smile just before the window blocked him from view.

I always felt so alone, but I guess I never really was.

Arnold was about to become the best paid limo driver in New York City.

Chapter Twenty-two

Maddy’s husband, Richard, was full-on creating his Sunday feast for the Andrade clan, threatening anyone who so much as dared to lift a cover to one of the many pots.

Abby sipped the coffee she’d gladly accepted a few moments ago from Katrine. “When you invited me over early to cook I imagined…well, cooking.”

Elise waved a hand at the man in the background who was cursing his creations in French and said, “Today is Richard’s day to cook. We just come in here to get away from the men so we can really talk.”

Nicole shared a knowing look with Abby. “I know. I thought the same thing when they invited me. Seemed a little sexist to have all the women in the kitchen while the men stayed out in the living room, but this is where all the good stuff happens.”

Maddy laid Joseph back in his rolling bassinet. “I grew up like this, but I confess that in my teens I thought I was missing something by not being out there. Remember that year, Mom?”

Elise smiled and said, “Oh, yes. I remember. It didn’t take you long to realize that all the important decisions are made in here.”

Nicole asked with laughter in her voice, “Do the men know that?”

Abby had a more serious question. “It’s your choice to be in here, though, isn’t it? I mean if you wanted to sit out there and talk they would let you, right?”

Elise nodded reassuringly. “Oh, don’t worry. You’re welcome to go out there and soak in as much microchip design and marketing platform talk as you can stomach. Just leave me in here.”

The look of surprise on Abby’s face made the older woman smile. “Abby, the women’s rights movement was about equality so we could choose who we want to be, not so we could all become men or software designers. I don't bring in an income anymore, but I am on several charities and I consider my family a full-time job. Alessandro would support me if I wanted to run part of the company, but I'm not interested. The great part about getting older is you realize that you don't have to impress anyone else. I'm happy with things just the way they are.”

Katrine added, “I have to agree. Victor and I worked hard for many years to make Andrade Solutions successful. He used to say I could negotiate the wings off a fly if I had to, and sometimes finding new vendors was that difficult. Not all the years were profitable ones. We worked because we had to, but you ladies are lucky enough to be able to follow your passions.”

Abby squared her shoulders and said, “I have to admit, I’m not totally sure what to do with myself now. I always worked a day job. Sometimes two. I can’t really go back to teaching in the inner city schools. Dominic would have a swat team following me at all times. How do you not lose yourself around men who cast such a large shadow?”

Elise leaned over and laid a supportive hand on Abby’s. “You stand beside them and make your own path. There is a price to wealth, but there is also a freedom that comes with it. As a teacher, you touched the lives of a few hundred. Now, you could touch the lives of millions if you wanted to. The wonderful thing about our men is if you want it, they will help you make it happen. Dominic seems like he’s that same kind of good man.”

Safe within a group of women who genuinely cared about her, Nicole shared, “Until I met Stephan, I didn’t see any good in having money. I resented the importance people placed on things and appearances. I don’t know that I ever spent a moment being grateful for what I had. In Stephan’s eyes, everyone is connected whether it is through our environment or our finances, and the more you have, the more responsible you should be. When you look at the world like that, it’s hard not to want to get involved in every cause. I’m going to focus on helping abused women put their lives back together. From what you’ve shared with me, Abby, you might want to focus on education and reform. There must have been policies you dealt with as a teacher that you felt powerless to change. Now you have a voice.”

Maddy sighed. “I love happy endings.”

Nicole said, “As a wise limo driver once told me, the story doesn’t end when the book does. This is just the beginning for us. For all of us.”

Abby looked at the door and said, “Speaking of all of us, how do you think the men are getting along?”

Katrine wasn’t concerned. “The boys will play nice. Alessandro and Victor are in there. ”

Nicole laughed. “Babysitting two of the biggest egos on the planet.”

Smiling, Katrine said, “Where do you think Stephan got his ego? Victor was quite a stinker when I first met him, but our forty-plus years of marriage have domesticated him.”

Her words seemed to touch a cord in Abby. She asked, “Do you have any advice on how to make it last?”

Katrine said, “Honesty. Respect. Forgiveness.”

Elise joked, “And a little red bikini.”

Nicole sat up straight, remembering something. “Oh,” she said loudly, then lowered her voice. “they know about the red bikini. The Steps are no longer a secret.”

Elise and Katrine spun in union to look accusingly at Richard, but he didn’t look up from stirring his sauce. Just as quickly, they turned back and said, “Maddy!”

