Even children passing by on the sidewalk seemed to sense that the gray-haired old man with the potbelly was more than he seemed.
That he was actually evil.
I waited patiently, trying to focus on the words. I was intrinsically Catholic, even though I didn’t go to church. Auntie had made me go as a kid for long enough to make the basic shit stick. Marriage was forever. I didn’t give my loyalty lightly, but once given, it was for life.
Life . . . for the first time I wanted to create life, not take it away. Maybe tonight I would put a babe in Evie’s belly. Maybe this was the start of a legacy that would span generations.
And Evie was the most important part of it all.
“Antonio Margarelli.” I lifted my head to stare at the priest. “Do you take this woman to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?”
“I do,” I said without hesitation.
“Evangeline Hanson, do you take this man to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
A heartbeat. I held my breath. And then I heard her answer in her pure, sweet, innocent voice. It was like the chiming of a bell, tolling out strong and true. It was like the goddamn angels singing.
“I do.”
Triumph coursed through my veins. She was mine. It was done. Evangeline was mine.
Now all I had to do was make her happy.
I made an unspoken promise to God in that moment. I would do more than just keep her safe. I would make her happy. I would be a good husband and father.
I would be better. A better man. I would do whatever I could to cleanse my soul.
“You may kiss the bride,” the priest intoned. I turned to face my bride, who looked up at me shyly from behind her veil. I lifted it carefully and stared in awe at the smoothness of her skin, the plumpness of her lips, the purity of her face.
And then I kissed her. It was pure instinct. I moved without thinking, wanting to touch and taste. Hell, I wanted to fucking inhale her.
So I did.
With a low grunt, I pulled her against me, her breasts crashing into my chest. Her soft lips opened in surprise. I let out another satisfied grunt as she melted against me an instant later.
She felt so good. So right. It was like everything in my life fell into place.
Just. Like. That.
Evie was mine.
Chapter 32
Evangeline
The courtyard was almost completely silent.
You could hear a pin drop as the staff served the first course. We were sitting in the dining room, with one long table. It was packed with the Margarelli family and friends, though no one farther than a cousin, from what I could tell.
They were almost all related by blood. They had known each other forever. There were no outsiders here, other than my mother and myself.
And yet, they were the quietest group of well wishers I had ever seen.
My mother was pale as she sat across from me and my husband.
Husband.
Now that it was done, I could hardly believe I’d had the nerve to go through with it.
What’s done is done.
I almost laughed at the bitter thought. Not exactly what a bride should be thinking on her wedding day.
I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Tony wasn’t drinking his champagne. He was just . . . watching me. My lips, specifically. He looked like he was starving. I took a nervous sip as the first course was served. A light salad.
Well, that’s certainly not going to satiate him, I thought. I hope Auntie brings him a steak.
Of course, he barely ate. I was too nervous to choke much down. I took another gulp of my champagne, the floating strawberry in the glass bouncing against my lips.
Another course was served. Prosciutto and melon with fresh sprigs of basil, salt, and pepper and a touch of olive oil. I took a bite, barely tasting the food. Antonio watched me not eat. I watched my mother not eat. And everyone else watched us.
At least they started talking a little.
Antonio’s father was seated at the other end of the long table, as far away as possible. I knew it was deliberate. It didn’t stop him from staring at me with an odd look on his face.
The older man was smiling. It wasn’t a nice smile. It was an ‘I have a secret’ smile.
My arms broke out in goosebumps.
“What were you studying at university?”
I startled, turning my attention to Antonio and Vincent’s cousin Michael. He was giving me an encouraging smile. Out of all of them, somehow, he was the most normal. Probably because he was a lawyer. Antonio had told me that he worked for the family but had outside clients as well.