Page 39

C ontessa

It’s the day of the wedding and I’m running late. At least today I know my way around all the rooms and corridors. I make a beeline for the room where the wedding party is gathered.

“Oh my God! There you are!” Trilby’s gasp of relief echoes around the small room. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

I ignore Allegra’s scowl and run up to Trilby. “I’m so, so sorry, Tril. I really am.”

After clasping her hands, I stand back and take her in. She’s wearing a forties-style gown with a slash neckline, fitted at the waist and falling to the floor in a delicate train. The back is so low it only just graces the top of her butt cheeks, and it is covered entirely in pearl sequins. It is perfect .

“Oh my word, Trilby. You look stunning.”

She smiles and twirls in front of the floor length mirror.

“Way better than the last one,” Bambi says, then snaps her mouth shut when we all spin around and glare at her. She shrugs dramatically. “Well, it is.”

“That was a beautiful dress, too,” Sera says, diplomatically. “But this one is better.”

“Cristiano saw me in my last one, so it would have been bad luck anyway,” Trilby says, unable to stop smiling at her reflection.

We all nod in agreement and I wipe a tear from my cheek.

The door opens and Papa walks in, then stops abruptly. His eyes take in the four of us and he doesn’t say a word.

“Tony—” Allegra hiccups loudly and rushes to his side. “Your girls?—”

It’s the first time I have ever seen our aunt speechless.

Papa sniffs and swallows. “Beautiful,” he whispers. “You all look so… beautiful .”

He swallows again and seems to struggle for the words. “Your ma?—”

“Don’t say it,” Trilby blurts out, holding up a hand.

“Please,” Papa says, his eyes watery. “I have to.” He takes a long, strengthening breath. “Your mama would be so proud to see you all now.” An enormous tear rolls down my cheek and soaks into the carpeted floor. “There’s something of her in each of you, and it makes me so proud to see the women you are all becoming. I wish she were here to see it too.”

Allegra loops an arm through Papa’s and kisses his shoulder through his tux.

“I wish she were here.” Sera turns to Trilby, her cheeks wet. “I wish she could see you now. So happy and so radiant.” She sniffs and wipes the back of her hand across her cheek. “She’d be fussing around us, remember how she used to do that? Fluttering around like a butterfly, making sure we each had our shoes on, faces washed, teeth brushed.”

A hard lump forms in my throat and no matter how much I swallow, it doesn’t shift.

“I do.” Trilby nods, her gaze liquid.

Allegra sniffs and Papa blows his nose.

I need to do something before this descends into a water bath.

“You should be saving those words for when you get down the aisle.” I hope the joke masks my croaky voice. “Come on. We’re so late already.”

“Quick sister hug?” Trilby spreads her arms and we all pile into them.

With our eyes dried and happier memories touching our lips, Papa opens the door to let us three bridesmaids through. Bambi swishes her skirt around playfully, while Sera smooths down the bodice of her dress, repeatedly. I pass them both, taking care not to let my gown drag on the floor, when my gaze takes in a pair of Italian leather shoes heading towards the function room.

I stop short and look up into bronze irises.

Benito stops too and for a long, delicious second, I see everything in his eyes. Our dark truths colliding, our renewed commitment effervescent in the air around us.

As if time hasn’t just stood still, Benito continues toward the function room with my flushed cheeks and addicted gaze watching him go.

Then Sera’s face appears in front of me, blocking the view of Benito’s solid back disappearing through the door. “Pray tell?” she says, a smirk playing across her lips.

“I’ll exchange my truth for yours,” I shoot back.

Her face falls. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

I take my place behind her, ready for the doors to open. “You sure did.”

A few seconds pass and I watch her shoulders rise and fall. “Fine,” she acquiesces. “I’ve been seeing someone.”

“I knew it,” I grin, smugly. “Who?”

“No one…” She shakes her head softly. “I mean, no one you know.”

I tip my head to the left. “Is that important?”

She turns to the side a little, so I can see her flushed jaw and fluttering lashes. “It is to me.” She lowers her voice. “He’s just a normal person. Works in business—not in… well, you know.”

My tone dips. “Yeah, I know. ”

“But he’s kind, and sweet, and…”

“Hot?” I ask.

“Oh, extremely.”

“Nice. Is he here? In the hotel?”

She turns back around to face the door. “Not today. Said he wants to give me space to spend time with my family. It’s definitely too soon for him to meet you all.”

