Raina wraps her arms around my neck and leans in so only I can hear. “I can’t wait to marry you.” She presses soft kisses against my cheek, under my ear, and down my neck with gentle affection.
Our friends slip into quiet conversation and the song changes on the speaker system, playing an acoustic version of the song we’ve chosen for our wedding dance. Scooping her into a bridal carry, I stand, then walk to the center of the room and deposit her on her feet.
After I turn the music up, I go back to her and offer my hand. “Dance with me?”
“You don’t dance.” She grins, and I wonder if she’s thinking about that night we danced together at the charity gala.
I think about that night often, not only because it was the night I agreed to be her lawyer, but because something truly shifted in my mind at that point. Public displays of any sort of intimacy were never something I partook in, but pulling her onto the dance floor that evening felt right. It feltnatural, and I remember wondering to myself why I had never danced with her before.
Now, in our home we share together, I spin her, relishing in the soft giggles she rewards me with, before pulling her body close. Resting my other hand on her lower back, we start to sway.
The next time we dance together will be at our wedding. I can’t even begin to describe how elated that makes me feel.
This woman is my everything, my forever, and my always.
“I didn’tused todance. Past tense. But that’s only because I was saving them all for you.”
Raina
Three weeks later
“Are you ready for this?” Vinnie fluffs my veil, extending it out around me, then lets it fall so it drapes perfectly around my body.
My heart feels like it’s liable to explode at any second. The clock taunts me with every tick, counting down the moment until I become an official member of the Paladino family.
Growing up, Vinnie and I dreamed this day would happen. We’d hoped I’d fall in love with one of her brothers, and we’d get married, making us sisters forever.
It wasn’t long after when I started doodling Luciano’s name in my notebook as a freshman in high school. Though he never looked twice at me, I couldn’t help but gawk over her gorgeous, college-aged brother.
Now, if I had the chance to meet my younger self for a drink at the bar, I’d tell her to hold on to that hope. Her chance of happiness with the man of her dreams was a reality she’d one day bask in. And I know she’d be proud.
Planning our wedding has been a dream I never want to wake up from. But actually being here, on the day of, ready to walk down the aisle, is something different entirely.
There are no words to describe it. I’m getting everything I ever wanted.
I grin at my best friend. “I’ve been ready for this for far longer than I care to admit.”
“I can’t believe we’re about to become sisters!”
“Legallybecome sisters. We’ve been sisters since day one.”
“You’re right.” She hugs me tight, careful not to squish my hair. “You look stunning. My brother won’t know what hit him when you walk down the aisle.”
“If that man doesn’t cry, I swear.”
We both laugh, and a knock on the door interrupts us, signaling that it’s just about time. We break apart so she can answer it, and on the other side is another man I hold on a pedestal.
“Oh, angel,” my father coos the second he sees me, immediately swiping tears away from his eyes.
“Hi, Dad.” My father crosses the room in his three-piece suit and hugs me like he used to when I was a little girl. “You look gorgeous, Raina. Luciano is a lucky man.”
“He is,” I agree in earnest, and my dad smiles.
“Are you ready, kiddo?”
“I’ll see you out there.” Vinnie flashes me a megawatt smile and slips out the door to where Sly waits for her with their newborn daughter, Emilia, in his arms.
“I thought I’d be more nervous than this, but I’m just excited.” Taking one more glance in the mirror, I check my teeth to make sure they’re free of lipstick, then I loop my arm through my dad’s.
