35. QUINN
35
QUINN
Four and A Half Months Later
I never thought that this day would come again. But here I am, clad in all white, waiting to walk down the altar again.
“Careful,” Laurie says to me. I’m almost nine months pregnant, and the baby is due to arrive a couple of weeks.
“How do I look?” I glance over at my expression in the mirror.
She grins. “Ethereal. Stunning. The most beautiful girl he will lay his eyes on.”
Our wedding is a small event in the Tuscany region. Enzo has given me complete control when it came to the scale. I could have invited thousands of people, if I wanted.
But somehow, it didn’t feel right to. I wanted it to be intimate, surrounded only by people we love and no one else.
So far, it’s exactly how I imagined it to be.
“My darling.” My dad makes his way into the bridal room. “It’s time. Enzo is waiting for you at the altar.”
My dad has come to fully accept our relationship. He no longer makes me feel bad about my choices, nor does he bring up the fact that Enzo is his friend against us anymore. It’s the kind of acceptance that I had dreamed of getting from him.
“I just know I’m going to ugly cry already,” Laurie mutters, waving me off.
My dad carefully leads me down the aisle. My due date is so near that everyone is very careful around me.
“I’m happy that this day has arrived for you again. With the right person this time,” my dad tells me.
“Since I did not get it right the first time, this time is the charm.”
I haven’t heard from Liam for months now. I’m not sure exactly what Enzo has done, but something, surely. He hasn’t dared to bother me again.
We reach the altar, and I’m running out of breath.
“Just a few more steps, darling,” my dad encourages.
I waddle over. Some people told us to wait a bit, at least until after I gave birth, to have the ceremony. After all, what was the rush?
But Enzo and I both remained firm on the fact that we wanted to get married before our child arrived in the world. We were old-fashioned that way.
The last four months of my life have been nothing short of pure bliss.
Enzo and I took to living with each other like fish to water, and it’s incredible how well we get along with each other.
Every day, I learn something about him that makes me fall in love with him even more. What we lack in similar age, we make up for with a connection that truly surpasses everything I ever experienced before.
I can truthfully say that I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
My heart stops when I spot Enzo waiting for me at the end of the aisle. He’s looking at me as though I’m the only girl in the entire world.
He does not break his intense eye contact as my father escorts me to him, and then gives me away.
“Take great care of her, Chet.”
I clutch Enzo's hand, feeling his warmth anchor me amidst the whirlwind of emotions swirling within me.
He grins. “You made it, Mrs. Marchetti.”
“Don’t call me that yet.” I smile back. “I haven’t signed my life away to you yet.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Soon enough, my love, you will be mine.”
“And you mine.” I beam at him.
When time comes to exchange our vows, Enzo looks at me with all the love he can possibly fathom.
“Quinn. From the moment our paths crossed, I knew there was something extraordinary about you. You are my rock, my confidant, and my greatest blessing. With you, I feel heard, and cherished in a way I never thought possible. You've brought light into my darkest days and laughter into every corner of my life.”
Tears prick in my eyes.
“I vow to stand by your side through every high and low life throws our way. I promise to support you, encourage you, and lift you up. I will be your partner in all things. I promise to love you fiercely and unconditionally, to cherish every moment we share together, and to never take for granted the gift of your presence in my life.”
Tears are streaming down my face by the time he finishes.
“Enzo, you are the love of my life. Nothing I can say will ever be close to what I feel for you, so I want to make my commitment show it instead. I love you and I promise to be by your side today, tomorrow, and forever more.”
The minister smiles at us. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
Enzo’s lips come crashing down on mine. He’s careful about my pregnant belly, putting a gentle hand above it.
The baby kicks.
“Did you feel that?” I whisper to him as we pull away. “He’s happy, too.”
Enzo and I are practically glued to each other’s side as the rest of the reception goes on.
“I think you’ve just set a new trend,” Luciana says to me when she catches up to me at the reception. “Everyone is going to want a ceremony at nine months pregnant now. It’s just too iconic.”
“I guess I’m a bit of a trendsetter then, aren’t I?” I grin.
Luciana and I have developed a friendship that I would not trade for anything. Though I am technically supposed to be her ‘stepmother,’ it really does not feel that way.
