Page 26 of Till Death Do Us Part

“All right.” My voice probably sounded to her like it was full of gravel, but to me, it sounded full of surrender. “We’ll make a deal. But from here forward, you only make deals with me.”

She nodded, turned forward, and grinned.

Fuck me.

Chapter10

Roma

The house was alive with sounds while everyone prepared for our guests. I wanted to crawl back into my warm bed and steal a few more minutes. Between feeling anxious for Lo and my thoughts constantly on Felice, I was lucky if I got two hours of sleep. I knew how important today was for Lo, though, so I forced myself up. I took a hot shower, then did my hair and makeup.

Since we were doing brunch, I decided on earth tones for my makeup with a long green taffeta dress. It reminded me of Felice’s eyes. I paired it with a tan belt, a few bangle bracelets, and a pair of matching closed-toe heels. I spritzed a little perfume on and went in search of Lo.

I peeked my head over the banister, wondering if she’d gone down to help Isabella and Alina. Talia would either arrive on time or be doing something that didn’t involve prep work. But when I heard Alina say, “I haven’t seen her yet!” I knew Lo was probably hiding out in her room.

I knocked on her door, but she didn’t answer. I stuck my head in. “What’s going on, Lo?”

She was sitting at her vanity, a robe on, staring at herself in the mirror. She shrugged. “I was just wondering if Babbo told him about my eye.”

“I’m sure he did.” I stood next to her, fiddling with her hair. “Or Uncle Tito did.”

She sighed, looking over the makeup she set out. “I’m nervous as shit.”

I grinned. “I would be too.”

She was about to come face to face with the rest of her life, not knowing much about this man, except for some basic details.

That gave me pause.

Jack, the guy I’d met on Halloween night, was a watered-down version of Felice. I wondered if Lo was going to marry him, and if she did, would it make things awkward?

“You?” She placed a hand over mine. “You’ve always accepted this.”

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be nervous. Besides, what if my guy doesn’t come close to the guy I built in my head?” Because he had a name, Felice “John” Maggio, and hot blood pumped through his veins.

Her eyes whipped up to mine, then they fell on the makeup again. “I better finish getting ready. They’ll be here in less than an hour.”

“You want me to keep you company?”

She nodded. “I’d love that.”

We squeezed every second out of that hour, and a few minutes past, Talia knocked and let herself in. “They’re here.”

Lo looked like she wanted to scream. “What does he look like?”

Talia smiled. “Come see for yourself.”

This was the part that always made me the most excited. Seeing who my sisters were going to marry for the first time. I had to give it to Babbo. He was three for three so far, as far as success rates went. Not only were my three sisters in happy marriages, but they were physically attracted to their husbands.

We all crowded around the top of the stairs, trying to see him. A group had clustered at the bottom, and introductions were being made.

“That's him,” Talia said. “Sandro Di Lazzaro.”

He looked like a young, Italian version of Brad Pitt. His hair was sun-kissed and tousled, and his skin was golden brown. I could see him painting in nothing but a pair of old jeans, but he pulled off being dressed up too. He was wearing a long-sleeved button-down with a pair of khaki pants.

“Whoa,” Lo said, leaving us behind as she sashayed down the steps.

Talia and I laughed quietly as we followed behind her.

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