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“Ellie, my love.” He smiles at me, and I can’t help but melt at how good he looks in his grey suit and underlying blue dress shirt. His signature unbuttoned cufflinks make me swoon. “I got some good news this morning.”
I bite my lip, genuinely at a loss. If he’s not thinking of announcing the baby…
“Your dad’s been working hard at being a good boy in the can. And today, we just found out they’re letting him attend our wedding.”
Both hands go straight to my heart, because it’s literally melting inside me. My whole body goes weak, and my vision becomes blurry from tears.
Rosie comes over to hold me, as do the other bridesmaids. A collective ‘aw’ sounds, and I burst into tears. I think of my dad dancing with me when I was little, at family weddings. It’s been eating me that he wouldn’t be able to see me as a bride.
Yet again, my man delivers.
I clear my throat and wipe my tears, finding the clarity to stare up at him. “Thank you, Donny. It’s an amazing gift.”
He hands the mic back to the DJ and hops off the stage. He struts up to me like no one else matters, eyes holding mine.
What else can I do but open my arms and accept him spinning me high in the air. I kiss him and people cheer around us. It’s a precursor to tomorrow. Not only is my dad going to be there, if the feds are there, that means nothing bad can happen at my wedding. No one would be that stupid.
I sigh with relief as he puts me down. “I’m so fucking relieved,” I say.
He wraps his arms around my back as the DJ cranks up the volume on one of our favorite slow songs: “Speak Softly, Love.” It’s cliché for an Italian mafia princess, I know. But it feels right.
“It’ll only be for a few hours,” he tells me. “And he’ll be accompanied. But, he’ll be here.”
“I’m over the moon, Donny. Really. Thank you.”
He shrugs. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You cared enough to follow up when you know I didn’t have the heart to,” I say.
He smirks at me and I rest my head on his chest. We enjoy the song for the brief few minutes it plays. The servers start rushing out the family-style platters for the evening. Tomorrow’s the big day, so we have to end early tonight.
I take my seat and salivate over the chicken parmesan and eggplant rollatini scooped onto my plate. Dicey has me laughing before I can put my fork in my mouth, and Donny kicking him under the table makes it that much more comical. He says something about his girlfriend expecting a ring tonight.
“Can you believe this broad?” He thumbs at her. “How fucking tacky. Marone. Wedding one-oh-one, sweetheart – don’t steal the bride’s thunder.”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. “I’m going to kill him, Ellie. I swear to God. I didn’t say anything like that. I want to rip out his thinning hair and shove it in his mouth.”
I look at Donny with wide eyes, and he bursts out laughing.
It’s a good night. Intimate and ridiculous. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
xxx
At the end of the night, everyone is getting their coats on, and the jitters start to hit me.
I’m getting married tomorrow.
I gaze up at my stallion, and he rubs my back comfortingly. It’s going to be an amazing day. All business will be put on hold so the king can claim his queen. Donny is essentially the head of two families now. He and my father plot, but Donny is the one who’s free. He doles out the way this underworld operates, and I’m his eyes and ears in the shadows.
I’ve accepted my role, and while I don’t doubt I’ll have to work through occasional waves of guilt, I want to make the mafia a little cleaner for my child. It’s my duty as a future mother. We will be measured. We will be fair.
Not everyone is so perfectly wired to live out a normal life. I have to make do if I’m going to break the cycle. If it’s a son, he will not be a Marty Rigiano or a Ronny Rigiano. He won’t be Donny, either. He’ll be my son. No weekend pick-ups with daddy.
I hold my belly briefly, then put my hand down when I remember where I am.
And if it’s a daughter. She will be no Ellie Rigiano. At least not the old me. She’ll never hide from anyone. I won’t have it.
Sal clears his throat when he comes up to me and Donny with John Scar behind him. “Boss.”
