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“Problem? What’s that?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
“Well,” he drawls, reaching into his pocket. “I still have this ring, see. And I was hoping that maybe you’d find it in your heart to take it back.”
He pulls out his mother’s ring. The one I threw at him in a fit of rage before storming away, convinced he was the last person in the world I could ever trust.
“I’ve been carrying it with me,” he murmurs as he takes my hand. “I figured I needed to have it handy if the right moment presented itself. So, what do you say, Sera? I was already more in love with you than I thought it was possible to be. But after today, I’m happy to admit I was wrong. I’m even more in love with you now. And I’m pretty sure I’ll love you more tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. Serafina Mucci, I couldn’t ask for more out of life than to spend it with a woman who’s my equal in every way.”
“Antony,” I whisper as he slips it on my finger, “I would be proud to be your wife. So proud. No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will always be yes.”
EPILOGUE
ANTONY
“Oh my gosh!” Sera’s sister Tina gushes, squeezing her tight. “You’re Mrs. Serafina D’Agostino! Wife of the D’Agostino capo! Sera, could you ever have imagined this?”
“Being the wife of a capo?” Sera deadpans, winking at me. “Not in a million years. But I guess I have to take the good with the bad.”
Our wedding reception is in full swing, at one of the hotels owned by Luca Pagano. It seems like all of Cleveland society is here, to pay tribute to the Cleveland mob boss and also me: the new D’Agostino capo as of six weeks ago.
I didn’t expect Uncle Michael to survive until the wedding, but it was a shock all the same when he died. His widow, my Aunt Maria, is over holding court with the other wives of her generation. At Michael’s funeral, she gave me her teary blessing, and told me how proud he would be of me. I’m doing my best to live up to his legacy, and to make sure Maria never wants for anything for the rest of her life. After all, she’s the closest thing to a mother I’ve got.
Notably absent from the wedding and the reception is the Vincenzi family. Given the widely-publicized news of Giovanni Vincenzi’s untimely demise — in a fiery car crash that left his body unrecognizable — they are all in mourning. The family have sent their respects — along with a sizable check as a wedding present. The Vincenzis either don’t suspect anything about what happened that day at the warehouse, or they aren’t saying they do — thus averting what they know would be an out-and-out war between our families. With any luck, wounds will heal, and life will go on. Gianni Vincenzi will be the future capo someday. Despite his involvement in whatever it was that Giovanni was cooking up, he’s a better man in every way than his older brother was. Maybe the Vincenzi family will be better for it, too. Time will tell.
“Oh, Sera — and Antony, of course — your wedding was so dreamy.” Tina flutters her eyelashes and strikes a dramatic pose in her dusky pink maid of honor dress. “So romantic. Everyone’s talking about it, Sera. Saying you’re the most beautiful bride they’ve ever seen.”
“Well, they’ll just have to wait until your wedding, Stamatina,” Sera smiles generously, giving her sister’s arm a squeeze. “Then they’ll see what ‘most beautiful bride’ really means.”
“Do you really think so?” Tina exclaims, starry-eyed. “Oh, there’s Matteo! He promised me he’d dance with me, and I love this song! I’ll see you later, lovebirds!”
Tina waltzes away, making a beeline for my younger brother. We watch as she taps him on the shoulder. He turns to her with a grin and slides his arm around her waist. Together, they wade into the crowd of dancers swaying to the band.
I snort in amazement. “Matteo hardly ever smiles, and sure as hell not likethat. And Tina sure seems to have forgotten all about Gianni Vincenzi breaking her heart.”
“Hmm, what do we think about that?” Sera asks me, nodding toward them.
“We think we mind our own business and see how it goes,” I say firmly.
“You’re no fun,” Sera laughs, tossing her head.
“They do seem to enjoy each other’s company, though. Do you think something’s going on between Tina and my brother?”
Sera gazes at them. “Who can say? All I know is, Tina won’t have to be married off to forge an alliance, like Daddy tried to do with me. She’ll be free to choose whomever she wants. Within reason, of course,” she smirks.
“Are you saying you’d make a different choice if you had to do it again?” I tease her.
Sera sighs and leans against me. “I’m happier than I could have ever imagined,” she murmurs, gazing up into my eyes. My chest squeezes every time she looks at me like this, and I don’t imagine that will ever change. “I could never really have imagined marrying someone who actually loves me for me. Who respects me for me. Especially someone who was the person my family was trying to push me to marry in the first place.” She giggles, shaking her head. “Imagine me finding my soulmate in the heart of thefamiglia. That was the last place I would ever have believed I could find him.”
“Soulmate and partner,” I tell her sincerely. “You’re both of those things in every sense of the word,bella mia. You and I are going to rule Cleveland. You see if we don’t.”
“With you, Antony D’Agostino? I don’t doubt it for one second.”
I take Sera’s hand and lead her out on the dance floor. We’re immediately the center of attention, as the other couples swirl around us. Tina and Matteo pass us, as do my brother Dante and his wife, Tori. They’ve come up to Cleveland from Ironwood, Ohio for the wedding.
“You’re pretty light on your feet, Twinkle Toes,” Dante calls out to me as we pass.
“Fuck you,” I toss back, then cast a quick look at my wife. “Sorry. Shouldn’t curse on my wedding day.”
But Sera just laughs. “Fuck that. It’s our day, and we can do whatever we want.”
