Patriot and his Secret Baby (The Rossi Family Mafia Book 1) (18 page)

Yes. Love. The sticky-sweet, Hollywood sort of love that made me want to gag. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Rosa was all there was, the most amazing woman I had ever met.
 

"So she decided to keep us from getting married by trying to get Lance killed. She knew you would stop at nothing to kill anyone who tried to hurt her. "

"Are you sure?" Her father had finally found his words, but his voice wavered. It didn't have the same power it had only a few minutes ago.
 

"I'm positive," she replied. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I should have just told them to give the inheritance to the rest of the family."

There was a moment of calm that spread throughout the room. Mr. Rossi had his hand on his chin, stroking his short salt-and-pepper beard. We stood tall in front of him and I hoped that Rosa's words had at least helped. After a couple minutes of deliberation, he started to make his way to the metal staircase that lead down to the ground floor.
 

The men with guns stood above us, looming just in case something went wrong, or her father changed her mind.
 

When Mr. Rossi made it to the ground floor, he stepped up to look us up and down. Then, he moved until he was only a few inches away from my face. He stared me down like the drill sergeants used to when I was in the military. I simply looked forward, waiting for what he had to say.

"Is it true? Did you DEFILE my daughter?" His voice shook with anger.
 

"Sir, I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, but your daughter means the world to me. I want to do what's right by your daughter and by our child. If you allow it, I would like to take Rosa as my wife."

Then I waited for whatever onslaught awaited me. He looked like he wanted to hit me at first, or grab one of the knives that were laid out on the table and stick it in my jugular vein. He didn't do any of those things. Instead, he turned to Rosa.

"Is this what you want?"

"Yes, Father," she replied.
 

Mr. Rossi then turned his head so that he was staring me down once more, trying to intimidate me. "Do you love her?"
 

It was funny, the word love had never passed between Rosa and me, but I knew the answer instantly.

"Yes sir," I said. "I love her very much."
 

He stepped back, his mouth a thin line. Then he reached his hand out for me to shake. "Then, let us start over."

I took his hand and shook it firmly. Next to me, Rosabella's smile was bright and contagious. Before I realized it, I was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Thank you, sir."

"It looks like I've misjudged the situation," he sighed. "We'll settle everything and get to the bottom of this, I promise you both. We can talk more when we get home." He made a motion with his hand, and the two dozen men started to make their way out of the room, no longer needed.
 

Matteo groaned next to everyone's feet and his father reached down to pull him up. He glared at me as they passed, but didn't try to attack either myself or Rosa. He'd heard the same story his father did. It made him a lackey to Regina's plan rather than a hero. I felt bad for him.

Rosa touched my arm. Next to her stood Luca, who had been hiding in the shadows for the entire fight. He held out some clothes so I wasn't half-naked when we left.

"That went … better than expected," he said with a slight smile. I nodded, still stunned that her father hadn't left me bloody on the floor of the warehouse or at the bottom of a river.
 

"I don't think we're out of the woods yet," Rosa said before kissing my shoulder. "But at least everyone is safe."
 

"I'd be dead if it weren't for you," I told her after I had zipped up the jacket Luca had handed me, then slid on some sweatpants.
 

"You're welcome." she replied, handing me a tissue to clean up my face. Luca jogged ahead of us to catch up with his father and brother, while I stayed back, walking hand-in-hand with Rosa.

"Did you really mean it?" she asked when we reached the exit. The outside air was fresh and invigorated me. Her hair was swept up in a breeze, flying about her beautiful, round face.

"What?"

"All that stuff you said back there?"

I reached over and ran my fingers through her wild hair, then drew her close to me. Her family was nearby, but it didn't matter. She was the only person that existed in my universe.
 

"I meant every word," I whispered to her. She just about melted in my arms, resting against my chest. I held her, breathing in the smell of her hair and the feeling the shape of her body against mine.
 

"I love you too," she whispered back.

