With one last look my way, Zeta leaves. Nico and I walk back into the bedroom. He paces to the far side of the room to close the door, looking very handsome in his charcoal gray wedding suit. He notices the storybook Maddalena gave me, opening the cover and murmuring something to himself.
When he faces me again, I quickly drop my eyes.
“Even hanging onto a trellis, you’re the most radiant woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
My eyes zip back up to his face, hardly believing my ears.
“What can I say to keep you from climbing out another window?”
I laugh softly at the question, and he does, too. “I like your laugh,” I whisper. The warmth leaves his eyes. Does he not believe me? “I do not know what you can say. I feel like I do not know myself anymore. Not since Papà told me…”
He steps closer, and my pulse thunders. “Most people spend the better part of their lives figuring that out.”
“What about you?”
He shakes his head. “My path has been laid at my feet since birth, but you’re young, and you have time to figure things out. Whoever you are, whoever you become, Matilde, you’ll be mine.” I can’t tell if I’m more annoyed or exhilarated at his possessiveness until he adds, “And I will be yours.”
Thinking of my father’s actions, I duck my chin. “But in the Trio, important men have the Seconda Notte. They enjoy women like my mother.”
“I won’t. I know marriage is not what you came here for, and I know I wouldn’t be any woman’s first choice for a groom.”
I frown, but he doesn’t allow me to interrupt. He unbuttons his dress shirt, tugging it aside so I may see the three-headed wolf tattoo over his heart. Butterflies fill my belly when he takes my right hand, placing it over the mark and holding it still with his own hand. His skin is hot, and his heartbeat is strong and steady. Warmth spreads from my cheeks down to my partially waxedunmentionableareas.
“For a Made Man of the Trio, an oath sworn on his tattoo is as sacred as any vow you can name. This wasn’t much of a choice for you, but I swear to you, if you’ll walk down that aisle and accept me as your husband today, I will be faithful, I will devote myself to your comfort, your safety, and your every wish so long as we both draw breath.”
Giving him a tentative smile, I nod. He does not know my every wish, but I will hold him to his vow.
***
All the staring eyes, random coughs and even Lucia’s tiny whimpers melt away when I’m facing him at the altar a short while later. “Matilda Cerniglia, do you take this man…”
“I do.”
He slips a golden band on my finger, and the priest declares us man and wife. I wish that he would smile when he cups my cheek and leans in. He’s a stern man. So was my father. He’s stubborn, but I am stubborn, too. I will find a way to draw more smiles and laughter out of him in time.
With our noses nearly bumping, he murmurs,“Perdonami.”Why is he sorry to kiss me?
The question flies from my brain when he firmly presses his lips to mine for the first time. The sound of blood rushing through my veins, his scent, the touch of his hand on my cheek, it dominates my thoughts… until his tongue licks the seam of my mouth, a sizzling sensation that engulfs me. I part my lips without a moment’s hesitation, flooded with desire from the merest brush of his tongue against mine.
Then he steps back, ending the kiss before I can fully savor it. Every inch of my body tingles, and I reach up, dazedly touching my lips while the guests applaud.
24
Matilde
I’m presented with a glass of champagne as the receiving line forms. “This is asmallwedding?”
“For a Capo, yes, but I would’ve preferred smaller,” Nico says. “Perhaps the trellis wasn’t such a bad idea.”
His dry delivery makes me snicker into my champagne. Our eyes meet, and the fizzy bubbles in my glass mirror the way his kiss made me feel. Suddenly, I’m not as anxious about being alone with him later. I’d like to be kissed again when we’re not being watched by others.
“That was my first kiss,” I blurt out, my mouth incapable of containing the very obvious fact.
“Hmm, yes. It was my second.”
My eyebrows draw together in confusion. He must mean because this is his second wedding.
“Just one glass, Matilde,” he adds, nodding at the drink. “You need to be sharp as a blade around these people.”
