“I’m yours,” I whisper.
He kisses me again, softer this time. “You always were.”
And for the first time since Mom collapsed, my heart feels calm. Steady. Sure.
Because I finally believe it.
20
EPILOGUE: RICCARDO
Luca is fixing my tie like he’s preparing me for a battlefield instead of a wedding. He’s been fussing for five straight minutes, and if he tugs the knot any tighter, I’m going to lose air flow.
“You’re going to crease it,” I whisper.
He ignores me, checking the line of my collar. “Erin hasn’t stopped talking about her bridesmaid duties for six months,” he says. “Six. Months. If I hear her say ‘Savannah deserves the perfect wedding’ one more time, I’m going to elope with her just to get some quiet.”
I snort. “You’d be lucky if she said yes.”
He grins. “She already did.”
Before I can respond, Valerio bursts in without knocking, adjusting his cufflinks like he’s the one getting married. “Boss, everyone’s seated, and Luca needs to stop mothering you.”
Luca and I throw him twin glares. Valerio does not seem to care that two mafia bosses want him dead right now.
“Co-best man,” he adds, pointing between Luca and himself. “I’m calling it now.”
“No one asked you,” Luca mutters.
I rub a hand over my jaw. “Both of you, out. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Luca claps my shoulder once, firm and grounded. “Nervous?”
“No.”
He smirks. “Liar.”
They step out together, still bickering, and the room finally goes quiet.
For a moment, I just stand there, staring at my reflection. I’m getting married today. Not in some distant future, not as a vague plan, not as an obligation or a strategic alliance. To her. To Savannah.
The woman who changed my life without meaning to. She changed me without trying. If anyone asked, a year ago, I’d have sworn that such woman didn’t exist.
There’s a knock at the door.
I grit my teeth. “Val, if you don’t let me have thirty seconds of?—”
I open the door mid-sentence and stop breathing.
It’s not Valerio.
It’s Savannah.
And she’s wearing the most beautiful wedding dress I’ve ever seen—soft lace, fitted bodice, a gentle sweep of fabric that highlights the curve of her stomach. Her hair is curled and pinned with pearls. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright. She looks like light in human form.
For a moment, I can’t speak.
She smiles, a little shy, a little proud. “Hey.”
