“He’s not kicking us out of the faith. He’s just going to make us find a new church.”
“You’d leave the church with me?”
“No, you dumbass, but somehow I always get stuck with you, don’t I?”
“Lucas, don’t be saying things like that on your wedding day. You don’t want Mia getting jealous.” Dante was almost giddy with excitement. It was tipping into downright hysterical and the feeling was infectious. I gave him a shove and he knocked into Emilio.
“A single day,” Emilio said, pushing Dante off him and straightening out his suit jacket. “Why can’t we get you both in line for a single day?”
“Because hell would have frozen over by that point,” Dante said loud enough that Father Duffy shot him a look. “Sorry, Father!”
I ran a hand down my face trying not to laugh as the antics took the edge off my nerves. When I looked out again at the sea of people, it felt good to have so many here wanting to support me and Mia.
“They’re here,” Tori said, coming towards us. She paused briefly to straighten out Dante’s bowtie before looking at me. “Good luck,” she said.
“Thanks.”
The nerves hit me hard once again as I pulled at my cuffs and waited impatiently at the top of the aisle for Mia to enter.
“Holy shit.” Dante said it loud enough for the congregation to hear, and everyone, including myself turned around and I saw in an instant what Dante meant.
Mia stood at the other end of the aisle with Dom, and I felt my heart thud unsteadily in my chest. She looked perfectly dressed in white and a veil partially shielding her from view. The dress draped over her bump, making her look a little smaller than we knew her to be. She fiddled with the bouquet of calla lilies in her hands nervously as Dom said something to her.
“You’re one lucky bastard,” Dante told me.
His comment barely registered as Mia looped her arm through Dom’s and they walked up the aisle towards us. Something wet fell down my face and I lifted a hand to find I was crying. The effect she had on me was beyond what anyone else could reach.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Mia
The morning of the wedding, I thought I wouldn’t make it out of the house with the way the nerves twisted my insides. Anxiety spread through my body and made me shake so badly that it took longer than expected to finish my makeup.
Dom and Carmen helped me into my dress once my hair was pinned up and veil was in place. All of the previous designs had been abandoned, uncooperative with my blossoming baby bump. The white, intricate lace of my gown flowed from my middle, around my legs, making me look smaller than I was, and I’d kept the lace sleeves that I’d fallen in love with.
“You look so beautiful, Mia,” Dom told me in the car when we were alone. His eyes had misted over, and I blinked back my own tears.
“Don’t start or I’ll start, and I want everyone to appreciate this face before I mess it up,” I teased him. He pressed a kiss to my temple, and I held his hand as we rode to the church.
By the time we arrived, I started to shake again, and Dom led me carefully through the hallways. I suppressed the urge to chew on my bottom lip as the doors opened and I took in the amount of people who had turned up for the ceremony. Luc had promised a large affair but part of me thought he was joking. I should have known better.
As my eyes landed on Luc, I lost my breath. Standing at the front of the room, a short walk away from me, with his mouth open was the man who would become my husband.
“You feeling okay?” Dom asked me quietly.
I turned my head towards him. “Yeah. I just can’t believe it.” I looped my arm through Dom’s, adjusting my bouquet, and the sound of music filled the room. The walk up the aisle was the longest walk I’d taken, and I wasn’t able to take my eyes off Luc.
When we finally made it to him, I gave him a nervous smile, eyes glassy from the tears. I didn’t trust myself to speak because I knew I’d end up blubbering.
Father Duffy started the ceremony, but Luc’s eyes didn’t move from me. Despite the fact there wasn’t a spare seat in the room, it felt like it was only the two of us. It was a miracle that we’d made it to this point and surreal that after everything we’d been through, both of us had maintained a deep love for each other.
I shifted nervously and Luc rubbed his thumb across my hand. I’d never liked attention. I wanted to elope to avoid all of the pomp and circumstance that a wedding brought to the table, but I agreed to it to keep Luc happy. He’d given me so much that this felt like a small compromise.
“Will you, Lucas, cherish Mia as your lawful wedded wife, protecting her and tending to her needs through illness and disappointment?” Father Duffy asked.
Luc had been the one to choose the vows. I’d felt ill-equipped to pick out words that would belong under the eyes of God.
“I will.”
