by Chelle Bliss
Lucio pulls Brax from my grip as Tilly approaches the altar. I step forward, hands clasped in front of me to stop myself from snatching her out of Roger’s arms too soon.
Tilly smiles at me, and the ache deep in my soul disappears, replaced by warmth, love, and nothing but hope.
I don’t know how I got so lucky to find a love this big again. I cursed God so many times during Marissa’s illness, during her death, and afterward that I figured I was doomed to be alone forever. God and I hadn’t been on good terms in years, but somehow, that didn’t stop the big guy from putting someone so spectacular in my path again.
“Who gives this woman to this man?” the priest behind me asks.
Roger’s gaze flickers to mine for a moment. “I do.” Roger turns to Tilly and smiles.
She turns to face him, and he leans in to kiss her cheek. They embrace for a moment, and a whisper is shared before they move apart. Roger moves her hand to mine, and I take it.
This day is a big one for Roger too. Tilly has been his family for years. His only family since the day Mitchell died. We’ve done everything we can to include him and make him feel like he’s joining my crazy tribe too. The moment isn’t lost on Roger. He’s just as teary-eyed as my mother as he backs away from us, officially giving Tilly to me before God and my family.
“I love you,” I whisper in her ear as I help her up the steps.
She gazes up at me with the biggest smile. “I love you too.”
I stare into the eyes of the woman I love, feeling the pain of the past melt away as the happiness of the future fills my heart.
9
Tilly
“Who are all these people?” I ask Angelo after a solid hour of greeting wedding guests.
The only thing I can liken it to is the clown car at the circus. They just keep coming and coming. There’s no end to the line of people waiting to shake our hands, congratulate us on our big day, and stuff the box with envelopes. Just when I think we’re getting to the end, the group of cousins from last night arrives.
Angelo laughs as he pulls me close and kisses the top of my head. “I told you I had a big family.”
“Big is an understatement, sweetheart.”
An extremely handsome older man comes to a stop in front of Angelo. “Son, you look happy. It’s nice to see the smile on your face.”
Angelo grabs the man in a tight embrace. “Uncle Sal, it’s so good to see you.”
I’ve heard stories about Uncle Sal, Santino’s brother from Florida, and their wild days when they were younger. Sal looks so much like Santino, only with less gray sprinkled into his black hair.
Sal turns his gaze toward me, and his smile widens. “Ah, Tilly, my dear.” He reaches for my hand and brings it to his lips. “More beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined.”
My face heats at the way this man looks at me, the devilish gleam in his eyes as he kisses the tender skin on the back of my hand. I can picture Sal and Santino breaking hearts all over the streets of Chicago back in the day.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say, unable to hide my smile as he moves away.
“The pleasure is ours,” he says as he pulls a woman forward. “This is my wife, your aunt Maria.”
The woman is stunning. A complete knockout in her long black silk gown, which hugs every curve just perfectly.
“Well, aren’t you a looker,” she says, and before I can reply, she grabs me, practically squeezing the air from my lungs. “You hold on to this one. Don’t let him boss you around either. We’ll talk. You have to handle a Gallo man.”
I laugh softly as she pulls away, winking at me. There’s so much truth in her words. Every man in this family likes to assert his dominance. They’re not unlike Southern gentlemen with their natural-born instinct to be the master of the universe, including the boss of their women.
Angelo’s different. He’s bossy, for sure, but I’ve learned how to get my way and have him see the light. It doesn’t hurt that a little girl has him practically wrapped around her finger, too.
“We’re not bossy, Auntie Mar,” Angelo tells her.
She places her hand on his cheek, staring up at him with such love. “You’re all bossy, dear. It’s genetic and sometimes you can’t help yourself, but it’s our job as your women to help you adapt.”
Angelo laughs as Uncle Sal rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath about showing her who’s boss later.
Everyone from last night is behind Sal and Maria, plus some new faces. They’re busy talking, paying no attention to our conversation.
“I heard you had a nice time last night,” Maria says as she steps off to the side, making room for them to greet us.
I guess no one told her what happened last night. How we ended up at a sex club, drinking way too much, and spending time together. I don’t say a word, deciding it’s best for the parents not to know the details of our evening.
My eyes move from one to another, seeing them in the light and dressed to the nines. The men are huge with that dark, mysterious edge to them. Wide shoulders, little peeks of tattoos showing on their exposed skin, and hot as sin. The women are beautiful, and each one is so different, it’s clear the brothers do not have the same taste in women.
Joe steps in front of the pack. “Suzy and I are so happy for you two,” he says in a deep voice. I’m sure he makes most women go weak at the knees, and I’m not immune to his sexy purr.
“Welcome to the family,” Suzy says and isn’t shy about hugging me either. “It’s always wonderful to have more cousins.”
I think about her words as she embraces me. I’ve never really had a family. Mine was small, and when my parents passed, Roger and Mitchell were all I had left. Now, standing in front of all these people, I realize my world has just exploded like in the big bang, but instead of stars, my universe is filled with relatives.
