The wedding was only two weeks later. Dario said he didn’t want a long engagement – just enough to arrange everything. I happily agreed.
Security was ‘all hands on deck’ as every Rosolini foot soldier patrolled the property. Massimo and Valentino strolled the grounds dressed in tuxes and carrying guns. Even Roberto, who was usually much more like an accountant, kept a pistol inside his suit jacket.
Lars kept watch from the top of the mansion with his sniper rifle. He had saved me from the Turk that awful night as Dario posed as bait and put his own life in danger; I liked the idea of Lars watching over us again under much happier circumstances.
Fausto and Aurelio arrived with an even larger convoy of cars, and dozens of their foot soldiers helped Dario’s men guard the property.
Niccolo had brokered a truce with the Oldani family in Genoa. I met my long-lost relatives with Niccolo at my side since Dario couldn’t see me before I came down the aisle.
As I walked down the stairs into the foyer, I choked up when I saw an older woman with white hair in a beautiful blue dress. She looked so much like my mother that it was astounding.
The woman’s mouth dropped open when she saw me. “È un miracolo!”
It’s a miracle!
“Signora Oldani,” Niccolo said with a smile, “may I present your granddaughter… Alessandra.”
The old woman touched one hand tenderly to my cheek and began to cry. “You look so much like your mother – I can’t believe it!”
I hugged her tight. “Thank you for coming… it means so much to me…”
“Of course – I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!” Then her voice grew stern. “Although I’m going to have a few words with that father of yours – ”
“Signora,” Niccolo said lightly, “remember: it’s her wedding day. Play nice.”
The older woman gave Niccolo a dirty look – but when she did meet Papa afterwards, she was civil.
Out on the grounds of the estate milled dozens of distinguished-looking men and their beautiful wives… but I had never seen any of them before.
“Who are all these people?” I whispered to Niccolo.
“Cosa Nostra,” he whispered back. “The heads of the most powerful families in Italy.”
I frowned. “I thought you had a lot of enemies.”
“Oh, don’t be mistaken – most of these people want us dead,” Niccolo said as he waved and fake-smiled at someone far away. “But we had to invite them. You have to keep up appearances in this line of work – and you know what they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.”
When Niccolo saw my face, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, they would never do anything on your wedding day. It would be an infamia.”
An infamy – a wicked, horrible thing.
“Plus, we didn’t let their guards bring in any guns… so we’d just kill them,” Niccolo said cheerfully as he waved at someone else.
“Wonderful,” I muttered.
Caterina was my only female friend, so I’d asked her to be my maid of honor two weeks before. She had immediately said yes.
Now she beamed at me as the makeup artist from Rome put the final touches on me before the ceremony.
“You look so beautiful,” Cat sighed. “Like a fairytale princess.”
“Maybe you’ll get your own fairytale prince!”
“Not gonna lie – you’ve given me hope,” she grinned. “If you can snag a Rosolini…”
Finally it was time for the ceremony, which took place in the field behind the mansion. Gorgeous flower arrangements lined the white chairs set out for the attendees.
But I didn’t look at any of them as my beaming father walked me down the aisle.
I only had eyes for Dario.
He stood at the altar in a tuxedo and a small white rose pinned to his lapel.
He smiled at me as I came down the aisle. I had never seen him look happier – or more handsome.
Adriano was his best man. The other brothers would have served as groomsmen, but I only had one bridesmaid. Everyone else agreed they wanted to make sure the wedding was safe as possible.
“That’ll be our present to you,” Massimo had joked the night before the wedding.
To me, it wasn’t a joke. Their protectiveness was a sign of their love for me.
The priest – a cardinal from the Vatican – led the ceremony.
When he said, “You may now kiss the bride,” Dario wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss that made everyone in the audience cheer.
