Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Liliana
Isabella was with me, preparing for the wedding in Mia’s bedroom. “I can’t wait for Nick to see you,” Izzy said, excitement bubbling from her being. “You’re stunning.”
I’d decided on the dress with the spaghetti straps.
Earlier in the afternoon, after I had a long shower, Izzy arrived.
Mia had a team of makeup artists and hairstylists invade her bedroom.
My dark hair was pulled up on the sides, the length cascading down my back filled with loose curls.
I rarely wore it down, but I remembered what Nick had said about my hair the day in my apartment.
By the time they were done, Izzy and I looked as if we could walk the runway of a fashion show.
I scanned my friend. She was wearing a soft peach-colored satin gown.
Izzy said it arrived at her house this morning with a note from Mia.
Her long golden hair was piled high on her head.
Teardrop diamonds dangled from her ears.
“You’re beautiful.” I reached for her hand. “Thank you for standing up with me.”
“Thank you for accepting me when I first arrived in San Diego. You’re my first and best friend here.” She lowered her chin in a shy smile. “I know you’ve been married before. So tonight won’t be a surprise.”
“I didn’t enjoy my first wedding night. I’m hoping I will tonight.”
“Nick is Em’s cousin and his best friend. Em was gentle with me at first. I can’t imagine Nick being different.”
“Thank you.” Her words registered. “At first?”
It was Izzy’s turn to blush. “Let’s just say we’ve advanced beyond vanilla.”
“And you’re okay with the other flavors?”
Her laughter filled the bedroom. “Yes.”
We both turned to a knock on the door. “Liliana,” Mia called.
“Is it time?” Izzy asked as she went to the door. I couldn’t see the other side. “Oh, hi.” Izzy pulled the door farther open. “You must be here to see our bride.”
Tears threatened my makeup as Sofia entered the bedroom.
“Lily, you’re gorgeous.”
Wrapping my arms around my midsection, I stared at the woman who had been my best friend since childhood. “I didn’t think you’d come.”
“Jasmine contacted me. She offered me a plane ride. I didn’t want to miss my best friend’s wedding, the one she really wants.” Sofia took a step closer. “You do want this, don’t you?”
Swallowing, I nodded. “I do.”
“Then I’m happy for you.”
“Oh,” I turned to Izzy. “Isabella, this is Sofia Ruiz. We’ve known one another forever. And Sofia, this is Izzy, my friend. We work together.”
“Nice to meet you,” Izzy said.
“Nice to meet you.” Sofia took a deep breath. “I better get back downstairs.”
I reached for Sofia’s hand. “Thank you for coming. How are you?”
“I’m good. We should catch up. I’m going to stay with Aunt Valentina for a few days before heading back north.”
“That’s where I live,” Izzy said.
“Oh, you’re Em’s wife.”
“I am,” Izzy replied.
“You said Jasmine is here too?” I asked. Jasmine was married to el Patrón’s brother, Reinaldo.
“Jasmine, Rei, and Senora Roríguez. The patio is filled with people.”
My eyes opened wider. “This was supposed to be small.”
Izzy laughed. “Then you shouldn’t have put Mia in charge.”
“Lily,” Sofia said, “thank you for inviting me. You didn’t need to.”
“I was afraid you couldn’t make it, but I never questioned inviting you.”
She stepped forward and hugged me. “I’ve always loved you. I’m sorry about so much.”
I shook my head. “It was out of both of our control. Love you.”
Izzy rubbed my shoulder as Sofia left the bedroom. “She was your best friend and your stepdaughter?”
“Yeah, it was totally messed up.” I took a deep breath. “I’m relatively certain Nick doesn’t have any children. If he does, he hasn’t mentioned them.”
“Not yet,” Izzy said as she made her eyebrows dance.
The next knock was accompanied by a deep voice. “Liliana, it’s time.”
Izzy’s blue eyes widened. “Is that el Patrón?”
“Yep. I asked him to walk me down the aisle.”
She clenched her teeth. “You’re one brave lady.” Izzy reached for her bouquet of green holly, red roses, and ivory cream calla lilies, a smaller version of mine.
“Do you have Nick’s ring?” I asked.
Izzy showed me the platinum band on her thumb as she walked toward the door. “I’ll see you downstairs.” She nodded. “El Patrón.”
