Page 34 of Whispers in the Dark
Silence fills the room.
“We, umm…” Alina swallows hard as she gives a slight shrug. “We got married.”
Vin chokes on his drink at the exact moment Leo drops his cutlery. Alex roughly pats Vin’s back as Scarlett looks between the two of us.
“You really got married?” she asks.
“Y-yes,” Alina answers. “We didn’t want to make it into a big thing. The both of us don’t care much for attention so we went to town hall a week ago.”
“Well, this is wonderful news.” My mother stands with a warm smile as she approaches the two of us. She reaches for Alina and wraps her arms around her. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”
She’s taking this much better than I thought she would.
“You’re really okay with this?” Vin asks, his eyes narrowing in on her with suspicion.
She reaches over and tenderly places her hand on my cheek, her eyes telling me how happy she is for this union. “Of course I am.” Her attention shifts to Vin. “Out of the five of my children, Madeleine, Leo, and Mauro are the ones making me that much closer to becoming a grandmother. I don’t see you or Alex doing anything about that.”
And there it is.
Alina chokes on…well, fuck I have no idea what, since I didn’t see her drink or eat anything. I rub her back and stifle a grin. She doesn’t have to worry about getting pregnant since that requires sex, and the two of us won’t be doing that per rule number four set in place.
But I can’t lie and say the thought of her carrying our child doesn’t turn me on…
“Mother,” Vin murmurs, rubbing his temple. “You taught us always to keep it wrapped. And you should be thankful I have, otherwise you’d have more grandchildren than you’d know what to do with.”
Madeleine rolls her eyes, laughing as Scarlett presses her face into Leo’s shoulder to hide her grin.
“You know what I mean, Vincenzo. Isn’t it time you try to find Liliya?”
“Enough.” He throws his napkin on the table, sighing. “Why don’t we discuss the actual matter at hand here?” His gaze turns toward us, suspicion evident in his eyes. “Why?”
“Why?” Alina repeats, nudging a little closer into my side. Christ. Her soft body pressing against me feels too damn good.
“Yes. Why have you two decided to get married in such a rush?” He clasps his hands together and leans forward, bracing his forearms on the table. “I’ve barely seen you two interact with one another more than a handful of times. And now you’re announcing you’re husband and wife?”
“Well.” Alina looks up at me, and I nod, reassuring her to continue. She leans into me, placing her right hand over my racing heart. Her big brown eyes latch onto mine. “Sometimes you just know.” Her words are soft spoken, laced with something I can’t detect. “And with Mauro, I think I’ve known for a very long time, but I was just too scared to admit my feelings out loud. But when I did, I learned that he felt the same way, and we decided there was no reason to wait out the inevitable. We were going to get married eventually, so why put it off when we can start living out our lives as husband and wife today?”
I place my hand over hers, tapping my middle finger twice before intertwining our fingers as I lean forward and gently press my lips to her temple. A shudder runs through her as her fingers curl into my shirt, holding on to me for support.
“That was so beautiful.” Scarlett wipes tears from her eyes. “I always knew there was something between you two. I just never expected…” She waves a hand toward us, fighting back tears.
“Come here, Firefly.” Leo coils his arm around Scarlett, bringing her against his side. His other hand reaches up to brush away her tears.
“We didn’t even get to have a bachelorette party for you.” Madeleine frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. “Or an engagement party. Or a bridal shower!”
Alina lets out a nervous laugh. “That’s okay. I don’t need those things.”
“Wait.” Madeleine narrows her gaze on us. “You will be having an actual wedding, right?” Both of us remain quiet, indicating our answer. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Alina shrugs. “It doesn’t seem that important.”
Madeleine arches a brow. “You’ve been dreaming of a fairy tale wedding for as long as I’ve known you. You had your wedding cake and flowers picked out before you even graduated high school. And you expect me to believe that you’re okay with getting married at town hall?”
Is that true? A deep ache settles across my chest as I glance down at Alina.
“I, umm…” Alina shakes her head, dropping her hand from my chest. She pushes up her glasses. “We just thought—”
“Why don’t we start cutting into the cake to celebrate the good news?” Eli suggests. I notice his hand wrapping over Madeleine’s, and he gives it a little squeeze. She looks at him, and they share a silent conversation with their eyes before she leans into him and smiles.
