Chapter 18
Elli
Saturday
Sitting in my bedroom, I’m looking at myself in the large mirror over the dresser, where a beautiful bride is looking back at me.
I never realized I would, or could look so stunning.
I knew I would eventually marry Nico, and he has been less mafiary than I thought he’d be.
I giggle at my own thoughts of him being less Mafia in my mind.
I had expected a hard, cold man, yet he is anything but that.
He has been very considerate from the start.
I have to admit after that kiss I’m not averse to marrying him anymore as he made my toes curl.
Tia has been giving Bruno the stink-eye every time she has seen him because she wanted to wear a white pantsuit, and he wouldn’t hear of it.
He wants a bride, a real one, with a long white dress, veil and the rest of it.
I giggled when she stamped on his foot in frustration, which had him hopping from one foot to the other while cursing under his breath.
Thinking of Tia seems to have her materialize.
The door flies open and she rushes in, all dressed up in her wedding dress.
Her veil, however, is askew and I swallow the giggle that crawls up my throat as she curses, pushes me to the left and takes a seat next to me, all the while straightening the veil clip on top of her head.
“This is all your fault, you know that, don’t you, Elli? If you were not promised to the fricking boss of this lot, we would have been able to live our lives as we were.”
“Yeah, but we would have been working with Pesto Pete forever, washing dishes, getting wrinkles and aging fast.”
I keep a straight face after my comment while running a shiny lip gel over my lips.
Sitting calmly now, Tia looks at me in the mirror while reaching out and holding my hand.
“We are going to be alright, aren’t we?”
This is the first time I’ve seen Tia show nerves of any kind.
I squeeze her hand and smile softly.
“Yeah, we are going to be just fine.
We are going to rule this family.
You and I are going to make sure the women are put in their place, support them if needed, or anything else when needed.
We can do this together.
We are sisters by different mothers and fathers, after all.”
“Yeah, we are.
You know I have to go live in that mansion, so I’ll not be with you physically on a daily basis?”
“Yeah, but we have phones.
We can meet up at your place, mine, or go out.
We call them luncheons, or some other thing.”
I know all the ways the women of this world work, but they’ve not met Tia yet, and that’s going to be a shock, especially when she has the Don’s wife in her corner.
“Do you want to walk down to Bruno with me and Alex? You can hold one of his arms and I can hold the other.
We are sisters, so that is his job now, and we don’t want him taking me, then turning around and running back to get you, like you are leftover luggage.”
Tia giggles at the last of my comment, but smiles.
“Yes, if he wouldn’t mind doing that.”
“Of course I won’t mind doing that.
I gained an extra sister, but you know, don’t cause me as much trouble as my first sister has,”
Alex appeared surprising both of us, but he’s grinning and holds his arms out for us to take one each.
Walking down a red carpet sprinkled with rose petals, both myself and Tia hold on to Alex tightly.
An arch has been built which has roses twining around it.
Under the arch are the minister, Bruno and Nico, who is wearing a look of love as he is looking at me.
Love? Maybe in time.
The wedding doesn’t take long and the only people attending are Yasmine along with the house staff, and the made men that are probably soldiers on mine and Tia’s side of the aisle.
The Consigliere and the Capos are all sitting on the other side of the aisle.
I notice this when the wedding and vows have been said, and we have turned to walk back to the mansion and the reception that is being held.
Turning to Tia, I give her a huge smile when the vows have been completed, and the kiss given.
Tia’s face is as red as a lobster, and I’m not sure if it is with embarrassment or shock from the kiss.
Nico
I am delighted that the wedding went with no hitches, and the image of gunfire and chaos that was mentioned previously didn’t happen.
When Elli walked toward me, next to Alex, she was the only one I could see.
She was and is beautiful, and when she smiles, it lights up her entire face.
I know that I am already more than half in love with this woman.
She, I admit, is sassy, but has a heart as large as a lioness.
I count myself very lucky to have her.
I can’t wait for our lives to begin.
At the reception I danced for hours with my wife, giving her and only her my attention.
Aeron is making sure everything runs smoothly, and Bruno! Well, he disappeared with his wife over an hour ago.
Taking her to their home where I’m sure they’ll be busy for at least a few days.
Knowing Bruno, he will not allow Tia out of the bedroom until he’s well and truly claimed her.
