Page 75 of 4 Weddings and a Feud

That pitiful little spark of hope inside him whispered,Maybe then Mary could’ve loved you.

No. He should’ve stayed away from Mary Forza altogether. He’d built his business from nothing, relying only on himself. He’d never allowed himself to have feelings for anyone. Not until Mary.

Emotional entanglements were for chumps.

He was a chump.

Despite what Mary said, vulnerability was a rabid dog, and it had bitten him in the ass. He’d lost everything, and to save Mary from being tainted by his failure, he’d shoved her away again.

It had been surprisingly easy. She must not have cared that much.

He didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse.

Realizing he was staring at a closed door, he shook his head.

None of it mattered now. His wedding planner had quit, and he had to keep up the farce of it all until the bitter end. Although his business was in the shitter, he had some pride left. And it was pride, not any soft feelings for the bridal couple, that forced his feet toward the ballroom.

He’d organize whatever chaos was happening in there. He didn’t need help. Especially not from Mary, with her tumultuous curls and those soul-shattering eyes.

Crossing her arms, Evie glared at him as he approached the ballroom.

“Your boss quit. You should leave too,” he barked, brushing past her into the dark room.

He pulled up short. Inside the ballroom was…enchantment.

The guests’ phone flashlights pointed forward, illuminating the bridal party and the officiant with a soft glow that reminded him of candlelight Mass on Christmas Eve. Even from behind the back row of seats, Alex heard Rohaan’s teary “I do” across the electrified hush of the ballroom as clearly as if the microphones and video screens had been powered on.

The witnesses broke the silence with soft murmurs andawws.The couple’s brilliant smiles dazzled in the dim glow of five hundred white LEDs.

Alex’s heartbeat slowed. This was pure magic, and for a second, he wished Mary could see it.

With a sudden whoosh, the air conditioning surged on, and light blinded him. The guests groaned, blinking in the restored electricity.

Shielding her eyes, Rochelle called out, “Turn off the lights. But keep your phones on.”

Behind him, someone flicked off the chandeliers and plunged them back into darkness. The guests gave a pleased murmur and pointed their phones again toward the couple.

“Let’s wrap this up,” Rochelle said. “I’m ready to be married.”

Even the dour judge cracked a smile as she read out Rochelle’s vows. After saying, “I do,” Rochelle didn’t wait for the judge’s instruction. She threw her arms around Rohaan’s neck and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Alex sighed. A wedding was something he was now certain he’d never have for himself. His mother would be heartbroken when he told her to stop hoping for grandchildren to dote on. But it was his fucking life, and if he wanted to live it alone, wallowing in failure, that was his right. Fortunately, he’d socked away enough cash to take care of Donna Campo and Mama, regardless of what happened to La Villa.

Turning on his heel, he led the way to the reception in the ballroom next door. The chandeliers blinded him. None of the magic from the ceremony lingered. It was just a regular wedding reception with dinner, a band, and cake. Even Joey could handle that. He’d set up the seating map and was guiding the guests to their tables.

Too bad Mary’s fingerprints were all over the event, from the crispy potatoes she’d said were a better choice than pasta to the heirloom cake topper she’d admired when he brought it to the shop.

After a stop at the bar, he took his drink to a corner where he could practice being a lonely old curmudgeon.

* * *

Hours later, Alex wished another blackout would shut down the reception. He was tired of guests walking up to him to thank him for the work Mary had done.

One of the groomsmen had towed a tiny boy in a white suit up to him to ask where Evie had gone. He wanted to thank her for rescuing the wedding rings.

At least fifty guests told him how wonderful the ceremony had been. They called it enchanting and charming. Not at all how he’d have described the building-wide blackout.

Even his hotel manager texted him to thank him for sending Michael Forza down to help the engineers with the generator. Apparently, it was Michael’s extensive knowledge of internal combustion engines that identified and repaired the problem.

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