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“Are you trying?” I hoped so. It would have been nice to have another kid to grow up with mine.
“Not yet, but Sofia and Enzo are.”
“Don’t jinx it, Emiliana.” Sofia shot her a glare then refocused on fixing the dress at the sewing machine.
Em waved away Sofia’s words, grinning at me as El plopped down opposite us. Lil stayed near Sofia, helping.
“We’re almost ready.” She glanced back at Sofia and Lil. “Let’s get your hair done, too, then I can work on Lil and Sof.”
“I can do it myself.” I shrugged, not at all used to anyone helping me. Lauralee and I had painted our nails together, but we did our own hair.
“Nah, where’s the fun in that?” El motioned for me to turn toward Emiliana as she got up then sat behind me.
Emiliana took the makeup from the coffee table and started on my face while El untangled the mess that was my hair. I relaxed while they worked, listening to the chatter. Fifteen minutes went by, and my face was finished, my hair braided and curled. I think she’d even threaded something through the braid, but I didn’t have a mirror, so I couldn’t see for sure.
“Stand up,” Sofia ordered.
She was maybe an inch shorter than my five five, but she commanded the room. Not only that, but her personality was so much fun I found myself gravitating to her more often than not.
She tugged on the robe’s belt then slid it from my shoulders. I stepped into the gown as she held it for me then drew the spaghetti straps over my shoulders. I was zipped up. Lil dropped matching heels in front of me then bent to help me into them. Once I was dressed, they all stepped back.
“Wow, Summer. You’re stunning,” Lil said. The rest followed with similar sentiments. I shifted from foot to foot, wanting to see for myself.
“Go look.” Sofia beamed, and I headed for the floor-length mirror she’d pointed to in the walk-in closet, which was the size of a room. Seriously, I’d never had a room so huge.
I stood before the mirror. I had no words. My hair tumbled down and over one shoulder. I was right. El had woven something through the small waterfall braid, a strand of what looked like diamonds. My makeup was light and natural, highlighting my high cheekbones, full lips, and eyes. The least favorite of my features was my upturned nose. It wasn’t drastic, but I wasn’t crazy about it. For once, it didn’t bother me. And then there was the dress. God, I loved that dress. It was perfect. It hugged my body and made me feel utterly beautiful for the first time in my life.
I smoothed my hand over my stomach, happy I could wear the dress before I started to show but excited about the life that was growing inside me. It was mine and Luc’s, our chance to do things right. I loved how we’d talked about it. We were on the same page about giving our child a life full of love and the security of family, something we hadn’t had.
Finally, I turned and then threw myself into their arms. “I’m so overwhelmed. I need you all to know how much this means to me. What you’re doing. Your friendship.”
“Stop.” Lil fanned her eyes. “You’re gonna make me cry, and my makeup’s done.”
We laughed, then they got changed. I loved the dresses they wore, which only enhanced how gorgeous each of them was.
“We’ve got to go,” Emiliana said as she ushered us out of El’s room. “Luc’s already at the church, and we’ve got five minutes to get in the car, or we’ll be late.”
“Is everything set up?” Sofia glanced at her phone.
“Yeah. I checked with Marco a little while ago,” El answered.
Sof draped a faux-fur-lined cloak over my shoulders, and it was so warm that I didn’t even feel the freezing Chicago air when we went from the house to the cars. The drive to the church was spent with Lil telling me about how she and Max met and the arranged marriages several of them had. Each of them was so obviously in love that I believed Luc and I would have the same depth of feeling someday. I was pretty much there but not sure I wanted to admit it to anyone just yet.
When the car came to a stop in front of a big cathedral with ornate Gothic-style architecture, where the Cosa Nostra held many wedding ceremonies, Lil squeezed my hand, her light eyes dancing as she whispered, “Are you ready?”
I laughed. “Yes.” I was more than ready.
A guard opened the door, and we climbed out, one after the other. With quick steps, we were inside the church’s vestibule with more security surrounding us than I believed the president usually had around. Someone took my cloak and swapped it for a bouquet of dusty-pink and white roses. Soft strains of violins and cellos beckoned. Then I stood behind the other girls as a guard opened the door to the sanctuary. Light flickered inside, and I caught a glimpse of a few candles. Once Lil, the last one before me, moved forward, I had to stifle a gasp.
Max appeared at my side, offering me his arm, and I clasped his elbow. He walked me down the aisle, where hundreds of candles of varying heights lined the sides, leading to the altar. It was the most beautiful experience I’d ever had, made even more so when my gaze locked with Luc’s. What I saw in his expression took my breath away.
It was awe, love, and pride, and somehow seeing it on his features and allowing myself to feel it, too, released those emotions from the padlocked box inside of me. It was time to stop hiding from him and from myself.
A few couples I didn’t know occupied the pews. Nico and Trey, Sofia’s brothers, sat beside a man who looked remarkably like them, and a beautiful woman by his side was obviously Sofia’s mom. Then I spotted Nicole, and I had to blink a few tears back at the ones she was blotting dry with a handkerchief. Max handed me off to Luc then took his place as Luc’s best man.
When I faced Luc, he took my hands in his. The priest, a man with bushy snow-white eyebrows and a map of wrinkles that told of a long life, began to speak. I barely registered the words, some of which were in Italian, until it was time to say my part. Before I knew it, he was pronouncing us man and wife, and Luc slid a large teardrop diamond ring with a matching diamond band onto my finger then pulled me to him, his mouth slanting over mine in a toe-curling kiss that left me dazed and wanting more.
Then we were walking down the aisle, husband and wife, with four Mafia bosses and their wives trailing behind us. It was surreal, a day that I knew would live in my memory as one of the best I’d ever had.
