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I shrug. I seriously don’t care.
“Good,” I say. “Thanks.”
She laughs, as the crowd gets to their feet.
“Good luck,” she whispers.
I turn. The crowd parts, and I watch as my future wife heads toward me.
The throng of people dissipates, their chatter dying as the haunting lilt of a violin wafts through the humid air around us. All eyes focus near the house when a billow of white precedes my bride.
My breath leaves me when I see her.
I barely know the woman. I definitely don’t love her. But damn if I don’t feel speechless at the sight of the woman about to take vows to me walking down the aisle toward me, hanging on for dear life to Romeo Rossi’s proffered elbow. Romeo looks the part of experienced and respectable Don as well as eldest brother. He wears a well-made charcoal gray suit. His jaw’s clean-shaven, his blue eyes staring at mine unblinkingly.
He says something in a whisper to her and she smiles, lighting up her whole face. I hear gasps around us as my guests see her. She’s lovelier than any model that’s ever graced the cover of a bridal magazine.
Swathed in lace, satin, and tulle, she wears head-to-toe white, little satin pumps peeking out from beneath the lengthy hem of her dress. Her hair hangs about her face in delicate waves and curls, at once fetching and whimsical. The dark curls around her temples enhance her dancing eyes, eyes too vivid and full of laughter to ever be sober too long. Her full pouty lips curl upward as if she’s amused by everything. If fairy tales came true, I’d believe that Marialena stepped out of the pages of one and came to grace us with her presence.
The music plays on as she walks to me, people snapping so many pictures the flashes are nearly blinding for a moment. In my peripheral vision I see the flash of a camera from behind a bush. A snap of my fingers, and one of my men quickly tends to that. Goddamn paparazzi on my damnproperty.That’ll cost them.
Even wearing heels Marialena’s a full head shorter than Romeo, but what she doesn’t have in stature she makes up for in personality. She doesn’t need to say a word to win the hearts of every damn person here. There’s just something… charismatic about her I can’t compete with. She’s undeniably mesmerizing, with nearly hypnotic twinkling eyes that make people want to fall at her feet and worship her.
I’ll have to keep a close eye on her. There’s something so attractive about her I fear that my staff will choose her above me. And if the two of us come to cross swords, that could be a problem.
But they will love her. They will adore her.
When Romeo and Marialena meet me, she needs to crane her neck to look up at me. I don’t miss the way she swallows hard or the way she stumbles a bit and Romeo has to steady her. I definitely don’t miss her little smile, or the hopeful look in her eyes that tells me she wants to know I’m pleased with her.
“You look very handsome, almost husband,” she whispers. Romeo’s eyes widen and he barely stifles a little grimace.
I ignore him. I don’t know what he’s told her about me, but she’s taking her chances.
Almost husband.
“Thank you,” I say in a whisper, bowing my head. “As do you, almost wife. You look gorgeous.”
Apparently all that was missing to make her look like an angel was a faint flush of color across her cheeks. Now, she’s perfection.
“Saythank you,” Romeo reminds her.
“Thank you,” she says in a barely audible whisper. Romeo nods, his stoic face carved from stone as he faces me. If he has an emotional reaction to this moment, he hides it well.
I reach for her arm. He doesn’t let her go.
“It’s time, Rossi,” I say in a low voice.
Still, he won’t release her, as if she’s glued to him and some invisible force of nature keeps her attached to him.
I sense Cristiano stiffen behind me.
“Rossi.”
Marialena gently extricates her arm from Romeo’s, leans over and kisses his cheek. Bending his cheek to hers, he closes his eyes and whispers something in her ear that makes her face go soft and her eyes water, before he releases her hands and turns to me.
“Take good care of her,” he says in a husky whisper. “Promise me, Capo. You’ll take good care of her. I’ll remind you it’s part of our contract.”
I take her arm as he lets her go, and nod. “I will,” is all I tell him. It’s all he gets from me. Taking care of people I’m sworn to protect is the only thing that keeps me from being a totally unforgivable asshole.
