Chapter 18
CASSIA
“How do I look?” I asked as I walked out into the kitchen where my sisters were hanging out with Ivy as she finished her afternoon snack. I twirled around before I asked, “What do you think?”
“Cassia!” Iliana gasped. “You look beautiful!”
“You do, and that dress is fantastic. Where did you get it?” Of course, Erisa, our family’s fashion guru, was more interested in where I’d gotten such a fashionable and obviously expensive garment. “I don’t know where I’ll wear it, but I’ll find a reason just so I can borrow it.”
“You can’t borrow it because it belongs to Scarlet. She was nice enough to let me wear it to the wedding.”
“Who is getting married again? Is it someone we’ve met?”
“I don’t believe so. Memphis has gone to a few events this week in preparation for it, but we haven’t met the bride or the groom.”
“I know this sounds snobby of me, but isn’t that dress a little bougie for Rojo?” Erisa asked.
“You’re right,” Iliana agreed. When Erisa nodded, Iliana added, “That was snobby.”
“It’s a wedding,” I reminded her with a one shoulder shrug. “Apparently, there is going to be a professional photographer there to head off the paparazzi from making money selling the photos to the highest bidder.”
“One of the band members is getting married?” Iliana whispered, her voice full of heartbreak. “It’s not Rocky, is it?”
“No. I told you it’s someone we haven’t met. Bella Conner and . . . what was his name? I’d heard it before but I can’t remember . . . Matt Russo. Matthew Russo. No, that’s not it.”
“Matteo Russo?” Erisa asked.
“That’s it! I was close!”
Iliana’s mouth stayed in a shocked ‘O’ as Erisa explained, “Matteo Russo is a mob boss from New York City. He’s got an identical twin brother who is also a mob boss, and he’s friends with all the other Italian mob bosses. They live in a tower across from Central Park.”
“A tower across from . . . the hotel we stayed at? The one with the walking paths through the garden inside the atrium?”
Erisa swallowed hard before she said, “That’s the one.”
I flopped down onto the couch and whispered, “The hotel we stayed at while Mom and Dad talked to the owners about donating to the foundation?”
“Same one.”
“Holy shit,” Iliana whispered. “Mom and Dad were in business with the mafia?”
“When it comes to taking care of children and families in the countries where our parents worked, money was money, no matter where it came from. The only difference between mob money and Joe Blow’s money is that the mob has more of it, which means more medicine to distribute and more food to share.
A starving person doesn’t care where their food comes from as long as it fills their bellies, and a sick child would never scoff at medicine purchased through ill gotten gains. ”
“Wow. I never thought of it that way, but you’re right,” Erisa admitted.
“You’re going to a mafia wedding?” Iliana asked.
“I guess I am,” I said with a nervous giggle.
Erisa said, “In that case, I think the dress looks completely appropriate for the event.”
“I’m glad I have your approval. How is my hair? Makeup?”
“You look stunning,” Memphis said from the doorway.
I turned and gasped when I saw him standing there.
I always thought Memphis was handsome, whether his hair was mussed from sleep as he leaned against the counter sipping his coffee, or when he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt on his way to work in the shop.
I had to admit that when he was dressed to ride his motorcycle, I found him even more sexy, but I didn’t want to analyze that at all.
I had never been one for the bad boy look before, but Memphis wore it well.
Just like the suit he was wearing today.
It was obviously custom tailored to fit him, and I had to give credit to his tailor because it fit him very well.
His broad shoulders and narrower waist were highlighted, along with the muscular thighs I’d admired so often since we moved in.
From his styled hair to his dress shoes, Memphis was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, and from the look in his eyes as they took in my appearance, I could tell he was having the same sort of thoughts about me.
“You look very handsome,” I complimented.
“Thank you. You look stunning. I’m going to be the envy of every man there.”
I felt my face heat up and knew I was blushing as I smiled shyly at him. Luckily I was rescued from having to respond when Erisa said, “You two pose over there by the wall so I can take your picture.”
“We’re not going to prom, Erisa,” I chided.
“Maybe not, but I’d love to have a picture of us together. I’m sure there will be plenty while we’re at the reception, but I know that by then I’ll have probably lost the tie and will be too rumpled to do your dress justice.”
