The Twelve Zenati

Authors note: Hello everyone. I hope you have been enjoying this series of the Tables. Thank you once again to David and Kate for being my second set of eyes. Enjoy! ~ellie.

***

"Look, I wish that I could let you off easy, Gideon," Leighton said with mock sincerity. "But Lydia would know, and I have to live with her while you get to fly away with my favourite sister, best friend and the nicest woman I know."

"You don't think that Lydia will be more concerned about that statement than anything you might or might not have said to me?" Gideon chuckled.

"He hasn't done it yet, has he?" Rick asked, walking into the room, frowning at his brother.

"I'm not even sure what he's trying to do or say at this point. I just want to see Vivienne," Gideon said, letting a little of his frustration cloud his voice as Rick sighed at Leighton.

"Okay, well let's see what I can do to expedite things. Leighton and I both know that you're not the moron you pretend to be, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and call you a moron because you managed to fuck things up with Vivienne once already. Now here's the thing. As her brothers, we have to let you know that, even though we have agreed that you are the aforementioned moron and you're bound to fuck up again, if you ever fuck up again so badly that she runs home without taking the time to pack then we will have to take issue with that," Rick said in a business-like tone.

"I see," Gideon nodded. "Do you need a pinkie promise or something that I won't fuck up again?"

"I was thinking more of a blood oath, but I guess a big girl like you would be more used to pinkie promises," Leighton agreed. "Just don't fuck up again, okay? I don't want to have to ask Rick to go and kick your ass."

"I guess it stands to reason you'd send the scary little brother after me. Just don't forget that I have one of those myself, and mine is scarier than yours," Gideon chuckled. "Tell you what, if I ever fuck up this badly again you can let me know when Rick's on his way, and I'll organise a cage for him and Gen."

"Shit," Rick shook his head. "You're on your own this time, Leigh. I'm not taking on Genesis Zenati in a cage fight."

"Don't worry. I am prepared to pinkie swear that I will do my best not to make another major fuck up, ever again. Small fuck ups are inevitable though," Gideon said sincerely. He knew he had blown it even inviting his mother to the city for dinner to introduce her. He should have listened to his brothers but she had never interfered like this in his life before, and he couldn't believe that she had done it even now.

"And, maybe try not to make the minor ones either," Leighton suggested. "It's not that hard to keep the girl you love happy. Just always have an apology handy for any occasion and use it, even if you're not sure you're in trouble."

"And for fuck's sake, when you see her tonight, don't put your foot in your mouth by staring or saying something stupid," Rick advised.

"Saying something stupid at the worst possible time is sort of what I'm good at," Gideon lamented and sagged in his chair.

"This time, count to ten before speaking or doing something stupid," Leighton chuckled. "Poor bastard. I almost feel sorry for you. You have no idea what you're walking into by insisting on coming here today." He turned toward the door which had just swung open, despite his asking for a few minutes of privacy.

"Leighton, seriously man, I think Lydia has finally lost her mind. Do you know what she did today?" Teddy asked as he ambled into the living room of the large house.

"It's his fault. Send the bill to the Zenati," Leighton grumbled good-naturedly but gave his brother a look to silence him from saying anything else.

"What did I do now?" Gideon complained. "Shit, I can't catch a break with his family. Just give me what I came for and I'll be going."

"It's not mine to give you," Leighton shrugged.

"What did he come for?" Teddy asked Rick.

"Vivienne," Rick grinned.

"Our Vivienne?" Ted asked, not understanding what was going on. He loved his sister, and he knew Vivienne was great, but she was shy and awkward with everyone aside from her siblings. Even then, not everyone made her feel comfortable enough to be herself. "What did she do?" he asked, bristling protectively and thinking that she must have done something while in Darwin that required her to return and apologise or fix the mistake, with an escort no less.

"Ran away when Gideon proposed," Rick smirked, enjoying the look of shock on his brother's face.

"Seriously?" Teddy breathed, unsure if Rick was joking with him. "Our Vivienne?"

