31. Isa
ISA
One month.
That was how long it took for the doctor to clear me, and that was all the time Elio gave me before we married.
I was in Elio’s bedroom—our bedroom—looking at myself in the mirror when a knock sounded.
“Come in,” I said.
Luna and Giulia opened the door, gasping when they caught sight of me.
“Oh my God. You look stunning. Elio is going to lose his shit when he gets a good look at you.”
I smiled at Giulia’s words. “You think so?”
Luna nodded in agreement. “You look beautiful.”
“Both of you look beautiful as well,” I said, and they did. The pale-pink bridesmaid dresses looked amazing on them both.
“We do, don’t we?” Giulia said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Luna and I shared a look and a smile. I had gotten closer to the two of them after getting discharged from the hospital, and they both insisted on visiting me every day at Elio’s house while I recovered.
I didn’t think I ever officially moved into this house.
Elio just brought me here, and slowly but surely, all my stuff just started to show up at random places in the house, as if it had always had a place there before.
And more new things showed up every day.
An entire new wardrobe one day, a laptop the next, and even jewelry that I was sure cost about as much as most people’s houses.
And before I knew it, the doctor cleared me, and now…
I moved over to the mirror and looked at myself in the off-the-shoulder, white lace, princess-style wedding dress.
I felt like I was living in a fairy tale.
My makeup was kept light, with red lipstick as my only bold choice, and my long, dark hair was tied in a low, loose bun.
I thought I looked beautiful.
Giulia and Luna stood on either side of me. I smiled at them through the reflection in the mirror.
“Are there a lot of people out there?” I asked.
If I had it my way, we would have a small wedding with a few close people around. But Elio, being Massimo’s brother and right-hand man, meant there were a lot of people who would want to attend his wedding.
They would take offense if they weren’t invited.
Giulia nodded. “A good amount for the ceremony. There will be much more later on at the reception.”
Right.
“Come on,” Luna said. “It’s almost time. We don’t want to keep the groom waiting.”
“Yeah, you know how impatient Elio can be.”
I smiled a little at that. Elio was the most patient man I’d ever met, except for when it came to me, hence this rushed wedding.
They helped me down the stairs, ensuring I made it safely without falling flat on my face. Valentino stood at the base, already waiting for me in his dark tux. His hair was slicked back, and his light-brown eyes glowed when he saw me. He looked handsome.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said, holding his arm out for me. I walked into his tight embrace as Giulia and Luna headed out to the backyard, where the ceremony was to take place, giving us this small moment.
Valentino had been treating me like I was fragile glass ever since I was in the hospital, and I didn’t think that was going to let up anytime soon.
“I’m okay,” I said when he pulled away from the hug. “I’ll be okay.”
He nodded, even if a part of him didn’t look convinced. “Make sure he treats you well.”
“Elio loves me. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Good. I would hate to have to kick his ass.”
I laughed.
“I’m being serious.”
“I know,” I said. I knew he would always look out for me, no matter what.
“And you know you’ll always have a place with me, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“That room in my apartment will always be yours.”
“Valentino, you’re going to make me cry.”
He shook his head. “I still remember the day Dad brought you home from the hospital. You were so little. And I loved you from the start.”
I looked off to the side. “It was the day you lost your mom.”
“Our mom,” he corrected. “And that wasn’t your fault.”
“She would probably still be here if she hadn’t given birth to me.”
“Or perhaps she would still be here if she’d had better doctors.” He shrugged. “We can’t dwell on the what-ifs in life. We can just forge on and try to live as well as we can.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Good.” He didn’t say anything for a moment. “I never thought anyone was good enough for you. I still don’t. It’s one of the many reasons I didn’t want to set up a marriage for you.”
“One of the reasons?”
“I hated the idea of an arranged marriage. Sounds fucking archaic.”
“It is,” I agreed.
He nodded. “And I wanted you to fall in love first. I wanted it to be your choice.” I shot him a look, and he gave me a cheeky smile. “I know that sounds unbelievable, considering I didn’t really let any other fucker close to you, but truly, I wanted you to be able to choose.”
“Tino…”
“I’m glad you picked him. I still don’t think he’s good enough for you, but he’s the best option so far.”
I slapped his chest, and he chuckled.
He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I love you,” he whispered against my skin.
Tears sprang to my eyes from his words. “I love you too.”
A cough sounded to our left, and we both turned to see Massimo standing there.
Valentino tensed and straightened.
“Can I have a moment with the bride?”
