“So did you talk to the doctor today?”
I chuckle and gently rock Anna. “Yes, sweetheart. She said we’re good to go.”
He lets out a relieved sigh and smiles. “Good. I was scared for a second there. Everyone knows the wedding night is the best part.”
“Mm hm.” I tilt my head back and raise onto my toes to peck him on the lips. “You look especially handsome by the way. I like the boutonnière.”
I breathe in the red rose with baby’s breath attached. I liked lilies before I met him, but red roses will forever be my favorite since the day we got engaged. He likes them too, and the church hall is filled with them. Adifferentchurch, of course. I wanted to get married someplace that wasn’t so tainted. My almost-mother-in-law helped me choose this one.
“It seems wildly unfair that you get to see me, but I don’t get to see you.”
“I didn’t come to your dressing room, and I have the sneaky suspicion you came here specifically to make sure you were getting underneath my dress tonight. You can wait.”
“Come on, just a peek. I won’t tell, I promise.”
I roll my eyes and raise onto my toes to kiss him again. Our lips linger, and if I didn’t have my daughter in my arms, I might be tempted to give in. Settimo isn’t the only one who’s been painfully abstaining from sex.
I reluctantly break the kiss and carefully hand Anna back to him. I never once doubted that Settimo would be a great father, but it’s amazed me how natural he is at handling Anna. It felt awkward for me at first when I held her, constantly shifting to ensure I was supporting her head, but he held her like his arms were made for it.
“You’d better go. We don’t want people thinking you got cold feet and bolted.”
He gives me that signature smirk, the one that makes my heart squeeze along with my core. “My feet are toasty warm.” He bends for me to give him one last kiss.
“I love you, baby,” he says, standing up straight.
Tears fill my eyes, and I’m grateful his eyes are closed. I’m not sure he’d understand tears of joy. I’ve never been so happy in my life, and sometimes it’s overwhelming. My love for these two swallows me up, and I keep weeping thinking about how lucky I am.
“I love you too.”
I spin him around and am proud of him when he doesn’t sneak a peek at me over his shoulder. He leaves and a half hour goes by before my dad is there to get me.
“Hi honey,” he says, a bittersweet smile tugging his lips. “You ready?”
I beam at him and nod, taking his arm. We begin out of the dressing room and down the hall.
“You look beautiful, Alexa. Settimo is a lucky man.Toolucky if you ask me.”
I laugh. “You’ll warm up to him one of these days.”
My dad stops me and looks me in the eyes. “No one will ever be good enough for you… But I can’t tell you how much joy I feel from seeing you happy. Alexa, I…”
I’m sorry. That’s what he wants to say. I can tell he’s wanted to say it for months, but it’s hard for him. I don’t want him to apologize. I don’t blame him anymore.
I touch his face and break when I see the tears filling his eyes. “I know, Daddy. I love you.”
He wipes his face and gives his head a shake, facing forward. We resume walking toward the nave. “Nothing like a wedding to get overly sentimental,” he says to cover up his tears.
I squeeze his arm, and neither of us say anything when we’re at the nave entrance.
The tell-tale music begins playing from a piano, and I take a deep breath before stepping forward, putting myself into the views of hundreds of people. Settimo stands in front of a rose-covered arch with a priest on one side of him and his brothers on the other.
My dad and I slowly walk down the aisle, his arm squeezing mine.
Settimo and I lock eyes, and I melt when I see the way he unravels when he looks at me. His irises shine, and I spot a glossy sheen I never thought I’d see in my love’s eyes.
I was wrong. Settimo understands tears of joy, after all.
* * *