"Why do you find that so hard to believe? You found someone who could love you, and that's far more improbable," Rick chuckled. "Your wife's a saint. You know that, right?"

"Oh, I know," he nodded but froze as Vivienne appeared in the doorway looking amazing. He had to blink to be sure that he was seeing her properly.

"Viv!" Gideon croaked, his throat feeling constricted as he came to his feet. Her hair was loose, and he couldn't remember if he had ever seen it that way before. He was sure that he hadn't known how long it was or just how softly it curled about her face and neck when it wasn't being pulled back severely into a tight dancer's bun or chignon. Her eyes seemed bigger and brighter, as did the lips that curved into a small, soft smile.

"Gideon." She returned his greeting and stepped toward him. She'd wanted to see him since she had heard him arrive, but Lydia had held her back, forcing her to take her time and make him wait while Leighton spoke with him and possibly threatened him while explaining that hurting his little sister again was not an option. She was conscious of the way her brothers watched her enter the room and grimaced.

"Do you think you could give us a minute before we go outside?" Vivienne asked and turned an imploring gaze on Leighton, who nodded and herded his brothers toward the door. She looked at the man for whom she wanted to throw all her logic away. They'd spoken several times last night, including her call from Olivia. They'd made all their accusations and faced the recriminations and then made their apologies. She wanted the fairy tale he offered her. She wanted the happily ever after that came with marrying a man who came from a family where there had never been a divorce nor even a hint of scandal between couples. She wanted him, even though she knew she could never be enough, never be the type of woman he should be with, and knowing in advance that he would, in time, regret being so hasty in his decision to propose. Still, she had decided to take a chance on the love-at-first-sight curse that she had learned afflicted the men of the Zenati table.

Smoothing her hands down the sides of the simple but figure-hugging dress, she looked at the door until it closed firmly behind her brothers, then turned back to Gideon who had moved to stand directly behind her. She gasped as she came face to face with him. The look in his eyes was hot and intense as he reached up to cup her face with both hands and kiss her. What started as a gentle brushing of lips quickly deepened until her lips parted under his insistence and their tongues met in a tangle of heat and urgency, savouring each other. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his hands went to her hips, pulling her tighter against his body. After long minutes he broke the kiss and pulled her closer so his lips skimmed her jaw to nuzzle breathlessly at her ear.

"I missed you, and I need you to come home with me, right now," he urged.

"Lydia went to so much trouble for dinner," she whispered, hearing her own voice thick with the same heat and need she felt from him. She had never experienced this kind of pull and need before and it both frightened and thrilled her.

"Fine, then let's go eat. Just promise me that you will eat fast," he grumbled, and taking her hand, started toward the door.

"Gideon, wait!" Vivienne dug her heels in, making him stop and turn toward her curiously and slowly raise one eyebrow. "Ask me again," she blurted, not quite believing the words had come out of her mouth when she summoned them. "Ask me properly this time," she amended and flicked her eyes up at him before flushing deeply and lowering them again.

"I planned to ask as soon as we got on the jet, but here and now is even better. Unless you'd like me to do this in front of your family?" He knew what she wanted him to ask and giving her the option of humiliating him in front of her family, as further payback for the horrible mistake that had been inviting his mother to town to meet her seemed harsh penance. One he was prepared to pay if it meant she said yes.

"I don't need grand gestures, just sincere words," she sighed. "I need to look into your eyes and see that you mean it this time, before I go anywhere else with you, even to eat."

"Vivienne," he breathed, knowing that this would always be his burden to bear. "I have meant it sincerely every time I have asked, and if you thought otherwise for even a moment, I apologise. You are the one who is too good for me, so I wrapped it in humour, like I do most things that scare me. Not that I was ever scared of commitment. It was the possibility that you would reject me that scared me." He led her to a couch and made her sit with him.

