While I’d never been too keen to get married, now that I’d met Luca and decided to take the leap, it was disappointing that the entire wedding would be some dog and pony show to install me as the new Mrs. of the boss. I gave him a peck on the lips. “It better be.” With a heavy sigh, I shook our arms out and let go of his hands to turn and do one last check of my makeup. A small smudge of my lipstick caught my eye as I asked, “When do you want to get married? We haven’t decided that, and the dynamic duo is foaming at the mouth.”
“I was thinking June?” He slipped on his dress shirt, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him as he made fast work of buttoning it. The fluid motion of his fingers down his body was like a reverse striptease, and I couldn’t look away.
“Classic.” I licked my lips as he bent over and pulled up his pants. His thick muscular thighs and ass tensing, looking good enough to bite. “So, June next year? Or were you thinking of a longer engagement since we’ve only been back together a few months?”
It couldn’t be normal to get this turned on watching someone get dressed.
He took his time buttoning his pants and sliding his belt through the loops. His eyebrows drew together, and his lips pursed as he buckled it. “I want to get married this June.” I choked on air, my ogling interrupted by him being out of his fucking mind. “I’ve wanted to marry you for a long time.” He lifted his eyes and put his hands on his hips. “Maybe since we stood across from each other at Michael and Sarah’s wedding.”
My lips flapped like a dying fish. It was ridiculous he still left me speechless after all this time.
“You were just talking about eloping.”
I nodded.
“But you’re scared of a June wedding?” Luca looked confused.
Right there with ya, buddy.
“Four months. We’d only have four months to plan some mafia extravaganza.”
He rolled his eyes like he did every time I used the “m” word. “You know my mom has it covered.”
I shot up, tossing my lipstick on the table. “It’s our wedding. We should probably be the ones handling the planning. Don’t you think?”
“Do you want to plan a wedding for five hundred?” He lifted a brow, knowing damn well I had no interest in that shit.
I threw my arms out wide. “So, we leave it to our mothers and hope they can work a miracle in four months?”
“You’d be surprised what unlimited funds can get done.”
My head spun.
Rich people shit.
Luca walked over to the full-length mirror and looped his tie. My gaze was stuck on the way his hands moved the silk into an expert knot, only to untie it and do it again.
“Are you okay?” His eyebrows pulled together as he watched me in the mirror.
Shaking my head, I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands folded on my lap.
“You look shell-shocked.” He sighed and came to stand in front of me. “Look, I know this is a lot. And I know it’s not romantic, but it’s what has to be done. This wedding will solidify my reign and let everyone know the new generation is here. It’s not only about us but about Marco and the rest of my inner circle.” He tilted my chin up with his finger, ghosting his thumb across my bottom lip so as not to smudge my lipstick. “I hate we have to use our wedding to do it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the day.”
The icky feeling in my stomach didn’t subside. Luca couldn’t sweet talk my worries away. Confusion swept over me because I’d never cared about weddings, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was disappointed. I wasn’t going to have the wedding I wanted. A wedding I’d never imagined as a little girl but was now becoming clearer in my mind.
I wrapped my arms around Luca’s neck, keeping my chin up and away from his clothes. No need to get my pasty ass makeup on his shirt. “Okay.”
He leaned back, his hands on my waist. “We can talk more about this after the party. Okay?”
“Sounds good.” I managed a smile and finished gathering my things in a clutch that matched my cocktail dress. Rosa and Mom made one concession: the engagement party was black tie optional. I knew the wedding would be non-negotiable, so I got my way this one time.
And damn, was I glad when Luca slid on his jacket. He was in head to toe black with the lines of his suit cut close to his figure. Beautiful Italian leather shoes covered his long feet, matching the belt around his narrow waist. The stubble on his jaw and his tousled damp hair made him look every inch the made man he was.
“You look amazing.”
He brushed a flat hand down the front of his jacket and smirked. “You think so?”
I bit the inside of my cheek and gave him a head-to-toe look. Smiling, I sauntered toward him, only to veer off at the last second toward the door.