Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
“The truth that we were born for each other,” I say quietly, raising my eyes again to his. “Whatever souls are made from in this world, yours was made to curve around mine at every turn. You are my match, and my sweetheart, and my friend. My husband, in every sense of the term. You have been that to me before this ring, as you’d be without it.”
I quietly turn his hand over, slipping the ring onto his broad finger.
“But,” I say with a happy sigh. “I like the way it looks. So, I think you should keep it on.”
Kent laughs a little, smiling at me.
“I marry you, Kent,” I say, stepping close and tilting my chin up as I smile at him. “Not because we needed to, but because I want to. And I promise to love you, and protect you, and cherish you for all of the days of my life too into whatever is beyond.”
Before the priest can say a word, Kent dips his head, and he seals our promise with a kiss long, and sweet, and deep.
A cheer raises around us but Kent and l ignore it, lost in each other as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. It only ends when I laugh because Dominic finally wakes, letting out a little cry of protest probably from being just mildly squished between us, his two parents who love each other as desperately as we love him.
Kent laughs too, murmuring comforting things to our little boy even as he keeps an arm around me, pulling me close to his side. And then he turns to the room and throw up a hand, shouting something in Italian.
Everyone shouts and cheers back, throwing up their own hands and getting quickly to their feet, cheering for us and gesturing towards the empty aisle.
“Come on, little bride,” Kent murmurs, pinning me close to his side and looking down at me with happiness sparking in his eyes. “Are you ready for an Italian wedding party?”
“If it involves more Italian pasta,” I say, a little honest at this point, because everyone kind of forgot to feed the bride all day, “then count me in.”
Kent laughs, brushing his finger along my jawline as he grins at me and starts to lead me back down the aisle towards the door. “You’re going to be shocked at the amount of pasta. Borderline appalled.”
“Let’s do it,” I say, my eyes narrowing a little at him even as I smile as everyone around us continues to cheer. “After everything I’ve experienced in this world? I’m not sure I can be surprised anymore.”
“Well then,” he murmurs when we get to the door, his face close to mine. “I’ll just have to spend the rest of my life thinking of new things to surprise you with.”
“Good things,” I clarify, my voice low with warning.
“All good things,” he laughs, kissing me again. “Starting with the mountain of food and wine you’re about to encounter. Seriously, Fay, prepare yourself Nonna did not cut any corners for her favorite boy.”
“Oh?” I say, raising my eyebrows as we hurry into the candle-lit night, “and Alessi is not her favorite boy?”
“Oh come on,” Kent says, smirking at me. “Aless…is at best her close second.”
And, laughing my little heart out with joy and happiness, I let Kent sweep me up into his arms, carrying me and the baby down the path towards our reception.
When we come back to the house, I realize that many people have been working over the past hour or so that we’ve been in the church to absolutely transform the area behind the house into the most beautiful space. I gape as Kent sets me gently on my feet, trying to take everything in.
There are long, long tables all lined up under the open sky, all beautifully set for what promises to be an amazing dinner.
But beyond those are tall, round cocktail tables for people to mingle, and beyond that a dance floor with a stage where I’m shocked to see a full band setting up.
“Kent,” I breathe, shocked, staring up at him. “This is this is insane -“
“Better than your wedding to Daniel?” he asks, raising a brow and smirking because he knows he’s got his son beat, hands down.
I burst out laughing, smacking Kent in his chest. “I’ll have you know that I was very fond of my first little wedding -“
“You wore a short dress, Fay,” he says, his voice low and full of contempt.
“It was cute!”
“You were adorable,” he concedes, even as he rolls his eyes, leading Dominic and I to a little white tent, “but it wasn’t a wedding gown.”
I laugh, letting myself be shepherded along, but I gasp a little when I enter the little tent at the edge of the party because someone has been very thoughtful here. While most brides and grooms get a little table to themselves, someone has taken care to arrange a whole tiny room for us. Theres a table at the front, of course, so we can enjoy the party, but the back is very sweet and private.
The whole area is covered in flowers and candles, of course, but to the back of the tent theres a little bassinet, so Dominic can sleep when we want to put him down, and a little changing table, and a couch I can sit on when I need to feed him. And even as I look towards the entrance again, I see that the tent’s flaps can close, so we can have privacy.
“This is so nice!” I gasp, undone again by the thoughtfulness and generosity of my new family.
“Comes with champagne too,” Kent murmurs, moving to a chilled bucket in the corner and lifting the bottle out. He raises an eyebrow at me and I nod, so he pops it open. “And a dog, apparently,” he says, glancing down at Titus when he trots in, looking for me.
“I was promised a whole bottle of champagne upon the day of my son’s birth, after all,” I murmur, raising my brows significantly at Kent, “which did not appear.”
“We were distracted,” Kent says, smirking at me. “Also, I didn’t have time to get you champagne because you didn’t tell me you were in labor.”
Haugh, waving a hand at him to dismiss it all, and Kent laughs too as he pours me some. We clink our beautiful coup glasses together, toasting our marriage, and I only take a tiny sip before putting it down and signaling for Kent to close the tent for a little bit.
We take a moment then, the three of us, to be a little family.
I feed Dominic, who fusses unhappily for a moment as I get ready, and I lean back against Kent on the little loveseat as I do. And even though I can hear the party getting started outside in full swing, really I feel a little selfish but…honestly, I don’t miss it.
Everything, everything I want is right here in this tent. As much as I love my sister, and my dad, and Daniel and Jerome, and Gio…
I lean my head back against Kent’s chest, and take a deep breath, and find that I am…completely content here with my husband and my son. And even my little dog, who curls up at the foot of the couch.”I love you,” I murmur to Kent softly.
“I love you more,” he replies, and honestly as ridiculous a statement as it is I let him believe it, if it makes him happy. “You are my entire world, Fay Lippert.”
“What about Dominic?” I murmur, looking up at my husband.
Kent shrugs, but I see the smile on his face. “He’s good too.
But you were here first”
I laugh, resting back against him, not fighting him on it as I reach up and let my fingers play idly in Kent’s hair while our little boy eats dinner and then falls back asleep in my arms.
As happy as 1 am, Nonna and Janeen don’t let us stay away from the family forever. After about half an hour they burst into the tent, helping me fix my dress before shooing us out. Nonna offers to stay with Dominic, but I can’t bear to be parted with him, so I just take my sleeping baby with me out into the party, letting him doze against my chest as we move around, greeting everyone and accepting their wishes for a long and happy marriage.
We dance, and we laugh, and we sing but eventually I get tired, so Kent and I retire to our little table to eat and talk to whoever wants to come over to us. I’m a new mom, after all
I don’t think anyone expected me to have the stamina of a normal bride.
It’s an incredible night. Kent didn’t lie, not at all, about the food either. I’m shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn’t eat another bite if I tried.
And trust me, I want to try.
“It will all be here in the morning,” Kent murmurs, leaning over to kiss my shoulder. “There will be leftovers for days.”
“No there will not,” I mutter, watching jealousy as a try of tiny lemon cakes goes by, “because I will eat them all tonight, when Dominic wakes up wanting to be fed. I’m going to carry him down to that kitchen and eat every single one of those.”