Chapter 38
RAFE
Two days later…
We're in Paris for our honeymoon. Not a safehouse, not a secluded villa, but a penthouse high enough to see the Eiffel Tower.
My ring's heavy on my finger. A simple, masculine gold band that matches hers. A constant, comforting weight that reminds me of her, of us. A symbol of the unbreakable tether that now binds me to her, a tether I willingly embraced.
And Nikki? She's on my lap. We're sprawled on a plush velvet couch overlooking the city, the afternoon sun streaming through the panoramic windows. She's curled against me, her body a perfect fit against mine.
"Don't you have work to do?" she asks, her voice muffled against my shirt. She runs her fingers through my hair, a soft, soothing touch that relaxes me in ways I never thought possible.
"Don't you have followers to disappoint?" I counter, pressing my mouth to her bare thigh, just above the hem of her silk robe. The taste of her is sweet, intoxicating. I want to spend the rest of my life here, consuming her.
She laughs against my chest and I feel the vibration of her laughter. "I already posted the wedding reel. Remember? The one from Florence? The secret chapel. The vows. The kiss. It broke the internet. We're trending. #Rikki is a brand now."
I groan like it physically pains me. The truth? I love it. I love the distraction she creates, the new narrative that shields us both. But I don't move. I just tighten my arm around her, pulling her closer, burying my face in her hair.
She kisses my forehead, her skin soft beneath my lips. And whispers the truth only I get to hear, the truth she's finally, truly, brave enough to speak aloud, without fear, without reservation.
"I'd go viral a thousand times if it meant I got to end up with you, Rafe. If it meant I got to keep you. If it meant I got to live this crazy, dangerous, terrifyingly real life with you. My whole life. Every single moment."
I look up at her. Something shifts in my chest. It’s sharp, consuming, and terrifyingly honest. Love. Not the tame kind. The kind that carves you open. She does that to me. Undoes me without even trying.
And I say the one thing that matters now, the words a promise, a vow, a declaration that settles in her soul, solid and true. "I love you forever, Nikki. You and me. Against the world. Always."
It’s her caption that gets them later:
@NikkiRicci #marriedthemafiaprince. didn't die. 10/10 recommend. unless you're my ex. then maybe not.
We get thirty million likes in two hours. And one anonymous message that just says:
She's not untouchable.
Instead of deleting the comment, she reposts the photo with a new caption.
@NikkiRicci Try me. #RikkiForever