by Tessa Thorne
He carries me through the living room and into the master bedroom. There’s one piece of furniture in it. A king-size bed, covered in plain sheets, with a pair of big pillows and a white comforter.
“An honest-to-goodness bed.” He grins as he lays me across it. “To make love to my fiancée.”
I stretch my arms behind my head and arch my back. “I didn’t know you could fuck in a bed,” I tease.
He presses his lips against mine and nips at my bottom lip. “Pretty sure it’s making love when we do it in our own bed.”
I giggle as he kisses his way down my neck, wetting my skin with the tip of his soft tongue. I sigh and wrap my arms around his neck as I let him work his magic across my skin.
I turn my head as he nibbles on my ear. “And you got shades, too.”
“The occasional privacy can’t hurt.” His lips travel down my breasts and he bites my nipple softly through my dress.
I groan as his hand travels up my thigh, pushing up my skirt, slipping into my panties. “You’re already wet.”
I nod, biting my lip. “Don’t tease me today. I can’t take it.”
I gasp aloud as he slides a finger between my lips, and plunges it inside me. I grip him by the back of his neck and moan into his mouth as he slips another finger inside my eager pussy.
“Yeah.” I spread my legs as he starts thrusting inside me, filling the room with the sound of my wetness.
“That feels really good.” I groan, but I grab his hand to stop him. “But I want my fiancé’s cock inside me now. Nothing else will do.”
He kisses my forehead as he stands up, and slowly strips his clothes off. I lie back, lightly touching myself as I watch my future husband strip the clothes off his godlike body.
Once naked, he climbs onto the bed between my legs, and spreads my knees apart to make room for his hips, then guides his cock to the entrance of my pussy. He looks down into my eyes as he slips its tip between my folds and swallows my gasp with a kiss.
I wrap my calves around his ass as he starts thrusting into me to the rhythm of my breath until he’s fully inside me.
“Your cock feels so good inside me.” I lean up to kiss him again. “I want you to give me everything you've got. I want to have your baby.”
He growls as he gets to work slamming his hips against my body, driving his cock furiously into my pussy. My moans grow louder underneath him as my body begins to tense. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, digging my nails into his back, and lift my body against him, to swallow every inch of his cock inside me.
My body begins to tense, as the feeling spreads from my core to my limbs. My pussy clenches around his cock and I gasp out loud as the tension breaks and the pleasure overwhelms me.
I can barely hang on to him as he continues to thrust inside me until I feel his dick pulse inside me, filling me with his hot sticky seed.
He braces himself over me, breathing hard, and smiles down at me through eyes glazed over with pleasure.
“That was wonderful.” I kiss him on the lips. “You’re as good at making love as you are at fucking.”
He chuckles, and kisses me back, then rolls off of me, and puts his arm under my neck, pulling me into his body.
“I could get used to this.”
I wrap my arm around his chest, and curl my leg up on his belly.
“Me too.”
I close my eyes against his chest, and drift away into a world of dreams that will soon become reality.
Extended Epilogue
I look at myself in the full-length mirror as my mom tightens the lacing on the hidden corset of my wedding dress.
“There.” She beams from behind me. “You look perfect.”
Sarah whistles. “That’s no fucking lie. I knew you couldn’t go wrong with a Zac Posen.”
“Language!” my mom snaps at Sarah. “We’re in a church.”
“Sorry! It’s just she looks so effing good.” She grins. “I can say effing in a church, right?”
My mom sighs. It’s been a long day for her. She’s been running herself ragged making sure everything is just right. I turn back to the mirror. I can say with full confidence that my dress looks flawless. It’s exactly what I wanted. A sweetheart strapless neckline, with a mermaid silhouette and a full train. The fabric is made from a silk chiffon blend, and elaborately beaded with Swarovski crystals. Mom insisted on this dress, but I’m happy I gave in. It really does suit me.
“You look fabulous, babe.” Sarah comes up behind me and puts her hands on my shoulders. “It’s fun to indulge, isn’t it?”
I turn and air-kiss her cheek, careful not to get any lipstick on her face. “Yeah, once in a while. You look amazing, too. Turquoise really is your color.”
“You know, I was really worried you were gonna make me pick out a dress from T.J. Maxx or something.” She wrinkles her nose at first but then laughs. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
“Don’t think she didn’t think about it.” My mom’s grinning. “She was thinking of making you do just that, but I convinced her otherwise.”
“Thank God you did!” Sarah exclaims and laughs.
“Very funny, you two.” I smile, my eyes still on the mirror. I really should be psyched that my mom and Sarah have been getting along so well. I didn’t know how my mom would react when I asked her to let Sarah help with planning the wedding, but they’ve really hit it off. Sarah and my mom have both been invaluable for taking care of the minor details while they let the wedding planner handle everything else. But my mind is elsewhere, wondering how Gio’s doing.
“Are you ready for your veil?” Sarah asks.
I nod, and she moves over to let the hairdresser pin the veil to my hair. I love having it styled into a French twist. I hope Gio loves the way it shows off my neck. I know today must be hard on him, though I know he wouldn’t want to admit it. Seeing all my family and the familia here today must make him miss his own family even more. Hopefully joining my family and starting our own will fill that void in his heart.
