Chapter 28 Aurelia
Aurelia
The car pulled up as close as it could to the church, and we walked the rest of the way. I wore flip-flops because I wasn’t going to walk down the main path in heels. The cobblestone was cracked in lots of places, and I wouldn’t risk breaking my ankle at the eleventh hour . . . or ever.
Sofia held my arm and helped me to the courtyard with the fountain, water spouting from the mouths of horses, right outside the entrance to the church, where Constantine was waiting for me inside, along with hundreds of people.
My friends had made the trip and were my bridesmaids, but I also included some of his cousins, so it was a big bridal party. Constantine had ten guys in his lineup, so I tried to match.
Beatrice pulled out my heels from the bag she carried and got down on her knees to help me get them on.
“Nervous?” Sofia asked as she held me up for balance.
“The only thing I’m nervous about is getting there in one piece.”
She smiled. “Like that man would ever let you fall.”
“My dress is a little tight . . .” My stomach had gotten a little bigger since my last fitting, or I’d eaten a little too much. Wasn’t sure which.
“Good,” Sofia said. “You’re growing a healthy baby for my son, and that will make him so happy.”
The double doors opened, and Rocco stepped out in a black suit and tie, dark hair and dark eyes like Constantine. He came over when he spotted us, and I noticed how silent all the girls fell the second he approached.
“You look beautiful,” he said. “Constantine sent me out to check on things. He’s impatient, as always.”
“I was running a little late,” I said. “Had a hard time getting into my dress.”
“Definitely won’t have a hard time getting it off later,” he said.
I shot him a glare, because Constantine’s mother was right there.
“Oh, come on,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re already pregnant. Here, let me help you.” He came to me and scooped me up like I weighed nothing, carrying me the rest of the way to the double doors where everyone waited inside.
The girls followed close behind, staring at Rocco as if he’d just stepped out of a magazine.
“I’ll tell Con you’ll be right in.” He put me down, then let himself back inside the sanctuary, making sure the door didn’t expose me.
“Okay, I know it’s your day and everything,” Beatrice said. “But I think I speak on behalf of all of us when we say we want to know everything about that man.”
I chuckled. “All right, will do.”
The girls stepped into the church to take their places, and Sofia stayed outside with me. She fixed my hair and adjusted my dress until I was absolutely perfect. Then she extended her arm to me. “I’m honored to walk you down the aisle, Aurelia.”
I was already a ball of excited energy, but she made my heart expand in size. “Thank you for being the best mother-in-law I ever could have asked for.”
Her eyes softened. “Seeing my son happy means the world to me. But getting a daughter-in-law whom I truly love is a special gift in itself.” She pulled the door handle, both of the ushers propped it open, and we were hit with the organ music.
Once I adjusted to the darkness of the church compared to the bright sunshine outside, I saw all the rows of people standing and staring at me.
And then I saw him.
Standing next to the pope, in his finest suit, he looked at me just the way he did across the bar that night. Rocco was at his side, but Medusa also sat at his feet with a white bow tie around her neck, our rings tucked into a small box in the band.
I stopped as I stared at him, forgetting the room and all the people in it for a second.
Sofia continued to guide me forward, and it was an out-of-body experience, walking to him as his fiancée for the last time.
With every step I took, my heart pounded harder, the excitement and desperation growing exponentially.
My entire life had led up to this moment, when I would heal from the wounds that had bled me dry for so long.
I finally felt complete, this man loving me in a way no one else ever had, the child we made out of love growing in my belly. The past felt so distant, it was as if it had never happened at all, not when all I could think about was the exciting life that awaited us.
When I was close, he smiled. A full, cheek-to-cheek grin, so sincere and infectious, it nearly brought me to tears.
We came to a stop before him, and I suddenly felt numb and weightless and terrified and at peace . . . all at once.
Constantine kissed his mother on the cheek before he took my hand, guiding me when I’d suddenly lost my direction. He positioned me across from him in front of Pope Zephyrinus, and we stared into each other’s eyes while the pope gave a short sermon and blessed our union.
