by Bethany-Kris
“We do.”
Camila waved a single hand over her face. “Don’t you dare make me cry, Tommaso.”
“Not your style, huh?”
“Nope.”
Except her eyes were welling with unshed tears, and she was damn close to letting them start falling down her cheeks.
“Marry me, Camilla. Be my wife. Give me forever.”
“You didn’t even have to pose it as a question. You already knew, Tom.”
“Indulge me, Cam.”
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she whispered.
His lips were on hers before she had even finished her sentence. He made sure to quickly wipe the few tears that had escaped from her eyes away because like she said … crying just wasn’t her style. Even if they were happy tears.
He could have done some grand show, or made a bigger speech out of the whole thing, but that wasn’t his style. His love for Camilla wasn’t for others to indulge their need for a happy ending, and this had been a long time coming.
Love didn’t like to wait.
Their love had taught him that.
Six months later …
“It’s a shame we couldn’t have had the wedding in Chicago.”
“Ma,” Tom said, giving his mother a side-long look to quiet her.
Tommas chuckled as he passed his wife by in the church’s private room. “Don’t start with that old whine again today, Ella. It’s the bride’s day, and you know it. You will have your own brides to throw the biggest weddings for in Chicago someday.”
Abriella clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes upward. “I was just saying. Then maybe more of our family could have been here for Tommaso.”
“And then where would that have left Camilla’s family?” his father asked.
“Well …”
“Exactly,” Tommas said when his wife couldn’t come up with a suitable answer. “This is the young woman’s last day living in New York—her last day of being able to wake up, and know her family is just a short drive away in any direction. I think bending to her one wish of having the wedding here is not such a big deal at the end of the day.”
Tom’s mother sighed, but still smiled. “No, I guess not.”
“You’re tying that wrong, Tommaso.”
He grumbled under his breath at his father’s correction. Tommas pretended like his son hadn’t said a word as he came over to fix the knot on Tom’s tie.
“It’s not wrong,” Tom said, “just crooked.”
His father glanced at him curiously as he worked the light gray silk into a perfect, straight knot. “You know how to tie one of these.”
He did.
He was just …
Fumbling.
Jittery.
Stumbling.
Stuttering.
“Ah,” his father said like he could read Tom’s mind. “You know, on the morning I married your mother …” Tommas trailed off, and placed his hands to his son’s shoulders. “I put my shoes on the wrong feet twice. I also suddenly forgot how to tie my laces. Damian saved the day for me, and never spoke about it again.”
“You never told me about that,” Abriella said from the other side of the room.
Tommas never looked away from his son. “Abriella was the one thing I was most sure of in my life, and there I was on our wedding day … fumbling like an idiot because of my nerves.”
Tom laughed, and some of the edginess bled away. His father patted his cheek, and gave him a nod.
“I’m proud of you, son.”
“Are you?” he asked.
“Of course. How could I not be?” Tommas chuckled, saying quickly, “Oh, sure, you made some things difficult for me these past couple of years, but you taught me important things, too. About being a good boss, and a good father. I love you, my boy. My blood, huh?”
Tom nodded. “Yeah, Dad.”
Tommas let him go, and checked his watch. “Shit, Ella. We’ve got thirty minutes to make sure the girls are finished getting ready, and take our places.”
“Oh, calm down. Not everything is a rush, Tommy.” Abriella stopped at Tom’s side to cup his jaw in her hand, and kiss his cheek. “I love you, Tommaso. You did well with her. You know that, don’t you?”
“Of course, Ma.”
Abriella winked, and patted his cheek harder than his father had. “And don’t you forget it.”
How could he?
Tom’s whole life had been spent watching his parents together, and loving. An exceptionally strong man, and an equally strong woman who lived their love honestly, and openly. It had been them who taught him that the tough, difficult women were the ones most worth loving. They made life fun.
“Come on, Ella,” his father said, waving at the now opened door.
“You’re so impatient,” Abriella muttered as she left her son’s side.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“And why didn’t you tell me about our wedding day? Don’t think I forgot just because five minutes passed, either.”
“Oh, my God, Ella,” his father groaned as the two headed into the hallway. “You don’t need to know everything.”
“Yes, I do, Tommy! Every little last thing.”
“You’re ridiculous. I hope you know that.”
“Yes, and who made me this way?”
Tom shook his head, and walked over to close the door. It drowned out the bickering of his parents. Still, their pseudo argument comforted Tom, and reminded him of years gone by. It also helped to settle the last of his nerves.
He was back in front of the mirror to tuck in the matching pocket square, and straighten the cufflinks on his sleeves. It wouldn’t be long before someone came to get him to help settle his over-excited sisters before they had to make their appearance down the aisle. Even though that’s where his parents had been headed to deal with the girls, Sara and Rebeka likely wouldn’t calm down until it was Tom talking to them, and explaining one more time why this day was so important for him.
