Chapter 28
MICHAEL
She spent a little more time on the phone with her mom yesterday, telling her what she could about me, that she’d see them when she could, that she’d call them every few days.
She got to speak to her father this morning, and hearing that man break down on the phone like that…fuck, I felt it. His pain. If that was my baby girl, I’d rip the heads off everyone who’s hurt her. But he isn’t like me, but luckily for her, I am.
Once the Cavaleris kill the Bianchis, their whole institution will crumble, and I’ll find the ones who hurt her. Maybe not all of them, but some. They’ll pay. I’ll gut them until there’s nothing left inside.
But that’ll wait for now. My immediate focus is on making my wife happy, and seeing her smiling and laughing yesterday with her parents reiterated that I did the right thing allowing her to speak to them.
I’m not used to feeling useless. I’m a doer. If there’s a problem, I fix it. But I can’t fix her past. I hate thinking about what they’ve done to her.
“You okay?” Gio asks, slapping a palm to my shoulder.
“Yeah.”
I run a hand down my face, cracking a fist as I turn toward my brother.
“You clean up nice when you want to,” I chuckle.
His black tux matches my father’s, who’s already seated with the rest of the guests out in the garden.
“Yeah…” He fixes his bowtie and smirks. “Gotta give the women what they want.”
“Don’t fuck anyone at my wedding.” I arch a brow.
“That’s why they invented limos.” He flips a hand in the air, and I punch him playfully in his stomach.
“Shit…” he groans on a laugh, crouching over. “I’m going to let that one go since it’s your wedding and I don’t want my sister-in-law to kill me for messing up your pretty face.”
I chuckle, shaking my head, picking up my glass of whiskey, and finishing it in one swallow. It burns as it goes down.
“Don’t worry,” he continues. “I’m keeping tonight PG-rated.”
“Why’s that?” I pass him his drink, and he takes it.
“Because there’s only one woman I’ve been interested in fucking, and she isn’t here.”
“You’ve got a girl, and you didn’t tell me?”
The idea of a “girlfriend” for my brother is sleeping with the same woman for more than a week, so I’m not taking any of this seriously.
“She’s not my girl. Not exactly.”
I chuckle internally. And there it is.
“But damn, she’s perfect for me.” He grins. “It’s like we’re meant to be.”
“I bet you are.”
“Believe me. We are.” He practically sighs. “She’s a badass. Just my type. Can’t seem to get her out of my mind.” He closes his eyes, a slow-growing smile on his face, as though he’s thinking of her right now. “Hair so red, it’s been anointed in fire and painted in flames.”
“What’s her name?”
His gaze clouds, eyes growing distant. “No clue.”
I stare blankly at him. “How the fuck do you not know her name?”
He shrugs. “She’s private.”
“Uh-huh. How do you know she’s not a fed?”
He chuckles. “I watched her kill a man. She’s not like any fed I’ve ever seen before.”
“Enemy, then.”
My brother can be careless with women, and whoever she is, I already don’t trust her.
He pulls in a long breath, then releases it sharply. “If she’s been sent to kill me, I’d go willingly.”
“I’m happy for you. Just don’t die.”
“If I go, make sure you give me a good send-off. I want a parade in my honor with floats and shit, and don’t be cheap about it.”
“You’re not getting a parade.”
“Come on. I’m the one who’s dying.”
“When did you meet her?”
He pauses, like he doesn’t want to tell me.
“A while ago,” he finally says.
I give him a curious stare. “So how come we’ve never met her?”
He rubs his temple uncomfortably, and before I can ask more, Alison walks into the den. Mom hired her to help coordinate the wedding. She clears her throat, her cheeks turning pink as she eyes Gio, pulling her black pencil dress down to cover her knees.
My brother doesn’t pay her any mind, though.
His eyes appear lost, as though he’s still thinking about that redhead.
Now I’m really curious about this mystery woman.
My brother sleeps with women for fun. He enjoys them—their company, their bodies.
But he’s never wanted to stick to just one. Until now, it seems.
But if my brother won’t find out who this woman is, I will have to. Our enemies are everywhere, in every facet of the criminal world. Who knows if she was sent to get info on us through him?
“Sir.” Alison clears her throat. “Elsie and your daughter just arrived by carriage. They’re ready for you.”
“Thank you.” I nod.
“I’ll go and make sure Elsie has everything she needs. Congratulations, sir. She seems wonderful, and wow, does she look amazing. Wait until you see her.”
That has my heart jolting.