“What do you think?” The hairdresser’s words pull me out of my reverie.
I look into the mirror and can see the full veil draping down my back in the mirror she’s holding up behind me. “It looks amazing,” I say. “I love what you did with my hair. Thank you.”
“It’s my job.” She smiles. “Every girl deserves her best hair day on the day of her wedding.”
My mom nods appreciatively, looking at her handiwork. “I know you're staying for the wedding and reception, right? We have room for extra guests.”
“Of course.” She smiles. “I wouldn’t dare miss it!”
There’s a rapid knock on the door. Sarah opens the door and my fourteen-year-old cousin, Bianca, steps through in her bridesmaid dress. “You look so gorgeous!” she shrieks.
“Thanks, Bianca.” I smile. “You look amazing, too.” She's always been such a sweet girl. Gio says she reminds him of his sister Elena.
She beams back at me. “Everything’s set up for the ceremony. The wedding planner said to tell you they're all ready for you downstairs.”
I turn to my mom. “Are we ready?”
“Yes. Let’s not keep the bishop waiting.” She clasps her hands together, eyes shining with unshed tears. “My little princess is going to get married.”
I feel a lump in my throat as my mom wraps her arms around me carefully, making sure not to disturb my veil.
“I’m so happy for you,” she says, her voice hoarse with emotion. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I squeeze her back tightly before we part.
Once we leave each other’s arms, Sarah hands me my bouquet of roses and hypericum berries. I take the flowers from her as she takes my free hand and jumps up and down. “Oh my God! This is really happening!”
She stops, lets go of my hand and straightens her dress. “Okay, I got that out of my system. Bianca, get her train. It’s time to get this show started!”
Bianca runs up behind me and
picks up my train, and I fall in line behind my mom and Sarah as we carefully make our way down the grand spiral staircase to the first floor.
The whole wedding party is waiting for me downstairs behind the huge pair of ornately carved wooden doors that lead from the entrance into the chapel. The hush of voices comes to a quiet as they see us coming.
It feels so strange, having all their eyes on me. All my cousins are paired up with some of the men from the familia that Gio has gotten to know better these past few months.
“Get in your places, people!” the wedding planner calls out as Sarah leaves me to find her place with her current boyfriend. His name is Vick. Gio didn’t mind adding him to his party even though they’ve only been dating for three weeks. I say only, but that might just be a record for her.
A side door opens and my dad steps into the entrance. The crowd parts for him as he walks over to me, a rare smile on his face. He takes my gloved hands in his, and looks at me, his eyes glistening.
“My little princess,” he says and kisses me lightly on the cheek. “You look so beautiful.”
“Thank you, Dad.” I smile. It doesn’t bother me anymore when he calls me princess. I know how conflicted he must feel, watching me take this final step toward independence.
“You found yourself an honorable man.” He nods. “I’m proud of you, and happy to welcome him into the family.”
I reach up and put my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Princess.”
He takes my arm in his, and we take our place at the back of the procession. The doors swing open as the first notes of the Wedding March play on the grand pipe organ. My stomach feels like it’s filled with butterflies, but my father’s calm keeps me steady. I remember the wedding planner’s instructions as I wait for our turn to start, counting the steps in my head to keep my nerves in check.
I see everyone standing in their pews, watching with cameras held up, lights flashing. We walk through the grand entrance under the golden arches of the cathedral ceiling. At first I’m overwhelmed by the faces of friends, family and other guests I hardly know.
Then I see him standing at the altar, and everything else fades from my mind. The edges of my vision begin to blur and all I can see is Gio standing there in a halo of light. He looks like a movie star on the red carpet in his sharp tuxedo and ivory bowtie.
I take my measured steps toward him, but I feel like I’m floating on a cloud. I can tell he has eyes only for me. It’s like we're alone, just the two of us, in this crowd of hundreds. I take my final step in time with the last note of the organ as my dad helps me onto the altar and takes his place by my mom. On Gio's side of the altar is a large portrait of his smiling family, ringed by a wreath of lilies.
I clasp my bouquet tightly in my hands as I stand there before everyone, smiling into the eyes of my future husband. I want to jump up and down, scream and shout in joy.
Bishop Romano steps forward and begins his recital of prayers. The words fade into the background. All I can see is Gio, and all I can hear are the words he used to propose to me four months ago.
Before I know it, the bishop turns to Gio and intones the words that jolt me back to reality. “Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.”
Gio, standing tall and proud before the church, takes my right hand in his and speaks his vow. “I, Giovanni Gallo, take you, Alessandra Pavoni, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”
The bishop smiles and turns to me.
I start speaking my vow, echoing Gio's words, and to my surprise my voice is as strong and steady as his. “I, Alessandra Pavoni, take you, Giovanni Gallo, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”
The bishop turns from us to look at the audience. “Giovanni Gallo and Alessandra Pavoni have declared their consent to be married. What God has joined, men must not divide.”
He looks to my little cousin Luca, dressed in an adorable little tuxedo, capped with a mop of black curls. “May we have the rings?”
