“Of course,” she said, winking.
“Angela,” I said, once Lorenzo was gone.
“What?” she said, her eyes wide and innocent. “I'm just friendly. Hi, Mr. Marino. How are you?”
“Already stressed out, trying to make sure my boys behave,” Daddy said.
Angela and I laughed.
I’d been so busy getting myself together, I hadn’t had time to actually observe how the rest of my bridal party looked. I hadn’t even been around to help them pick out the bridesmaid dresses, but Angela had been in charge of that, and from the looks of it, she’d done an excellent job. Her dress was beautiful, and I could tell that it was the kind of dress that was figure-flattering for anyone who wore it.
“That dress is lovely, Angela. Thanks for helping get the bridesmaids together.”
“No problem, darling. The rest of the girls should be here any minute.”
“All our guests are here too. So, it’ll be time for things to get started shortly,” Daddy said, checking his watch.
Even though I was looking forward to it, butterflies began to float through my stomach.
Just as Angela had predicted, the rest of the bridesmaids—which included Jessica, Maria, and three of my cousins, began to make their way over. Within moments of their arrival, the room filled with excited chatter and Daddy drifted off to take a seat in the corner. Clearly, there was too much estrogen in the room for him.
When it was time to line up and get ready to enter for the ceremony, Mama showed up.
She looked stunning, having found the perfect mother-of-the-bride dress. It was a royal purple tea-length number with spaghetti straps and an elegant shawl that hung over her shoulders. She stopped before me, clearly trying not to cry. Wordlessly, she gently grabbed my face and kissed each side of my cheeks. And then she turned to my father, giving him a quick smooch on the lips before exiting to be escorted into the ceremony alongside with Giovanni’s parents.
I had expected to take in each detail of the ceremony, but as the bridesmaids and groomsmen began to march in, everything began to go by in a blur.
“You’re shaking, sweetie. Are you all right?” Daddy said.
I smiled and nodded and held on to his arm a little more firmly.
Before I knew it, all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had made their way inside, and the music designated specifically for my entrance began to play. Daddy and I slowly moved forward, making it to the entrance.
All of our guests stood, and all eyes were on us. On me…
I swallowed, and Daddy and I began to march inside.
People oohed and ahhed. Cameras flashed left and right. And in my periphery, I could see the hired professional photographer trailing our every step, documenting it with the camera.
It was astounding that such a beautiful setup had been created in such a short amount of time.
Feeling the butterflies in my stomach growing, I decided to let everything fade into the background. That’s when my eyes finally landed on Giovanni.
He had been handsome from the moment I first laid eyes on him, but nothing could compare to how breathtaking he looked standing at the altar in his tuxedo, waiting for me to step by his side. His hair was sleek and shiny, and hung in a low-slung ponytail. His facial hair was trimmed to perfection. And his amber eyes sparkled as those deep dimples of his slowly came forward with the smile that came over his face when our eyes locked.
As a child, I had never quite seen the face of my future husband when I imagined my wedding. Yet, one look at Giovanni Romano let me know that he was the man of my dreams all along.
When we reached the end of the aisle, the priest smiled. “Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?” he asked.
“I do,” my father said. He then leaned down, kissing each of my cheeks just as my mother had. Then he parted ways, to stand at my mother’s side in the front row.
I took my rightful place beside Giovanni, who gripped my hand and interlaced his fingers through mine.
The priest spoke some more, but I could hardly pay attention to his words, for I was too focused on the feeling of Giovanni’s hand in mine.
I thought back to when we first met, and he saved me from that guy at the nightclub. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be marrying him not long afterward. Fate was certainly funny sometimes.
My thoughts were interrupted when finally, it was time for Gio and me to take our vows.
The priest cleared his throat dramatically and then spoke loud and clear. “Do you, Giovanni Romano, take Arianna Marino, for your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?”
Giovanni smiled and gazed into my eyes. “I do.”
“And do you, Arianna Marino, take Giovanni Romano, for your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?”
“I do,” I said. With the utterance of those two words, it suddenly felt like the biggest weight had been lifted off my shoulders. All the turbulence Giovanni and I had experienced leading up to this day no longer mattered. All of the doubts and mistrust I’d felt disappeared. We were married, and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
We exchanged rings, which were a beautiful set that had once belonged to Giovanni’s grandparents.
“By the power vested in me,” the priest said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Giovanni, you may kiss your bride.”
Giovanni and I turned to face one another. He leaned down, kissing me delicately, but drawing it out as the church erupted into cheers and applause. When we finally separated, both of us were smiling, laughing, and shedding tears of joy.
EPILOGUE
Giovanni
1 year later
Be careful what you wish for, and even more careful what you ask for.
Speeding down the highway, I had officially learned that lesson. After the wedding, my father and I had managed to make up with one another. He had apologized for the way he’d been treating me and the hateful words he’d said to me, claiming that he had just been angry and in the heat of the moment, had said a lot of things he hadn’t meant. It took a while, but I eventually forgave him, although my forgiveness had been aided by the fact that he had finally given me a higher position in the family business.
