Page 100 of Till Death Do Us Part

His smile touched his eyes when he saw me. He took my hand and kissed it. “You are a vision.” He offered me his arm. “You would have been the muse for poets, musicians, and artists of a different time. Of a more romantic time. But I suspect you will play the muse in your husband’s memories until his candle burns out.”

“Grazie mille,” I whispered, kissing his cheek. I looked down at our linked arms. “Is this okay?” I didn’t want to cause trouble between him and Babbo.

“He will thank me for being here one day.” He sighed, patting my hand. “Life is too short, ah?”

Life was too short. That was why I couldn’t deny myself this happiness. My father had it with my mother, was still clinging to it, and I wished he would want that for me, however it happened. But he was too tied up in his preconceived ideas about “men like” Felice and the life he belonged to to want the same for me. I came to terms with his reasoning, but I loved who I loved.

I’d take the chance of winning life with Felice instead of worrying about losing before the game even started. Besides, arranged marriages and mob ones had about the same statistics. They were final.

Scarlett came out again. Uncle Tito blinked at her. When the sun hit her pink dress, she reminded me of a rose petal when light goes through it.

“It’s time,” she said. “John is close to walking his bride himself.”

I took a deep, cleansing breath and squeezed Uncle Tito’s arm. I nodded when he looked at me. He turned my veil down, and we walked up the stairs arm-in-arm.

The congregation stood when we entered. Candles swayed with an invisible breath, and the entire world faded. Our eyes held, and Felice seemed to pull me forward, closer and closer to his side.

Face to face, I smiled at him as two tears slipped down my cheeks. His thumbs barely drifted over them. As we turned toward the priest, Felice set his hand on my hip, bringing us closer together, making us one, and we vowed till death do us part.

* * *

Thecastellowas filled with burning candles, white roses, and baby’s breath, along with a lot of people I didn’t know. Felice introduced me to most of them, but then I’d catch a face or two I didn’t have a name for.

Corinna didn’t seem to know all of them either, but she sat at a table with family she hadn’t seen in years, laughing and carrying on. Nonna Silvia had a relaxed smile on her face the entire time. It was the kind of smile a dead person who had the last laugh would wear. Nonna Mafalda stayed in Chicago with her nurse.

Felice wasn’t going to invite Corinna, because of my father, but that was Babbo’s choice, and it wasn’t fair to Corinna. I could tell she was happy to be there. When the dancing started, she was the first one up. Lo followed behind, then my sisters and Elsa. Felice sat at a table with my sister’s husbands. They were all drinking and laughing, except for Felice, who stared at me.

He had been the entire night. He was pulling me again, the intensity of his eyes saying what words didn’t need to:be prepared to make a vow to me in blood tonight.

The look went straight between my legs, making heat creep up my neck. My skin felt so hot, the delicate pattern felt like it was branding me.I pulled at the lace some, trying to cool myself off. But I wasn’t catching a breeze or a break.

The butterflies in my stomach were hyped up on euphoria dope, and it seemed like they kept dropping my heart into my stomach, only to rush it up again. Like little adrenaline junkies.

It happened again when my husband left the table. He plucked a flute of champagne from a server and dropped an apricot in it. The golden liquid started fizzing.

I empathized.

The closer he came to me, the harder my body seemed to hum with pent-up sexual tension.

“Mrs. Maggio.” He slipped an arm around my waist, joining us at the hip. His warm hand on me made the butterflies faint, losing all control of my heart. He held the champagne to my lips, offering me a sip. “Dolce nettare degli dei.”

Sweet nectar from the gods, he’d said.

“It is good,” I breathed out.

“Not the champagne.” He offered me more. “Le tue labbra.”Your lips.

I set my hand over his, the new ring on my left hand glinting when the soft candlelight touched it. The center pear-shaped stone was draped between two interlacing diamond ribbons. The band was encircled with more diamonds. The center stone alone had to be over four carats and was set in platinum.

Uncle Tito had put me in touch with the Fausti family’s jeweler, and he created a bespoke band for Felice. It was thick platinum with a Möbius Strip design. His eyes had lowered when I’d slipped it on, like maybe he wasn’t expecting me to claim him too.

I wasn’t expecting our wedding date to be tattooed around his finger in Roman numerals. “This goes deeper than flesh,” he’d said. “It’s tattooed on my soul.”

He offered me the entire glass, and after, tipped the flute so the apricot could flow into my mouth. I bit into the sweetness of it along with the alcohol it had absorbed. Before I could swallow, Felice pulled my mouth to his. I opened to him, offering him some of it. His tongue swept through my mouth, but went so deep, I had to hold on to him.

My head felt flighty, and I couldn’t breathe. I had to break the kiss.

My eyes rose slowly to meet his. He was not only heartbreakingly beautiful, but there was something hauntingly sorrowful about him. If he ever left me, those intense eyes would follow me for the rest of my life. They had when he’d stopped coming around.

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