Page 60 of Soulmate of the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #8)

PAIGE

I stood in the vestibule outside of the chapel, clutching my flowers, my heart hammering in my chest. Organ music belted through the doors, and I was just waiting for my cue.

We all were. My two bridesmaids, in simple maroon dresses, stood ahead of me.

Like she could feel my eyes, Lauren turned back and winked.

I smiled. The dress looked spectacular on her, and I’d promised up and down that Tom would invite enough handsome men for her to go home with a date.

This, of course, had been complicated by Tom choosing Killian and Stan as his two groomsmen.

While I liked the older man, and he kept Lauren laughing, I didn’t exactly see the two of them as a couple.

Mom stepped up next to me with a smile. Her mother-of-the-bride dress, a deep burgundy gown with gold accents, caught the light and sent it dancing. “Are you excited?”

I inhaled sharply. “I kind of can’t stop thinking about the seating chart for the reception. Who have I become?”

She laughed. “Your father.”

Tears beaded in my eyes, and I shook my head accusingly. “That’s not fair.”

“I know.” She dabbed the tears away with a handkerchief she produced from her pocket. “I just can’t stop thinking about him. You know, we got married in a church almost exactly like this.”

I shook my head. “I thought you had a backyard wedding.”

Mom swallowed. “We had a backyard reception, but that was a few months after we were legally married. I got pregnant young, and your grandmother had some strict ideas about what to do in those scenarios.” She laughed.

“I was a rebel back then, so I told your father I wanted to celebrate our wedding properly, so we had the reception in the backyard of our first home. The wedding was in a little Catholic church like this one across town.”

I grinned. I could picture Dad’s incredulity and how quickly it would fade into acceptance. He’d worshipped the ground she walked on.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked.

The organ hit a high note, and Sera stepped into the church with Killian on her arm.

Mom smiled. “It was a little gathering, only a few people. We didn’t take a lot of pictures because my mother was so scared I’d be showing.

Your father humored her for me.” She turned to me, her eyes shining with tears.

“Your Tommaso, he would do that for you, right? Do whatever you needed for him to do?”

The seating arrangements in my head faded away as Lauren walked out ahead of us, followed by Sera, and the flower girl and ring bearer, a couple of cute kids whose parents were part of the family.

I pictured Dad on my other arm, smiling until he was crying too. Then, I recalled Tom’s face when I’d told him I’d bind my life to his, share his house and his money, but I didn’t want to marry him until we were ready.

“Yes, he’d do that for me,” I said. “I know he would.”

“Then you’re going to be happy.” She fixed my dress, sniffled a little when she touched my scar. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The organ hit our cue, and any lingering doubts disappeared when I saw Tom waiting at the end of the aisle.

I’d told him I didn’t want to lose our minds about this, so he’d said he would handle his suit, then kept it as fastidiously secret from me as I did the dress from him.

In the high nave of the church, he stood in front of the priest wearing the same deep green suit he’d worn on the night he’d proposed.

Of course we were going to be happy. No one made me smile like he did.

When we reached the altar, Mom passed my hand to him.

“I always expected to have to threaten the man my partridge married.” She smiled. “I don’t think there’s a better threat than you having to deal with her if you break her heart.”

Tom laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “Couldn’t agree more.”

The priest asked who was giving this woman away, and my mother answered proudly, “Her father and I.” Then Mom took her seat in the first pew, and the ceremony began.

I stared up at Tom the whole time, at the laughter and tears dancing in his eyes.

We’d decided to have a small wedding to make sure there wouldn’t be any trouble, but the few full pews made my heart swell with love.

I’d rather only have the people who really cared about us here anyway.

Especially because we’d written our own vows, and I had no idea what Tom had up his sleeve.

The time for vows arrived, and the priest nodded at me first.

“Tommaso,” I said. “Tom. I don’t need to tell anyone here what you’ve done for me.

It’s more than one person could ever expect from another.

” I swallowed, tried to hang onto my emotions.

“But I don’t know if you understand. So I guess I’m telling this story for you.

” I chuckled. “When you found me, I had nothing. Not even my own right to privacy. And that very first night, when you gave me food, you turned away so I could eat.” I met his gaze.

“That’s when I began to understand who you were.

That’s the man I fell in love with. That’s the man I am beyond honored to spend my life with. I love you.”

Tom’s eyes glistened with tears. “I haven’t thought about that in ages.”

I smiled. “Me either. Thank you.”

The priest cleared his throat and nodded to Tom.

“One time, I said you were my cheesesteak,” Tom said.

Everyone laughed.

“I meant it.” He smiled down at me. “In that you’re my favorite everything.

My favorite food critic. My favorite sounding board.

My favorite food.” He waggled his eyebrows, and I laughed with the crowd.

“My favorite person. I was so scared before proposing to you, but for the life of me, I don’t know why.

There’s nothing in the world less scary than spending my life at your side and growing together. ”

My heart melted. I nodded, trying not to drag out the ceremony before the kissing part even longer. I loved Tom, I was so happy, and I was ready to touch him again.

“In short”—he glanced at the priest and smirked—“I’d say I think you’re a pretty good dude.”

I laughed so hard I dropped my flowers. The priest rushed through the remainder of the ceremony, clearly done with whatever kind of relationship we brought into his church, and finally said the line.

I flung my arms around Tom’s neck and kissed him like I’d never get a chance to again, even though we’d just promised each other a lifetime of chances.

I whispered in his ear, “I think you’re a good dude, too.”

With that, Tom broke into a fit of laughter. No matter what twists and turns life had in store for us, I knew we could tackle them as long as we were together—with a little help from our friends.

Our family.