Her husband pulls her back to his side, a move Angelo’s made with me more times than I can count. “These are our children.” He motions for them to step forward, and they do. “This is Gigi, Luna, and Rosie.” He points to each girl as he says her name.
Gigi isn’t a child. She’s almost fully grown and probably going to give her father a run for his sanity. Actually, they’re probably all going to give their father trouble as they grow. They’re a perfect mix of their father and mother, stunningly beautiful.
Luna and Rosie each give me a small smile, but Gigi’s busy typing on her phone until her father clears his throat. She finally looks up when he moves behind her, and his shadow falls over her.
“I’m sorry about that,” Gigi says, ignoring her father and talking directly to me. “Men are so needy.” She rolls her eyes, and I immediately like this kid. “My boyfriend doesn’t like me being so far away.”
I move my gaze to her father as she’s speaking. He’s staring at the ceiling with his jaw set tight and his hands fisted at his sides. Yep, she’s definitely going to give him more than a few gray hairs.
“It’s fine, dear.” I smile. “They don’t get any better the older they get either, but there’s a fine line between caring and suffocation.”
Joe grunts as Gigi rolls her eyes again. She clearly doesn’t like my message. It takes years to know the difference. With age comes wisdom and a ton of hard lessons.
“They grow so fast,” Suzy says as she grabs on to her husband’s thick bicep. “Right, honey?”
Joe glances down at his wife, and the annoyance at his daughter virtually melts away. “Too fast, sugar,” he says softly.
“Give me the phone, Giovanna,” Maria, her grandmother, says and holds out her hand. “He can talk to you later. Tell him goodbye and hand it over. This is family time.”
Gigi doesn’t sass her grandmother as she types furiously on the tiny screen while we all watch. Within seconds, the phone is in her grandmother’s hand and everyone seems happy except Gigi.
My eyes move beyond Joe and Suzy to the largest cousin, who’s holding his wife’s hand like it’s a li
feline. He makes everyone in the room seem ridiculously small, as if they could be part of the supporting cast of the Wizard of Oz. “Mia and I are over the moon for you two.” He smiles, and I melt a little. “This is our daughter, Lily, and our son, Stone.”
I try to memorize the names and faces, but Lord help me, there’s so many of them. I know I’ll never get them all right. At least not today. The hangover is too strong, even after downing more pills than I care to remember.
I hug Mike and then Mia. “It’s a lot to process, sweetie. I know,” Mia says like she’s reading my mind. “We’re like a small army.”
I laugh at her words and the truthfulness in them. One by one, I’m reintroduced to every cousin from Florida along with their children. There’re more than twenty of them, and my head’s almost spinning as their names are rattled off so quickly, I almost want to ask for them to wear name tags.
“You’re staying in the city the entire week, right?” Angelo asks Anthony.
“All week, man. We want to show the kids where we grew up. Show them our old stomping grounds.”
This puts a smile on my husband’s face. “I’m happy you guys are sticking around. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Thomas pulls Angel tightly against him in typical Gallo fashion as they step forward, and Mike and Mia wander toward the bar. “This is our son, Nick.”
I bend down, coming eye to eye with the spitting image of his father. He has the same intensity in his eyes. “It’s wonderful to meet you.” That’s a phrase I’ve repeated more than once tonight, and based on the length of the receiving line, I’m not done saying it either.
“You too,” the boy says, reaching for my hand and kissing it because he’s a Gallo and was raised to make every woman swoon, no matter how young or old.
“Ma’am,” James says, dipping his chin but making no moves to embrace me like the rest of the family. “Congratulations and welcome to the family.”
“Thank you.” I move closer to Angelo and wrap my arm around his back. “You’re a lot to take in.”
Izzy laughs. “We travel as a pack. Add in the children, and we become a small horde.” Her gaze moves to the three younger men standing near her side. “These are our children, Trace—” she points to the smallest boy for a moment “—and the twins, Carmello and Rocco.”
They’re clones of their father, only smaller. Handsome in their black suits with perfect posture and an air of power about them even at their young age.
Max is standing at Izzy’s side with Anthony on one arm and her children in front of her. “This is Asher and Tamara, our bundles of joy.”
The kids look up and wave, their beautiful faces covered in smiles.
“Well, aren’t you just the cutest darn things.”
They glow at my praise. All the kids, every damn one of them, is more beautiful than the next. Perfect mixes of their parents’ genes and somehow more stunning.
I’m not sure the world is ready for the next generation of Gallos.
“Your dress is on point,” Max says to me. “It’s absolute perfection on your body.”
“Thank you.”
I will never confess I tried on at least fifty dresses before finally settling on this one. I tried not to go over the top since this is my second wedding. I tried to keep things simple, but everything I put on my body looked too plain. Betty and the girls convinced me to “go big or go home.”
“Let’s find our tables and let the newlyweds finish greeting the guests. We have all week to catch up,” Sal says as he stands off to the side with Maria on his arm.
Angelo leans over and places his mouth near my ear, “Overwhelmed?”
I turn my face, and our lips are so close, I have to stop myself from kissing him. “Just a little,” I whisper.
“By the end of the week, I swear you’ll have everyone memorized.”
