Chapter 26 Aurelia
Aurelia
Constantine didn’t say much about what had happened in Rome, but I knew he was in a good place because he had his usual sexual appetite. He relaxed against the headboard with me on top of him, his big hands cupping my pregnant stomach like it turned him on rather than revolted him.
My body changed slowly, but as the changes became more prominent, I became more self-conscious.
I was forced to buy new clothes because my hips were wider, my feet were fatter.
I gained weight everywhere, even though the only thing that should have gotten bigger was my stomach.
My metabolism must have changed because my eating habits weren’t any different.
My body was just determined to hold on to as much fat as possible, like the baby needed it.
Constantine was rock hard, slabs of muscles separated by indentations of his skin, a god who lived and breathed, but he continued to worship me like I was the hot one in the relationship.
Not even close.
He stared at my stomach as I moved on top of him, felt my belly with worshipful hands, had to edge himself over and over like all he wanted to do was come. He’d never struggled before, but the bigger my stomach got, the worse it became.
As if it really did turn him on like crazy.
My tits got bigger too, and he definitely liked that. Groped them all the time the way he used to grope my ass.
When we finished our lovemaking, he spooned me from behind, his hand resting on my stomach. He kissed the back of my shoulder before he buried his face in my hair because he liked the way it smelled.
Then he said the sweetest thing. “I can’t wait to marry you, sweetheart.”
Just when I couldn’t love him more, he made me fall head over heels. The wedding was in a week. It felt a lifetime away but also imminent at the same time. I already had my dress and everything planned because Constantine and Sofia had the connections to make anything happen on such short notice.
I was excited to be his wife, but I was also excited to start this new chapter in life, to finally leave the past behind and turn the page. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
My hand rested over his on my stomach. “Did you get your brother back?”
There was a pause like I’d pressed a button he tried to hide from me. “Yes.”
“Good.”
He was quiet.
“We should go visit sometime.”
“Yeah, we should.”
I turned around and faced him, and the second our eyes met, he hiked my leg over his hip to bring us closer together.
He looked at me with tired eyes, but eyes that were fulfilled and at peace.
“Is this really enough for you?” I whispered.
“Us and a restaurant and a dog and two nephews to watch sometimes?”
“When have I ever given you the impression I was unhappy?” His eyes continued to bore into mine with a haze of calm and peace, not exhaustion like he was ready to sleep, just a subtle bit of Zen. “Are you happy?”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because maybe once you’ve had a taste for that life, that’s what you really want.”
I didn’t have to think twice about it. “I never want to feel the way I did a few days ago, when I was terrified you wouldn’t come home.
I never want to see you with another bullet in your arm.
I never want to watch Medusa stare at the door every day, waiting for you to walk through it.
Your family feels like my family, and I love our quiet little life here.
I just . . . want to make sure it’s enough for you.
Because I’ll go back and do it all if it’ll make you happy. ”
His stare didn’t change. He didn’t cut me off like he had before when we discussed this.
He hung on every word like he wanted to memorize it forever.
“There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that this is what I want.
And you know I wouldn’t lie to you, sweetheart.
I’ll sleep just fine knowing Rocco’s got it covered. ”
I could finally relax, be happy without feeling selfish about it. “Okay.”
“Rocco asked if he could buy my place in Rome. I said yes, as long as we get to stay there when we’re in town. Is that okay?”
“You’re going to sell it to him?”
“I can’t imagine why we would need it. Unless you have a problem with that.”
“It’s such a legacy property. Those houses don’t come up, like, ever.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “I won’t sell it if you don’t want me to.”
“No, it’s your place. You should decide—”
“Our place. Come on, you’ve been my wife since the moment we met. A piece of paper doesn’t make that more true. Just true for lawyers.”
Sweetest, hottest man alive. “You’re right. We probably won’t use it. But I guess . . . what if our child ever wants it? What if they want to move to Rome when they become an adult and start a life there?”
He gave a quiet breath like he was in pain.
“They aren’t even born yet, and I can’t stand the thought—especially if it’s a girl.