A sheepish smile spread across the younger woman’s face. She shrugged.

Laughing, Nicole shook her head. “You are so bad.”

Maddy wiggled her eyebrows at Nicole. “Difficult to stay mad, though, isn’t it, when my meddling brought you and Stephan back together?”

Abby sat back in her chair with a huge smile on her face. “Nicole, I totally understand why you love this family.” She turned to Elise and asked, “Would you mind if I brought my sister, Lil, to dinner sometime? She needs this.”

Nicole had gotten to know Abby pretty well over the last few days and she knew how much she loved and worried about her sister. Nicole asked, “How is she? Has she spoken to Jake since that day on the island? Didn’t you say you thought there was a connection there? Maybe you could invite them both. Would that be ok?” Nicole looked at the two older women at the table.

Katrine said, “Abby, your family is our family. Invite them.”

Elise said, “Jake. Jake.” She repeated his name as if trying to conjure up his image in her mind. “Isn’t he Dominic’s partner?” Nicole and Abby nodded. Elise clapped her hands together once. “He’s beautiful and outrageously wealthy. How wonderful would that be if he and your sister got married?”

Abby’s eyes rounded, realizing that she just might have started something she wasn’t sure she could contain. “Thank you for saying that, Katrine. I will bring Lil. Now, Jake, I don’t know about. He and Lil haven’t stayed in touch as far as I know. Maybe we should just let them figure it out.”

Maddy waved two excited hands in the air. “I have the perfect idea on how to get them together.”

“No!” everyone said in chorus.

Putting one indignant hand on a hip, Maddy said, “When will you appreciate my genius?”

Nicole nodded grudgingly. “I have to admit, I’m happy with your results.”

“See,” Maddy stressed, pointing to her recent success case. “Sometimes love just happens, but other times it needs a little push.”

Elise leaned toward her daughter, “What are you hatching up in that little head of yours this time?”

Maddy turned to Abby, “Do you think Dominic can be trusted?”

A wicked smile lit Abby’s normally sweet face. “If it means feeding Jake a little humble pie, I’d say absolutely.”

Maddy said, “This is going to be awesome.”

“Maddy,” Katrine started in a firm, warning-laced tone that took a little of the wind out of her niece’s sails. Maddy’s arms dropped to her sides and she turned to her aunt, accepting the anticipated admonishment. After a pause, Katrine changed her mind. She leaned over and hugged her niece and said, “Don’t ever change.”

Hesitating only for a moment to reflect on Katrine’s words, Maddy quickly regained her enthusiasm. “Ok, this is what I think we should do…”

To Stephan’s surprise, Dominic had driven himself to the house. No wingman. No security. Just Abby.

Another man would have been nervous about being so clearly outnumbered, but Dominic entered the Andrade household with his head held high. He shook Victor and Alessandro’s hands without hesitation. He paused, but did not refuse to shake Stephan’s.

Alessandro led them through the house and asked his staff to bring them coffee outside. Three Andrade men and one Corisi sat on the large patio that overlooked acres of freshly cut lawn.

Once the men were seated, Victor said, “Your sister is already like a daughter to me. I was pleased that you accepted our invitation.”

Dominic nodded in acknowledgement of the statement, then looked over at Stephan. “Abby explained to me that you thought I had swindled your father out of his company and Isola Santos.”

Stephan looked at his future brother-in-law right in the eye and said, “That’s true.”

Dominic added, “But now you know the truth.”

Stephan acknowledged he did with a slight incline of his head.

Neither man blinked.

Dominic said, “Had the situation been reversed, I would have done exactly what you did. And you almost beat me. Not many people can say that.”

The air stilled. Stephan said, “I’m not proud of what I did.”

“That could be the title of my own memoir,” Dominic said ruefully. Then a bit more seriously, he said, “Abby is right. We can’t change the past, but we don’t have to repeat it either. Be good to my sister, Stephan.”

“I will be,” Stephan said, seeing clearly for the first time the love Dominic had for Nicole.

Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Victor. “This is the deed to Isola Santos. I want you to have it.”

Victor looked at the two proud men before him and said, “Why don’t you make it a wedding present for Stephan and Nicole so that our legacy is a blending of our families?”

Dominic re-pocketed the deed and cleared his throat. “I’d like that.”

Alessandro leaned forward in his seat and asked, “So, have you made any progress debugging your server?”