I didn’t listen to a word of it, lost in Constantine’s dark eyes.
He didn’t seem to hear it either, focused on my face with his usual intensity, like he could rip off my dress right then and there . . . or ask me to marry him again.
Pope Zephyrinus turned to Constantine first. “Do you take—”
“Yes, I fucking do.”
Quiet laughter filled the church at his enthusiasm.
Then Pope Zephyrinus turned to me, giving a slight chuckle himself. “And do you—”
“Oh yeah.”
Everyone in the church chuckled again.
Constantine smiled at me in a way he never had before, like he somehow loved me a little more.
“The rings,” Pope Zephyrinus said.
Constantine gave a quiet whistle and turned to Medusa.
She came closer to him and sat at his side.
He reached down and pulled the little box from her bow tie, then pulled out the rings. He took mine first and slipped it onto my ring finger, putting it next to the diamond there. Then he gave me his, which he’d picked out himself, a black band.
I slipped it onto his finger, over his knuckle, and felt an indescribable rush.
I just can’t believe this man is actually mine.
And not just today and maybe tomorrow . . . but forever.
The pope stepped back. “I now pronounce you husband—”
Constantine went for it, cupping my face in his hands and kissing me like we were home alone, pulling me into him like I was finally his to take.
My eyes were closed, and I could hear everyone cheering loudly for us, his mother’s voice most distinct of all.
Pope Zephyrinus continued with a sigh. “You may kiss the bride.”
Constantine dipped me like I weighed nothing and kissed me further, his other hand on my belly. Then he straightened me back up, grabbed my hand in his, and then lifted it to the ceiling, like we’d just won the Olympics or a political campaign.
Everyone cheered so loudly I couldn’t have even heard my own voice if I were to say anything.
We basked in the glow of everyone’s love and excitement, the applause vibrating off the stone walls of the ancient church, people throwing rice into the air, screaming like it was a concert with their favorite artist.
After a solid minute of us standing there together with our hands raised, he dropped my hand and scooped me into his arms before he tossed me up slightly, like a pillow on a bed, and carried me down the aisle, through the crowd of cheering friends and family, on the way to the rest of our lives.
Constantine and I had our moment together in front of the fountain as everyone filed out of the church, his arms around me as he held me close, looking at me like I was the single most precious thing in his life.
My sky-high heels were torture on my feet, but they gave me the kind of height that made our eyes somewhat level with each other. I didn’t want Constantine to have to bend his neck the entire day.
Everyone continued to stream out of the church and begin their journey to the reception about twenty minutes away. Some people stopped by to congratulate us, but mostly everyone left us alone while the photographers snapped photos of us together.
Pope Zephyrinus approached, flanked on both sides by his personal guards, and everyone scattered like a spooked school of fish.
“Congratulations to you both.” His hand moved to Constantine’s arm, and he gave him a pat.
“It was an honor joining you together in your holy union, but I must depart imminently.”
I couldn’t believe he made the trip in the first place. “Thank you so much, Your Holiness.”
He smiled at me and patted me on the arm. “I wish the best for you both.”
“Uncle, before you go, it would mean the world to me if you would bless our child,” Constantine said.
“Of course, my son.” Pope Zephyrinus moved his hand to my stomach, said a prayer, and then gave a short bow. “God is with your child, Constantine. I feel a spirit so distinct within the womb.”
Constantine’s hand moved to my stomach, and his eyes softened in a way they never had before. Like he would burst into tears at the touch, a sense of joy and pride for someone he didn’t know. “Thank you, Your Holiness.”
“Congratulations again.” He blessed each of us before he walked off, immediately surrounded by his private security like he was the president.
Constantine brought me close and brushed a kiss against my hairline. “Ready to party?”
“Absolutely. Just wish I could drink.”
“I’ll drink enough for the both of us,” he said with a grin. “How about that?”