"When I walked into that hospital room and saw you for the first time, it was as if all my breath had been knocked from me. I felt no symptoms of the curse that I knew of. All I knew was that you were gorgeous and I wanted to get to know you," Gideon smiled and kissed her then. "Imagine my surprise when I realised that you had no idea how beautiful you were, or how men turned to look at you as you went by in the white coat and baggy, comfortable, doctor clothes hiding all these luscious curves!" His eyes swept over her figure, and he reached out to take her chin and lift her face to look into his eyes.

Vivienne blinked as she looked into the dark eyes of Gideon. Her breath caught once again at the intensity she saw there and her blushing face heated further. She wanted to believe it was all true with every ounce of her being. She searched his face as he continued to talk.

"I felt it that first time, the attraction and bond between us, but it wasn't until the following day that the curse went to work, and I practically had a heart attack in your hotel room when you told me you were leaving and I saw the packed bags. That moment, all those crushing feelings I had confirmed that you are my soul mate, my one, true love, the woman I will love until my dying breath, my curse breaker. I thought I was going to die when you left this time, so I decided that if you would ever give me the chance to see you again, I would have this with me."

Vivienne gasped and watched as he pulled a small box from his pocket and slid from the couch to one knee in front of her, showing just how serious and sincere he was about what he was asking. Her eyes widened, and her hand went to her throat as if she was having trouble breathing or swallowing or both. She looked into his face again and, concentrating on his words, drew a slow, steadying breath.

"Vivienne Elouise Papillo, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife, so that we can live happily ever after, until death do us part?" he asked and flipped open the lid of the box before holding it up to her.

"Yes," she breathed quietly and said nothing else as her eyes fell on the ring in the box. It was a black diamond solitaire. At least she thought it was a black diamond. The setting was gold, but the band had an inner circle of what she thought might be onyx. Small white diamonds surrounded the black, softening it a little. It was exquisitely beautiful, if not traditional. Although she was discovering that the Zenati family had some odd traditions.

"Yes? Just like that? Wait, don't answer that! I heard a yes, and that's all that matters," Gideon grinned widely as he took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. "It's tradition in my family to give black diamonds. I hope you are not too disappointed," he said, reading her face. "This was Madrina's ring. She gave it to me when we visited. I have been carrying it around since then because I knew you were the one," he chuckled, unable to stop the wide smile that adorned his face.

"It's so beautiful, how could I possibly be disappointed?" she whispered, holding her hand up so that it caught the light. "Thank you." She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him softly. Gideon rose slowly to lean over her, deepening the kiss until she was lying back on the couch below him. She could feel his body poised over hers most deliciously.

"Can we go home now? There are some devilish things I would like to do to you that don't include you wearing this dress," he grinned and ran a fingertip around the square-cut neckline. He groaned as she stiffened below him and shook her head. He leaned back, rising from the couch and pulling her up into his arms. He held her tightly and sighed, grazing his lips over hers again. "I will eat this dinner but then we are leaving, or I am kidnapping you," he grumbled the threat. He would much rather be on the plane with her in his arms than endure the congratulations and pats on the back that would no doubt come with this dinner, but if this was his penance for his mistake, he would pay it. He owed her that much. Especially if it meant that she was his unequivocally now, or would be soon. As soon as he could get her to a church to say I do. He wondered briefly if he could convince her to elope, tonight.

"There's something else I have to know first." She took another deep breath, hardly believing she was doing this. "Are you one hundred per cent positive that I am the one, the happily-ever-after, soul mate, lifelong commitment you want to make?" she asked, hating that her words had become twisted and hadn't come out as eloquently as she had practised in her head.

"I am surer of this than anything else in my life," he said adamantly.

"Okay then," she breathed nervously. "Marry me, right here and now in my home before taking me back with you to your home. No one has to know except us and our siblings. We can have a proper wedding once all the stuff with the Suebi has settled down but... I want this before I go back with you." He looked at her for a long time, as if going over something in his head that made his jaw clamp shut. She worried that she had been right and he hadn't been truly serious about wanting to marry her immediately.