I’d been flattered by getting a higher ‘job title’ that involved more than being just the capo, which was a duty my younger brothers now shared. However, I quickly learned that having a higher role in the business also meant having more responsibility than I’d expected. I had adapted fairly quickly though and had no desire to complain.
Or at least I hadn’t intended on complaining until now.
I knew it was partially my fault though. I shouldn’t have agreed to work overtime while it was so close to Arianna’s due date. Everyone in the family knew that she could go into labor at any second. But like an idiot, I’d been convinced that I had time to take care of a little business before returning home, where I had anticipated finding Arianna sleeping peacefully.
Instead, what I’d received while out on the job was a frantic phone call with the first several seconds consisting of nothing but Arianna’s screaming. When she finally spoke, my heart was already pounding a mile-a-minute in my chest.
“Gio—I think it’s time. She’s coming! I gotta get to the hospital!” And then she descended into more screams as another contraction hit her. “Oh, my God! I think my water just broke!”
I swore. “Okay, I’m on my way.” But at that precise moment, I realized how far away from home I was and knew that if someone didn’t get to her soon, our child was likely to be born on the dining room carpet.
Fortunately, Arianna had called her parents too, and they had called her oldest brother, who was much closer and had managed to get her to the hospital that I was currently speeding
down the highway trying to get to.
When I reached the hospital, I had barely managed to park the car before jumping out and racing inside.
“My wife—she’s in labor! Where is she? Where is she?!” I yelled to the first desk.
“Okay, sir. Calm down,” the receptionist said. “Tell me your wife’s name.”
“Arianna Romano.”
Within minutes, I was running through the hospital to the maternity ward.
Immediately, I saw Dante Marino pacing the waiting room and halfway dressed in hospital scrubs. “Oh, thank God!” he said, looking close to fainting. He hurried toward me and clasped my hand. “Lord knows I didn’t want to go in there, bro.” He quickly began pulling off the scrubs and handed them over to me. “My folks are on the way.”
I nodded, struggling to put on the gear.
A door to one of the hospital rooms swung open, and screams I recognized as Arianna’s drifted out.
“Excuse me, are you the father?” a nurse asked, poking her head out through the door.
“Yes!”
“Come on in, Mr. Romano!” she said, hastily waving me forward.
I almost tripped over my own feet trying to rush into the room.
Arianna was on the hospital bed, prepped for delivery. Her face was scrunched in pain, and sweat dripped down her forehead. Yet, somehow, she managed to smile upon seeing me.
I hurried to her side, almost tripping again, and grabbed her hand. She proceeded to squeeze it. “Thank goodness you made it,” she said breathlessly. “Dante was about to faint.”
I clenched my teeth and refrained from telling her that I was about to faint too. I took a deep breath and pressed my forehead to hers. “It’s okay now, baby. I’m here.”
She proceeded to scream as another contraction hit, squeezing my hand for dear life.
The doctor walked in just in time. “Nice to see you, Mr. Romano. Let’s make you a father.”
* * *
Less than an hour later, a pink wiggly infant was in my arms. Arianna had made me believe in love at first sight, and now—my baby girl just solidified my belief.
I looked up at Arianna, who was in the hospital bed, tired but looking even more beautiful to me right then and there than she had at our wedding.
“She’s a beauty, just like her mama,” I said.
Arianna smiled. “I think she has your eyes though,” she said. “She opened them briefly for a moment while I was feeding her.”
I placed a gentle kiss on the top her head, which was adorned with silky black hair. I may have imagined it, but for an instant, I thought a saw a smile flicker across her tiny face.
It was at that moment that I realized no matter what kind of work I did for the family, I had now just gotten the hardest job I would ever have to do. Fatherhood. Yet, I was more than ready and couldn’t wait to experience every moment of it for the rest of my life. After all, I had to someday prepare this little beauty to inherit the Romano empire. The little girl in my arms was going to be the most powerful woman the Romano family had ever seen; I was going to see to that.
I returned my daughter to her mother’s arms, and then kissed Arianna, right as a knock on the door indicated that the new grandparents had made their way over, ready to see the newest family treasure.
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SEAL’d With A Kiss
A SEAL Second Chance Romance
By Nicole Elliot and Ellie Wild
One
Piper
I held her in my arms. I inhaled her sweet smell while tears ran down my cheeks. I loved her, but I knew I couldn’t keep her.
They pulled her away from me and I heard her cry as they left the room. My heart shattered.
I turned over and felt the scratchy hospital sheets against my skin. I cried just like she did. And it wasn’t because I was hungry or tired, it was because I was scared. I was broken and it was entirely his fault.
I died a little that day. When your heart breaks that completely, you lose pieces to the darkness.
