Page 23 of Claimed by The Italian

Bianca sighs, slowly folding up her sunglasses. “Look, I know I should’ve called. But I’ve been kind of busy cleaning up the mess you left me with back home. It’s been a difficult two months. I’ve barely even had a minute to think about the way we left things. But a few days ago, I found the invitation you sent me buried among our mail, and it shocked me to my core. I thought by now that you’d both have gone your separate ways. I never imagined that today would go ahead. But then I kept watching as you sent me more and more messages asking me if I was coming, and it finally sunk in that this is real.”

“I told you all along how important Lydia is to me,” I growl, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to me. “She’s everything I’ve ever wanted or needed, you should’ve been able to see that.”

Bianca chews her lip. “Yeah. Yeah, I should’ve. I’m sorry it took so long. I think if we were normal people with normal lives, maybe I would’ve looked at you both together and understood that you’re truly in love. But our lives are complicated, Lorenzo. Being part of the mafia, it means that if you fall in love for real then everything gets put on the line. I was worried that you were putting us all in danger just to chase some pretty young girl. But now I know that’s not true. Now I know you were risking it all, but for someone who is truly worth it.”

I blink at her. “You’ve changed your mind? You think that Lydia is worth it?”

Bianca glances at Lydia. “Well, I don’t know her very well. That’s my own fault. I never gave her a chance when she tried to show me that she was good for you. But from what I can see, she’s kind, intelligent, good-natured, she’s everything you deserve in a woman, Lorenzo. And it doesn’t matter that there’s an age gap between you. I think that if you think you’re perfect for one another, then you’re perfectly capable of judging that for yourself. I don’t want you to stop from following your heart. Just because it didn’t work out for me, it doesn’t mean it won’t work out for you.”

I watch her closely. I understand how this must hurt her. Her little brother has found love before her. Given the bad luck she’s had in relationships, it must sting for her that I got it right the first time. But I waited so long for this. This might have fallen in my lap at just the right time, but it doesn’t mean I deserve it any less.

“You’ll find a man who is worthy of you someday, but they broke the mold when they made you, Bianca. You just have to wait for a man who can handle you, the way I waited for a woman who could handle me,” I say, kissing the top of Lydia’s head. “Our family is always going to be a complicated one, mafia or no mafia. But someday a man will realize you’re the best thing for them and it’ll be worth the wait. And when it happens maybe I will or won’t understand how you fell in love so fast and with such certainty, but I promise to trust your instincts the way you’re choosing to trust mine now. Thank you.”

Bianca nods nervously. She glances at Lydia with a small smile. “Lydia...I’m sorry for everything. I guess you’re not used to the kind of drama our family seems to dredge up.”

Lydia smiles back. “I think I’m learning to handle it now. Don’t worry about it, Bianca. I’m just glad you’re here. Now we can all be a proper family.”

“Is it...is it true what you said the last time I saw you? You’re pregnant? I’m going to be an aunt?”

Lydia touches her stomach gently. “I’m not showing yet, but there’s a baby in there. You’ll get to meet her soon after Christmas if our due date is right.”

Bianca’s cheeks flush with color. “You have no idea how happy that makes me. I think it’s too late for me to have a child of my own...but to have a baby in the family.”

Then Bianca does something that shocks me to my core. She reaches out and pulls Lydia in for a hug. Lydia’s eyes widen, but she hugs her back and it makes me so happy. Seeing them together like this just proves that this whole thing was worth the wait, it was worth the uncertainty and the ache of missing my sister, because now that she’s here, everything is perfect again.

Bianca turns to me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She steps toward me and takes my hand in hers.

“Now that I’m here, if you don’t have someone already. I’d love to be your best man.”

---