I gently tell his mother we don’t need the catalogs. That we aren’t having a big wedding. “Something small, Mama,” I tell her, making the size of a very small ball between my hands. “Something very small. Capiche?”
Mario cringes. “You’ll have to be very specific about what you mean by small, doll. Small to you and small to Mama are two very different things, I promise.” But she smacks his back and tells him to mind his own business.
“It is my business, Ma!”
She grumbles at him in Italian, and he comes back with one of her Italian expressions. “Mama, you know what they say. Tra moglie e marito non mettere il dito.” He winks at me. “Means don’t put a finger between a husband and a wife.”
“That doesn’t apply to you, son of mine,” Mama says. “Not yet, since she doesn’t yet wear your ring and you haven’t yet taken your vows.”
The boys cheer for Mama, who won that one, and she heads to the kitchen with Nonna. “Immediate family, Mama!” I yell after her. “Brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.”
“And the Montavios,” she yells over her shoulder. I hesitate, because Sergio and Timeo are Montavios and it would be nice to see them again.
“Alright, the Montavios,” I concede. She claps her hands and squeals and Mario groans.
“Baby, you have no idea how big that side of the family is! And now that we’re inviting the Montavios, we’ll have war on our hands if we don’t invite at least the closest members on the Rossi side as well.”
“Oh,” I say, cringing.
“Oh,” Mario says with a nod. Then he reaches over and tugs a lock of my now black hair. I will admit, it’s been super fun leaning on Marialena and Rosa as they helped re-do my full transformation from Emma to Gloria including different-colored contacts, a totally new hair-style and a new make-up routine. I barely recognize myself.
Mario winks at me. “We’ll survive. And hell, they say the bigger the wedding the longer the honeymoon.”
“Oh, do they?” I ask curiously.
“Nah, baby, that one I made up, but it sounds like a good one, no?”
We go upstairs hand in hand. The little ones are running around outside on the front lawn under the fading sun of early summer. Marialena sits on a blanket beside them blowing bubbles, and Rosa watches, a book in her hand as she sits on a bench.
“You said Rosa’s been married twice?”
He nods, as we take the spiral staircase up. “Yes. First husband was killed, and Santo’s her second husband.”
“Right. But never Marialena.”
He looks out the large window at his beautiful sister sitting cross-legged on the lawn wearing a crop top and ripped jeans. She’s gorgeous.
“Not sure if anyone could handle her,” he says with a wry smile.
“Oh, I wouldn’t bet on that. If you can handle me…”
“I hardly handle you. It’s mostly like we come to a general consensus and compromise on most things.”
I lean in and wink at him. “And you spank me for everything else.”
He pulls my hair and kisses my cheek. “Damn right I do. Behave yourself, doll, and Daddy will reward you tonight.”
I look around in alarm but no one’s here but us. He chuckles. “Relax, love. It’s just us. For once in our lives. Now head upstairs like I said.” His voice takes on a sterner edge as he leans over and gives me a sharp slap to my ass.
I squeal, my heartbeat accelerating. It feels like days since we’ve been together, but it’s been a whirlwind of events.
First, the faked death and all that entailed. There was a great deal of paperwork and a few safety measures we had to take, but I have to admit I’m glad it’s done. It still hurts at times but I’m getting used to my new identity. It fits me.
Next, Romeo made me a full-fledged member of the Rossi’s organized crime ring.
“You’ll take vows,” Mario had warned me. “Oaths, actually.”
“Like the ones you told me about before. Of course. I’m ready.”
“And we’ll seal it in blood.” I blanched a little at that but was able to keep my reaction steady.
“Got it,” I said. “How?”
He explained how they’d cut my hand until I bled and how I’d shake on the vows that I took. “A little archaic, but I’ll happily do it. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Now that I’m all in, I am all in.
My hand’s healed up nicely from that, and while it felt a little pagan and barbaric, it was easy enough to do.
After that, I got my first assignment. Romeo knows why I’m here, knows why I agreed to join forces with them, and promised that almost every one of the jobs he’ll assign me will be for the sole purpose of bringing justice to the more depraved mobs they run into. “I’ll be in charge of making sure that everything goes as planned,” I say to Mario with a nod. “No one deviates or takes advantage…”