Page 66 of My Big Fat Shifter Wedding

Never in all my years had I thought I’d be a trophy spouse, but as I drove up the long driveway I realized that I was exactly that, beard and all.

Or, Olivia and I were both competent adults who had fought hard to get to where we were and neither of us was a gold digger. But that was a lot less fun. I had never been in a position to consider myself a prize before, so I was going to take that boost to my pride and run with it.

“Here we are,” Olivia said, wiping her hands on her dress. I reached over and squeezed her in the same manner I did when I was trying to comfort her.

“It’s gonna be great. Tomorrow, after everything is all said and done, you’ll be amused at how scared you were now.”

“God, I hope you’re right.” She took a deep breath, and I followed her lead. Although I wasn’t as simmering as she was, I wasn’t exactly cool as a cucumber either. “Are you ready to go in?”

“I am as soon as you are. But no rush. We can sit here as long as you like.”

She nodded, fidgeting in her seat for a few minutes before shaking her head and unbuckling herself. “I don’t really want to get ambushed out here in the car, so let’s go in. Besides, I don’t want to be late.”

“That’s good, because neither do I.”

We both took another breath, then we got out of the car.

I had to clench my jaw to keep it from dropping open. The house was huge. Bigger than huge. It was heading to downright ostentatious. The main foyer had a balcony, covered in all sorts of plants, and an actual climbing rose trellis up the side of the house like something out of a nineties movie, dialed up to eleven. To the left was what looked to be a two-story family room judging by the several floor-to-ceiling windows.

To the right was the garage that I was sure was stuffed with vehicles, and even from my vantage point, I could tell the house stretched quite a ways back. The fence went quite far in either direction, so I figured the backyard stretched at least an acre, which was mind-boggling.

Was... Was my partner actually a little bit of a princess?

She’d always been royalty in my eyes, but now I couldn’t help but marvel that she even wanted to hang out at my place when she had an entire mansion at her disposal.

“You know, when you mentioned that your family was well off, I think you undersold it a bit,” I said as we walked through the double front doors. I didn’t even know that was an actual thing in residences. I always thought it was reserved for businesses and religious buildings.

“Did I?” she said, giving me a bit of a bewildered look that let me know she’d never had to eat sleep for dinner or compare unit prices to figure out what the cheapest item on the grocery shelf. “I mean, I said we got along well enough, didn’t I?”

“You did,” I muttered, amused.

If the outside was beautiful with its white paint and tall, marble pillars holding up the balcony, the inside put it to absolute shame.

Before we could get more than a few steps, and I could really get my snoop on, Olivia’s phone rang. Rolando’s name flashed on her screen. He was probably calling to see if we were on our way.

But no, that clearly wasn’t the case, because I could hear his panicked words through the speaker.

“Mayday! Mayday! They’re all here!”

Mayday? What the hell did that mean?

“Are you kidding me?” Olivia snapped.

Suddenly, a whole bevy of people poured in from several doorways.

“Massimo, Riccardo, Serafina, Auntie Tatiana, Uncle Luigi, Olivia-Two, Isabella!”

It shouldn’t have been funny, especially since I could feel Olivia’s stress skyrocket, but hearing her call name after name after name like we were witnessing an Italian clown car joke tickled my funny bone.

“Ah! Here he is!” A man who looked similar to Olivia strode forward and shook my hand. I allowed it, but I kept an eye on my partner to make sure she was okay. Even if I was amused by the absurdity of it all, this day was for her too. I didn’t want her to be a wreck during it.

The second my hand was free, a shorter, curvy woman—she had to be one of Olivia’s sisters—took his place and grabbed my hand, although her grip was much gentler.

“The mysterious prince charming we’ve all been so curious about!”

I didn’t have a chance to say anything before the next person grabbed my hand, then the next, then the next, each of them having their own individual bark like they were video game characters.

“My, you’re a tall one, aren’t you?”