I don’t know what I’ll do if she turns and runs.

I know I can’t let her go. I won’t.

But I don’t want to chase her. I don’t want to make her.

And a moment later, when the pianist begins the wedding march again, I’m glad I don’t have to. Her lips move into a small smile, and, eyes locked on mine, she comes to me.

I’ve never felt relief like I do in that moment.

Does she deserve this? Me? My family? No, she deserves a hundred times better. I will live and die with that knowledge. I will live and die knowing I loved her too much to let her go. It’s selfish. But I guess I’m selfish. And what I feel for her, it overwhelms me sometimes. It swells and surges and takes me under so I can’t breathe.

She is breath. She is life. She is everything.

She reaches the altar and I take her flowers from her, hand them to the priest because I don’t know what to do with them. I lift the veil from her face and her eyes glisten with tears. I know they’re not all tears of joy and I lean close to her, touch the soft skin of her cheek and bring my mouth to her ear.

“You’re beautiful.”

With my thumb, I wipe away a tear and we just stay like that for a minute and I breathe her in and I want to make this moment last forever.

“I’m happy,” she whispers, more tears sliding down her cheeks.

I close my hand over the swell of one hip and draw back to look at her. I know happy isn’t all she is. I know she’s scared. I want to tell her not to be afraid. That I’ll protect her. That I won’t ever let anything happen to her. To us. That I’ll take care of everything. But I can’t do that. And I don’t. And all I can do is smile at her words.

Someone clears their throat. Fucking Dominic. I want to kill him. I want to kill my bastard brother. But Natalie pulls back and we turn to the priest and he begins the ceremony and, a short while later, Natalie Gregorian is Natalie Benedetti.

My wife.

28

Sergio

“I’m going to miss being in the city,” Natalie says. We’re a few blocks from the house on Elfreth’s Alley where we just handed over the keys to a house-sitter I hired so Natalie and Pepper can move in with me.

“You’ll appreciate the quiet. Although you will have to learn how to drive a car.”

“I can drive a car. I just haven’t in a while.”

“If you always drive like you did tonight, you’re going to take some lessons.”