Page 63 of Heartless Sinner

Now the day had finally come.

There were some concerns. Marco had brought a woman as his date that I strongly suspected was a stripper but I wasn’t going to bring it up so long as the woman didn’t make it obvious enough to everyone else. Dante was here and that meant he and Dad would get into an argument at some point. And I was sure some guests would like nothing more than to turn up their noses at Marla.

But overall… those concerns were nothing more than the occasional buzzing, annoying fly in the room. The most important thing was Marla.

Marla finally becoming my wife.

I waited at the end of the aisle with my brothers, Toby, and a couple other groomsmen. They were unimportant, the sons of other powerful mafia dons that I’d asked to be a part of my wedding party in a show of alliance and solidarity.

It was political, not personal.

Several bridesmaids walked down the aisle—also political—and then the doors opened and it was just… Marla.

Nothing else existed. It was just her. The entire world revolved around her in that moment.

She caught my eye as she walked towards me and a smile spread over her face, a smile of relaxed joy—one I’d been seeing more and more from her as the days had gone on.

I smiled back at her, my breath caught in my throat at how stunningly beautiful she was. Along with the fact that she was mine.

When she reached me, it was all I could do not to pull her to me and kiss her right then and there. She was fucking radiant. She’d picked a dress that was practically all lace, long sleeved and down to her feet, so that it covered and exposed her at the same time—Marla’s favorite look. She was a tease, and an elegant one at that. I desperately looked forward to peeling that dress off of her later in the privacy of our hotel room.

There was a question of whether or not the various businesses would survive while I was on a honeymoon for a couple weeks, but I’d eventually convinced Dad that it would be fine. Besides, Marla and I needed the time alone together.

Marla’s soft, slender hands slid into mine and I squeezed them lightly. “Are you ready?” the priest asked.

More than I’ve ever been ready for anything. “Yes.”

“Yes,” Marla echoed. She never took her eyes off of me.

I barely heard the priest as he guided us through the vows. To have and to hold, for better or for worse, until death did us part. It was all just tradition for me, something we were doing for the sake of others. I already knew the vows that I’d made to Marla, all the way back at the beginning. The promise to protect her and help her.

I couldn’t think of a scarier moment in my life than when I’d asked her if she wanted to leave the mafia world. After what she’d had to do to her brother, for the sake of vengeance and the sake of peace, to keep her parents from finding out the truth and being devastated… something had shattered inside of her with that decision, I could tell.

So I’d offered. Of course I’d offered.

But the whole time I’d been terrified that she would agree and say yes. That I would lose her. I’d have to get her a new identity, one that I didn’t even know or I’d have always been tempted to find her.

Thank God, thank God, she’d said no. She’d said she wanted to stay with me. She’d said she was mafia.

I had every intention of making her not just mafia, but a queen. My family was powerful and she deserved nothing less with her sharp mind and steel backbone.

“You may kiss the bride,” the priest said, and I tugged Marla to me, my arm coming around her waist.

Her fingers found my jaw, ever so gentle, and grounded me as I kissed her.

Everything after that felt like a blur until we were at the reception and it was time for the couple’s dance. I felt like I’d been on a merry-go-round, full of spinning, vibrant images and lights that I couldn’t quite focus on, and I just wanted my wife in my arms.

My wife.

“Those dance lessons are paying off, huh?” Marla teased me as I waltzed with her.

I grinned at her. “As long as I get to hold you, that’s all I care about.”

“Vincent Russo, a man with a soft side,” she murmured sweetly. “Whatever would the world do if they knew?”

“Well that’s precisely why they won’t know.”

“No, they won’t.” Marla’s smile sharpened a little. “Only I get to see that side of you and I’m rather possessive.”

I guided her arm up around my neck, bringing us closer together so that I could kiss her. I had plans for us, for my family, and with this woman by my side, I was sure I would succeed.

“I can’t wait to give you a kingdom, sweetheart.”

Marla’s fingers stroked through the hair at the back of my head, soothing me. “You already have.”

I kissed her again, just because I could. In private, in front of everyone, always, I could kiss her. She was my wife, she was mine at last, and she loved me as I loved her.

We were going to be unstoppable.

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