“And we’re also having a baby,” I said with a smile, my whole life coming together with a beautiful, big bow.
There was a quiet gasp over the line. “The Lord has truly blessed you, Con.”
“Yes, I know he has.” All of this could have had a very different outcome, but Aurelia and I were lucky enough to escape to live full and fruitful lives. Was that God’s intervention, my intervention, or just plain luck ...? Who knew.
“I would be honored to bless your union.”
“I knew you would, Uncle. But as you know, I can’t come to Rome. I wanted to know if it would be possible for you to come here and marry us. It’s a lot to ask, I know it is. But it would mean the world to me to have you marry us—and bless my child.”
There was a long stretch of silence as he considered what I’d just asked.
“I understand if it can’t be done.”
He continued to be quiet, still thinking. “I’ve committed my life to God, and I work on his schedule, not mine. You know this, Con.”
“Yes.” I hid my disappointment. “I completely understand, Your Holiness.”
“But I will make this exception for you. For everything you’ve done for the people of Rome—and because your heart is pure. It would be my honor to bind you and the woman you love together in holy matrimony.”
I hadn’t expected him to agree, and for him to move mountains to accommodate me meant the world. “Thank you so much, Father. I will live by her side for all my days, and my bones will lie beside hers for eternity. I don’t need your blessing to know it’ll last forever—but it sure would mean a lot.”
“Of course, Constantine.”
“All right, I’ll let you go. I know you’re a busy man.”
“One moment, Con.” His voice sounded distant, like he was dismissing someone from his presence. He came back to the phone. “You should speak with Rocco. I know you two haven’t been in touch.”
A strange mixture of pain and guilt suddenly gnawed at me, squeezed my windpipe until I couldn’t breathe. It was hard to forgive someone if they refused to apologize, and I was too stubborn to let it go on my own.
I didn’t want to ask the question. Wanted to double down and let the silence go on until he hung up. But the words came out through tightly pressed lips. “Is he all right?”
“Yes, he’s fine,” Pope Zephyrinus said quickly. “But I’m not sure how long that will remain the case.”
Chapter 20
Aurelia
“Do you think we can pull off a wedding in eight weeks?” I sat across from Constantine at the small table on the outdoor patio of Bam Bar. When he’d picked me up from work, he’d offered to bring me here as an afternoon treat. He always did little things like that to make me happy. I knew he didn’t care for sweets, so this was entirely for me.
“Absolutely.”
“Really?”
“If you wanted to get married on Saturday, I could pull that off.”
“How?” I decided on lemon and orange for my flavors, along with a dollop of cream.
“Because I know everyone, and anyone I don’t know, my mother knows. But don’t rush it on my account. I want you to have whatever you want. If you want to wait until the baby is born, that’s okay too.”
I knew he didn’t want that, but he was considerate enough to let me have my way.
“No, I want to do it before I get too big. A little bump is fine.”
“Any kind of bump is fine,” he said with his charismatic grin.
“Trust me, the bigger I get, the less excited you’re going to be.”
“Trust me, sweetheart. That willnotbe the case.” He took a few bites of his granita before he abandoned it, like just a taste was plentyfor him. “It’s a fetish I didn’t know I had. Knowing you’re growing my son or daughter ... it’s just unbelievable. Biggest turn-on in the world.”
