“Schedule it,” Vinnie asserts. “I’ll speak with whoever, whenever. Get me in front of a camera.”
“Relax, Sunshine. Everything will come together as it should.” Maurizio smiles at her, but I can tell my wife is annoyed with her father’s sudden change in demeanor. The way he’s using her nickname again isn’t lost on me.
“How do you feel about all of this, Maurizio?” I ask suddenly, interrupting the conversation. Something about his behavior in this moment isn’t sitting well with me. “One minute, you’resitting in the church watching your daughter about to exchange vows with a man you thought was good, and the next, she’s married to a man from a family you’ve hated for decades.”
“What are you trying to say?” he asks, his eyes narrowed.
“It just seems odd that you haven’t put up more of a fight.”
“Would you like me to? I could sit here and scream at you both for blindsiding me. I could protest and tell both you and my daughter that you do not have my blessing and that I don’t agree with this marriage. Would it change anything?”
“Absolutely not,” Vinnie says, taking my hand. I can’t help the smile that instantly appears on my face, or the way pride blooms in my chest. “I willalwayschoose him.”
Maurizio looks horror-stricken for a moment before realizing his composure has slipped. His features contort into a wide mix of emotions before he finally says something, casting his eyes downward at his hands. “August slipped under my radar, Vinnie, and for that, I apologize. I had no suspicion of what he was doing to you until the rehearsal dinner, and even then, I turned an eye, blaming it on a pre-wedding squabble. I let you down.”
“You weren’t the only one,” she says softly, almost under her breath. My bride looks like she’s on the verge of tears, so I pull the conversation away from her.
“And you, Luciano? Why your change of heart?”
His eyes meet mine, and his head tilts slightly, almost as if he’s asking a silent question rather than asking one aloud. “Like you, I’m just another body stuck on the sidelines of the feud. I couldn’t care less about your last name. All I want is for my sister to be happy, and evidently, she’s found happiness within you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“How about you, Father?” Vinnie asks, and I swear to the Lord Almighty I have never been as proud of her as I am tonight, having the fearlessness to finally speak out against her father. Her newfound strength is not only sexy, but courageous, and Iadmire her for it. “Will you be able to move past the last name, and the things Sly’s uncle did in the past?”
Awkwardly, Maurizio clears his throat. “I can’t make any promises on how long it may take for me to accept this, but I will try with time.”
“That’s all I’m asking for,” she notes. Standing, she gives my hand a gentle tug, and I do the same. “I think Sly and I will head out for the night. Thank you for the invitation to dinner, but I’m exhausted and want to go home.”
“Are you sure? Dinner should be ready by now.” Maurizio comes to his feet, glancing down at the timepiece on his wrist.
She looks over at me, and I nod.
“I’m sure,” she states with conviction. “Please tell Mother—well, you know what? Don’t tell Mother anything, since she couldn’t even be bothered to come downstairs.”
“Vinnie,” Maurizio scolds, but she ignores him and rounds the coffee table to hug her brother.
I watch with a smile as he embraces her fully, just as a brother should. The strength he radiates pushes into her, and it brings me peace knowing she had a protector in him throughout her adolescence. I have no doubts that he was the one to keep her safe.
Being the bigger man, I outstretch my hand in Maurizio’s direction. “Thank you for having us this evening. I appreciate all the help you’ve extended to keep me out of jail, as well as the papers.”
“You’re welcome.” He grips my hand, and we shake. It’s brief, but there is a large part of me that hopes this is just the beginning of what could be some sort of cordial relationship between us.
Once Vinnie and I are outside of her childhood home, I wrap my arm around her as we walk down the road to where I’ve parked. Vinnie had suggested we have Ross drive us, but I hatethe idea of being driven around when my Rolls Royce SUV sits unused in the parking garage.
Plus, I don’t entirely trust Ross after he double-crossed her the day she flew home from Ridgewood. She insists it was mostly August, but I feel as though the driver could have refused to bring him, seeing as though he is on the Paladino payroll.
As we round the corner, my SUV comes into view. “I love you, piccola ladra. You know that, sì?”
“I do. And I love you,” she tells me, looking up at me as we walk, smiling.
“I’m very proud of the way you spoke up to your father tonight. It was admirable, and sexy as hell.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Chuckling, I lean down and kiss her as I withdraw the key fob and unlock the vehicle. “Yeah, it was. And I can think of many, many things I want to do to you to prove just how sexy I think you are.”
I open the door for her, and she climbs into the passenger side, batting her gorgeous, gray-blue eyes in my direction as she settles into the seat. “I can’t wait to hear them.”
