Chapter 10
Francesca
“Here, you carry this in your basket. But only toss out the rose petals. Okay?” Giselle told her daughter for the dozenth time.
The little girl yawned and blinked through her bleary, sleepy eyes. “Yes, Momma.”
Gosh, she was cute. And no doubt she'd grow up to be the spitting image of her mom.
Giselle's genes won the battle in that kid.
Which surprised me a little considering how big and bossy Carlo seemed.
I'd think his genes would have simply scowled at any other genes in their way. And demanded their dominance.
“What's Carlo going to say when he finds out you woke her up in the middle of the night to be a flower girl?” Eve smiled at her friend.
Giselle kissed her daughter on the forehead. “He'll say nothing if he knows what's good for him.”
I pursed my lips together while she and Giselle laughed. Dani tried to laugh but ended up yawning again instead.
“How many chances does a little girl get to be a flower girl? Your daddy will just have to deal with it,” Giselle said with certainty.
And I was willing to bet that Carlo would be okay with anything Giselle said.
Especially if Dani wanted it too. I had to admit—she looked really freaking adorable in her flower girl dress, tiny veil, and white basket of rose petals.
I knelt down and said, “Thank you for being my flower girl, Dani.” I gently touched her little arm. She was still warm with sleep. Her chubby cheek had sleep marks on it, too. “I'm very lucky you could be here tonight.”
Giselle fluffed Dani's hair out a bit and said, “What do you say to Auntie Francesca?”
My lungs froze at those words.
Auntie.
Francesca.
“Her's my auntie?” Dani asked her mom in a cute squeaky voice. The look of shock on her face made me laugh softly.
“Mmhmm,” her mom said. “Uncle Stefan is marrying Francesca. That makes her your auntie.”
Dani's eyes grew big, and her mouth dropped open. “Whoa.”
That made us all laugh. Dani's pretty eyes narrowed at me. “You gotted me coloring stuff at the hos-a-ble. Right? When Uncle Stefan had a big boo-boo?” Her gaze held mine. Almost like her smart little brain was rewinding back all those months ago. When I’d taken her to the nurses' station to find some coloring sheets and stickers.
“Yes, that was me. We had fun at the big desk with all the pens.”
She nodded. And then suddenly—
She bolted forward and wrapped her teeny arms around my neck—nearly bowling me right over. “You fixed Uncle Stefan. You made him all better.”
I held onto her small body—somehow managing not to drop my bouquet. “The doctors did that. I just changed some bandages every so often.” I downplayed what I'd actually done. But it wasn't like I'd actually healed Stefan. A great surgeon, and many rounds of antibiotics did that.
“Nuh, uhh. Momma and Auntie Evie tolded me. They said you fixed him.” Her arms grew tighter around my neck. But that wasn't why I had trouble breathing.
Nope.
Giselle and Eve were looking down at me with teary, glassy eyes. Then they sniffled and blinked their eyes like crazy.
Then they gave up—and hugged each other.
“Well, if your mommy and auntie said that—it must be true.” I picked her up and held her close.
“Do you lub Uncle Stefan?” Her arms slackened enough so she could move back and see my face. “Momma said he lubs you so much. Do you lub him, too?” Her bottom lip pushed out, still slightly suspicious of the woman staking claim to her uncle.
I gave her a smile. “I'm marrying him. And people who get married are usually in love,” I answered the question—without answering the question. I mean, yes, I loved her uncle. But, no. I didn't want to admit that in this hallway to near-strangers.
“Are you going to kiss him?” Her eyes assessed me carefully, waiting for my answer.
Gosh.
She was a sharp one.
Eve and Giselle finished their hug. And Eve lifted Dani off me and set her on the floor. “Okay, Miss Daniella. It's time for you to take your place. Do you remember what to do?” Eve went over the series of events that were about to take place.
Dani nodded and wiggled from side to side. “I know, I know.”
Giselle frowned at her daughter. “Hey, no being sassy to your auntie.”
Dani rolled her eyes but immediately said a dutiful, “Sawry, Auntie Evie.”
Eve kissed her on the forehead. “It's okay. We're all a little nervous, I think.”
Eve's phone pinged, and she looked down at it. “They're ready.” She peered up at me with a wide grin. “Showtime.”
And so, Dani was told to start walking down the long staircase. She tossed a petal or two on the first step—taking a while to do it. Giselle whispered from around the corner, “More!”
Dani turned her head and nodded. Then she tossed a huge handful.
“Not so much!” Giselle said this time.
Dani rolled her eyes at her mom and turned back around.
“That girl is going to be really interesting as a teenager,” Giselle muttered under her breath. Then she gave me a quick, short hug. “Good luck out there, honey. You look beautiful.” She turned and started walking down the stairs after her daughter.
Eve hugged me next and said, “We are so lucky to have you join our family.” She let go of me. “Let's go. Your groom's waiting.” One last smile—and she swiveled around and followed after her friend. When she arrived at the last step, she looked up at me and mouthed, “Now.”
Up until then—I hadn't been nervous. Not at all.
I mean, it wasn't like this was a real wedding or anything. Because it absolutely wasn't.
Stefan was marrying me so Raul wouldn't hunt me down and—
Well, do whatever Raul wanted to do.
So, in reality, there was no reason to be nervous.
Which was why when a few hundred butterflies decided to take up residence in my belly—it caught me by surprise.
Big time.
This was stupid.
I knew it wasn't real. This wedding was fake. And why Giselle and Eve decided to go all out for a fake wedding—I'd never understand.
All I needed was a change of clothes. Maybe a T-shirt and a pair of jeans or something. Giselle didn't have to let me borrow her dress. A dress she hadn't even worn yet. Good grief. That was beyond being hospitable. And the thong was really too much, too.
It was all too much.
Especially Giselle making sure I had something old, something new, something borrowed and something—well, I didn’t have anything blue. She’d said that would come later. Whatever that meant.
I shut my eyes and silently told myself to get a grip on reality. I didn't need something old. I also didn't need something new. Or something borrowed. Or something blue.
All of these things symbolized good luck on a bride’s wedding day. But this wasn't an actual wedding day.
Yeah.
I was being stupid.
Other than meeting Stefan—I’d never had one stitch of good luck in my life. Why would I start now?
I moved one foot. And then the other. When I got to the top of the stairs—I heard the wedding march begin.
What the heck?
I walked down the stairs, careful not to slip on the huge pile of rose petals on the third step.
I'd have to remember to clean that up after this was all done.
I walked slowly, one foot at a time—Giselle's dress flowing behind me beautifully.
Part of me wished someone was here to take a picture of this.
I'd love to see a photo or two of me in this dress as I walked down the stairs.
I finally got to the bottom and took a deep breath. Just a little more until the living room, where they'd all be waiting. One more breath for courage—and I walked into the living room.