Page 58 of Married to the Mafia

Mikey looked over, noticing that everyone else’s head swiveled in their direction simultaneously. His eyes glossed over his mother, walking in the lead in a tailored deep blue gown that covered her ankles, zeroing in on his fiancée in a single heartbeat. He barely registered his sister-in-law at her side or his surrogate sister-in-law and his cousin walking just behind them.

Brandi had chosen a sparkling silver dress with gold accents that would have been appropriate at any cliché high-society event. It hugged her beautifully, draping down to her ankles, with a halter style at the top. Her arms were completely bare, except for a couple pieces of jewelry adorning the wrist he knew to have bruised the previous day. Her hair was freshly dyed, which he knew she’d planned to do the night before, and teased and lightly curled.

He didn’t consciously hear her being introduced to the faces she hadn’t yet met. He was busy trying to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth and remember the argument he’d just been making to his brothers.

Iris tapped his arm and cleared her throat quietly. “The look on your face and what you asked me to bring indicate that you haven’t been entirely cognizant of yourself. Denial doesn’t really suit you, Mikey.” She lifted a simple, unassuming bag from the seat on her other side and held it out to him.

Mikey exhaled and took the bag. “I’m working on it,” he grumbled. “Thanks, sis.” He pulled the brightly colored trio of zinnias from within, folded up and set aside the bag, and stood. As he’d requested, the flowers were each a different color and fully bloomed. He could easily have grabbed a flower or ten from the house, but that had felt cheap. So he’d opted for three new ones—one for each of the dozen he’d bought her before.

He became conscious of the low conversation around him at about the time it died off and Brandi’s attention shifted up to him. Her eyes slowly widened as she raked her gaze over him and a beautiful flush of pink colored her cheeks.

“Mikey?” she asked softly.

He cleared his throat for probably not the first time and held out the flowers, which were tied with a thin strap of white silk ribbon. He’d have preferred black, but Iris had insisted she couldn’t use black for a wedding. “A bouquet.”

Romeo snorted.

Brandi smiled and accepted the flowers. “Did you take these out of the five million we already have?”

His lips twitched. “I did not. Now we have five million and three.” He was glad she could joke. One of them needed to not be drowning in unexpected, stupid nerves.

“Wow, five million flowers?” Lucia asked from somewhere just behind him. “How did you count them all?”

Brandi shifted her gaze and promptly said, “I went to college, and your uncle’s kind of a genius.”

Mikey adjusted in order to see his already giggling niece. “Don’t let her sell herself short,” he told Lucia. “Your new aunt’s pretty smart, too.”

“Well damn,” Romeo said, sounding honestly shocked. “A genuine compliment. You really are serious.”

Mikey ignored the muffled snickers and narrowed his eyes at his brother. “You know what—”

Dante laid a hand on his shoulder for a second, then continued toward the back door. “Now that everyone’s here, I’ll go grab Judge Waller.”

No one spoke as Dante went up to the door and rapped his knuckles against the wood, not until Lucia tugged on Romeo’s coat and declared, “Daddy. You owe another dollar to the jar.”

Mikey’s family was amazing. Overwhelming, intense, beautiful, surprisingly warm, and undeniably amazing. It was the one word Brandi kept coming back to, from the conversation around the breakfast table all the way until they moved to the chapel area and the atmosphere settled. She’d met many of her new relatives individually, in tense situations, but as a whole was an entirely different experience.

Judge Waller thanked the family for coming, thanked Brandi and Mikey for remembering the necessary minimum number of witnesses, and wasted no time guiding them through the vows. It was a straightforward ceremony, almost anticlimactically so, and Brandi was startled when the judge asked if there were rings to be exchanged and a little voice answered.

“Oh! I have them!” Lucia exclaimed, as if she’d forgotten.

Brandi tried not to gape at the girl and so did the only thing she could. She turned confused, widened eyes to the man directly across from her who wasn’t surprised at all.

Mikey pretended not to notice and held out a patient hand for Lucia. “Thank you, Lucy. You did great,” he said as Lucia set a single box in his palm.

She beamed with the praise, spun around, and darted back to her seat between her parents.

Brandi did her best to will her racing questions from her mind to Mikey’s. Rings? Since when do we have rings? We definitely never talked about rings. She’d honestly had so much on her mind that she hadn’t given them much thought. But wedding bands were typically a couple decision, weren’t they?

Mikey popped open the box and took her hand as if this was entirely normal. She couldn’t see the item he extracted before he slipped it around her finger, the cool metal sliding down to rest comfortably at her knuckle. Only when he released did he look up and flash her a smirk.

Brandi felt her heart leap and dropped her gaze to the ring, unsurprised to find a diamond blinking back at her. If she remembered correctly, it was a cushion cut, and the size of the gem obscured most of her finger. The ring was undeniably beautiful and almost gaudy, a statement piece. It reminded her of his manor that way, actually. And it fit.

Mikey held out the box for her in a wordless offer.

We’re talking about this later. She wasn’t sure the smile bending her lips communicated that properly, though. So she took the box, lifted the thick golden band that remained inside, and allowed herself only a moment to roll it curiously between her fingers before reaching for his hand. He held still while she nestled the ring on his finger and she wondered if his heart had done the funny thing that hers was doing, because she suddenly felt light-headed.

Judge Waller quietly took the box from her, freeing their hands, and it seemed like only seconds before they were done. “By the power vested in me under the state of New Jersey, I pronounce you husband and wife,” he said. “You may kiss the bride.”

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