He waddles between us and holds out the gold-fringed turquoise ring bearer pillow. Our rings are carefully fastened to the pillow with delicate gold ribbons. Bianca insisted on tying them herself. The bishop speaks his blessing over the rings with a sprinkle of holy water and holds the pillow out toward us.
Gio takes my thin platinum band from the ribbons and slowly places it on my ring finger until it’s nestled against my engagement ring as he speaks. “Alessandra Pavoni, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
It fits perfectly in its place, like a permanent fixture on my body. I take a moment to stare at it through misty eyes before I take his ring and place it on his finger as I speak my words. “Giovanni Gallo, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
The bishop then speaks the prayers and says the final words. “I now pronounce you, Giovanni Gallo and Alessandra Gallo, husband and wife.”
We'd been warned that our wedding wouldn't be like the movies. After all, we've being wed by a bishop in the Cathedral Basilica of St. James, and proper etiquette dictates a certain amount of decorum. In other words, they told us not to celebrate our first kiss as husband and wife until we were outside the cathedral.
But I see the look in Gio’s eyes and I smile as he takes me by the waist, dips me back and crushes his strong lips against mine as the crowd stands on their feet and cheer us on. I could let him kiss me forever, and I gasp when he pulls his lips from mine and pulls me back up.
He holds me close and whispers in my ears. “I couldn’t resist a kiss, but we still have to respect the Church.” His eyes dart to the bishop who’s trying to mask a slightly disapproving frown. “I don’t think he minded that much though.”
I bite my lip. “Okay, as long as you promise to pick up where you left off after the reception.”
He grins at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Who says we have to wait until the end of the night?”
With those words, the doors swing open as he takes my hand and we follow the procession back out of the church, through the cheering audience and to his black Chevy Camaro. It’s been waxed to a brilliant shine and decorated with roses, lilies and a string of cans trailing from the bumper.
My mom wanted us to use her dad’s classic Rolls Royce limo, but I know how much the Camaro means to Gio, and I couldn’t stand to deny him. An usher holds the passenger door open for me as Gio takes his place behind the wheel, and we take the lead, heading toward the biggest party of my life.
It was my idea to have the reception at Hush. It’s my club, after all. No need to worry about what dates were available, or how many people we can fit or the quality of booze in the open bar. And this way I know for sure the sound system is banging because DJ Bo is picky about the systems he’ll play on.
After all the guests have taken their seats, my father stands up and the room goes into a quiet hush. My father’s always been able to command a room at a moment’s notice.
“Most of you know I’m a man of few words.” He gestures with his glass to the guests sitting all around us. “Which I’m sure comes as relief to most of you who hate a long-winded toast.”
He doesn’t wait for the laughter to die down before going on. “I just want to take a moment to thank you all for coming to my daughter’s wedding to my new son. Some of you know the full story of how they got together. The rest of you would be advised to not ask.”
Another round of knowing chuckles follow from a few of the men in the familia. “Alessandra, my princess. You know how hard it’s been for me watching you grow into the beautiful woman you have
become. It’s not easy for a man like me to trust his baby girl into the hands of another man. But you could not have found a more trustworthy husband. I have come to know in a short time that Giovanni is a man of integrity and honor. I know that he loves you with all his heart, and he will march through the gates of Hell to protect you.”
I swallow the growing lump in my throat, and dab the corners of my eyes with a napkin as Gio softly squeezes my hand under the table.
“So I say to Giovanni,” he holds up his glass, and the room follows, “welcome to the family. To Giovanni and Alessandra. To everlasting love, and many grandchildren to come. Salute.”
A chorus of cheers follows and a procession of waiters in crisp white gloves pour out from the kitchen carrying trays of finger foods and champagne.
Once the floor is clear, DJ Bo speaks from his high perch in the DJ booth. “The bride and the groom have chosen the song Always and Forever for their first dance as husband and wife. The song is dedicated to the memory of the Gallos who could not be here with us tonight.”
Gio rises, his smile touched by sadness that I want to cure. He takes my hand and walks me to the center of the dance floor. We embrace as the song plays, and for these brief minutes, it’s as if I’m completely alone with my husband.
“This is the happiest day of my life,” I whisper into his ear. “I still can’t believe this is all really happening.”
He leans his head into mine and kisses me lightly on the shell of my ear. “You remind me that life is a gift that shouldn’t be wasted.” He leans back as we rock together, looking me in the eye. “You are everything to me.”
I hear a light cheer as I gently press my lips against his and then lay my head on his shoulder for the rest of the song. I don’t need more words to know how much he loves me. Just holding him, in this moment together is all I need.
As the song comes to an end, DJ Bo opens the floor to everyone else and the music turns upbeat.
The rest of the night is a blur of meeting distant family and Dad’s friends, interrupted only by dinner, the cutting of the cake, and the bouquet toss. I tried aiming the bouquet at Sarah, but I’m pretty sure she dodged it on purpose, practically shoving my poor hairdresser in front of her to catch it instead. I chuckle as I think about Sarah. That girl’s never going to settle down.