Dinner came after the proposal like an exhale everyone had been holding too long, plates clinking and wine poured while the shock slowly softened into warmth, the table crowded with laughter and movement.
Nicky sat beside Eliana, Val across from them already leaning in like she had ten questions loaded, Elias next to her eating with a crooked smile, Renee relaxed and observant, Elliot quiet but amused with Maria tucked comfortably at his side.
Elias let out a low chuckle as he cut into his food, the sound dark and knowing, and Eliana turned toward him immediately, brows lifting as she studied his face.
"What," she asked, half amused, half suspicious.
"Luca's going to throw a fit," Elias said calmly, chewing like this knowledge fed him just as much as the meal.
