Page 34 of Blood and Penance (The Puglisi Crime Family #1)
Epilogue
Gianni
The wedding…
Standing on a jagged cliffside terrace, carved into the volcanic cliffs of Santorini as I wait for Phoenix, I’m in awe I’m experiencing the life I’ve always dreamed of. I have the woman of my dreams and a son who’s my entire world.
It doesn’t get better than this.
Whitewashed buildings cascade down the cliff behind me, reflecting the sunlight with a blinding gleam. And before me stretches the Aegean Sea, a vast, shimmering area of sapphire and silver under the late afternoon sun.
The scenery is magical, and it’s like I’m closer to God up here. I thought it was a fitting place to say I do to the woman I want to spend eternity with.
The wind carries the scent of salt and wildflowers, tousling my hair as I tug at my suit jacket.
Even though I have nothing to fear, I’m just as nervous as I was the day I asked her to become my wife.
I have a lifetime of things I’ve missed in both of their lives I need to make up for.
I just pray I’m enough to give them the life they deserve.
Below, waves crash against the black rock with a thunderous roar, echoing like a lion attacking its prey.
As the sky transforms into a canvas of soft golds and blush, preparing to bathe the island in a beautiful sunset, I stand before God with a humble heart to pledge my heart, mind, and soul to her.
My soulmate.
Since I’m not close with any of my family, at least not enough to have them at the most important event in my life, we decided to have a wedding with just me, Giancarlo, Phoenix, and the officiant.
However, I changed my mind at the last minute and invited Seraphina.
While Phoenix wouldn’t say it out loud, she wanted her sister to be here.
And if she wasn’t, Phoenix would always regret her decision not to invite her to one of the most important events in her life.
Seraphina being here doesn’t fix things between them, but it’s a start.
As the gentle notes of classical music drift through the air, carried by the salty ocean breeze, I straighten my tie. I watch the winding stone path lined with bright lanterns and covered in white flower petals where Phoenix will soon appear.
Every beat of my heart feels like a drumroll. In this moment, Santorini has become more than just a place we live—it has become a stage for our love, carved from ancient stone, and kissed by God.
Seraphina and Giancarlo are the first to appear on the path.
At his insistence, my son is in a matching black suit like me, with a red rose pinned on his lapel.
His smile is as bright as the sun as they head in my direction.
I match his smile as Seraphina has the death grip on his hand because if she doesn’t, he’ll take off running which this cliff is not a good place to do that.
He has so much energy. He always keeps me and his mother on our toes.
When they reach me, Seraphina smiles and I kiss Giancarlo’s head before they stand off to the side. My eyes slide back to the path, and when she walks out, I almost lose my breath.
She appears like God summoned an angel Himself. In a black lace gown hugging her figure as she walks with poise and grace, each step echoes against the stone path carved into the cliff side.
I don’t move. I can’t.
Her dress clings to her—elegant, defiant, and without shame. She explained to me why she wore black instead of white. To me it summed up our lives and the person she was.
I’ve always loved her truthfulness. Our journey to get to this point hasn’t been easy or perfect. Love for us wasn’t pure or without fault. It was full of pain, and death, but it had also been full of forgiveness, too.
When she reaches me, her hand slips into mine like it belongs there. Like two kids with crushes, we smile at each other like idiots, but we share no words. We don’t have to because when I look at her framed by the beautiful Santorini sunset, I know we aren’t perfect. But we’re real, and we’re here.
We face each other as my hands tremble when I reach for hers.
“Today, you stand not in perfection, but in truth,” the officiant says his voice low and reverent. “Not in tradition, but in choice. You stand in that truth to give yourselves to one another before God. Gianni, please say your vows.”
She doesn’t look away from me and I don’t look away from her. Our gazes are steady and unwavering.
“Phoenix, I vow to love you in the aftermath of all the chaos,” I say, my voice rough with emotion. “In the silence after the storm. In the shadows we’ve walked through and the light we’re still learning to trust.”
Her lips part but she doesn’t cry even as her eyes shine with tears. “I vow to love you without pretending. Without erasing the past. I vow to love you even when it hurts. I vow to be yours, not because I have to, but because I want to.”
I slip the simple platinum band on her ring finger.
The officiant nods. “Phoenix, please say your vows.”
“Gianni, I don’t vow to love you perfectly, but I vow to love you honestly. I vow to fight for us, even when it’s easier to run. I vow to be yours, not in spite of the past, but because of it. I vow to be yours in this life and in the next.”
When she finishes, she places my simple platinum band on my ring finger.
The officiant nods with a wide grin. “Beautiful. And what God has ordained let nothing come between it. In front of God, in this magnificent place He has created, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Gianni, you may kiss your bride.”
As Giancarlo and Seraphina clap and cheer, I pull her into my arms and kiss her. As the wind howls around us, and the sea crashes below us, our kiss is a promise that this union is for a lifetime. When I pull away, she graces me with the most beautiful smile. “I love you, Phoenix.”
Her eyes soften. “I love you too, Gianni. In this life and the next.”
Thank you so much for reading Blood and Penance, the first book in the Puglisi Crime Family Series. If you would like to read more check out this BONUS CHAPTER! Also, could you do me a huge favor and leave a rating or review. It helps more readers find my books! Rate or Review. Thank you again!