My head is swimming with names, and if someone quizzed me right now, I’d go down in flames.
“You’re truly blessed,” I tell him.
I never grew up surrounded by a mass of people who shared my DNA or old stories about the past. I had no connections or ties that bound me to anyone or anything else walking this planet.
“I don’t know if they’re a blessing or a curse.”
10
Angelo
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see this day,” a voice says from behind me, and I turn to find Michelle.
She’s not alone. She’s holding hands with a man I’ve never seen, but there’s a genuine smile on her face. A light I’ve never seen before.
“Michelle,” I say, wrapping my arms around her even with the man at her side. “It’s so nice to see you.”
Michelle and I have been friends forever. I remember the first time I saw her, hair pulled up and twisted into rolls at the side of her head like Princess Leia. She and Daphne were trouble, wreaking havoc on the neighborhood and the boys who paid them even the smallest bit of attention.
“I’m so happy for you,” she whispers in my ear as she flattens her hands on my back.
I pull away, placing my hands on her arms. “Cali seems to be agreeing with you.”
There’s no awkwardness between us. There could never be anything more between us, but I loved her just the same. We were never meant to be together. Her wild child ways wouldn’t keep her bound to this place, to me, or my children.
“It’s all Enrique’s fault.” She laughs as she steps back, sliding her arm around the man’s back. “This is Angelo, one of my oldest and dearest friends.”
Enrique holds out his hand to me and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you. Michelle has told me so much about your family.”
“Don’t believe a word of it,” I tease, shaking Enrique’s hand.
I move my eyes to the right, and I see Tilly watching us. I wave her over, wanting her to meet Michelle because last time she was in town, Tilly got the wrong idea and our relationship almost fell apart.
Tilly walks over slowly. Hesitant in each step as she moves her eyes between Michelle and me. Tilly’s not a jealous person, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a small part of her that doesn’t like the idea of Michelle and me in the same room, even if we are celebrating our wedding.
Michelle reaches for Tilly, pulling her into a tight embrace. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Tilly. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you from Daphne.”
Tilly seems a little shocked, staring at me with wide eyes as Michelle hugs her.
“You’re so beautiful,” Michelle says. “I’m so happy for the two of you. I knew someone would heal that broken heart of his.”
Okay. So, this is a little awkward, but nothing I can’t handle. I rub the back of my neck, trying to figure out if I should pull Tilly away and rescue her from Michelle’s embrace.
Before I have a chance to separate them, Michelle backs away and grabs on to Enrique’s hand again. “This is Enrique…”
“Oh. My. God. Enrique Sandoval?” Tilly’s eyes widen.
I stare at her in total confusion. How the fuck does Tilly know Michelle’s man? Especially since he’s from California.
Enrique dips his head, giving her a dashing smile. “In the flesh,” he murmurs, and part of me hates him for some odd reason.
“Baby.” Tilly nudges me. “You know who he is?”
I shrug. “Enrique Sandoval,” I repeat, but not with the same enthusiasm she had moments ago because I have no fucking clue who he is.
“He’s only the hottest telenovela star on the planet.”
Enrique smirks and waves her off, but I can tell he’s eating up Tilly’s compliment. “I’m no one, really.”
“Stop.” Tilly swats his arm. “I’m obsessed with your show.”
I glance at my new bride, wondering when she watches his show because the television’s barely on at home.
“I watch while I prep in the morning,” she says to me. “They’re just so deliciously sinful.”
Note to self—watch an episode and s
ee what has Tilly in a tizzy, because standing here, looking at the guy in front of me, I don’t see it. He’s handsome but nowhere near celebrity status.
“Thanks for watching.” He smiles again, his teeth looking ridiculously white against his tanned skin.
“Enrique Sandoval is at my wedding,” Tilly says to herself and is almost shaking with excitement. “Where did you meet this handsome devil?”
Michelle peers up at Enrique with so much love, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her so head over heels for someone.
She never looked at me the way she looks at him. Maybe it was our past and the fact that we knew each other for so many years. We were familiar and easy in ways that didn’t bring the great love I was looking for and found in Tilly.
Michelle laughs and grips Enrique’s arm. “I was broken down, changing the tire on my shit-ass truck, when Enrique stopped to help.”
“I couldn’t leave a beautiful woman to do a man’s job.” He brushes the hair away from her eyes. “Especially one with such a perfect ass.”
I try not to gag. The guy is full-on cheese, but I know Michelle’s in love with him. I’m happy for her. Beyond happy. She deserves some joy in her life, especially after the shitty childhood she had and losing her mother not too long ago.
“So, I guess you’re not coming back?” I ask, wondering if our lifelong friend has any chance of returning to Chicago.
Michelle shakes her head. “No. We’re getting married this winter, and since Enrique’s work is in Florida, we’re going to be moving there permanently.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I tell her and mean every word of it.
Whatever happened between Michelle and me is in the past, and although we fooled around a little, we were never more than friends. We were never meant to be more than that anyway.
“Maybe you can come with Daphne to our wedding,” Michelle says.
“Enrique Sandoval’s wedding?” Tilly’s eyes are so damn big at this point, and she’s totally star-struck.