It felt like my stomach
had transformed into a beehive. I stood at the back of the church and peeked my head around the door to look at all the people who had come to the ceremony. Both of our families were large Catholic families, so the pews were bursting with extended family members and their children.
 

The procession had started, but there were still a few minutes until it was my time to start walking down the aisle. This wasn't at all the marriage I had expected. Instead of the last minute wedding that Lance and I had planned with the priest, my mother had taken over and planned a multiple-day family reunion. It was the traditional church wedding that I always knew I was going to have, large poofy dress and all.
 

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a beautiful A-line gown that was big and flowing. It had taken over a dozen dresses for me to find 'The One' and this one made my body look amazing. I couldn't wait for Lance to see me walk down the aisle in it.
 

At that thought, my stomach did flip-flops again.
 

There had been a lot of tears and strife in my house the past few weeks. Both Lance and I had talked to my father and had gotten to a place where everyone was willing to forget the shoot out and the torture Lance had to endure. It had been tense, but an overall positive discussion. The most difficult thing, was clearing the air with Regina.
 

Regina wasn't one to be called out in front of anyone else, so when I did, she denied everything. Only when I told her that I had given up the right to the will did she start bawling, looking for sympathy. My father had been extremely disappointed in her and I thanked God that he was able to see through her charade. What she had done was extremely serious and my father had promised that there would be consequences as soon as she healed up.
 

I fidgeted in my dress, trying not to think about all the stress from the past week. Closing my eyes, I focused on where I was. It was my wedding, and it was time to get married.
 

Just as I was trying to gather myself, I felt a hand on my bare shoulder. My father stepped close to me, giving me a warm smile, the one he'd given me as a little girl.

"You're beautiful," he told me. His hand took mine and spun me around so he could see my dress.
 

"Thanks Dad," I replied. He gave me a side-hug, bringing me close. He looked like he had something on his mind and I stayed silent until he was able to find the right words.

"Rosa, this has been hard for me. To me, you'll always be my little girl. Perhaps I was stuck in that mindset for too long."
 

I looked down at the ground. He was right, but I didn't want to tell him that I had felt like a prisoner in my own home. Being a woman and a Rossi was difficult.
 

"I know you were trying to look out for our safety," I told him. He raised his hand to stop me.
 

"It went too far, and I hurt you. I'm so sorry for that, Bella." My father leaned in and kissed my forehead. It was a kind gesture and it made me want to tear up.
 

"You know, you're an impressive woman, Rosabella. You gave up your inheritance to keep the peace in the family, which I am grateful for."

I nodded, "It just wasn't worth it." I replied. It was a half-truth. The money would have helped us start a life on our own, but I didn't want to be the cause of any more strife. Lance and I had spoken, and we had come up with a plan to live on the salary he received from his family's business, even if it meant living below our means.  

"Yesterday I had a man-to-man talk with Lance."

"Oh, really?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "I hope you didn't scare him even more than you have already."

He laughed at that and shook his head. "No, I talked about what he wanted for your family's future. He's a good man, a hard worker, and a good soldier."

My eyes turned into slits as I looked at him suspiciously. "What does being a good soldier have to do with anything?"

"I offered your soon-to-be husband a job."

"Oh, really? Will I have to worry about him the way mother worries about you?"

"It's not like that, I promise. I have a few men that need training, and I think he'd be a great fit for the job." He offered me his arm as the music in the background swelled. I hadn't noticed it was our turn to walk down the aisle. "Also," he went on, "It comes with a high six-figure salary." He winked at me and took the first step out the door before I could argue with him.
 

The ceremony was beautiful. The church was decorated with thousands of flowers, all yellow and pink to match the colors of the event. Beautiful lights lined the aisle, shining a path forward toward Lance. He stood at the front of the church with that huge, cocky grin plastered on his face. Seeing him made me giggle, pure joy bubbled up out of me as I neared my soon-to-be husband.
 

