Extended Epilogue
VALENTINA
Two years later
Our son refuses to walk down the aisle unless Nico carries him.
Vincenzo has been bribed with snacks, flowers, promises, threats, and one very small velvet pillow tied with fake rings because I am not stupid enough to give a two-year-old actual wedding rings.
He remains unmoved. He stands in the sand in his tiny linen suit, one curl falling over his forehead, glaring at the aisle like it’s his sworn enemy.
Sebastian is at the end of that aisle, looking devastatingly handsome.
He’s wearing a dark suit because apparently even a beach wedding isn’t enough to convince Sebastian DeLuca to wear linen pants.
The ocean stretches behind him, the late afternoon sun turning the water gold, and Matteo stands beside him with a small book in his hand because he somehow got ordained for this.
Gia stands beside me at the back of the crowd in a champagne dress, holding my bouquet in one hand and blotting under her eyes with the other.
“If you ruin your makeup before the ceremony starts, I’m demoting you,” I tell her.
“I’m your maid of honor. You cannot demote me.”
“I can make Matteo my maid of honor.”
She looks at him, then back at me. “That would be upsetting for everyone.”
Across the sand, Nico crouches in front of Vincenzo and says something too low for me to hear. My son considers him with the intense suspicion of a tiny mob boss, then lifts both arms.
Nico picks him up.
The entire guest list laughs, which is easy because the entire guest list is about twenty people. No massive ballroom. No donor list. No photographers shouting instructions. No one trying to turn my wedding into a social event with security concerns and a floral budget large enough to offend God.
Just us. Family, a few trusted friends, and the ocean.
Nico carries Vinnie down the aisle, holding the fake ring pillow in one hand while Vinnie waves at people like he arranged the whole thing himself. When they reach the front, our son immediately reaches for Sebastian.
“Dada,” he demands.
Sebastian takes him without hesitation, and my heart does a little somersault.
“Traitor,” Nico mutters as he makes his way back to me.
Our son lays his head on Sebastian’s shoulder and looks smug.
My dress is simple, at least by wedding standards.
Soft white fabric, thin straps, a low back, no giant train for me to trip over while walking through sand.
Gia cried when I tried it on. Nico cried too but lied and said he had allergies.
Sebastian didn’t see it until today because I may be modern about many things, but I still wanted one good surprise.
Judging by his face when I start walking toward him on Nico’s arm, I made the right choice. He looks like he forgot there are twenty other people standing there.
Three years ago, I would have hated being looked at like that.
Too much attention. Too much want. Too much certainty from a man who knew exactly what he wanted and had the power to chase it.
Today, I walk toward him without feeling the need to bolt in the opposite direction just to prove I still can.
I reach him, and Sebastian shifts Vinnie onto one hip so he can take my hand.
“You look beautiful,” he says.
“You look hot.”
His mouth curves.
“I mean, literally,” I amend. “You look like you’re about to melt into the sand.”
He rolls his eyes and squeezes my hand gently.
Matteo clears his throat.
“I hate to interrupt, but I do have a ceremony to perform.”
Gia laughs behind me. Nico mutters something that sounds like “God help us,” and Vinnie grabs at Sebastian’s boutonniere.
The ceremony is short because I insisted on that and because Matteo knows better than to test me on my wedding day. He says a few words about family, loyalty, partnership, and love. They’re surprisingly thoughtful, which I will not tell him because he already thinks highly enough of himself.
When it’s time for vows, Sebastian goes first. He keeps one hand in mine and the other on our son’s back because our son has decided the ceremony is the perfect time for a nap. His voice is steady, but I see the emotion in his face. I know where to look now.
“I promised you once that if you said no, I wouldn’t punish you for it,” he says.
“I meant that. I still mean it. So today, I’m not promising to protect you like you’re something I own.
I’m promising to stand beside you because you choose me.
I’m promising to listen when you tell me I’m wrong, even when I hate it.
I’m promising to love you, to love our son, and to keep building a life where you feel safe because you are safe, not because I decided it for you. ”
Gia makes a sound behind me that suggests she has lost the makeup battle completely.
When it’s my turn, I take a breath and hold his hand a little tighter.
“I used to think safe meant alone,” I say. “Just me, my work, my house, no room for anyone else. Then you came along, and I knew I’d never want to be alone again.”
Sebastian’s thumb moves over mine.
“I promise to choose you. Not because you made me safe. Not because Vinnie makes us a family. Because I love you, and because the life we built is what I want more than anything in this world.”
For a second, no one speaks.
Then our son lifts his head from Sebastian’s shoulder and says, very clearly, “Snack.”
Everyone laughs.
Matteo grins at him. “We’re almost done.”
He gets through the rest quickly after that. Rings, a few official words, one pointed look at Vinnie when he tries to eat Sebastian’s boutonniere again. Then Matteo smiles at us with a gleam in his eyes.
“You may kiss your bride,” he says.
Sebastian hands Vinnie to Nico, who takes him with far more emotion than he will ever admit to later. Then Sebastian turns back to me, both hands coming to my waist.
“May I kiss you, Mrs. DeLuca?”
“Is this a bad time to mention I’m not changing my name?”
He laughs as he leans down to kiss me. Gia cheers. Nico groans. Vinnie claps because everyone else is making noise and he hates being left out. The ocean crashes behind us, the sun sinks over the water, and Sebastian holds me like I’m the most important person in his whole world.
The End