She wanders out the door and dashes to the other side of the house, where Elsie and my mother are. I had sent them all to a hotel to get ready, where a team of makeup artists and hairstylists waited for them.
My mother wanted to be there and help Elsie, since she has no one. She asked me why Elsie’s family wasn’t in attendance, and I had to lie, telling her they couldn’t make the long journey. Not like I could tell her the truth.
“All right, let’s go,” I tell Gio, who’s already walking before me. “But this conversation isn’t over.”
“I know,” he laughs sardonically.
Once we make it to the back door leading into the garden, I wave to the guests as I march down the aisle.
There are four hundred and twenty people in attendance. Once we’re done here, they’ll move over to the other side of the estate, where tables and heated tents have been set up with a band, and more food than an average person has seen in their lifetime.
I have a rule, though, to never waste food. Everything untouched and uneaten gets donated to food banks around the city.
We make it to the priest, who congratulates me. And a minute later, the music changes and I see my little Sophia practically hopping with excitement down the aisle. Tossing pink petals down, she grins wide, her lips covered in a bright red lipstick. I’m sure that was her idea too.
Her dress is one poofy sparkly thing; her long hair is curled around her shoulders, with a sparkling tiara adorning the top of her head.
People clap and cheer while she waves to them all, knowing she’s the princess of this castle about to welcome the queen.
My queen.
I can’t believe this is happening.
She continues to decorate the ground with petals, finally making it all the way down. But instead of settling beside my father, she runs to me. I kneel for her as she clutches her arms around my neck.
“This is the best day of my life, Daddy,” she utters excitedly. “Elsie picked this crown for me. Do you like it?”
She backs away so I can see it.
“It’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as you.” I tap her nose, and she giggles.
“Sophia,” my father whispers, waving a hand for her. “Come to Grandpa.”
“Okay, time for Daddy to get married, princess.”
She places a hand against my cheek and kisses the other. “I’m so happy, Daddy. I love Elsie so much.”
“She loves you too.”
With a deep breath, I give her a tight hug, and she runs off to my parents.
And that’s the moment the music changes and everyone gets to their feet, eyes toward the way my wife will soon be arriving from.
I ball my hands into fists, my pulse hitting an all-time high. I don’t get nervous. It’s not in my DNA. Until now.
I know she didn’t agree to this. It’s not how most people do it, but she’s mine in every sense of the word.
I keep my eyes glued to the way she’s supposed to be coming from, unable to wait another second, the anticipation practically killing me. I haven’t seen her since this morning when the limo took her to the hotel.
But I don’t have to wait long, because she’s there, strutting toward me in the distance, and my God…she’s breathtaking. A damn goddess. Beautiful is an inadequate word to describe the way she looks.
My mother is walking her down. And seeing them together, knowing that my mom had offered and she’d accepted…fuck. It’s unconventional, but that’s what makes her and I unique.
My mother loves her already. She’s mentioned it more than once. How could she not? There’s no one like Elsie. No one at all.
My breaths grow shallow, and I’m damn near choking up as she comes nearer, sparkling from every corner of her strapless ballgown. A lace veil covers her face, but I can see her eyes, and they’re holding mine like a raft.
Wow, I mouth, knowing she can see it, and that has her lips jerking up at both corners.
Only a few steps remain between us, and I’m about to take her in my arms and right upstairs where I can tell her exactly what’s on my mind, what she does to this heart of mine. There was no room for a woman inside it, but she made room, pushing away all my doubts, kissing away all my imperfections.
She’s before me now, her chest falling softly with her jerky breaths. With the amount of people here, I can’t blame her for being nervous. She knows none of them. She’s here alone.
She’s strong. Capable. And all mine.
She grins at me, and instantly, everything else disappears but her. All I can see, taste, and hear is her. Nothing else matters. It’s as though one single smile of hers has inflamed all my senses, and I know deep down that she is the one for me, and that I’m never letting her go.
“Congratulations, my boy,” Mom whispers into my ear. “You be sure you spend every day being a good husband to that girl, the way I have raised you to be.”
“I promise, Ma.”
I press a kiss on the top of her hand, and she pats my face before giving Elsie a hug and taking her seat on the other side of my father.
My fingers reach for Elsie’s and hers reach for mine simultaneously as we gaze at one another, moving nearer, and I take both her hands in mine.
“You’re the most gorgeous woman in this entire world.”
I ignore the priest as he clears his throat, either saying he wants to start or telling me to behave. Either way, he can wait until I’m done.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “I was nervous you wouldn’t like the dress. It’s so big and sparkly. I feel like royalty.”