Page 58 of Soulmate of the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #8)

PAIGE

I tucked my arm through Tom’s and straightened my long, floral romper. He kissed me on the cheek, then knocked on the door. Joyce swung it open.

“Hello!” She welcomed us both in with hugs. “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci are in the drawing room. Please, come in.”

We let ourselves be bustled through the door, the wine we’d brought carried off to the kitchen, and our coats taken to some closet somewhere in the mansion.

Adrian used it as a base of operations when Killian and Sera weren’t home, so I’d been here a few times since the wedding, but I’d never felt comfortable here.

Finally, we were led to the closed doors of the drawing room, and Tom opened them with a smile.

Inside, we found not only “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci,” but also Olivia and Patrick, Adrian and Penny—who still wouldn’t even talk about their dance at the wedding—and Sera’s mother and brother, as well as Lauren.

Sera leapt up to greet us, and Killian followed a few paces behind.

I threw myself into the hug just as much as Sera did—I really had missed her these past few months—and she demanded I show her the ring.

With a small smile, I displayed my hand.

“Oh, my God! It’s even prettier in person.” She took my hand in hers and twisted it to watch the stones shine. “I loved it on video, but this…” She met my gaze. “Congratulations. I hope you make each other so happy.”

I smiled sidelong at Tom, already deep in conversation with Killian. “That’s the one thing I’m not worried about.”

She dragged me to sit down with everyone else. “What are you worried about, then? I gave you the contact info of my wedding planner, right?”

I laughed. Sera’s wedding planner was one of the most uptight women I’d ever met in my life. Even with a full-time job at the shelter, I was less stressed planning it myself. “I don’t know that we have the same style.”

Lauren laughed. Sera pursed her lips. “I’m telling you, she’s good.”

“I’m sure she’s incredible.” I squeezed Sera’s hand. “I just think Tom and I are looking for something a little smaller. But we’ve picked a venue and set a date.”

“Oh, my God!” Sera squealed again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I glanced around at all the women I’d grown closer and closer to. “Because I haven’t told anyone yet.”

Lauren nodded, her mouth agape. “Is that why you shooed me out when you were on the phone the other day?”

“Maybe?” I smiled sheepishly.

She smacked me. “Tell us!”

“There’s this gorgeous little Catholic church a few blocks from the shelter,” I said. “Tom went there when he was growing up. It’s small and homey, but the architecture is stunning.” I smiled. “According to him. So we’re doing a winter wedding, mid-January.”

Everybody squealed, and when I ducked my head, I realized Sera had gained an amazing tan.

“But enough about me.” I squeezed Sera’s hand. “You’re the one who’s been missing. Tell us everything.”

Killian appeared behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe not everything.”

Stories of the island filled the whole time before dinner and the first course of the meal.

We laughed, gasped, teased them. I hadn’t realized how odd things had been these last few months without the couple who had united all of us.

They were also different than the people who had left.

Sera was tan, sure, but she was also slower.

Her words came out a little less mile-a-minute, and the breathless feeling had left our conversations.

Killian was a completely changed man. As much as I’d always known he loved Sera, he now dangled off her every word and barely spent a moment without touching her, like a few months away from the life he’d grown up in had turned him into a sappy romantic.

Maybe I did want to run away to an island with Tom.

No, I couldn’t leave my work. Maybe we’d run away to an island near enough every once in a while, but not one where we’d live forever and give up this life. Not yet.

“So anyway”—Sera swatted Killian away from kissing her and interrupting her story again—“he decided that I was wrong about the guidebook, and the fact that I loved the flowers was more important, so he snuck out in the middle of the night to replant them in the garden. Do you want to tell them who was wrong about the flowers being poisonous?”

Killian held up a hand pockmarked with the remains of a rash. “I just want to add that I did it the next night with gloves, and they’re thriving in our garden at home as we speak.”

The word “home” threw a blanket of quiet over the dinner party. I picked at my food. They were back, like a missing puzzle piece, but only for a week. Probably only for a week at a time for the foreseeable future. Their home was an island in the Caribbean now.

“No, we can’t all get sad,” Sera said. “I don’t want all of our visits to be about the fact we live in separate places. I want to celebrate the time we have together and cram as much love into that as we can.”

Killian looked at her significantly, and she nodded. I glanced at Tom, but he only furrowed his brow.

Killian stood and raised his glass. “In honor of celebration and love, I would like to make an announcement.” He stared so lovingly down at Sera I almost had to look away, like spying a private moment. “We’re pregnant.”

The whole table exploded into cheering and hugs.

Patrick knocked over his glass of wine in his rush to hug the two of them, and the room split in two as people traded between mopping that up and congratulating the two of them.

By the time I made it over to them to talk to the happy couple, they were already breathless with thanking people.

“I’m so happy for you,” I said honestly. “This kid couldn’t have better parents.”

Sera teared up. Killian kissed me on the cheek and murmured his congratulations on my engagement in my ear.

I still didn’t know exactly how to square this man with the monster I’d grew up hearing about, but his habit of small confessional moments made sense to me.

He didn’t quite know how to show the heart behind the beast. That, I could relate to.

Before I was whisked away in the chaos, I grabbed Sera’s arm. “Can we talk privately after dinner?”

She nodded.

My heart slammed through the rest of the meal as we traded stories of the goings-on in Philly.

Tom had taken down that ring in Chicago, and Lyle was pretty sure he was starting to close in on a huge one in Europe.

Killian gave a few tips, then drifted away into conversation with Sera about something.

When all the men stood up and declared they’d be taking their after-dinner drink in Killian’s office, Sera told all the women to head back to the drawing room then held back a moment.

“I’m getting married.” God, had my tongue always been this big? Had talking always been this hard? Lauren was right, I was scared.

Sera smiled. “I know.”

“There’s a spot,” I said. “You know. Near the altar. Next to me. For you.”

She laughed. “Are you asking me to be one of your bridesmaids?”

I nodded stiffly.

She threw her arms around me, still laughing. “I’d love to.”

I hugged her back and silently thanked whoever was listening that I’d found my way back to the mafia princess.