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Mr. Belfiore snorted. “This is ridiculous. I’m not putting up with this nonsense.”
“If you refuse, you will be in breach of your contract,” Gunnar told him. “And believe me, we will collect on everything you agreed to as collateral.”
“But we have the…the funeral to attend. We don’t have time for games,” Mr. Belfiore said, his voice losing steam, his protest weakening. He looked at Grandmother, who had on her usual steely expression. Knowing them as I did, he surrendered. They would get the money and power they craved at the cost of his relationship with his old buddy Hollis Sterling. Rocco would fulfill Mr. Marini’s dying wish. But why did Rocco intervene when he had a way out of all of this?
Rocco leaned over and whispered something in Judge Renshaw’s ear before stepping away from him.
“Reg, do you want to talk to me first?” Judge Renshaw asked my grandfather.
“There’s no need,” Mr. Belfiore said to him. “I will not stand in the way of the marriage.”
Things started happening fast around me. We all went into my grandfather’s office, where Rick and Zane followed Patricia’s directions in setting up my grandfather’s old podium from his judgeship so that Judge Renshaw could stand behind it to officiate our wedding.
As we stood waiting, Brenda came over to speak to me. “Since we already filed for a marriage license and are having the ceremony by an official within the sixty days, we’ll only need to sign the license with Judge Renshaw today, and you will be married.”
I sucked in air to attempt to calm myself. “Uh, yeah. Uhm, okay.”Oh my God. This is insane.She gestured for me to follow her over to my grandfather’s desk. There I picked up the pen and signed the license. It already had Rocco’s signature on it.OhRocco.
“Adelina,” Rocco said my name as I finished signing, speaking to me directly for the first time since he arrived.
I glanced up, and Rocco had extended his hand toward me.
A trickle of fear rose that he’d be upset by my siding with my grandparents. But I extended my trembling hand. He clasped it firmly, and sparks flared at his touch. My skin heated as my pulse rushed. He didn’t speak but walked, and I, at his side, went to stand in front of the judge. I glanced over at the books, diplomas, and honors on the wall. Even the sterile wooden beams of the ceiling, but it was impossible not to return my attention back to Rocco.
His gaze was on me, full of warmth and compassion.
My eyes watered. I dipped my head to try to claw back tears but failed.
He squeezed my hand.
“Dearly beloved….”
My heart thumped harder in my chest.Oh my God, this is really happening. Rocco’s marrying me before a funeral and without his family.It was absurd and impulsive. Crazy. But it was also the only way he could have me. He cut my grandfather off at the knees. But hadn’t my grandfather done the same to him?
“Do you take Adelina Tessa Belfiore to be your lawfully married wife?”
I held my breath.
“I do,” Rocco said without hesitation.
“Repeat after me. I, Rocco Luca Marini, take Adelina Tessa Belfiore to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, and to love and to cherish until we part in death.”
My eyes were fixed and dazed on him as he repeated his vows. He made the sacred promise, and I couldn’t help but tear up at the feelings imbibed in those words. There was a power in them that touched that part of me raised in faith. I felt in my soul that it held a magic binding. We were bound together now in a way that could be to the end of our lives.
Then it came to my turn.
I swiped the tears from my eyes and straightened my spine. “I, Adelina Tessa Belfiore, take Rocco Luca Marini to be my husband….” I had already memorized the words, but the impact of the moment hit me harder.
“Do you have a symbol of your vow?” Judge Renshaw asked.
Rocco’s hand lifted mine. He held up a ring with two bands of diamonds, and placed it on my finger.
Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned around to find Brenda holding out a gold band for Rocco.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
I flicked my eyes at him, my heart hammering in my throat. Then, slid the ring on his finger.
“By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife; you may kiss the bride.”