“Holy shit!” Bella shot up from the chair and downed the rest of her glass. “You’re preggers?” She put the empty glass on the table and tucked her long, black hair behind her ears. “Which one is the father?”
“I have no idea.” Gulping down the sickness wreaking havoc on my stomach, I covered my mouth with my hand. “And I forgot to mention something else. Vittoria is coming today.”
“Are you kidding me?” Bella flashed an annoyed look at me. “How many ways can you spell awkward? You fucked her ex-fiance on the floor of his apartment while she watched.”
I blushed at the memory. “Yeah, well… She’s my half-sister. So I asked her to be in the bridal party. I thought we should get to know each other since we’ll be part of each other’s lives.”
A few minutes later, Vittoria entered the bridal suite in a navy blue wrap dress. Her black hair was frizzy and all over the place. I was thankful I had my mother’s hair and her good looks. The Vitale genes didn’t pass to me.
“Thanks for coming.” I closed the distance between us. “It means a lot to me that you’re here.”
She forced a smile that made it more obvious her red lipstick was uneven. “I’m not going to like you overnight. Not after everything you put me through. But for the sake of our family, I’m willing to give you another chance.”
Vittoria extended her hand for me to shake, but instead, I pulled her into a hug. My emotions were all over the place with my pregnancy hormones. She tensed at first and then relaxed in my arms after a moment, patting me on the back with her palm.
“I’m glad you’re here. I always wanted a sister.”
She stepped out of my embrace, a genuine smile on her lips. “Me too.”
ChapterTwenty-Two
AVA
It was my wedding day. Nerves stirred in my belly, but my best friend was here to calm me down.
Bella stood behind me, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror. "You look beautiful, Ava." She brushed the hair off my shoulder and smiled. "The perfect Mafia bride."
I spun around and pulled her into a hug. "Can you believe I'm marrying Dante Luciano?"
Bella flicked her black hair over her shoulder, the curls spilling down her back, and smiled. "Girl, you have no idea the jealousy I'm feeling right now. Remember when we were kids, and we would talk about what it would be like to kiss one of the Luciano brothers?" I nodded, and she added, "And you get all of them. You're one lucky bitch."
"I had the biggest crush on Nico," I admitted. "There was something about the sadness in his eyes that drew me to him. I felt he would understand me the most, and I was right."
"But you're marrying Dante." She whistled. "That man would kill a woman with one look. He's intense."
"Dante's not as bad as he seems," I said in his defense. "And he's an animal in bed." I laughed at the thought of our first time together. "He broke my bed when he finally fucked me."
She burst into a fit of laughter. "Are you kidding?"
"Nope." I shook my head. "Even after the bed broke, he didn't stop. He's a savage."
Bella's eyes widened. "Damn, girl. Way to make your bestie jealous. You get to marry the boss. And I have to marry Pietro Morelli."
"Pete's a nice guy. He's fun, too. Likes to party. If you stop acting like the perfect Mafia wife and show him the real you, I think the two of you will get along just fine."
"You think so?"
I nodded. "I know so."
Bella stepped back to appraise my wedding gown. It was a custom dress Stefan helped the designer create for me. In this dress, I felt like the Boardwalk Queen.
A smirk graced Bella's pink glossed lips. "You look hot, girl." Her eyes widened at the massive cleavage I had on display. "Dante will pop a major boner when he sees you."
I snorted with laughter. "Dante isn't a teenage boy. That man has more control than anyone I've ever met. Trust me, he'll make it through the ceremony without tearing off my dress."
The wedding coordinator entered the room. "Ladies, you're on in five."
"We're ready," I told her.