Five Years Later
I watched his eyes. I knew was coming before it happened. Don't say it, don't say it.
“It's not you, it's me.” Whoop there it was. He fucking said it. It was like he was compelled to. Just like the seven other guys I dated in the past three years. Why was there always something wrong with them? I was starting to believe that they were wrong and it was me.
I put a hand over my forehead and tried to ignore the embarrassments of the prying eyes at tables near us. My dark ringlets fell over my face and covered my reddening cheeks. This was another restaurant I would have to cross off the list. Thank God New York had thousands of them, because I'd been broken up with in at least a dozen by now. I looked at the napkin.
Loose Joe’s.
Sorry Joe, no matter how loose you are, we’re never seeing each other again. Which sucked because this cheesesteak reminded me of home.
And then he felt he needed to explain himself. Which just made things worse.
“I mean I guess I'm just not ready for how serious you are. I need a little bit more fun in my life.”
So I wasn't fun?
I sighed. “Not that this isn’t great information and everything but I think it's time for the check.”
Minutes later I was busting out the doors of that restaurant. I tried to seem inconspicuous as I was leaving but on my way out I had run directly into a waiter and had spilled water all over myself and the floor. Today was not my day.
As I attempted to hail a taxi my phone started ringing. I looked down, it was my older sister Audra. I wanted to press ignore but it was the third time she called me today so I knew that I needed to answer or she would just keep calling.
“What the hell have you been doing all day? Besides ignoring my calls?”
“Hi Audra. How are you? Wonderful? Great because I'm just peachy.” The sarcasm dripped off my words.
A taxi pulled up in front of me and I got in. “642 56th Street please.”
“Are you in a cab?”
“Yes. What does it matter?”
“Oh shit, were you on another breakup luncheon? I swear last time this happened I told you the next guy that asks you out to lunch, refuse.”
I guess it was becoming a bit of a pattern. “And what? I’m just supposed to drag out a relationship with some guy who doesn't like me?”
“Piper, I hate to tell you this but I don't think there are any guys who like you in New York anymore. So, if you can snag one that has a good job and a 401(k) you should just let it drag out as long as possible. Hopefully all the way down the aisle.”
“You sound like Mom.”
“Well you've got to start listening to someone. I swear to God I'm going to be dead before you finally meet a man.”
“You're so lovely at this time of day. Or actually any time of day.” More sarcasm, I was on a roll.
“Speaking of death, we need to talk about Uncle Jeff's funeral.”
This is why I had been avoiding her calls all day. There was no way in hell I was going back to Bradberry for some ridiculous family reunion and the sad funeral of my Uncle Jeff. Who I hadn't seen in at least a decade.
“I'm not talking about Uncle Jeff's funeral. I already told you I have to work.”
“Well that's hilarious because I called Ian and he told me that he could clear your schedule for all of next week. I expect you to be here tomorrow.”
Ian, that Queen. He was on my shit list
now.
“I can't just pick up and be there tomorrow. That’s not how it works here, I have clients and appointments…”
She interrupted me, “Ian has cleared all of that for you. By the way he says he is very sorry for your loss.”
I sighed. “You're not giving up, are you?”
“You missed Christmas. Mom and Dad are pissed as hell at you and no one wants to talk about you because they think you're sad and lonely. Now I know that you are sad and lonely but I still want to see my baby sister, so come home. Pack a bag and get in the car tomorrow. Is that clear?”
I hated the way she bossed me around but she was right. I hadn't gone home for Christmas because a friend surprised me with tickets to the Rockettes on Christmas Eve. I had never been even though I'd lived in New York for five years. It was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. The story of my life.
“Fine. I'm coming. But don't expect me to be all excited about it. And I want my own room, I'm not paying to stay at some rinky-dink hotel up there for a week. Mom and Dad have plenty of space and they can put me up. Or even better, you can.”
“Nope. We’re already full, you're definitely staying with Mom and Dad. And the best part is Aunt Miriam is staying with them too.”
“Great. So, I can get the judgment from all sides.”
“Always.”
“Well I guess I gotta go pack.” We were nearing my apartment anyway. “Bye.”
“Ta for now!”
Sometimes older sisters make you want to vomit. Not mine, she was an over achiever. My older sister made me want to vomit ninety five percent of the time. She was our parent’s favorite. Had stayed close to home, got married, had kids. She had done everything the right way. But not me. I was the black sheep. The super-successful yet unmarried lawyer. Screams black sheep, doesn’t it?
Two
Piper
The taxi pulled up to my apartment. I paid and jumped out, wishing I could stay there forever. Living in the back of a cab for the rest of my life would beat going home for a week. I knew I was being overdramatic, but I couldn’t help it. My sister had a way of getting under my skin. After just one phone call she had me agreeing to an entire week in Bradberry. I didn’t know how she did it, but I hated her for it.
Married to My Enemy Page 13