The leader of the Roríguez cartel entered the bedroom. Instead of his customary dark denim jeans and a black t-shirt, he was dressed in a custom dark suit with a red shirt and black tie. “It’s your last chance to change your mind.”
I lifted my bouquet. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not changing my mind.”
He was actually handsome with his gelled hair and striking smile. If this was the side of Aléjandro that Mia saw, I understood why she was so head over heels in love with him.
He crooked his elbow. “Shall we?”
I placed my hand on his arm. Together, we walked to the staircase. Even from the second floor we heard the music resonating from down below. Izzy was first to descend the staircase. We followed to the landing, and I watched as Izzy disappeared from sight through the living room.
El Patrón patted my hand. “You’re marrying one of my best men, but he’s the one getting the best prize.”
I started to say that I wasn’t a prize, and then I remembered Nick’s rule. “I think I’m the one winning.”
“I married a widow, Liliana. There’s no greater joy than when the woman you love learns to love you back despite the darkness in her past.”
“I hope someday people will look at me and see the love I see coming from Mia.”
“I already do.” He nodded. The music changed. “Vamos. That’s our cue.”
When I made a similar walk with my father years earlier, I had the sensation of being a convicted felon walking to her execution. As I walked beside el Patrón, my sights were on a future to be shared with a man I liked, one who didn’t frighten me, and one I believed I loved.
Sofia was right about the number of chairs and people present.
I didn’t try to see faces or register who was in attendance or absent.
My insides twisted with the beautiful world Mia and Viviana created.
Tiny white lights twinkled from around the patio and pool.
Beyond the terrace, a sky filled with orange and crimson hues met with the aquamarine of the Pacific Ocean.
The faint scent of sea filled my senses as the setting sun neared the horizon, and music came from hidden speakers.
The closer we walked, the less I noticed the decorations.
My complete attention was on the handsome man at the altar beneath a trellis.
The man in a dark suit, white shirt, and white tie.
A red rose was attached to his lapel, and his dark stare was laser focused on me.
Emiliano was smiling at Nick’s side, and to the other side of Father Gallo was Izzy, her smile ear to ear.
“Who gives this woman?” Father Gallo asked.
“With honor,” el Patrón said, “it is I.” He placed my hand in Nick’s.
I stared up at the dark brown eyes that only a few days ago were filled with rage. Today, they radiated the opposite. His adoration filled me with an unfamiliar sense of value. Nick Ruiz—a top lieutenant and a man of worth—wanted me to be his wife. El Patrón said he was one of his best.
“You’re gorgeous, tesoro,” Nick whispered, his deep baritone tenor sending shivers down my spine.
With my hand in Nick’s, we turned toward Father Gallo.
“Liliana Cervantes Ruiz and Nicolas Ruiz, have you come here to enter into marriage without coercion, freely, and wholeheartedly?”
“We have,” we said in unison.
I’d answered the same during my last wedding, but it had been a lie, not the first and not the last.
Today’s answer was freeing and truthful. I was entering this marriage without coercion, freely, and wholeheartedly.
While I’d witnessed countless weddings, including my own, there was something deeper and more special about Father Gallo’s words tonight.
It was as if they meant more than I’d ever before realized.
When we said our vows, I kept my gaze on Nick, his dark yet sexy stare, the way his chiseled jaw clenched, and the tightening muscles in his temples.
I handed my flowers to Izzy and took Nick’s ring. My hands were steady as he placed the wedding band on my finger and as I placed the band on his.
Finally, Father Gallo lifted his hands. “Nicolas Ruiz, you may kiss your bride.”
Nick’s lips quirked. “My bride.”
“Your bride.”
The star-studded sky, ocean breeze, and patio of people disappeared as Nick’s lips took mine. I pushed upward on my tiptoes, feeling that tightening low in my stomach. When we finally pulled away, the world around us came back into focus.
“Senora Nick Ruiz,” Nick said. “That’s now your name.”
“It is.”
As we turned to face the congregation, I squeezed Nick’s hand for support. My sights landed on an older couple sitting in the last row. I wasn’t certain how I’d missed them before. I hadn’t seen them since Gerardo’s funeral.
My parents.