Epilogue
Vince
“After all I did to make your restaurant the hottest place in town, and this is how you repay me?” Valentina stomps her foot. “Why does no one in this family acknowledge that I’m a wedding planner?”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “Sorry, but I wasn’t going to wait another second to marry Luna.” Now that I have my heart back, I’m never letting her go.
“And you.” Valentina points at Kat. “Lily and Darius. Now Luna and Vince. That’s two family weddings in a row; three, if you count your courthouse wedding.”
“It better fucking count.” Fabio appears behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Mazza. You’ve made an honest woman out of me.” Kat tilts her head and gives him a kiss before addressing Valentina. “When two people come to me desperately in love, you expect me to turn them away?”
“Yes! I have half a mind to bribe someone with the state and have your wedding officiant license revoked.” Valentina snaps her fingers at the workers. “The claw machines go on this wall! Wedding cake on the center table!” She spins around, nearly running into Sam. “And will somebody call an exterminator?”
“Excuse me,” I say, spotting Darius and his family.
I jerk my head toward the kitchen, disappearing to the back. “It’s done?” I ask when Darius joins me.
“Well done. Except for my steak. You know I like that shit medium rare.”
“The proper way to enjoy a steak,” I agree.
My hand moves to my suit pocket for an envelope of cash, but Darius shakes his head. “Consider it a wedding gift.”
“Thanks.” I give him a hug with a back slap.
“My pleasure.” With Darius, it probably was. The man takes a little too much pride in his work. Not that I’m complaining.
Luna’s mom was terminal, after all.
Luna
“I’m good enough.” I smile, checking out my white skater dress in the mirror. Turning around, I get a side view: it shows off my ribcage moon tattoo with the backless design, and I’m being a bad girl by not wearing panties. I’ll let Vince discover that little surprise.
Locking up our apartment, I walk downstairs to Ristorante Luna. I mean, come on! No woman’s ever been Stockholm syndromed this damn hard .
A gasp escapes my lips when I enter the main dining room. The space has been transformed into an arcade, with yellow roses adorning every square inch. On the back wall, a brunch buffet is set up, with a cook manning the emoji waffle station.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Rossi!” Nicky’s the first to greet me, and we hug. “Glad you figured it out.”
I laugh. “Me too.”
“Seriously. I’m so happy for you and Vince,” she says, giving me another squeeze.
Kat sidles up to us, greeting me with a hug. “Everyone be careful. Valentina’s on a rampage.”
Nicky shakes her head. “Valentina and Romeo. Two peas in a Parisi pod.”
“Oh, you got your ring!” Kat grabs my left hand, and she and Nicky ooh and ahh over my rose cut yellow diamond surrounded by gold accent roses.
Bridget and Aldo enter hand in hand, and I wave at them from across the room.
Vince appears from the kitchen, looking so damn handsome in his favorite three-piece suit I used to hate . I smile, and he smiles back at me.
“Aww, see. How could I say no to these two?” Kat says, catching me staring at my husband.
My husband. My smile grows so big my cheeks hurt.
Vince joins us, lacing his fingers through mine. “Excuse me, I need to borrow my wife for a moment.”
“Go,” Nicky says with a smile.
“This is why I risk life and limb,” Kat calls after us.
We pass a table with a beautiful white and yellow rose buttercream cake and I whisper, “If you smash wedding cake in my face, I’m stabbing you.”
Vince groans, whispering, “Don’t make my dick hard in front of our guests.” He leads me to a claw machine. “The first game belongs to you. ”
I rub my hands together before positioning the claw over my intended prize. Smacking the button for emphasis, the claw descends and grabs the bride and groom bears joined together by a heart, but the prize falls. “No!”
Vince moves behind me, his hand over mine as he helps move the joystick into position. I wiggle my ass against him, and he snakes a hand down, grabbing my ass cheek and giving it a rough squeeze. “You’re not wearing patines.” He growls in my ear. “Why do you have to be such a bad girl, piccola ?”
Because it’s so damn fun.
He hits the button, and the claw descends, grabbing a side of one of the bears, lifting the stuffed animals.
“Yes!”
The prize slips through the claw, landing on top of the pile.
“No! See, all these games are rigged!”
Vince moves to the side of the machine, spinning a key ring around his finger. He unlocks it, reaching inside and handing me the bears.
“The odds are always stacked in your favor,” I tease.
“Nah, I’m just the luckiest man in the world.”
I throw my arms around him, kissing him with reckless abandon—forever how I will kiss this man.
Later that evening, long after the party’s over, I’m perched in Vince’s lap on our rooftop deck, watching the sun make its descent. My lawn chess set takes up half of the space with a game in progress against myself; the other half is his outdoor kitchen.
Vince grabs a cherry from the bowl, watching my mouth intently as he feeds me. He holds out another one, but I shake my head, so full I could burst.
Leaning in, he surprises me by darting out his tongue and licking the juice dripping from my lips. “ Paradiso. Questa è la mia versione del paradiso ,” he tells me in reverence .
“Fuck me, Daddy,” I beg between desperate kisses.
I squeal as he repositions me face down on his lap. “No panties, to where any man could see this beautiful ass that belongs to me.”
Whack .
Heaven. This is my version of heaven.