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"Could you have gotten past it without whatever put things in perspective? Could you have forgiven him?"
Ivory pulled out a lip tint, touching it to my lips lightly enough to give them some color without overwhelming my face. "I don't know," she admitted. "I hope so, because when I think about where we are now and the fact that I could have none of this? That kills me. Don't push him away, Calla. Just give him a chance to show you what things can really be like if you just stop fighting it."
"It would help if he'd stop making decisions for me," I growled, standing to peek at myself in the mirror. My dress hung in the corner, and I dreaded having to put it on, despite the fact that it was stunning. It would mean the moment of truth had come, that I'd finally have to go down the stairs and marry Ryker or make a scene that probably wouldn't end well for me.
And would scare the kids needlessly.
"Mommy pretty!" Ines said, glancing up at me from where she continued to twirl in her dress.
"He will," Samara said. "That won't ever go away completely, but it gets better. We push them, they push back harder. Once you stop pushing, things just flow."
"I hope so," I murmured, stepping into the bathroom where I put the dress on. The silk clung to my body, gliding down in a smooth line from the sweetheart neckline held up by thin straps to the floor. Only a slit in the leg went up to mid-thigh, revealing a leg and trimmed in lace.
Brushing my hands over myself, I stepped into the bedroom. "Princess!" Ines cheered, clapping her hands excitedly.
I wrung my hands as I stepped up to the mirror, looking at my reflection. I felt far more bridal in that moment than my first wedding, even though it had been in a church, and a proper wedding with a crowd of friends and family to watch.
The knock at the door jolted me out of my thoughts. "Calla?" Lino called through the door.
"Yes?" My voice shook as I answered.
"Your father is here. He'd like to see you for a minute." Lino's voice was kind through the door, and I couldn't imagine that he was the businessman who commanded the city beside his crime boss cousin. It was also hard to imagine that he'd thrown Samara over his shoulder and carted her off to Matteo's house where he manipulated her into marrying him.
"Okay. You can send him in!" I called, turning to face the door.
"No Ryker!" Samara hollered out suddenly. "She's already in her dress."
"Okay, Little Dove." Lino laughed at his wife's antics. When the door opened and my father stepped through, he stopped in his tracks and stared at me. I hadn't thought we'd have one of these moments again since it was the second wedding.
Nobody cared about the second wedding as much, right?
But the tears that formed in my Dad's eyes as he took another step forward hinted that maybe I'd been wrong in that assumption. "Calla Lily," he whispered, an ache there that brought tears to my own eyes. "You look so much like your mother."
I nodded, because I knew I'd thought the same thing when I looked in the mirror. Pictures I'd seen of my mom had shown her to be feminine and always dressed well, despite her mechanic husband.
She put in the effort every day, and maybe that was part of why Dad still missed her nearly thirty years later.
"This," he whispered, "is much better than that monstrosity of a dress you wore the first time."
I laughed as he approached and drew me into his arms for a hug. My forehead pressed against his chest, taking comfort in the familiar smell of Dad. He never could shake the smell of oil that clung to his skin.
I wouldn't have changed it for anything.
"It is so much better," I agreed, laughter making my body shake.
"The man is, too," Dad said, and I tilted my face up to look at him. Leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek, he winked at me.
"Not even a question about the fact that I'm being married at Matteo Bellandi's home? That doesn't count as a mark against Ryker?" I asked, tilting my head away as he pulled back.
"It's interesting for sure, but it doesn't matter to me. All that I care about is how much he loves you. Nothing outside of that matters to me. Love is love. I miss your mom every day. I wouldn’t change anything, and not just because she gave me you. She gave me the happiest years of my life, and I love her enough that it was worth every bit of pain just to have those memories. I want that for you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion as he talked about my mother.
“Is that why you gave Ryker your blessing?” I asked, fiddling with my fingers as I resisted the urge to pick the polish off in my nervousness. I would come out of my skin soon enough if I wasn’t careful.
"I know this is fast for you, but I can see he loves you and the kids the same way I love you and your mother. I want that for you. I want you to have a husband who will miss you every day if something takes you away from us. I want you to have a husband worth mourning. If you don't know already that Ryker is that for you, then I'm sad for you, Calla Lily. I messed up somewhere along the line, making you so damn scared of love. Let Ryker fix that mistake for me, please,” he choked out the last words.
“Daddy,” I whispered as the first tear fell. He dabbed it away gently, taking care not to mess up my makeup.
“Just let him love you.” He held a hand out for Ines, who raced over to put her hand in his. "Come on, pretty girl. Let's give yo
