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My brother nods.“That’s all any of us want, Luc.”
“Good.I am.Big brother TED talk done and dusted.Now it’s time for us to try on monkey suits and laugh at Marco settling down.”
“NowthatI can do.”
When we reachthe street level and stop outside the suit shop, Gio’s words are still running rings in my head.Walking ahead of me, he leads me through the door, where we see that not only are Marco, Rhodes, his son Jake, and my dad there, but also Val and London.
“Finally!”Val says, coming up and hugging us both.“It’s like you shift workers forget the rest of us haveactualjobs.”
All of us men groan, including Jake, who knows Valentina and her dramatics all too well by now.London just giggles and shakes her head, the sound making me smile as I walk over to her and wrap my arm around her.I pull her into my side, right where she belongs.
“What are you two doing here anyway?I thought this would be just us guys today,” I say.
London snorts and shakes her head.“Skye was coming but Austin had her up all night teething, so she called Val up to duty, and since we have nothing on until lunchtime, Val invited me along.”Her brows scrunch together.“That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Sure it is.You know you’re as much a part of this crazy family as I am,” I say, leaning down to kiss her forehead.I don’t even know why she still questions her place in my life anymore.Where she goes, I go, and vice versa.Nothing is ever going to change that if I have any say in the matter.
“Did you really think Renee would trust you guys to not go all ‘Elvis suit onesie’ on her for the wedding?”Val pipes up.
Marco scoffs, looking slightly affronted.“My future wife gave me very clear guidance on what we should be all looking at today.”
“Whipped,” I cough into my fist.
“Well, since you’re determined to be single and living the lonely life, let me educate you.When the woman you love has had her dream wedding planned for years, you make sure that she gets everything her heart desires ...”
“Within reason,” Rhodes says with a smirk.“I’d draw the line at Hawaiian shirts.”
“I rock anything I wear, so I’m not worried,” Jake says, sounding every inch the confident teen he is.
Dad looks my way and arches his brow, a soft, weird look in his eyes I cannot explain.“Hey, Pops.What do you think?Should we go a bit crazy for the wedding?You only get your first wedding once, right?”
A startled snort escapes my father as Marco’s eyes nearly jump out of his skull.
“Onlywedding, Luc.One and done.You don’t let the ‘one’ go once you’ve got her.”
“Or she’s got you,” I reply.
“Exactly, and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.And for the record, the instructions were nothing Elvis, nothing Hawaiian—especiallynot Tiki torch-related, like Scotty would suggest.White shirts, black tailored suit jacket, matching slacks, and black dress shoes.”Marco looks me up and down.“I bet evenyoucan’t look bad in that.”
“Fuck you very much.I look good in everything, don’t I, Lonnie?”I ask, looking down at her.
She grins and pats my chest.“Of course, Luc.Whatever you say, Luc.”Then she ducks out from under my arm and goes to stand by a laughing Val.
I narrow my eyes at both of them.“You’ll keep.What’s this world coming to when a man’s sister and his girl can’t have his back?”
Groans fill the room just as a wiry old man who looks like Gomez Adams comes through red velvet curtains at the back of the room.
“Are we all here now?”he asks with a thick Italian accent.
“Yes, sir,” Marco says, stepping forward.“Let’s get this party started.”
“You ready to get pinned and measured for your first father-of-the-groom assignment, old man?”I ask Dad as he walks toward me.
“About time I started to get rid of you boys.”
“Hey!”Marco, Gio, and I all protest in unison.
“Don’t worry, Papa.You’re stuck with me,” Val says all sickly sweet to our father, who totally eats it up.Always the suck-up, that one.
