Sorry, Papà, in less than an hour, I’ll be a married man, and if the powers that be are on my side, my wife will be pregnant and carrying my heir very soon.
In the ways of the ‘Ndrangheta, that will force them to protect her. Even if the Altera family wants to retaliate, they can’t—not overtly, anyway. But I’ll be prepared for whatever Arturo tries to do on the sly. I may not act like him, but that doesn’t mean my mind doesn’t work like his.
Gina walks toward me, her arm looped through Adolfo’s as he brings her to me. He may be my majordomo, but he’s a close part of my family and traveled here with me when I left Italy. Gina has grown close to the fatherly figure as well, especially as he and Etta have reintroduced her to baking—something she has discovered she loves. Along with Jerome, who loves it when shecooks our meals with him, the four of them are thick as thieves in the kitchen and in general.
There’s so much I don’t know about my wife. Not only because of the whirlwind romance, but because a couple would normally continue learning about each other, but her memory loss has halted that. And we can’t fill in any of those blanks through her family or friends.
And as much as I don’t want Gina to be isolated and lonely, I can’t risk bringing her two school friends, Alessia or Mia, here right now. Questions would be asked, and I can’t guarantee they wouldn’t talk and let it slip that Gina is here. Until Gina is carrying my child, no one other than the few people who are helping me can know.
Step one of implementing my plan to protect and keep Gina starts today, and step two begins tonight.
If she discovers what I’ve done to keep her—my sun, my light, my queen—she could hate me. But she’ll never leave me.
As Adolfo and Gina reach me, he stops and dips his chin. We’re in the large, open family room in the house—our favorite room, where Gina and I have sat in front of the fire, her curled into me like a cat, and talked and planned our future. The children we both want, the places she wants to travel to, and the ways to spend our wealth to help others.
Gina has no idea how I make that wealth, not fully. I talk freely to her about the legal parts of my empire, but I haven’t revealed the mafia-related ones. Yes, she grew up knowing and being connected to that world, but with her amnesia, I’m not sure it’s the right time to reveal that yet. I didn’t want to take any chances of doing something that could make her pull away from me and prevent me from implementing my plan and the ultimate protection to keep her safe.
If it had come to it, this would’ve been a forced marriage because I’m that obsessed with her and her safety. She truly isilmio sole,and I don’t know how I lived so long without her light in my dark world and heart. However, I’m happy I didn’t need to force this marriage on her.
She kisses Adolfo on the cheek, then turns to me, and her beaming smile makes my heart swells in my chest.
Light radiates from her deep brown eyes, and her cheeks are rosy. She looks otherworldly, like she truly is a celestial being walking here on Earth. And she’smine.
Adolfo transfers her hand to mine; it’s small and delicate within my large one, laced with scars. I pull her toward me, and because I can’t resist, I wrap my hands around her waist, pulling her closer and leaning down to kiss her deeply. I kiss her until the priest clears his throat with a chuckle.
Father McDowal knows this isn’t just a renewal of our vows, but he will keep his mouth shut.
He may be a man of the cloth, but since coming to San Francisco, he and I have worked closely. He and his church are a safe haven for children fleeing dangerous situations, and we work together to help them, whether that means a safe place to land for a short time or long-term housing and support.
“Are we good to proceed, you two?” he asks with a cocked brow when I finally break the kiss.
Gina’s rosy hue turns to a full blush as she remembers the audience we have with how lost we both had been in that kiss.
Etta takes Gina’s bouquet with a smile. She and Marco will be our official witnesses on the legal documents. Marco steps up to my side, my ever-faithful brother and advisor. Silvio is here as well, standing beside Jerome.
Cupping Gina’s chin, I tilt her face up to mine. “I’m sorry it’s not a beautiful cathedral filled with people.”
“I don’t need a big, over-the-top affair, Tommaso.” She looks around at the small group of people standing with us, then her eyes sweep around the room we’re in. “And what better place todo it than our home, in the room that we’ll fill with family, love, and laughter for years to come.”
“I love you so much,” I rasp. “So fucking much.”
“Tommaso,” she admonishes, and her eyes dart to Father McDowal.
He simply chuckles.
She looks back up at me. “It’s perfect.” She reaches up to thread her fingers through my hair, mussing it up slightly before she smooths it back down. I know she loves doing that, and if we were alone, she’d tousle it more and leave it that way. But my wife loves to have that version of me all to herself. “Now, marry me, husband, so I can remember it this time.”
It’s a struggle to keep the lie off my face, but I do. I hate lying to her—either outright or by omission—but this is a necessary evil right now.
Or at least, I tell myself it is.
Father McDowal smiles, and I take Gina’s hands in mine as he starts. “We are gathered here before God. Normally, this sacred sacrament is done in the house of God”—he flips me a look, knowing this is very muchnotthe house of God, before he smiles at Gina—“however, the bishop has given his blessing for it to happen here in your home under the circumstances.”
Gina thinks this is just a vow renewal and hasn’t questioned it much. I needed the ceremony to take place here for obvious reasons. While our marriage will be legally binding under civil law, I also need it to be recognized under church law to appease the opponents in the ‘Ndrangheta, including my father. We may be criminals, but to the leaders, especially the older generation, this matters, even if they pick and choose which holy laws they honor and uphold.
“May your vows be spoken with truth and your love and bond sealed in faith,” he continues.
I don’t focus on his words as I drown in the depths of Gina’s beautiful eyes. They’re glistening wells of emotion.
