Chapter 98
And yet, an even happier moment came just four weeks later…
When we got married.
It all happened in a blur…
But a lot happened before that.
Alessandra and Dario came to visit me before I was discharged. As soon as she saw me, Alessandra got a look on her face that was a combination of joy and bittersweet pain.
“I always wanted a sister… and I had hoped it was going to be you… and then we almost lost you,” she said, her voice quivering as she hugged me.
I hugged her back. “But you didn’t. And I’m so glad I get to have you as a sister, too.”
We cried happy tears, and then she let go of me.
Then Dario came over. He looked stoic as ever, but his voice was full of emotion.
“I owe you a debt I can never repay,” he said. “You saved not just one but two of my brothers’ lives. Thank you.”
“You took my parents in… you were kind to them… and you kept them safe,” I said with tears in my eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, you owe me nothing.”
Dario smiled, then leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “Benvenuto in famiglia, sorellina.”
Welcome to the family, little sister.
Once I got out of the hospital, everything happened so fast.
Alessandra was showing me pictures of flower arrangements hours after I returned to the mansion in Tuscany.
At one point I asked shyly if I could design my own wedding dress.
Adriano said, “Of course!”
I had been making sketches for years, designing the dress of my dreams.
The white silk… the pearls sewn to the bodice… the tiny loops in the headdress to hold white rosebuds on the veil…
Now it was about to become a reality.
The Rosolini brothers paid $80,000 to the top seamstresses in Florence to have it ready in time.
I was absolutely astonished.
“Why are we doing this so quickly?” I asked.
“What, you don’t want to marry me?” Adriano joked as he pulled me in close, his arms around my waist.
“No, it’s just so fast!”
“There are two types of mafia weddings. Ones with engagements that last for years – because the families don’t trust each other, or there’s an arranged marriage and nobody really wants to do it, or whatever the reason. And then there’s all the other weddings. They happen as fast as possible.”
“Why?”
“Because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring… and we want to squeeze as much happiness out of whatever time we have left.”
A slight chill went up my back when he said it…
Because I’d lived through it.
Shot at in the hotel…
Chased through Florence…
Kidnapped by Mezzasalma…
Nearly dying in a car wreck.
I saw a lot of wisdom in what Adriano was saying.
And though he had assured me that Mezzasalma’s people no longer posed a threat to us…
I decided I liked my fiancé’s philosophy on how to do things.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s go as fast as possible.”
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