Page 26 of The One Night Match
She shakes her head. “I’m such a mess. God. I can’t believe I had a panic attack at my own wedding. I promise I’m usually more put together than this.”
“Kitten,” I say softly, using my fingers to press her chin up until she’s looking up at me through sad eyes. “Stop. This is a lot to process for anyone. Add last night to the mix, and I’m not surprised you’re feeling overwhelmed.”
She half laughs, but the sadness in her eyes is killing me. “It’s okay. I know I’m a disaster. I’m sure you were expecting a perfect Mafia princess who knows how to regulate her emotions, and I’m just…not that.” The dejection in her voice is enough to cut into the heart I thought died the day I killed my father. The same day that I watched him almost kill my mother and scare the shit out of my sister. I’d killed hundreds of men before him, but committing patricide is enough to change just about anyone.
And yet the organ that keeps me alive now feels something other than endless nothingness.
“I never wanted a perfect Mafia princess, Riley. And now that I have you, I understand why none of them were ever enough. Why the women I was expected to want were the ones I wantednothing to do with. You’re real. You’re everything I never knew I needed.”
“You’ve known me for a few hours,” she points out with a huff.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“But it does, Cruz! I’m a stranger and a complete fucking mess. You’ll be better off when we end this at the end of the ninety days.”
She tries to scramble off my lap, but I hold her tighter, making sure she realizes I’m not going to let her go. Not now, and certainly not in ninety days’ time. “If you think I’m ever letting you go, Kitten, you’ve lost your mind. You’re my wife, and the next time I hear you speak badly about yourself, I’ll put you over my knee and redden your ass until you can’t sit comfortably for a week.”
Her mouth drops open in surprise, a soft gasp falling from her pouty lips.
“Now, do you need more time? Or are you ready to go back to the vultures and get this over with?”
She considers me for a few seconds before nodding. “I’m ready to go back.”
I smile and press a gentle kiss to her temple. I stand with her still in my arms and carefully lower her feet to the floor before brushing off the back of my pants.
“How’s my makeup?” she asks.
“Perfect.”
“Liar.”
I chuckle and wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Kitten. The sooner we get back out there, the sooner we can go home to Asshole.”
“Who’s Asshole?”
“You’ll see.”
The night passes in a blur, but we don’t get caught in any more groups that send Riley into a panic. She does, however, push her food around her plate, only taking a bite every now and then.
As we’re getting ready to leave, Mom and Lexi finally make their way to us, and I pull them both into a hug. It’s rare for me to show any kind of affection in public, but I think my wedding day is a good enough reason to make an exception.
“You look so handsome.” Mom presses her palm to my cheek. It’s obvious she’s been crying, and I can’t help but smile at that.
She was never the traditional Mafia wife. She was softer, less inclined to gossip, and always warm with Lexi and me, even when the other moms were reprimanding their kids left and right.
Maybe that’s why I was never interested in the traditional Mafia princess, because I knew it was possible to be a woman in this world without giving up everything that makes them an individual.
I tug Riley to my side, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “Mom, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Riley.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Ms. De Luca,” she says politely, and quickly finds herself enveloped in Mom’s arms.
“It’s Mary, honey. And we’re far less formal than you’re probably used to.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Lexi murmurs, earning herself a swat from Mom.
“No cussing, young lady.”
“You just said we’re less formal!”