A knock on the private room door took his attention away from the mirror momentarily. Seemed like he wasn’t going to get any time alone, apparently.
“Just a minute,” he called out.
Tom’s gaze went back to the mirror. Whoever it was behind the door didn’t want to wait, as they just opened it right up and slipped inside.
He froze as the most beautiful woman wearing the most amazing dress slid into the room. Camilla shot him a grin as she closed and locked the door behind her. His gaze traveled down over the ivory-colored, lace mermaid-style gown she wore.
It was the very first time he was seeing the dress she had picked for their day. It fit her like a glove—hugged every single one of her curves perfectly, and made his mouth dry at the sight. Capped sleeves, a modest bodice, and a very low-cut back.
She had lost the mermaid hair about a month ago, and went to a brown shade that she swore was as close to her natural color as she could remember. The wild, messy curls had been swept up in a high up-do for their day.
He wondered how long the brown would last.
Her makeup had been done up in that same edgy way, too, with crystals along the cut line of her brow, and dark kohl on her eyes. Today, though, she wore a lighter color lipstick.
Tom turned away from the mirror as he finally gained enough bearings to talk again. “What are you doing in here, Cam?”
She shrugged as she strolled across the room. “I finally got to sneak away from August for five minutes. She’s a fucking tyrant.”
“She’s your Maid of Honor. It’s her job to keep you, and everyone else, in line and on time today.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve got maybe ten minutes before she figures out where I went. So, let’s make this quick, Tom.”
“Quick—what?”
She grabbed for him, and pulled him in for a kiss. The kind of kiss that made his dick hard, and a groan fighting its way out of his chest. It left no room for question about what she wanted. Hell, he could taste the promise of sex on his tongue.
> “You didn’t think I was going to wait forever to see you in your tux, and then wait until tonight to get you the fuck out of it, did you?”
Tom laughed. “I’m not surprised, no. You look …”
Camilla blinked up at him. “What, Tom?”
“So beautiful, babe.”
Her smile bloomed wide and sinful. “Don’t ruin my makeup, and make it quick but good, okay?”
“I’ll take that challenge.”
They were five minutes late for their wedding.
Her makeup was fine and they were still out of breath when they took their places. Laughter rumbled through the pews when someone said they were found together in an upstairs room.
It was worth it.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
So much love and thanks to the following people who got me through this book, and the processes that came after it:
The ladies who proofread. Eli, for editing. Jay, for the beautiful cover. Sasha for cheering me on, and Sunny for getting a copy just to get a copy and squeal about it.
Honestly, you ladies make this job worth doing most days.
To my lovely readers: I thought you might like something a little less heavy to break up the heavy that was the Cross + Catherine series and the upcoming John + Siena duet. Tom and Cam were certainly like a break, I think. Easy … effortless.
Hugs, love.
More is always coming soon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and three dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, a snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a spouse calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something ... when she can find the time.
Find Bethany-Kris at:
Her website www.bethanykris.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bethanykriswrites on her blog at http://www.bethanykris.com/blog or on Twitter - @BethanyKris.
Sign up to Bethany-Kris’s New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD.
OTHER BOOKS
Cross + Catherine
Always
Revere
Unruly
Guzzi Duet
Unraveled, Book One
Entangled, Book Two
DeLuca Duet
Waste of Worth: Part One
Worth of Waste: Part Two
Standalone Titles
Effortless
Inflict
Donati Bloodlines
Thin Lies
Thin Lines
Thin Lives
Behind the Bloodlines
The Complete Trilogy
Filthy Marcellos
Antony
Lucian
Giovanni
Dante
Legacy
A Very Marcello Christmas
The Complete Collection
Seasons of Betrayal
Where the Sun Hides
Where the Snow Falls
Where the Wind Whispers
Gun Moll Trilogy
Gun Moll
Gangster Moll
Madame Moll
The Chicago War
Deathless & Divided
Reckless & Ruined
Scarless & Sacred
Breathless & Bloodstained
The Complete Series
The Russian Guns
The Arrangement
The Life
The Score
Demyan & Ana
Shattered
The Jersey Vignettes
Find more on Bethany-Kris’s website at www.bethanykris.com.
Copyright © 2018 by Bethany-Kris. All Rights Reserved.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted material is illegal and punishable by law. No parts of this work may be reproduced, copied, used, or printed without expressed written consent from the publisher/author. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in reviews.
eISBN 13:
Editor: Elizabeth Peters
Proofreaders: Tracy A.
Cover Design © Jay Aheer from Simply Defined Art
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, corporations, locales and so forth are a product of the author’s imagination, or if real, used fictitiously. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
