39. Valerio
THIRTY-NINE
VALERIO
“Are you kidding me? I told you to hang the fabric elegantly, not half assed,” Gianna screamed at Dante, throwing her hands up in the air. “Useless, all of you.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s why I chose a life of crime, not wedding planning.”
Valerio watched the interaction, shaking his head. Somehow, Gianna had self-selected herself to be the wedding planner, and despite her barking at everyone, she was getting things done on the tight deadline.
“If she’s this bad as a wedding planner, I’m scared to see how she’ll be as an actual bride,” Allister said.
“I’ll send a prayer for the idiot that falls for her. He’ll need it,” Valerio said.
“Where’s Luna anyway?” he asked. “Shouldn’t she be the one deciding where all this shit goes?” He picked up some fabric, tossing it back on the table.
“She’s making the others carry in the rest of the decorations,” Valerio said.
“And what are you doing then?”
“I’m the groom. I wait until my bride calls for me.” He gave him a grin.
“Allister! Come help this idiot hang these drapes,” Gianna screamed from across the room. He muttered a curse word, begrudgingly making his way over.
They’d only had a couple of days to set everything up, but in that time the second living room had been transformed. All the furniture was taken out of the room, replaced with white chairs that had white satin bows tied to the back of them. The guest list was small, so four chairs sat on either side, creating a small aisle that Luna would walk down.
Dante, and now Allister, were in the middle of draping the ceiling with white fabric before they lined it with warm fairy lights. They could have hired companies for everything, but any indication of wedding planning to certain outside forces would have raised suspicions. That left them to do everything themselves.
Tomorrow was the big day though. Tomorrow they would officially be married, and Valerio couldn’t fucking wait. Sure, he had always imagined his wedding would host hundreds of people, most just associates or people he had come across a handful of times, but he preferred this more. As long as Luna was walking down the aisle to him, he didn’t care who showed up or who didn’t.
Valerio made his way back to the dining room, which was now the official reception room. The table had been covered in a thick white tablecloth with white candles lined up in the center. Two floral arrangements sat on either side of the table.
Finn was setting down plates and silverware. The dining room’s ceiling had already been draped, so Augustus added the lights to decorate the ceiling.
Blair and Cecilia laid out the glasses and the many bottles of alcohol on the counter. But Valerio cared most about his bride-to-be, who sat tying her bouquet together. She cut the extra pieces of ribbon off, holding it up to herself with a smile.
“It looks beautiful,” he told her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Thank you. I’m glad the flowers in the greenhouse will get some use,” she said with a smile. “Did you lay out the tuxes?”
“They’re upstairs in the spare bedroom.”
“And the food?”
“Ready to be dropped off tomorrow morning.”
“What about the music? Has anyone tried to connect it yet?”
“It’s all figured out,” Valerio said, easing her mind. “Everything is going perfectly.”
“I feel like we’re missing something. I can’t put my finger on it,” Luna said, biting her lip. She absentmindedly played with the ring on her finger before her eyes widened. “Oh my God, the rings. How did I forget the rings?”
Valerio smiled. “I already took care of it.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, thank God.”
“All you need to do now is enjoy your bachelorette party,” he told her. “And then show up to our wedding tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Luna said, grinning. “I’m curious to know how your bachelor party will go. I bet you never imagined my brother would be attending it.”
“I can’t say that he was on my list, but life is full of surprises,” he said.
“I wish we were running off to some honeymoon afterwards,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Somewhere tropical, where clothes aren’t necessary.”
“If you want a private island, all you have to do is ask,” he said, his voice now low and seductive. “But I do have something planned.”
“Does it include leaving this house?”
“Only if you’re a good girl,” he said.
Her cheeks flared red. “I thought I already was your good girl.”
“You are.” He kissed her, letting it linger. “You’re my perfect fucking good girl.”
It had been too many long fucking weeks at this point. And sure, they could have fucked anytime in the past week, but why not save it for their wedding? The idea was smart five days ago when they decided on it. Now, it was fucking torture.
“I need to talk to your asshole fiancé,” Finn said, interrupting their moment.
Luna rolled her eyes. As if out of instinct, Valerio’s hands clenched up into fists. She was there in no time unclenching them for him. “Sure. I’m going to go check in with Gianna.”
She got up, leaving him with a lingering look as she walked away. Valerio crossed his arms, waiting for Finn to begin. “Start talking, I have shit to do.”
“Can we go somewhere private?” he asked.
Valerio clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the dramatics. “Sure.”
They moved out into the hallway, away from the chaos and Gianna’s yelling from the living room. Valerio wanted to remind himself that this was Luna’s brother, that he shouldn’t have had his guard up the way he did, but he never trusted Finn. He never had a reason to. From the moment they had been born, they had been groomed to hate each other. Valerio marrying his sister was an attempt to soothe out that hatred, but after generations, it seemed impossible to do.
“So, what was so important you had to pull me away from Luna?” he asked, leaning against the wall. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to object to the wedding now.”
“I don’t think it would make a difference either way,” Finn said. “She has big plans for what our future can look like.”
“And you don’t agree with them?” Valerio raised his brow.
Finn snorted. “Don’t tell me you actually think there is a world where we don’t hate each other. It would never happen.”
“Why?”
“Because you love your name and I love mine. We exist far better in a world where we don’t find the need to work together,” Finn said. “I’ll coexist for the sake of Luna, but anything else is off the table for me.”
“I always knew you were a fucking idiot. I just didn’t know the extent of it,” Valerio said, shaking his head sarcastically. “Remind me again why you’re staying in my house?”
Finn clenched his jaw. “I came to support my sister.”
“You could have texted or called, not sat in the hospital waiting room,” he pointed out. “I wonder if it has anything to do with your fear that your father might turn on you the same way he turned on Luna.”
Finn shrugged. “I’m protecting myself. She was almost killed, you were almost killed. It seems like I’m next in line.”
“You’re his perfect little loyal heir. Why would he want you killed?”
“Why did yours want you dead?” Finn asked.
It was silent. He stared at him, trying to figure out who the hell he was. “If you suspect your father wants you dead, why not get rid of him first? Why are you so against Luna’s plans?”
“Because as fucking horrible as he is, I can’t find myself willing to put a bullet in him. At the end of the day, he’s still my father.” Finn’s voice was just over a whisper, as if he were scared to admit it not only to Valerio, but to himself as well. It looked like he had a weakness too, the same one that kept him up at night.
How fucking tragic, Valerio had so much in common with someone he hated so badly.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m willing to do it for Luna myself,” Valerio said, pushing himself off the wall. He stopped for a moment. “If you need a real reason to hate me, you’ll have it. I’ll be the one murdering your father, not a Kingsley, not Luna —me, a Vitali. I’ll give your sister the justice she deserves. Hell, I’ll even give you the justice you deserve but you’re too much of a fucking coward to go out and get yourself.” He shook his head. “It’s a shame you don’t want to work together in the future. You could have genuinely been a good asset if you didn’t let it all go to waste.”
With that, he left the room. Finn coming to the harsh realization of what this life actually was could only be done with him and him alone. Valerio had dealt with true loss before, so he was able to understand that nothing was more valuable than true love. That was why he was willing to fight for it.
He wanted to consider that their conversation had held some hope, but all it showed him was that Finn was a liability. He needed to listen to his gut, but he would worry about it after his wedding.
He deserved at least one bit of happiness before the war had begun.