Biting down on her bottom lip like she was lost in indecision, she tore her gaze from Rafe to stare at me. “Will you have me?” I asked her.
At that moment, there was so much more I wanted to say than just those words. I wanted everyone to know what a prizeI was getting. How my heart was fucking overflowing with happiness.
“Yes, I will,” she replied.
I grinned at her before turning back to Edoardo. “So are we good?”
With a scowl, he replied, “I don’t know.”
“You’re getting a Neretti.”
“Andrea has always been intended for a capo. You are thesecondson.”
I glared at him. “I’m still the fucking consigliere!” I countered with a snarl.
It was more than apparent there would remain to be no love lost between me and my soon-to-be father-in-law.
With a more diplomatic approach than mine, Rafe said, “Edoardo, despite the fact you just shot me and threatened to kill me, you’ll still have the full support of the Neretti empire with Drea’s marriage to Leandro. With my brothers-in-law, the Kavanaughs, and with us, you’ll be adding territory from Boston through New York. Truthfully, you’re getting the same thing with Leandro as you would with me–maybe even stronger with my marriage to Maeve.”
Rafe turned his attention to Callum. “I do have your support, right?”
As Callum clenched his jaw, Caterina stared expectantly at her husband. Callum’s brother, Dare, leaned over Caterina to smack Callum’s shoulder. “Come on, Callum. Stop being such a stubborn arse. You know he’s what Maeve needs and wants. We haven’t seen her so happy in years.”
“All right,” he finally relented.
“Thank you. I truly mean that.” Rafe nodded at Caruso. “Do we have a deal?”
He pursed his lips. “Fine. But I also want five million dollars.”
While we should’ve fought Edoardo's outrageous demand, a relieved breath whooshed from my chest, and I fought to keep my knees from buckling. “Done,” Rafe said.
With a grin, I added, “In fact, I’ll pay you myself. I’m sure Drea is worth it.”
“I’m sure she is,” Gianni said with a knowing expression, to which I winked.
After shooting me one last look of disgust, Edoardo slid his gun back in his jacket pocket. Nodding his head at the priest, he instructed, “All right. Marry them.”
As he exchanged places with me, Rafe clapped my shoulder before squeezing it tight. “I’ll never forget this, brother.”
With a wink, I replied, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t let you even if you tried.” Jerking my chin at him, I ordered, “Go get your shoulder taken care of.”
“Are you sure?”
“While I appreciate your willingness to stand up as my Best Man, you’re ruining the vibes bleeding all over the place,” I replied with a grin.
As Gianni snickered, Rafe rolled his eyes. “Fine. But I’ll be in the back. I wouldn’t miss you of all men voluntarily getting married for anything in the world.
While Rafe exited the altar with Quinn, some of the people who had left with the gunfire came back in. Once everyone settled down, I finally gave my attention to Drea. “You are stunning.”
A genuine smile lit up her beautiful face. “Thank you.”
With furrowed brows, the priest asked, “Right. Where was I?”
“The part where I promise to love and honor Drea all the days of my life.”
“Right.” Frowning, he said, “Perhaps we should start from the beginning.”
I shook my head. “Let’s just do it.”
