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The wait, the struggle, all of it… worth it. And that dress was worth every damn penny.
We take our vows under a flower-strung archway overlooking the ocean, Orlando and Angelina by our sides.
I mean every word of the vows I say to her, and I can see the sincerity in her eyes when she takes her vows as well.
“You may kiss the bride.” Father Richard pronounces us husband and wife amidst cheers, confetti, and sobs from Mama and Nonna. Cameras flash, my brothers slap my back and kiss my bride, and we line up for pictures Mama will have framed to within an inch of their lives.
Last night, we shared something between us, something that I won’t ever forget. Truth that had to be let out.
But she doesn’t know the whole truth. And it’s up to me to tell her.
I feel like a cheat. Like I’ve conned her into marrying only a shadow of me, and when she sees me in full light…
I couldn’t do it last night. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that the man she once loved is dead because of me. And part of the reason I can’t tell her is because I don’t regret what I did. I can’t apologize for what I did, because I know that if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t do anything differently.
He loved a woman that didn’t belong to him. He touched a woman that wasn’t his. In the laws of our world, that merits swift and severe punishment. Some might argue his death was a mercy.
I’d expect the same if I’d ever crossed a line—no, lines—like that.
But would Elise see it that way?
I bring myself back to the reason for our marriage, the conviction that’s driven me from the beginning, and I know… she’ll never forgive me when I tell her the truth.
I tell myself we didn’t marry for love. We married out of duty, and I’m determined to keep my vows.
I promised her an oath of fidelity, and I always keep my promises.
Our day is perfect, and by God, I’ll give her this day.
“Oh my God,” Marialena says, when they wheel out the wedding cake. “Elise!” She smacks Elise’s arm. “Did you pick out that cake?”
Elise turns to see the cake I had made for the occasion, and she gets that look that makes me melt, almost childlike in wonder. “Ooooh. Tavi!” She grabs my arm, pulling me closer to her. “Is that a cream cake I spy?”
I nod. “Of course.”
I had my bakers fashion an Italian cream wedding cake, laced with vanilla, coconut and pecans, frosted with generous mounds of whipped cream frosting, and decorated with delicate, petal-green spun sugar in the shape of flower petals with sugared raspberries for contrast.
“It’s too pretty to eat,” Rosa says, snapping a picture.
Natalia, adorable in her little flower girl dress, shakes her head. “Ah ah, Mama. There’s no such thing as a cake too pretty to eat.”
Orlando elbows his way up to the front. “Dude, I got scammed out of having a wedding cake like that. Hook a brother up, will you?”
“Already done.” I signal to the waitstaff. The double doors to the outdoor pavilion where our guests are gathered open, and the staff brings in trays and trays of pastries and cakes.
“I don’t want any Rossi brother beatdowns on my goddamn wedding day,” I tell Orlando. “I’m prepared.”
I’ve ordered chocolate mousse cake for the “groom’s cake,” a flower girl vanilla Chantilly cream, and platters of every pastry we sell.
“Mamma mia,” Elise says with a grin. “I need a nice, tall glass of milk for my after-school snack.”
Five minutes later, we’re sitting down to feast, and Nonna brings Elise a glass of milk, bends, and kisses her cheek. Elise squeals and claps her hands.
God, I might love this woman. She’s tough as nails and simply beautiful, but the way she delights in the ordinary makes her exquisite.
“You’re fuckin’ adorable,” I whisper in her ear. “But did you eat your dinner? No dessert without dinner first, young lady.”
I wag my finger at her. She flushes a little pink. “And what if I didn’t, Daddy?”
Aw, fuck. I like that.
I whisper in her ear what happens to little girls who don’t do as they’re told, and she squirms adorably beside me. The music plays on.
A few yards in front of us I see Santo take a call. He turns quickly toward the house and marches away. A second later, I see Romeo reach for his phone, and he signals for Orlando and Mario.
Goddammit.
“Something’s going on,” Elise says to me quietly, while Mama laughs to my right, and waitstaff refill coffee cups.
I love that we’re on the same wavelength. It makes things… simpler.
Still. I can’t help but sigh.
“Yeah. Never a dull motherfuckin’ moment, is there?”
She laces her fingers through mine and squeezes. My heart squeezes in unison.
