Page 20 of Mafia Boss's Surprise Baby

DANTE

Ilisten to Mia breathing on the line before hanging up and heading to bed. I had a long phone conversation with Felicia this morning, since she’d texted me late the night before, asking me to come over.

I’d let her down easy, but Mia has been acting strangely all day. I assume it’s wedding jitters, but I toss and turn in bed without Mia there. Have I gotten so used to her presence already?

I should never have opened up to her on the day of my father’s funeral, but I’d been emotional and later that night, drunk, and she’d been there to comfort me.

I appreciate that, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s healthy given that I plan to kill her father and divorce her.

But burning bridges with women like Felicia is the first step to getting Mia (and therefore Luca) to trust me. I need this, and I need to marry Mia, so I need her happy. Not to mention, Felicia is just fun, she we both knew the score from day one.

I finally manage to get a thin few hours of sleep and I get dressed at home, knowing that Mia will be at the church.

Mia’s a strict Catholic (not traditional my ass) and so the wedding will be a long process with a Mass afterward.

Nico serves as both my driver and my best man, and he looks at me curiously as I put on my father’s cufflinks.

“Really,capo, why are you doing this?” he asks me.

I adjust my tie, looking at myself in the mirror in the small room at the church designated for the groom and groomsmen.

I only have Nico, even though Mia has a maid of honor and three bridesmaids. She’s a popular girl, it turns out.

“Because it’s what my father wants,” I say, and Nico scoffs.

“You’ve gone against your father many times. Why now do you listen?”

I look over at Nico, needing him to believe me. I could tell Nico the truth, but then he’d try to talk me out of it. He doesn’t want me in danger.

“Because he’s gone, Nico,” I say softly, trying to put all my emotion about my father’s passing into it.

Nico slowly nods. “All right, man. I support you. There’s gonna be plenty of women crying in the wake of you getting married, though,” he chuckles.

I groan. “Don’t remind me. I had to talk to Felicia yesterday morning.”

“How’d that go?” Nico asks.

“She is having a bit of a hard time letting go, because she doesn’t believe I’m really doing this. But she knew it was all just fun and games with us,” I say, and Nico looks at me, tilting his head.

“Isn’t that always the case with women?” he asks with a laugh, and I shake my head.

“All but Mia,” I say, and I can tell Nico isn’t convinced, but that’s okay. He’ll come around.

It’s another two hours before Mia’s ready, and I’m standing at the altar waiting for her, sighing at her lateness.

The bridesmaids are pretty in pastel-colored dresses, her maid of honor, Marta, dressed in a lavender-colored dress.

When Mia comes down the aisle with Luca, I can’t keep my eyes off her. She’s wearing a gorgeous, off the shoulder ivory dress with embroidered beads around the sweetheart neckline. The train trails far behind her and she looks up at me, her eyes lined with brown to make the blue irises pop.

My breath catches in my throat. I know that Mia is beautiful, but I didn’t expect her to look so...ethereal.

She all but glides down the aisle to my side, and it’s all I can do to listen to the priest drone on and on.

Finally, after exchanging our rings, the priest tells us that we’re man and wife and I lean down to kiss her, chastely. Mia sticks her tongue into my mouth and I laugh into her mouth as the crowd cheers.

Everyone’s handing me envelopes full of cash and gift certificates as we head to the reception area, where Denny is bartending. He’s offered an open bar for the wedding, but I’m sure he’ll make a lot of that back in tips.

The famiglia is made, by and large, by excellent tippers. And everyone’s here, just like they were at Papa’s service.

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