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The white wedding dress is primo. I mean, it’s the freaking bomb.
The way it hugs her upper body and then falls away from her hips in a cascade of lace is gorgeous.
Yeah, my Lisa is one gorgeous lady.
Just before she gets to me, Sheila steps forward and takes the bouquet of flowers out of her hands. Then I hold my hands out for her to take hold of.
The sizzle of electricity when she moves her hands into mine shocks me. “Hey, you.”
Her lips finally curve into a tiny smile. “Hey, yourself.”
The photographer begins snapping pictures like a madman, trying to get us from every angle he possibly can.
“You mind?” I say and give him a look that says he needs to quit his over-the-top shit. He understands, darting away before I can kick him in the ribs.
Father Carmine clears his throat and begins. “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman together in matrimony.” He leaves out the word holy as there is nothing holy at all about this marriage.
I catch Lisa looking me up and down out of the corner of my eye. Her satisfied expression tells me that she likes the black tux I’m wearing.
“Frank, I believe you said you two wrote your own vows. Is that right?” Father Carmine asks.
This completely surprises Lisa. “You said that?”
“I did. I’ve memorized mine. I hope you memorized yours too, sweetie.” I love the fear in her pretty brown eyes.
She nods but says nothing as her cheeks turn bright red, even under all that makeup.
“Frank, will you please recite your vows?” the priest asks.
“Sure thing, Father.” Facing Lisa, I hold both of her hands and look deep into her eyes. “Lisa, from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one. I knew you would give me more than anyone has ever given me. I knew you would be there for me in ways no one ever has. From this moment on, our lives will be different.” I look at the priest. “That’s it.”
“Okay then,” Father Carmine says and turns his attention to Lisa. “You can recite your vows now, Lisa.”
I can see how nervous she is from the way her hands are shaking. “Frank, I . . . um, well, I noticed you when you moved into the house next door to me. And I knew that I wanted to get to know you better.”
“A lot better,” I tease, making everyone chuckle quietly.
Trying not to smile, Lisa goes on, “I never thought in a million years that I would be standing here with you like this.”
“But you’re happy to be here with me today.” I look out at our guests. “She’s happy. Really happy.”
“Sure she is!” my cousin Leo shouts, making everyone laugh.
To my surprise, Lisa turns to look at everyone. “I am happy to be here with Frank. Really happy.” She turns and smiles at me. “And I would like to say that, while this wasn’t a thing I saw coming, I’m glad it did. Life with you promises to be full of amazing things, and I’m glad you picked me to do life with, Francisco R. Vietti.” She leans in close to whisper, “What does the R stand for anyway?”
“Ricardo.” I can’t help the smile that tugs at the corners of my lips. “I’m glad I picked you to do life with too, Lisa Marie Pesci, soon to be Vietti.”
“Of course you know my whole name without me ever telling you what it was.” One brow arches. “That’s so you, Frank.”
The twinkle in her eyes mesmerizes me. I see things in those eyes that I haven’t seen before. Babies. Us growing old together, sitting in rocking chairs on a porch, holding hands and smiling. “Whoa, this is crazy.”
“I know,” she agrees, but
she has no idea what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about seeing myself in her eyes. Like a real future. And that’s crazy as fuck.
The marriage is fake for a reason. It’s fake because I want it that way. I could have forced her into a real marriage if I had wanted to. But I don’t want that.
