****
“Sugar, you have to get ready for the wedding.” I open my eyes to see Niccolò looking handsome in a black tuxedo.
“If you don’t mind… I’d like to stay here.”
He freezes, staring down at me with that I’m in trouble look. “I do mind, and you are going. Your dress is waiting for you along with the hair and makeup people,” he says with finality.
“Niccolò, I’m not going. Your sister-in-law and your cousin’s fiancée hate me.”
“No, they don’t.”
“You didn’t hear what they said.”
“Amore, Ivy, do you know what happens when you listen in? You hear things you want to hear. Aria and Mariana are upset that they made you think I would blame you and they hate you, but it’s not the truth.”
“Nico, open the door. I need Ivy’s cute butt getting ready.”
“See.” He opens it and Aria comes in, looking spectacular.
“Give us a minute. Domani needs you to calm Nero down before he hauls Mariana over his shoulder.” With a chuckle, Niccolò leaves us.
Aria shuts the door. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot multiple times, but I swear, never have I tried to upset you. I want you and Nico to be happy.”
“But last night...”
“Last night, I learned it was your father and all I could think about was how you would hate our family for what they had to do, and leave Nico.”
“You thought I would do the walking away?”
“Yes. See, when I was learning about you, I spoke to that bitch who lied to me. Ella told me you were super attached to your father, so I told my husband.”
“I used to like him, but even before my mother died, I could see he wasn’t a good man.”
“I’m sorry about your mother. We all don’t get to pick good men.”
“I’m sorry I was rude to you the other morning. Everything just seemed so overwhelming and not necessarily in a bad way.”
“I can be a lot to handle. Trust me, I bombarded Mariana the same way, but I honestly mean nothing bad by it. We’re sisters. Our men chose us, and I want us to feel like the queens we are.”
“I’ve never had a sibling, let alone a sister, so this is all new to me.”
“Well, I have a big sister and she still calls me a brat, so I’m a bit of a handful as she puts it.”
“Does Mariana mind that I’m at her wedding?”
“No, I don’t think so. I will mind if you don’t move your ass and get ready. I hear my husband is a bit of an animal and ready to caveman me out of this bitch, and Nico’s not in the best shape to wrestle with Nero.”
“Goodness, we better get moving.” I hop off the bed, and we rush back into the bedroom where the bridal party is getting ready. It’s not long before I’m sitting beside Niccolò as Mariana and Nero say their vows.
“You look good enough to eat,” Niccolò whispers.
“Again?”
“I could eat your pussy morning, noon, and night.” He says that a little louder, drawing attention to us. Niccolò only shrugs and smiles.
“Hey, write your own vows instead of stealing mine,” Nero says, causing Mariana to turn beet red as the small group of wedding guests laugh. The rest of the wedding goes off without a hitch, and true to his word, Niccolò made sure to eat me after the ceremony and once again before we hit the sheets.
Chapter Eleven
Niccolò
I decided to let Billy Vincent stew for over a week as Ivy and I prepared for our wedding. He treated his stepdaughter like shit, wanting to sell her off, and well, there’s no way I can tolerate that. I want him to watch how much she’s loved. Everyone in the family has welcomed my Ivy and as we say our vows, he’ll be forced to watch from our special place and once the ceremony is over, I’ll finish him off. His only saving grace was Ivy, but after the ultimate betrayal, he lost all appeal.
Aria and my mother have been putting together the wedding while Mariana and Nero are on their honeymoon. They came back last night, so they don’t miss it. I walk down to the room in the basement under the garage.
“How are you doing, Billy boy?”
“Fuck off.”
“Such a mouth on you.”
“What the fuck do I care? You’re going to kill me no matter what I say, so I’m not going down like a little bitch.”
“That’s fine. You want to keep talking, I’ll take your tongue.”
“No, no.”
“Hey, so you do have limits. Enjoy the show.” I swing my arm, backhanding the fuck. “Another unkind word out of him, cut out his tongue,” I tell Frank, one of our men.
“Yes, boss.” Frank runs his hand over his knife with sick excitement. That does my soul good. Normally we don’t kill women, but that was before the stupid bitch from the café tried to kill my woman.