Velvet Lullabies

“Nine a.m., bella.” He rounded the corner to press a kiss to her cheek.

“So early.” She groaned.

He chucked behind her, grabbing a covered plate from the cart in the entrance. “I thought you might think so. Here, I got you room service.” He sat the plate at the high-top table, removing the cover to reveal pancakes and bacon. “Eat up,” he told her. “We have a long day ahead of us.”

The long day he was referring to included flying to New York for the second engagement party. This time with his family.

She groaned. “Haven’t we had enough parties?”

He raised his eyebrow, “We haven’t even gotten to the big one yet, bella.”

“I know! That’s the problem. How many are we supposed to have?”

Lucian smirked, wrapping his arms around her body. “Just let them enjoy it, bella. Let the world celebrate our engagement.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Don’t little girls dream about their wedding day?” Lucian asked.

“Not this little girl.” Adelina told him, shoving a bite of pancake into her mouth.

“Why?”

That was a good question. Because from a young age everyone told her she was going to be marrying Theo? Which wasn’t always a bad thing. There was a time when Theo was the light of her life and she was thrilled to grow old with him. He was her best friend.

“I don’t know.” Adelina shrugged. “It never seemed like my day. It was just a thing that Theo wanted.”

Lucian nodded. “I know, things have been a little… rough for you, but I want you to know that this is your day. You can have whatever you want, I will make it happen.”

Adelina pondered this thought for a minute. “So, if I wanted to ride down the aisle on a unicorn?”

Lucian smirked. “Would a horse with a fake horn work?”

“Hmm, I could probably make that compromise.”

“Consider it done then.”

“You know I’m kidding, right?”

“God, I hoped so.”

???

The Luchese estate was massive. Adelina was overwhelmed with the beauty of the place. A huge white house, sitting lakeside. The inside was covered in dark wood floors and bright white walls. It was the beachiest Mafia house Adelina had ever seen.

She loved it.

“You didn’t tell me,” she tugged on Lucian’s sleeve. “That we could have a house that wasn’t dark and dreary.”

Lucian looked her over with a smile, but the girl was dead serious.

“Baby, you can paint our house purple if it makes you happy. I don’t give a fuck as long as your living in it.”

Her cheeks turned a bright red at his statement. No one had ever talked to Adelina like that. It was always demands with Vinny and Massimo, do this, do that. With Theo, he had their whole life planned and she was just along for the ride.

But Lucian, he was constantly giving her choices, constantly asking her questions, valuing her opinion. And all she did was complain.

“Okay,” she whispered to his amusement.