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“I do.”
“Haven, do you take Carmine to be your husband? Do you promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and honor him all the days of your life?”
“I do.”
“You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide.”
They exchanged rings at his word and her hand shook as Carmine slipped the simple gold band on her finger, the one she knew belonged to his mother. She gazed at it, emotion overwhelming her when the priest declared them husband and wife.
“Now you kiss,” Dominic said, nudging Carmine. Haven glanced up again and saw Carmine glare at his brother before focusing on her, his face lighting up with love. He grasped her chin gently and leaned forward, her eyes drifting closed as their lips came together.
His kiss was sweet but there was passion behind it . . . passion she looked forward to feeling for the rest of her life.
47
Just a few more.”
Carmine tried to stop squirming, but the suit was beginning to suffocate him. It felt like they had been standing there for hours as the photographer snapped picture after picture, posing them in every position imaginable in order to get a good shot. He did his best to keep his eyes focused on the camera, but his attention was drawn to the woman beside him.
“Relax,” Haven said quietly, sensing his discomfort.
“I’m trying,” he muttered.
“Everyone smile!” the photographer shouted. Carmine smiled on demand, ready to get it over with, and he snapped off a few pictures in quick succession. “That’s a wrap.”
He exhaled in relief and loosened his tie. “That shit took forever.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Haven laughed. “It was only like twenty minutes.”
Carmine grabbed her hips and she yelped as he quickly pulled her to him. “You’re wrong, Haven DeMarco. It was that bad, because it was twenty minutes that I couldn’t do this.”
He smashed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply, and Tess groaned. “I don’t want to see that.”
“Then stop fucking looking,” he spat, pulling away from Haven long enough to get the words out. He went right back to kissing her.
“We’re heading inside,” Dominic said, patting Carmine on the back. “Don’t keep everyone waiting too long.”
They stood there for a while, continuing to kiss, as everyone else filtered into Luna Rossa for the reception. Eventually she pulled away from him, panting as she tried to catch her breath, her cheeks flushed. “Maybe we should go inside.”
“Fuck that,” he said, trailing kisses down her jaw line as he made his way to her neck. “Let’s leave.”
“We can’t leave, Carmine,” she said. “These people are here for us.”
“So?” he whispered. She laughed, pushing away from him, and he sighed. “Okay, you’re right. We need to go in.”
“See?” she said, grabbing his hand. “It’ll be fun.”
“Yeah, but I think we’d have a lot more fun if we were alone right now.”
“Maybe so,” she said. “There will be plenty of time for that later, though.”
“I sure as fuck hope so.”
She started to walk away, tugging on his arm, and he begrudgingly moved from his spot. They were met by loud applause the moment they stepped inside. Haven blushed and ducked her head, and Carmine chuckled as they walked down the path toward the head table that had been set up. She thanked everyone as they took their seats, waiting for the staff to bring out the food. Plates were set in front of them as someone came over with a green glass bottle and filled their glasses. Carmine nodded in greeting as he poured the bubbly liquid in his glass, picking it up and bringing it to his nose. He grimaced at the smell and Dominic laughed from his seat nearby, swirling his drink around in his glass.
“Never thought I’d be at my little brother’s wedding drinking sparkling white grape juice,” he said, shaking his head.
“We have white jasmine sparkling tea, too,” Haven chimed in. “And vignette wine country sodas. They look just like champagne but are alcohol free.”
