He had to keep this from her and from his parents. Otherwise, the perfect wedding they were planning would turn into utter chaos. And he couldn’t allow that. Sabrina deserved a fairytale wedding, and he would do everything to fulfill her wish. Even if that meant keeping this newspaper article from her.

“Good morning, Daniel,” his mother’s voice suddenly came from the door.

“Uh, morning, Mom!” Daniel jerked his head up and saw his mother enter the kitchen, lifting two shopping bags onto the counter. He used the short time her back was turned to him to hastily fold the remainder of the paper and slide it under the seat cushion of his chair, while he kept talking to drown out any suspicious sounds. “You were already shopping this morning? That’s early, even for you. You should have let me know if you needed anything. I would have driven into the village for you later.”

His mother looked over her shoulder, while she continued unpacking. She was a short woman, a little over five feet tall, with olive skin and the fiery temperament Italian women were famous for.

“I realized that we were out of coffee creamer. So I went down to the shop quickly. And then I got us some fresh rolls and bread from the bakery while I was down there. Are you the only one up?”

Daniel pasted a smile on his lips, suppressing a sigh of relief that his mother hadn’t noticed his clandestine action to hide the newspaper. Now he just had to figure out how to get the newspaper out from its hiding place later, before his mother discovered it after breakfast.

“Sabrina is taking a shower. She’ll be down soon. But I haven’t heard anybody else up yet. Is Dad still sleeping?”

His mother chuckled. “Are you kidding? He’s already gone for a swim. He’s in the shower right now.” She placed an assortment of rolls and slices of fresh bread into a basket, grabbed the coffee creamer and carried both to the table. “Here! Try these rolls.”

“Thanks, Mom! They look delicious.” If only he were hungry, but that damned newspaper article had ruined his appetite. All he could do was sip more of his black coffee. And even that tasted bitter this morning, though he was sure it wasn’t his mother’s fault. She always made excellent coffee and insisted on buying only an Italian brand, Illy.

“Did you see the newspaper?” she suddenly asked, craning her neck to look around the kitchen.

“No, why?” Daniel hoped he didn’t sound phony. He hated lying to his mother, but he couldn’t help it. It was paramount that nobody read the paper this morning, or all hell would break loose.

“It wasn’t on the table in the foyer anymore when I got home.”

“Hmm. I didn’t see anything when I came down. Maybe you didn’t bring it in.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m sure I brought it in when I went out this morning.”

He shrugged and reached for a roll to give his hands something to do and look relaxed. “If you were on your way out, why would you have come back in to put the newspaper on the table?”

“Daniel, I remember what I did! Don’t make it sound like I’m having a senior moment!”

He bent to her and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Sorry, Mom. I’m sure it’ll turn up. Maybe the paperboy missed our house. You know how kids are these days. No sense of responsibility anymore.”

He sent a silent apology to the falsely-accused paperboy who’d done nothing wrong other than deliver an edition of the New York Times that nobody in Daniel’s family could be allowed to read.

Then he cut the roll in half and spread butter on it. “Thanks for preparing breakfast for all of us. I know you’re busy. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for us.”

Instantly, his mother’s face lit up. “It’s so exciting to plan a wedding!”

“I think your mother means exhausting, not exciting,” Tim’s voice came from the door, as he entered the kitchen, Holly on his heels.

“You haven’t even done anything yet, Tim!” Holly rolled her eyes and tossed a strand of her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

“I know, but I can totally imagine it, and the thought alone exhausts me.” Tim grinned unashamedly. His old college friend from Princeton was partially responsible for Daniel meeting Sabrina. The other half of the responsibility fell on Holly, Sabrina’s old roommate from San Francisco. Together the two had hatched a plot to set him and Sabrina up on a blind date. It had worked in the end, albeit with a few hitches.

Tim bent down to Daniel’s mother and kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning, Raffaela. Sorry, we didn’t get to say hello last night when we got in.”