“And the hits keep coming,” Iliana teased. “You’re quite charming, Mr. Forrester.”
Memphis winked at her before he extended his arm out and held his hand out for me to take as he said, “I’m just being honest.”
I put my hand in his and let him pull me across the room toward the fireplace.
I smiled at him as he pulled me close to his side.
He and I took direction from Erisa on how to pose and when to smile, and a few minutes later we were kissing Ivy goodbye so we could leave for the wedding.
As Memphis opened the door so he could help me into the truck, I looked over my shoulder and found my sisters watching us through the picture window with huge grins.
I gave them a quick wave and they ruined the moment by making crude gestures, suggesting the things they thought I should do to and with Memphis before I came home.
“Do you think they know I can see them in the mirror?” Memphis asked as he watched them make complete fools of themselves.
I laughed before I said, “I’m not sure they’d care if they did.”
“Anyone that says women aren’t as filthy minded as men hasn’t met my sisters, and apparently, your sisters are just as bad.”
“If you could hear some of our conversations you wouldn’t wonder, you’d be sure,” I told him as I used the running board to climb into the truck.
Once I was inside, I found that I was eye to eye with Memphis.
He tilted his head and stared at my lips until I asked, “Are you ready for the wedding of the century?”
“I’m just waiting on you, sweetheart.”
◆◆◆
MEMPHIS
As I watched my friend Bella dance with her father and uncles, it was hard to keep my emotions in check.
Even though Cassia didn’t know Bella or her background, she wasn’t nearly as successful as I had been, and tears streamed down her face as Bella’s uncle spoke about how she and her twin brother, my friend Dylan Conner, had been the bright spot they needed when their worlds went dark with the loss of their parents, their sister, and her husband.
When Matteo took Bella into his arms and smiled down at her, I heard Cassia sniff again, so I reached over to take her hand in mine.
She grabbed it like a lifeline and smiled at me through her tears before she leaned close and whispered, “That was such a tragic start, but it’s turned into a beautiful story that they’re living today. ”
“I don’t know much about your early life, but my guess is that the beginning of your story is just as tragic.”
“Luckily, when I’m awake, I can remember the good parts of my early childhood. Occasionally I’ll encounter something that brings something to mind - a smell, a sound, or even a song. I love those times because they just add to the wonderful memories my mom and dad made for us over the years.”
“You said ‘when you’re awake’ you remember the good parts.”
“When I’m sleeping I dream about the bad,” Cassia said as she used the tissue she’d brought along in her purse, an idea that I’d never even considered, but realized was an excellent forethought, and dabbed at the corner of her eyes.
When she let her hand drop back down to her lap she said, “I have horrible nightmares that feel like I’m reliving the last time I saw my mom.
Ivan had the same dreams. Erisa and Iliana have nightmares too, but theirs are from a different time and place. ”
“I’m lucky because I can’t even remember the last time I had a nightmare. What dreams I remember are usually unexplainable weird shit that makes no sense when I wake up. Oddly enough, most of the time I forget what the dream was about by the time I’ve finished my first cup of coffee.”
“You are lucky.”
When Cassia turned in her chair to face me, she didn’t let go of my hand, which I thought was progress considering she was still considering the idea of marriage to me.
I had wavered back and forth about the situation, and had even consulted Marcus Hamilton and Petra Parker, two lawyers that I knew I could trust with the confidential information about Ivy’s conception and the idea Cassia had to get married so she could adopt Ivy and share custody with me.
Marcus and Petra came up with a few other ideas that were much less drastic than Cassia’s, but I hadn’t shared them with her quite yet.
Honestly, I wanted to see what her decision might be before I showed my hand.
It seemed like she was thawing to the idea of marriage, and I took that as a good sign, even though I was still nervous about the future.
Our conversation was interrupted when the music changed and everyone was invited to dance and mingle. I wasn’t shocked to see that some of the women from my sister’s MC were the first on the dance floor, and smiled as they dragged some of our friends and family members out to dance with them.
“Tell me about these people,” Cassia ordered as we watched the dancers. “Who were the people in the wedding party?”