There will be no question about her being onboard fully with the marriage after he’s finished persuading her.
Taking Elli’s hand, I lead her out of the reception room and up the stairs, where I pick her up and carry her to our bedroom.
Kicking open the door, I walk inside and slowly lower her onto her feet.
“Wife, it’s time to get to business.”
Blushing furiously, Elli gives me a heated look in return before turning for me to undo the hundreds of buttons running down the back of the dress.
We get busy and stay busy for two days, and I only answer any calls that I class as important, or answer the door when Aeron knocks.
“What’s wrong?”
I ask Aeron as I keep the door pulled behind me so he cannot see Elli sleeping.
“Your Uncle Edwardo has died.
We just got word.
Your cousin is taking over, and he’s holding a peaceful hand out toward you.
Do you want to go to the funeral?”
“No.
Respond and say thank you for the information, but we won’t be attending the funeral as we have our own celebrations happening at this time,”
I respond.
“From this point, I have no inclination to remain in contact.
But, I won’t be preparing for any war towards them either.
I am happy for my cousin to rule his territory, and hope he will have a good life.”
“I’ll deal with this, Nico.
Congratulations again on your wedding.”
Hearing Elli stirring behind me in the bedroom I give Aeron a nod, and turn back to my wife.
I love thinking that as it has such a ring to it.
‘My Wife.’
The week after our wedding, I walk into the large warehouse, which is filled to the brim with all my made men.
From Underboss to the lowest of Soldier.
Holding my hand at the base of Elli’s back as we take our place in front of everyone.
“Vincholetti men, meet my wife, Elliana Vincholetti.
You will address her as Mrs.
Vincholetti or Donna, unless given permission otherwise.
She is not to be disrespected in any form at any time.
All wives will be addressed by my wife and the Underboss’s wife, Tia Floro.”
To my utter surprise, the room as a whole takes a knee and Elli flushes at the sight.
I notice one at the back of the room who is scowling at Tia, and I give a side-eye to Bruno, who hasn’t missed the fact.
Before anyone can do anything, one of the soldiers notices and lunges for him, bringing him to his knees, holding his head back right before he looks at Elli with a question in his eye.
Turning to look at Elli as I want to see her reaction, I’m more than surprised when she points to her forehead and fires an imaginary weapon.
The soldier shoots the one he’s holding in the head, drops the body, then takes his knee, showing everyone in the room his respect for me, but more importantly, my wife.
Elli has just secured her place as the Don’s wife, showing she will be ruthless if necessary.
Alex, who is standing in front of us, is looking proudly at his sister, and it has to feel good for Elli to see that.
A weak wife of a Don is a liability, and now I know that isn’t going to be the case for me.
Elli
I know I have to be strong, but sentencing someone to death isn’t easy.
I’m sure it’s going to prey on my mind for a long time.
If I’m going to rule alongside Nico, which is what he intends, then I have to remain strong, and capable of making hard decisions.
Tia has called me several times and shown her support.
She isn’t a meek person with the background she has had.
Growing up for her was more than difficult.
But she is the best sister I could have had, even though we are not blood.
Today we are holding an afternoon luncheon.
This is going to be fun.
Well, maybe not, depending on what happens with the women that we are going to be meeting and entertaining.
Capos and made men’s wives, girlfriends, and mistresses, all wanting to have a piece of one another.
Yeah, maybe not fun!
“You ready, Elli?” Tia asks.
Picking up my purse I turn to speak to Tia and come to a sudden stop, because is this woman my Tia? “Oh.
My.
Goodness.
You look stunning, Tia.”
“Well, this woman has been coming to the house.
Bruno, of course, sent her.
She has filled up a walk-in closet to the brim, mind you, with clothing of every kind you can imagine.
But Elli, the lingerie! Well, I’ve so many lacy bits you’ve no idea.
Some are so tiny they are not worth wearing,”
Tia giggles, and as she looks at me she has a flush on her cheeks.
I grab her hand and drag her to my closet.
We both laugh at the scandalous amount of clothing I have inside.
Opening the dresser drawer, I pick up a tiny piece of lace which you can’t really call panties, and raise an eyebrow at Tia, who slaps a hand over her mouth as she laughs.
“Come on, let’s go get this show on the road.”
I grasp Tia’s hand once more and drag her out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and out the front door to the waiting Escalade.