Page 32

The housekeeper came with breakfast for us to eat in an upstairs sitting room. I ate while wearing my dressing gown.

Then Clara did my hair in waves, while Hailey applied some makeup. Two things I’d never had done before. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t even recognize myself, though Mrs. DiNardo seemed happy with the effect. I turned my head this way and that, examining my new look from every angle.

I was beautiful.

It was very odd.

Then the dress came back in and there was more standing while the seamstress made small adjustments while it was actually on me. Once she and Mrs. DiNardo were both satisfied, they let me look in the mirror again while the seamstress laid a short birdcage veil upon my head.

The dress was pristine white with white lace over it. Tiny white beads made little patterns across the lace, making it seem to shimmer as the beads caught the light. The high lace neckline ran straight across my collarbones, but the dress underneath dipped low to show off what little cleavage I had. There was a change in the lace pattern at the drop waist, and then another change for the skirt to make it look even more flowy.

“Wow…” I murmured, twisting my hips to see the lace flare as the skirt moved.

I didn’t just look beautiful, I looked fashionable. No one, seeing me for the first time, would ever guess that this had been thrown together for me this morning.

“Perfect,” Mrs. DiNardo declared. “Now let’s hope Tomas has gotten himself up to snuff.”

Tomas

The wedding was being held in the manor’s living room. Since we were in a bit of a rush, only those who were in residence or close enough to travel this morning were invited. My parents were long dead, and Ivy had no one, so it was only the DiNardo familia in attendance.

Jack was standing up for me as my best man, with Gio as my only groomsman. His mother, Aunt Maria, was sitting in the front row, beaming at me proudly, as if I was her own son. I had to admit, I didn’t mind the feeling. Especially when, a few minutes later, Aunt Serena came in to join her. There was still an empty seat next to Aunt Serena’s – Don DiNardo would be walking Ivy down the aisle.

We might be doing this in haste, but as far as Aunt Serena was concerned, there were certain proprieties to be observed, living room wedding or not.

Which was why I was wearing my best suit and I was freshly shaved. A fine tension wound through me as the music began, played on Aunt Serena’s baby grand piano in the corner. Another cousin, Delia, had happily offered her musical skills. Father Lucas was standing beside me. A generous donation to the church and he’d been willing to oversee the most unusual wedding he’d done for us yet.

Hailey appeared at the open door in the back, holding a small bouquet, moving slowly down the aisle. Her gaze caught on Jack’s as she walked, a bit of pink filling her cheeks. Maybe she was remembering her own wedding day. She’d been a reluctant bride, and supposedly had tried to kill him that night. Obviously, she hadn’t succeeded.

When Clara appeared a moment later and began to walk, her head held high, she avoided my gaze as usual. She did meet Gio’s, though. Like Hailey, her cheeks colored a touch.

Her circumstances of marriage were far closer to Ivy’s than to Hailey’s. Gio and I had caught her stealing from the Familias. She was a hell of a cat thief, and lucky that Gio had wanted to marry her rather than see her punished. Also lucky that she was Hailey’s best friend, and neither Don DiNardo nor Jack had wanted to upset Hailey at that point, so soon after her own marriage to Jack.

Both of them took their places across from me.

Delia glanced up and nodded, then the music shifted. Swelled.

Don DiNardo, with Ivy on his arm, and Anthony standing behind them. Anthony remained at the door, guarding it, as Don DiNardo began to lead Ivy down the aisle.

I couldn’t help but stare. It was Ivy as I’d never seen her before.

The dress was beautiful, hugging her slim figure, making her appear almost ethereal. Angelic even. Her gaze was cast downward underneath the short veil that brushed her pink cheekbones, somehow drawing more attention to her brighter-than-normal pink lips. Her blonde hair waved back from her face in a fashionable style that I could have never created for her. Lace gloves on her hands completed the look.

She was a mob bride.

And she was mine.

Fierce possessiveness ran through me as she and Don DiNardo reached the end of the aisle, and he handed her over to me. His gaze met mine, an unspoken message passing between us, and I nodded.

I’d ensure she did nothing to harm the family. In return, Don DiNardo would make sure no one harmed her.

Taking Ivy’s hand in mine, I turned toward the priest.

It was time to make my little flower my wife.

Chapter Nineteen

Ivy