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"Don't you think that's a little over the top?"
He looks at me like I'm the one being unreasonable. "No. That I am allowing you to give birth a second time is enough. There will be no other pain for you."
"Life doesn't work like that."
"It will for you."
Yanking his head toward me with both of my hands, I kiss my husband silly. He takes over, but refuses to raise the privacy partition so we can take things further. "Your safety and comfort are more important than an orgasm," he informs me.
"I love you,cuore mio."
"There needs to be a stronger word than love. You own my soul,amate."
"Whatever that word is, I feel it too," I tell him.
And he kisses me again.
But he still won't raise the privacy partition.
Bossy, wonderful, protective man!
Chapter 20
New York City, New York
Five Families
SEVERU
The dinner with my fiancée is awkward and mostly silent. Carlotta shows no enthusiasm for my company, but her sister'ssuggestionthat I arrange a tour of the kitchens elicits a huge smile and gushing thanks.
Suggestion? More like order. Catalina seems so quiet and shy, but she is actually strong-willed and courageous. I doubt even her father would have had the guts to call me and take me to task for not showing his daughter enough attention before the wedding.
I'm glad that Carlotta is happy. However, I have to acknowledge to myself, if no one else, that I'm more concerned about pleasing her sister than the woman I am engaged to. I tell myselfagainthat it is a good thing I am engaged to the younger sister. There is no room in my life for preoccupation with a woman.
A week later, when I ask my mother to help me choose a jewelry ensemble for Carlotta to wear on our wedding day, I ignore the little voice in my head that says Catalina will approve of the gesture.
~ ~ ~
The rehearsal dinner is the night before the wedding. Neither I, nor my soon to be bride, are particularly interested in the rehearsal. Our wedding will be like every other mafia wedding I have attended, though with more guests and fewer attendants.
Because I am don, choosing groomsmen and bridesmaids would have been rife with potential pitfalls. Which is why we are both only having a single attendant. Our siblings. No one can take offence at being left out. No one can use being chosen as leverage for more prestige within the family.
I will wait at the front with my brother standing beside me. The flower girl is one of Carlotta's second cousins, and thankfully the one child related that closely to her that is the appropriate age and sex.
The ring bearer is my nephew, Neri. They will go first.
My sister is not part of the wedding party and Giulia has made it clear she does not mind. Catalina will walk down the aisle before everyone stands for her sister's entrance.
The rehearsal follows the plan without incident, which is exactly as I expect.
We adjourn to a rooftop restaurant that Carlotta has shown interest in for the family dinner afterward. The outside seating area is surrounded by bulletproof plexiglass walls and is a popular spot for politicians, celebrities and mafia.
As the don, I sit at the head of the table. Carlotta sits to my right and her father beside her. My brother sits to my left with my mother beside him. As the second most high ranking member of the Cosa Nostra, my brother-in-law sits at the other end of the table, my sister to his right.
I notice that Catalina has taken a seat as far away from me as possible, on his left. I don't like that, though it shouldn't bother me. I'm not sure why I even notice.
"Your fiancée looks beautiful," my mother says to me.