I laugh softly. “Yeah, we can be a pretty scary bunch.”

Her shoulders shake and I can tell she’s laughing, but I don’t have a chance to press her further because the doors open with a dramatic flourish and the music begins.

I walk down the aisle staying three paces behind Sera, as I’ve been instructed, but the joyful anticipation filling the room is distracting. The air is thick with the scent of roses and Italian leather. My heart pounds in my chest as I place one foot in front of the other.

Allegra stands alone on the front row of seats and I can see her tears falling from all the way down the aisle. My gaze pans to the right and takes in Cristiano. He looks taller and broader, like he’s about to burst with pride. And he hasn’t even seen her yet.

The music drifts through my ears, lifting me until I feel like I’m floating. Bronze eyes are the only things keeping me grounded. I let myself be drawn to them, hooking my gaze on Benito as I reach the end of the aisle and stand beside Sera.

The guests, sharply dressed in black tuxedos and evening gowns, are all staring toward the back of the room.

The music swells—deep and haunting. And then, with her arm threaded through Papa’s, she enters.

I can’t breathe.

Her dress—an ethereal gown that skims over her curves and falls to the floor in a delicate train of sequined satin—glides across the floor. Her bleached hair is rebelliously loose, curled enough to kiss her shoulders, a few soft strands framing her face.

My sister, the bravest of all of us, the one who’d throw herself into icy waters from dramatic clifftops, the one who buried the trauma of seeing our mother killed and kept it from us all, the one who fearlessly fell for the most dangerous man in New York, is walking down the aisle toward him —Cristiano. The Di Santo don, my soon-to-be brother-in-law, and the man who killed his own flesh and blood to protect our family.

I glance sideways to capture his reaction. He’s still standing tall and impossibly composed. But there’s something in his eyes I don’t recall seeing before. I swear his gaze softens just for her, just for a split second, as she approaches. His eyes don’t stray as she glides toward him.

I lift my gaze momentarily to the ceiling in a bid to stop the tears from rolling down my freshly powdered cheeks. When I lower it again, Trilby is kissing Papa on the cheek, then she takes Cristiano’s hand. I watch his fingers curl possessively around hers, and her lips curve into a softly delirious smile. My cheeks heat from the strain of holding in a happy sob and the sensation of Benito’s burning stare.

My gaze flickers beyond the couple to the man whose eyes haven’t left my face once. I feel his touch on my skin, his lips on my throat, and my heart skips a beat.

The guests are asked to sit, and the ceremony begins. Words pass through my ears, unheard, as I focus on the expressions on Trilby and Cristiano’s faces. I’ve seen my sister and her fiancé content before, but nothing like this. My chest blooms with happiness for them both.

Halfway through the sermon, a bird flies through an open window and rests on one of the beams overhead.

“Look at that,” Sera whispers in my ear. “It’s a barn swallow. Isn’t it beautiful?”

I nod in agreement. “Do you think it’s an omen?”

Knowing how spiritual my sister is, I expect her to agree. When she doesn’t reply straight away, I tear my gaze from Trilby, Cristiano and the bird to focus on her.

“No.” She shakes her head. “I think it’s Mama.”

Right at that moment, Trilby gasps and I turn back to see the bird has flown to the front of the room. It is perched on a table just behind the priest, and it’s watching her.

I feel Sera’s soft, warm hand rest on mine while tears roll down my cheeks. I sense Benito’s gaze narrow on me, but I can’t take my eyes off the bird. It sits there until the end of the sermon, only flying to a window sill when it’s time to exchange vows .

The priest’s voice cuts through my tears. “Since it is your intention to enter the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.”

He nods to Cristiano.

“I, Cristiano, take you, Trilby, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

I hold my breath and watch Trilby’s lips move as she repeats the words.

My hands tremble as I watch the exchange of rings, and I half-listen to the priest’s blessing.

When they are pronounced man and wife and Cristiano is invited to kiss his bride, the room erupts. After sitting through uncharacteristic calm and silence, I’m now reminded that I am actually sitting in a room full of Italians. Whoops and hollers rise up from the chairs and Cristiano presses his lips to Trilby’s. A beautiful pink blush creeps up her cheeks and I clap until my hands burn.

When they pull apart, they stare at one another, the roomful of guests falling away to insignificance. My eyes drift to the man behind them and my heart warms. Benito blinks at me slowly, both hands resting in his pockets, then he smiles.