“He’s about to come out any day now,” Alessio chimes in. “I’ve always wanted a younger sibling.”
“Younger by two decades?” Luciana glares at him. “You’ll practically be his uncle.”
“Hey, we don’t age-shame in this family. Don’t you know this by now?” He grins, and then turns to me. “Sorry about that, Quinn. Luciana is just too cranky when she is at that time of the month.”
“Watch it.” She narrows her eyes at him.
It’s amusing to see their sibling dynamics unfold.
Valentino has made it to the wedding as well, despite his busy schedule. Under his leadership, the company has been doing really well, and Enzo could not be prouder of his oldest child.
“Congratulations, Q,” Valentino says to me, earnestly. “Who knew the woman behind a profile I picked out with my marketing team would end up being my stepmother?”
I laugh. Truly, we have all come so far.
“Don’t call me stepmother. It makes me sound ancient.”
“Fine. Quinn only, then.”
Enzo finds me again, kissing the side of my cheek. He’s surprisingly okay with PDA, which is surprising given how careful he was in our early days. I take it as a sign of just how much our relationship has grown, for the better.
“Do you want to sit down, honey?”
I nod, noticing the dull ache on my back that’s beginning to spread. Carrying a six-pound baby at all hours of the day tends to have that effect.
“Come here.” He pats on his lap.
My eyes widen. “Everyone can see us.”
“All the better. I’m with my wife, that’s not a crime. Hell, I hope they even record it.”
I won’t be recording anything anymore unless it’s family memories for us to enjoy.
I left the influencer world behind completely, with my old account now defunct.
When I moved in, Enzo told me I didn’t need to work if I didn’t want to.
I didn’t want to feel useless, so I worked a few hours a day, focused on expanding my social media business.
It’s funny. The hate comments that would haunt me to no end, I barely even remembered them anymore. After finding happiness in my life, I tuned out every other source of negativity.
I sit down on his lap, and he wraps his arms around me, nuzzling my neck. “Good girl. I want you like this always.”
Alessio captures the moment on his camera, but I don’t mind. These little moments will go into the album, and one day, years from now, my baby will know his parents loved each other very much.
“How do you feel, Mrs. Marchetti?” Enzo whispers in my ear in a sultry voice.
The doctor asked us to be careful, as the baby can arrive any day now. But when he talks to me like that, I want to pull him to the nearest empty room and let him take me.
“Happy and so, so pregnant.”
He laughs, kissing the top of my head. “Honey, I’m just waiting for you to deliver this one so I can put another one inside of you. You’re too perfect.”
I can’t tell if he’s joking or not, but I’m on board with the idea.
A big family with Enzo is a dream come true.
“I’ll give you a little bit of break, though,” he adds as an afterthought. “We have to travel the world together before we knock you up a second time.”
“How generous,” I tease.
***
Later, he has me naked on his bed to consummate our wedding.
“My dick is throbbing for you,” he moans. “But I’ll wait, honey.”
The wait only applies to him, as he begins to work his tongue lapping my clit, with his fingers inside of me. Waves of my orgasm wash over me, leaving a mess on his bed.
Well, our bed.
As I'm about to sit up to return the favor, Enzo stands over me fisting his thick cock, bringing himself to his own release.
The warmth of his cum cover my pregnant belly.
Fuck, as if my husband couldn't get any sexier.
After helping to me clean up with a warm towel on my belly, Enzo hands me a cold bottle of water and some snacks from the kitchen.
“I love you so much,” is the last thing I hear before I drift off to sleep, tired after an exhausting yet incredible day.
I wake up the next morning and go brush my teeth. A cheeky smile forms on my lips as I notice Enzo has gotten me a new toothbrush.
It’s engraved, too.
Mrs. Marchetti.
The words have such a great ring to them that I want to savor them forever.
I’m in the middle of removing my clothes to get into the shower when a stream of liquid starts streaming down my leg.
“ Enzo! My waters broke.”
The next couple of hours pass by in a blur. I’m sweaty, screaming, panting. The labour takes longer than I thought. But Enzo is in the delivery room the whole time.
“One final push,” the doctor says to me.
And I do it, with everything I can muster inside of me.
And then, an immense feeling of joy washes over me.
“Congratulations. It is a boy.”