I never really understood my mother’s perspective about the three of us until I realized I would be a parent myself.
Everything hits different now. She was supportive of me when I decided to move to Palermo, and now I realize how hard that actually was for her.
I know she still goes to the cemetery every day to visit my brother, and when I imagine going through something like that myself . . . I can’t breathe.”
I moved my hand to his arm and squeezed it.
His eyes drifted off somewhere else, his thoughts clouded by his sorrow. “We’ll keep it. I’ll tell Rocco I’m happy to share it with him. It’s such a big place, so someone should live there. And now he needs something of that caliber for protection.”
“He gets to live there for free, so that’s nice.”
“Fuck no, he doesn’t,” he said with a slight chuckle. “He’s gotta cover the utilities and the staff.”
“That’s fair.”
He lay there for a while, the silence trickling by. His eyes stayed on me all the while. “I know we can’t go too far for our honeymoon, so I thought we could stay at that hotel where we met.”
“Ooh, that’s a perfect idea.”
“Yeah?” he asked with a smile.
“Room service whenever we want, sex all day, right there at the ocean . . .”
“Good. I like it too.”
“What about Medusa? Can she come with us?”
“I’m not taking her on our honeymoon,” he said with a chuckle. “She can stay with my mom.”
“I’ll miss her.”
He pulled me a little closer to him, my belly against his rock-hard stomach. “Trust me, you’ll be too busy to miss her.”
The wedding was in just a few days.
Everything had been planned and scheduled.
I had my wedding dress in the closet. His mother knew everyone in Taormina, so she had no problem booking everything at the last minute.
The ceremony would be at the Duomo di Taormina, the church right in the heart of the village, where Constantine and I met up before he took me on a private tour.
He said it was the only request he had because his mother would never forgive him for getting married anywhere else but within the walls of a church.
I didn’t care where we got married anyway. As long as Constantine was there, we could get married in a coal mine or a zoo. If it was important to his mother, then she could have whatever she wanted. I was just grateful that she would be my mother too.
The reception would be on an outdoor terrace at one of the hotels, right on the cliff’s edge over the sea, an enormous space that could accommodate five hundred guests . . . because that was how many people were coming.
Because, again, they knew literally everyone.
It was my last day at the restaurant. Constantine and I had both decided that we needed to focus on our own restaurant, our honeymoon, and preparing for the baby.
I was sad to leave Rosticceria Da Cristina, because it was the place where I became closer to his cousin Antonio and his sister Beatrice.
I got to spend time with cousins and family friends.
But the bigger I got, the more painful it became to stand all day, and I was grateful that Constantine was able to take care of me so I didn’t have to work if I didn’t want to.
I finished prepping for the day, so I was supposed to wait tables through the lunch rush. My shirt was a little tight on my stomach and really put my belly on display, so there was no doubt I was pregnant, and everyone congratulated me every day.
Beatrice ripped off her gloves and came to my side. “Can’t believe it’s your last day. Gonna miss having you around here.”
“Me too. I’ve learned so much and have gotten to know you all so well.”
Antonio came from one of the other kitchens. “You can always come back, you know?”
“And if you and Con don’t work out for some reason, we’ll keep you and drop him,” Beatrice said. “He’s kind of a prick anyway.”
Antonio squeezed his thumb and forefinger together. “A little.”
When I’d first come to Taormina, I didn’t know where I stood with these people, but now I felt like one of them. “Thank you, guys. It really means the world to me.”
“So excited for the wedding,” she said. “And honored to be your maid of honor.”
“I’m a little irritated that Constantine asked some random guy named Rocco to be his best man, but at least I’m a groomsman,” Antonio said.
I smiled. “It was a hard decision, for sure. He loves all you guys.”
“Well, try to relax and don’t stress,” Beatrice said. “Weddings can drive people crazy.”
“I’m not stressed,” I said. “If the cake doesn’t make it or the decorations are wrong or the dress is too tight on my stomach . . . I don’t really care. All I care about is Constantine being at the end of the aisle when I get there. And I know he will be.”