My father gave Lance a bear hug after he handed me off to him. I could see the tears in his eyes as he left to join my mother in the pew.
 

The priest's words didn't mean much to me, but what mattered was Lance. I held his hand like my life depended on it as the ceremony commenced. We said our vows, repeating what the priest would like us to say in the traditional manner, then listened to scriptures on marriage and love.
 

Eventually, the ceremony drew to a close and we were finally man and wife.
 

Lance grabbed me by the small of my back and pulled me close. Gingerly, he lifted my veil up over my eyes so he could see my face. I had been trying not to cry the entire ceremony, but now the waterworks couldn't be stopped. He leaned in, then kissed me in front of God and man at the alter.
 

It was all rice, partying and cake for the rest of the evening. After getting all the traditions like the first dance and cake cutting out of the way, the rest of the night was partying. If my family could do one thing, it was party. Luca had enough event contacts from his club that our wedding seemed like a professional music event. There was a line-up of different DJ's, professional lights, dancers, an open bar, everything. It was great to see older relatives let loose and dance a little.  

I had been on my feet dancing for most of the day and I was extremely exhausted. Before I could say anything, I felt Lance behind me, placing his rough hand gently on my hip.

“Want to head back to the suite?” he said coyly. I knew what he was thinking, so I kissed him in reply. The people around us who noticed started hooting and hollering at us and I gave them a mock glare.
 

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand,” I told my new husband.
 

Our exit was grand. Everyone stood at the entrance of our venue with sparklers, lining our way to the motorcycle that waited for us. We waved goodbye to everyone, sliding onto the sleek Harley and then rode off together toward New York City.

"In here," I whispered,
pulling his arm into our large, modern hotel room.
 

When I closed the door behind us, I turned toward my husband, leaning against the wooden surface.

“Quite the wedding,” Lance said, running a hand through his messy hair. We stared at each other for a second, my eyes getting lost in his.

“I-I think I’m going to hop in the shower real quick,” I fumbled over my words, walking toward a door at the side of the room. It was a clever design, the simple wallpaper extended over the door so the bathroom entrance wasn’t completely visible, but if you looked closely, you could tell the wall slid over to reveal a large bathroom. My hands moved over the wall, then I turned to him. There was a jacuzzi and large shower with jets on every wall, and even a small waterfall tricking into the bathtub.
 

“I think I’ll join you,” he said, raising an eyebrow. As he passed me he paused, raising a hand up to touch my cheek. I leaned into it, his touch making me feel relaxed after a long day.

“You’re so beautiful” he whispered, index finger tracing my cheek.

I knew where this was going and there was nothing I wanted more than for us to consummate our marriage. I closed my eyes as his hand strayed down my neck, then my clavicle. His warm breath hit my pale skin, he was so close.
 

“Will you join me in the shower?”

For a second, I thought about saying no. Sure, it was our wedding night, but I was exhausted. However, I couldn’t say no to his puppy-dog eyes. I sighed and opened my eyes to look at him. He was a good looking man and it had been a while since I’d had a good fuck due to wedding planning, so I nodded.
 

Lance grinned at that, then swooped down and grabbed me around the waist. I yelled out in surprise as he placed me over one of his shoulders, bringing me into the bathroom. He slid the door shut behind him, leaving us in the privacy of our own bathroom.

My new husband took me to the shower, placing me down once we both were in it.
 
I straightened and cleared my throat, but couldn’t help but smile at the fact he had carried me over the bathroom threshold. Soon, I felt his hand on my white dress, inching behind me to look for a zipper. I turned for him, lifting my hair so he could easily undress me. Thankfully, I had picked out a gown that was easy to get out of. Slowly, he moved the zipper down, pushing the dress off my shoulders so it fell down to the floor, leaving me in my lacy-white lingerie. I kicked the wedding dress so it didn’t get wet when the shower started, followed by my heels.