"Hell yeah! Where's the priest?" he exclaimed once he had counted to ten and back again several times, trying to work out the best answer to her request without putting his foot in his mouth. In the end, he didn't care. He wanted everything she was offering him. More than wanted it, this was a dream come true. She was right. They could have a proper wedding with all the trimmings when they got back home, if she wanted. If this was what she needed to feel more secure in their relationship and his feelings for her before they returned to Darwin, then he was more than happy to oblige. In fact, now that she had opened this door, there was no way that he was returning home a bachelor.

"In the back garden," she said, still unsure of him and if he was taking her seriously.

"You have rings and witnesses there, too?" he asked, staring in wonder at her as she nodded.

"Okay, tell me how to get there, and I will meet you at the end of the aisle," he grinned and kissed her again enthusiastically.

"Wait!" she stopped him again.

"Vivienne, I would have married you a week ago if I thought you would have said yes. Let's do this thing before you change your mind because, believe me, I won't, not ever," Gideon said fervently. "It's not what I had planned, but in some ways it's even better, because you're the one instigating it and now I know you want this as much as I do. That's huge! It's far more than I ever expected coming here."

"You don't want to know why I want to do it before I go back with you?" she asked.

"Sure I do, but I am more interested in the doing right now rather than the why," he chuckled. "You wouldn't be suggesting this if you didn't love me in some way, and that's enough of a why for me. I love you, with all of your worries and insecurities that you aren't the type of woman you think I would be interested in. I love you because, even though you're smart, you're dumb enough to think that I would ever let you run away from me or leave me without a fight. I love that you are so nervous about whatever is waiting for us out there, but trust me, as long as I have you, I am an exceedingly happy man."

"I don't want to sleep with you before we are married," she blurted and clasped a hand over her mouth. "You make it very hard to say no to you, and I couldn't go back with you if we weren't..." Her voice trailed off as Gideon frowned at her, trying to make sense of the words.

"You were saving yourself for marriage?" he asked, incredulously.

"Not on purpose in the beginning, but guys, especially guys like you, have never been interested in me that way, not that I ever dated much. I studied and did other things rather than socialising," she rambled on, hating how embarrassed she felt about the situation but wanting to warn him that his ideas about the things he wanted to do with her that didn't include her dress would be things she had little experience with.

"This day just gets better and better," he said as he shook his head. "Someone is going to wake me from this dream soon, and I am going to die of a broken heart because it's not real." He swept her into his arms and kissed her. "Let's get married so that I can have my wicked way with you and show you the delightful and pleasurable benefits to being my wife."

"You're not disappointed?" she whispered, thinking that he would want someone who knew what they were doing in that regard.

"Ecstatic might be a better word for what I am feeling. Can we find the priest now?" he complained at her stalling tactics.

"Okay. I have one more thing to show you, and then we can exchange vows," she said.

"There's more?" He gripped his heart as if he couldn't take any more.

"Just one more thing," she said quietly hoping that the extra guests had already arrived. "But you need to get it from Leighton. I'll meet you at the end of the aisle in about fifteen minutes." She kissed him then and left the room, having said everything she needed to say until the ceremony. She was doing what she always advised others to do, be brave and trust in her heart.

*****

Marcella's mouth was set in a thin line as she stepped from the car that had been sent to collect them from the airport. She couldn't work out what Vivienne was thinking by eloping with Gideon. After Gideon's mother had treated her so badly, and she had run home to lick her wounds, Marcella had thought that it would take her days, if not weeks, to recover from the confrontation. She had not for one moment expected to be woken up by her friend babbling like a crazy woman that she had decided to marry the man today! Not just accept the proposal, but marry the man, before coming back to Darwin. She worried that there was more going on here than she knew, and she needed to see her friend and discover what that was. Vivienne had assured her that this was her decision, not Gideon's. She had laughingly told her that he knew nothing about it and she was planning a surprise wedding for him. Still, Marcella wasn't convinced. There had to be more to it. Maybe she was pregnant, even though she had denied sleeping with him yet when they had spent the day together.

"What's wrong?" Noah asked, not for the first time since they had left Darwin.

"You don't think it's odd, this wedding? I mean they barely know each other," she asked, trying to keep the tension she felt from her voice.