Page 65 of Inevitable

“Mommy,” I whisper with a sad smile looking down to my lap.

“Listen to me on this, it is probably the most important thing I will ever tell you.” I perk up and meet her eyes with my full attention trained on her.

“This life is wonderful, but it is all bullshit,” she says simply.

I stare at her with wide eyed shock. My mother is the picture-perfect version of a dutiful wife. She only speaks when spoken to, engages in polite conversation and most definitely never swears.

“The clothes, the money, the notoriety are all wonderful but only if you have someone equally wonderful to share it with.” A haunted look flickers across her face before she shakes her head softly and gives me a tired smile.

“When you get married you shouldn’t worry about what dress you are going to wear, what your colors will be or what the centerpieces will look like. The only thing that should be on your mind is your future husband. I want you to marry a man who makes you feel like you can’t breathe when he enters a room. I want you to marry a man who treasures you dearly and treats you like a partner, not an item. Most of all I want you to marry a man that you can’t imagine spending the next moment without. Nothing else matters.”

I smile sweetly at my mother’s beautiful words. I would love to marry a man that is all that, though I doubt that is in the cards for me. I already met a man like that, and I lost him.

“Is that how it is with you and daddy?” I ask and her face morphs into something that resembles disappointment.

“Maybe at one time, we are different people now than when we first met. He has changed over the years. I suppose I have as well.” She trails off with a wistful look on her face. “You are a smart girl Ashy. When you meet him you will know, you will feel this pull to him. Love will hit you like a truck. When you find that love, don’t give up on it for anything. No matter what it takes, you fight for that love. Don’t ever settle for less.”

I nod my head as I reach for her hand. “I think I already found that love. But he was ripped away from me,” I say softly.

My mother gives me a knowing sympathetic look. “Then fight for him, go find him, love him. All I want for you is to be happy, sweetheart. I love you more than you will ever know. You were the greatest accomplishment of my life,” she says gently, her voice weakening.

Fresh tears spring to my eyes once again as I hug her gently. Her frail body is unusually cold today and I don’t know how many more moments like this I will get with her.

“I love you mommy,” I murmur into her while we lay there in her hospital bed clinging to each other.

She passed away that night, a little after midnight when my 18th birthday began. I didn’t waste a second and immediately hired a PI the next day to find Luca. I took my mother’s advice to heart and was fighting for him, for us. It took a little while longer than I would have liked but here we are, planning our wedding.

I sit at the desk in my studio admiring the design of my future wedding dress and thinking about how it doesn’t really matter, Luca does. I know for a fact that I am marrying a man that is everything my mother hoped for me.

-

The weeks fly by filled with appointments, meetings and a ton of random choices that my wedding planner had me make. Finally, all the waiting has paid off and it is now the afternoon of my wedding day. Luca and I both agreed that it would only make sense to have a wedding at night since all of our best moments were shared under the stars. The venue I chose has a stunning coy pond that the altar stands over on a bridge with several tiered waterfalls trickling into it from behind. The surrounding area is lush green grass with a large tent to seat all of our friends with sheer gauze fabric so thin you can see the stars through the top. Our colors are dark blue and silver like the night sky with hints of shooting stars throughout to represent Luca’s parents and my mother. We thought if we had the wedding at night it meant they would be able to be with us easier.

As I wait for the ceremony to begin, I stand in front of the mirror looking at myself in my dress. It is a drop waist trumpet gown made up almost completely out of a swirled lace pattern I created. It is delicate and whimsical. It also has intricate thin straps made of lace with a court train. I am thankfully not pregnant enough to be showing just yet and the dress fits me like a glove. I feel beautiful and elegant but more than anything proud. Seeing a wedding dress my mother and I designed come to life, let alone wearing it on my wedding day invigorates me. I can’t wait to create more just like this under my mother’s company soon.

My hair is cascading over my shoulders and down my back in loose curls with pieces strategically pulled back to shape it behind me. My makeup is professionally done, and I am wearing Luciana’s diamond earrings and necklace, another way to have them with us today. I wrapped a piece of fabric from the first dress my mother ever designed around my bouquet so I could have her close with me while I walk down the aisle.

The door opens and I turn to see Kiki, Marisol, Alessandro and Giovanni standing there. Since my only living family is my father, Giovanni graciously offered to walk me down the aisle. Kiki is my maid of honor and Marisol is my bridesmaid while Alessandro is our ring bearer. Marisol and I have gotten closer in the last month, she has been helping with the wedding any way she can, and I have been able to slowly get her to open up to me. Kiki has taken her under her wing and has vowed to get her laid, poor Marisol doesn’t know what she is in for. They all gasp when they see me, and I can’t help but blush. Kiki rushes up to me howling.

“Hot damn my bestie is a knockout!”

I laugh and wrap my arms around her. There really is no one else like her, but I wouldn’t have anyone else as my best friend for anything in the world.

“You look incredible,” Marisol says softly in admiration wrapping me up in a hug while Alessandro stares up at me with a sparkle in his eyes, smiling.

I smile at all of their kind words as Giovanni comes up to me and places a kiss on my cheek. “Luc is a very lucky man, never let him forget it,” he says with a smile and a wink.

“Never,” I tease.

We all walk out of the bridal suite and get in line at the door to walk towards the aisle. Kiki goes first with Benjamin escorting her, of course, then Marisol and Alessandro walk together. I take Giovanni’s arm and he squeezes mine.

“Are you ready?” he whispers.

I suck in a sharp breath and nod as the music starts. We step out of the doorway and I immediately meet Luca’s eyes. His face is stoic not giving anything away, considering all of his men and many other members from other mafia families are in attendance. He can never show weakness, even on his wedding day. But when I look into those honey eyes, I see they are glassy with unshed tears and that causes me to break out in to a wide grin.

When I reach Luca, he takes my hands and Giovanni kisses my cheek before taking his place next to Luca as his best man. The priest performs the ceremony in Italian so I really only catch words here and there, but I am improving! At least that’s what Luca says. We decided to forego writing our own vows and go with the traditional vows.

I am so lost in the man in front of me that I totally miss my cue to say I do. Luca squeezes my hand and I blush, furiously apologizing to the father before saying I do. Luca says I do right after me and wastes no time sweeping me into his arms and dipping me low while he consumes me in the most passionate and ultimate kiss of all history. I hear in the background applause and some hoots and cat calls. I can’t help but smile into his lips, my husband’s lips.

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