Page 218 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

Fuckin’ bastard.

Still…

We had his permission to keep going on.

That’s all I needed.

So that’s how we got to see Messina, on the northeastern tip of Sicily… and Augusta… and Santa Maria del Focallo.

Isabella and Ludavica were like two kids in a candy store.

They visited every museum, saw every famous landmark, and basked in the sunshine in outdoor cafés.

For the first time, they were truly experiencing freedom – and they enjoyed every second of it.

I can’t sayIwas experiencing freedom, exactly…

But every town we visited, I got to see Cat.

That was enough for me.

She was always happy when I first arrived – but I could tell she was having a harder and harder time as the days went by.

As the wedding approached.

I didn’t ask her what was wrong because I already knew.

We just held each other and made love…

And tried to ignore the disaster just over the horizon.

Speaking of the wedding, I asked Isabella where we were going to be married.

I was expecting a big church. Maybe a cathedral in Palermo, so Don Vicari could show off how rich and powerful he was.

I hadn’t seen any big preparations taking place – no flower orders, no futzing over the reception menu, no drama about the wedding dress – but I figured he had people handling it behind the scenes.

So I was surprised when Isabella said, “At the chapel outside Resuttano.”

“…Resuttano?”

I’d never heard of it.

Isabella smiled at my puzzlement. “It’s a little place about five miles from here. There’s a chapel on the outskirts of the village. Papa and Mama got married there. So did my Papa’s parents, and Bisnonna, too.”

Bisnonna was her great-grandmother – the 91-year-old who kept calling me ‘good boy.’

“That’swhere we’re getting married?” I asked in shock. “A chapel in a village?”

“Well, yeah. Rocco, Abriana, and Marcella all got married there. Why – did you want something bigger?” she asked with a frown.

“No – no, that’s great.”

But I still double-checked with Don Vicari at dinner.

“I understand we’ll be getting married in the chapel outside Resuttano.”

“That’s right,” he said, not even looking up from his veal parmigiana.

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