Valentino hesitated for a brief second before he nodded, looked over at me once, and then headed out to the backyard.
Massimo stepped closer to me, and I resisted the urge to move back. Out of all of Elio’s siblings, I knew Massimo the least.
He had always been so elusive, and the fact that he had the reputation of being the “Beast of Las Vegas” didn’t help.
I shifted awkwardly on my feet when he didn’t say anything right away. Then, “I don’t usually get involved in my men’s family matters.”
I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.
Was it something Valentino said that he heard and didn’t like?
I didn’t say anything, and he continued, “But I should have been more involved with the Gambino family when Elio first showed his interest in you. I knew it wasn’t going to be fleeting like his other flings. ”
I grimaced at the word flings , and Massimo took a step closer to me. “For that, I am sorry.”
I paused before looking at him, my brows furrowing. “Why are you apologizing to me?”
“I should have stepped in sooner. Maybe then, you wouldn’t have spent so long under Joseph’s control.”
Oh.
I never blamed him for that. It wasn’t Massimo’s fault that I had a shitty father growing up.
“We can’t dwell on the what-ifs in life,” I said, repeating Valentino’s words.
Massimo nodded. “You’re right about that.
We can’t change the past. But we can change ourselves for the future.
And I wanted to take this time to welcome you to the family.
I want you to know you’re one of mine now.
And I always take care of what’s mine. So if you ever need anything, you can come to me. ”
For the first time since he came by, I smiled at him. He didn’t smile back at me, not that I had expected him to, but his eyes softened.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“I mean every word, sweetheart.”
I nodded. “You know, they were wrong about you.”
His lips twisted in that familiar way Elio’s did when he was amused by something. “And what are they wrong about?”
“You’re not the Beast of Las Vegas. You’re sweet.”
He didn’t say anything. Then he threw his head back and laughed. My smile widened.
“How about we keep that between the two of us, yeah? I still have a reputation to protect, you know.”
I nodded. Made sense. His reputation probably kept a lot of the bad people away.
I held out my pinkie. “I will.”
He looked at it for one long second before hooking his pinkie with mine, winking at me.
“Come on. Let’s get you out there. The ceremony is about to begin.”
I nodded and let Massimo lead me out to the backyard to where Valentino was standing, waiting for me. I stayed by his side as the music played, and all the groomsmen and bridesmaids walked out. Valentino was walking me down the aisle.
“Tino?” I asked him, just before Gisele, our wedding planner, gave us our signal to walk.
He tightened his arm around me. “Yeah?”
“You won’t let go until the end?”
“I won’t let go until the very end,” he said.
Gisele gave us the signal, and we slowly walked down the small, makeshift aisle.
I took a deep breath as my eyes briefly moved to all the people standing there, watching.
There were a lot of familiar faces, but I didn’t much care for them, save for a select few.
Maura stood somewhere in the middle. Tears were running down her face as she shot me a happy smile.
I smiled back at her.
Maura would be coming to work for Elio and me soon, and I couldn’t be happier to have her close by.
I moved my eyes away, and they clashed with Chiara’s, standing with her family. Her expression soured. I looked away from her without reacting.
She wasn’t important.
My eyes moved up to the front, finding Elio’s right away, and it all just fell into place.
All my nervousness was gone, and in its place was a sort of calmness only ever achieved when you finally found your person.
And he was mine.
“I love you,” he mouthed to me.
More tears fell. I didn’t think I would make it through this day without crying at least once every hour.
“I love you,” I mouthed back to him, and his smile widened.
And Valentino did as he promised. He held onto me until the very end. By the time he handed me over to Elio, his eyes were red and watery.
I turned and looked at him. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on my cheek before turning to Elio. “Take good care of my girl.”
“Always,” Elio answered him, gently pulling me toward him. I pressed in as close as I could get, taking in his familiar scent that always brought me comfort.
I didn’t remember much of the ceremony after that.
I kept my eyes on Elio.
He was all that existed in my world.
My heart stalled for a fraction of a second before picking up speed when he placed that ring on my finger. It was a miracle I didn’t drop his ring when I put it on him.
“I do,” Elio said, smiling softly at me.
“I do,” I repeated.
Then the officiant said the words I had wanted to hear since I was a little girl.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. De Luca. You may now kiss the bride.”
Applause erupted, but I paid them no mind when Elio wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close to him, and he kissed me, and kissed me, and kissed me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, savoring the taste of our first kiss as husband and wife.
The first of many, I vowed.