Chapter 25
Luke
E mma was adamant that she didn’t care about our wedding. She repeated, over and over again, that she just wanted to be married to me. That was the only detail that she cared about.
I was the same. I simply wanted her to be my wife. Legitimately and permanently.
While I worried that she would be offended, that my rush to get married was only because she was pregnant, I knew that she was on the same page as me.
We already planned to get married before we learned that she was pregnant. We already knew that we would end up together as a husband and wife because we loved each other.
Yet, this was necessary. We had to do this now because if I worried about providing for her and keeping her safe, I would experience far more concern with our child in the mix.
I stood at the altar, which was just an empty water fountain anchored in the abandoned conservatory at the back of the house.
Dead plants left dark vines and stems coiled around the metal framework. No leaves remained, dried up and crushed instead underfoot. Color was absent, and the entire space seemed...gloomy, to be honest, but it seemed like the most appropriate place to hold a wedding.
Emma and I hadn’t gotten through cleaning the entire place yet, but I realized now that we would.
I originally gave myself the big fight against Ferris as my deadline to decide if I wanted to be the next Rossini boss. All that time was supposed to be there for me to debate if I wanted to enter this mafia world.
But I already had. I chose to be a part of this the second I fell in love with Emma. I was already in it before I learned that I was Marlo’s secret heir.
This would be my home with her. These men would be mine to order and delegate. The Rossini empire would be mine as soon as my father died, but I didn’t care about all that I’d gain.
The only additions to my life that I prioritized were Emma and our child.
“How do you even know if she is pregnant?” Jimmy whispered.
He stood next to me before Emma would enter the room.
I deadpanned at him, daring him to question her like that again. I’d noticed the undercurrent of antagonism that he, Sean, and other Rossini men showed her. Perhaps after I made her my wife, they’d get it. Then they could understand she was loyal to me, not her father’s family. It was bullshit that she’d need to prove a damn thing, but I understood that these rivalries and dramas were no fickle grudges to get over.
“I saw the pregnancy test.”
He nodded, frowning as he looked in the direction of where she’d enter the derelict conservatory.
It was a small gathering in here, just Jimmy, my mom, Sean, and a couple of other guards. Sean had located an officiant. Emma and I had already signed the papers for the license, as well.
All we had to do was tell each other our vows and say I do .
It would be a simple process, but the consequences that would ripple into effect afterward would be complex.
Antonio Marchese would be livid that I’d married the woman he was obsessed about having.
Damon Giordino would be furious that he couldn’t use his daughter as a bargaining chip for more wealth.
And if Marlo were to wake up long enough to be lucid, I was sure that greedy old man would protest this union as well.
Despite the challenges, I was certain that this was the way to go.
If I intended to become the boss, why not start now and have Emma receive the protection granted to me in this waiting period for Marlo to die?
I swore I’d do all that I could to protect Emma and provide for her. She wasn’t a damsel in distress or a weak princess unable to help herself. She was a bold, smart, and generous woman, the one I’d love until my last breath.
When she stepped into view, wearing a simple white dress that she had delivered, I swore my heart skipped a beat then palpitated.
She looked radiant, stunning me like she always did with those bright eyes and her sweet, sly smile. This woman would be my wife.
In the matter of moments, she would be my other half.
As she walked down the center aisle, I suddenly grew uneasy. There wouldn’t be a simple solution to backtrack from this. The second she became my wife, that would be it. No gray areas and loopholes would remain to take advantage of.
This was soon. Sudden. And I couldn’t snap out of this prickling sensation of worrying that it might be too rash.
I was a man of strategy, of watching for weak spot and determining multiple options for success.
I didn’t strategize any of this wedding. I didn’t think ahead logically for if this marriage would be a good thing to start now , with all the problems trying to end us.
Staring at her as she walked toward me, I tensed with a slight edge of panic. Second-guessing myself wasn’t something I did often, but I experienced that dreadful lack of confidence right now.
Were we ensuring that we’d stay together and be as safe as possible?
Or were we tempting fate, choosing a path that would see us both dead for defying so many enemies determined to take what wasn’t theirs?
THE END