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“Vous nous rendrez fiers ce jour-là. You will make us proud. Beautiful Grace, we just need to discipline Sergio a bit. très spontané!” Shawn exclaims.
“Not all of us are French or Italian,” one of the groomsmen cut in and everyone in the room laughs.
“Ah, yes, the Englishman speaks for his people. I am delighted to collaborate with such fine men and women.” Shawn switches to a British accent without missing a beat. He dashes to the far end of the room and begins to point fingers.
“Now, we begin with the groomsmen at the altar and our lovely ladies walking in tograceus with their elegance!” The coordinator says in excitement. He claps loudly and starts pushing and pulling pairs to stand as he wishes.
Sergio is all smiles and charms while Grace plays the shy bride with rosy cheeks. I stand beside Sergio. Minutes later, we have more people joining us in the hall. I recognize Sergio’s father and mother as they arrive. They have the same bubbly nature as their only son. Hours later, two little girls dressed like the Powerpuff Girls run into the room with their mother cursing in Italian behind them. The crowd soon constituted of a dog, an old man who could barely stand for ten seconds, and a chubby lady that laughed heartily at almost everything Shawn said. She is greatly amused by our show, and I doubt she has anything to do with the wedding.
“She is Miss Scurry. Remember her?” Sergio sneers when we accidentally bump into each other.
“Ouch.” The memory of our crazy science teacher comes to mind. She is the same woman who whipped our buttocks in middle school for the mischief we created.
Sergio laughs, “Told you, this is gonna be fun, my friend.”
Man, I hope it is. I know that I am only here for Sergio. It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for him, and the least I could do is play along. Now that I understand the drill I am committed to give an above-average performance before heading back to Seattle
Oh, and least I forget,here comes the bride and maid of honor. Ella avoids my eyes until she stands right before me. I can sense my effect on her though she is trying hard to mask it by focusing on the task at hand. Grace steps forward, taking Sergio’s hand as the coordinator takes the place of the priest. Everything happens in a haze because I have got myself distracted by the woman before me. She wills patience, waiting for the right time to pounce on me. As I say her name in mind, she glances at me quickly. My hands dig into my jean pocket, and I rock on my heels.
Perfect, this is indeed the end of time.
Chapter 2
Ella
Ah! The sweet sounds of wedding bells. The dainty bride walking down the aisle. Her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, her fears and her anxieties, her sweet smiles, and her happiness hidden behind a veil. This was perfection.
I wished to be this sweet bride someday. The girl dressed in white with a bunch of roses and a train sweeping the floors behind me.
Scratch that. There is nothing sweet about the fake feigning that drips from the lips of the great wedding coordinator, Federick Descoteaux. Then add in the insufferable Italian specimen standing right in front of me, filling all my imaginations with thoughts of him. Stop it, I chide myself. I’m not this stupid to think that any of this could be my idea of perfection because from my experience there is no such thing as perfection.
Thoughts quickly fill my head with the list of things that I detest in men. At the top of this food chain are men who attach so much importance to themselves. They wallow in self pride and exert a high level of imprudence when they make public contributions, while making everyone around them feel small. Now I have to admit, Antonio Deluca is not a man to go easy on. I did my research on him right after Grace huddled herself intomy apartment last weekend to announce that Sergio had a list ready for his lineup with one of Seattle’s most wanted bachelors as his best man.
“Well, lock it in,” I had said to her amidst giggles. Together Grace and I had circled the date and counted the days until this wedding rehearsal.
Don’t get me wrong. I am happy for her. I am glad she finally gets to end up with the man of her dreams and I have witnessed their love blossom from the voice texts to the calls and the letters, and finally the late-night dates that sometimes ruined my Friday night plans with my best friend. I had been a witness to Sergio’s proposal which happened in downtown New York, at a grocery store. Sergio is the type to demand a lot of attention and he had gathered a crowd that evening. His friend also holds this same quality about him.
It definitely doesn’t hurt that the best man isn’t bad to look at. I’ll have his arms around me for the dance. Who knows, maybe it will even be fun. After all, I am here to have the time of my life and no one on earth was going to ruin this for me. I need a break from my personal life and Antonio proved to be the perfect fuel to this fire in my heart, so I convinced Grace to set me up with him. It is finally time to go into the wild, Elly. Time to free my mind and thoughts and have that reckless adventure I have forever craved.
“Relax yourself, my lady. You suddenly seem blue.”
Speak of the devil. Antonio hovers close by. It’s easy to feel his tall, intimidating presence even when he is miles away. “I believe that you are the one who needs to lessen your anxiety.”
He walks to me, leans down and whispers close to my ear. “Any ideas on how I can achieve this, Ella?”
Whoa, hold up. It slipped my mind to ask earlier who told the douchebag my first name. Why would he address me that way for our first meeting? Talk about first time impressions. Without hesitation I fire back, “Ever tried being less of an asshole?”
Antonio laughs. The deep sound sends shivers down my spine. I like the way he cocks his brow to make his comeback. Antonio Deluca is more than a Greek god. I curse the heavens for carving such a man into perfection. To top it off, his scent is driving me nuts. Antonio Deluca smells like sin. There is a hint of musk and earth in the air around him. There is something else, but I can’t place the fragrance. The scent is perfect for a man like him. “Come here,” he commands, calling me closer with a crook of his finger.
I glare at him and take a step back, but when Shawn steps forward, we both keep our backs straight and draw closer to each other. “Come on, chop, chop. We don’t have all day. Hold each other, form a circle around our darling couple. This is a dance where emotions are sour. Listen to the music. The music!” Shawn’s voice drifts around us. Grace and I had chosen a song for her entrance into the reception. We weren’t ready to do the same boring walk without chipping in a little bit of madness (and of course, creativity).
“I am in awe of this event.” Antonio says sarcastically while holding my hand.
“I am delighted to be in your company.” My reply makes him smile. This time, his smile is genuine, his eyes wrinkle and I notice slight dimples on his cheeks. He must really be enjoying this. I glance at Grace and find her beaming up at Sergio. They are lost in their world; this lessens my worry over Antonio, and I take a deep breath to calm my nerves so I won’t disrupt the pleasant ceremony.
It's not like meeting the Deluca heir was all I could think about as I arrived in Tuscany. My duty and loyalty belonged to Grace, and I had to make sure she was all smiles until the wedding was over. I know how much this means to her and I believe that she will make a happy home with Sergio by her side. If there were any doubts about this, I’d say that I do not trust myself to keep it nice and sweet for the best man.
No matter how hard I try not to think about it, Antonio’s medieval handsomeness makes me wish he was right in my bed and not beside Sergio on the aisle with frown lines rolling across his forehead. Patience is clearly not his strong suit, but he is trying so hard to tamper down his irritation for Sergio’s sake. At least he seems to have one redeeming quality to admire.
