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He nods as he finds a spot by the far wall with a large window overlooking the dance floor.
His timing impeccable, Enzo strolls into the office wearing a different suit than before, an all-black suit with a black shirt instead of a navy-blue one. “Alright,” he says, clasping his hands, then rubbing them together. “Who’s ready to have the most romantic wedding of the season?”
I roll my eyes but can’t keep the smirk from spreading on my face as I try to contain a laugh. His humor is the only thing that’s going to get me through this, because honestly, it’s amazing I can even find any at a time like this.
Matteo narrows his gaze on me and lets out a huff before stalking around his desk and extending his hand to me. After placing mine in his, he helps me out of my seat, and when I think he’s going to release it, he doesn’t. He keeps a soft, yet firm grip on it as he leads me toward Enzo and Father Barone. I’m not sure how to feel about it.
“You changed for the occasion?” I ask Enzo as Matteo stops in front of Father Barone, taking both of my hands into his as we face each other.
He and Matteo exchange knowing glances, like they’re in on a secret about Enzo’s suit choices that no one else knows about. “I had to dress in my big brother’s favorite color for themost important day of his life,” Enzo says while slapping Matteo on his shoulder.
Most important day of his life my ass.
“You can just skip through all of the filler stuff and go straight to the vows,” Matteo tells Father Barone, who gives him a slight nod.
“Aww, looks like big bro here is overly eager to get to the grand finale.”
Crinkling my brows, I ask, “What grand finale?” Matteo wants to get this over with as much as I do. There’s no point in elongating something that doesn’t matter to either of us.
The gleam in Enzo’s eyes tells me I’m not going to like his answer. With a waggle of his brows, he says,“You may now kiss the bride.”
My gaze shoots to Matteo, who’s watching me with an unreadable expression. I never thought about the kiss. Hell, I never thought about anything of the physical nature.Oh my gosh.Does he expect me to kiss him? Wait . . . does he expect me to havesexwith him?
“I don’t think we need to do all of that,” I blurt. “Let’s just sign the marriage license and call it a day.”
Matteo ignores me by turning his attention back to Father Barone and nodding for him to begin.
Surely, he agrees with me. This isn’t a conventional marriage. There will be no kissing. There will definitely be no sex. We’re just two people coexisting to get what we want.
I’m barely paying attention as my thoughts ricochet off the walls of my brain when Matteo gives my hands a slight squeeze.
I look between him and Father Barone, who’s giving me the same expectant look, like they’re both waiting on me for something. “I’m sorry, what?”
“It’s your turn to repeat your vows after me,” Father Barone says.
“Matteo can go first,” I scramble out, not ready to take the plunge yet.
“Matteo has already recited his vows.”
He did?
“Um, yeah, okay.” It feels like an out-of-body experience, my mouth moving on autopilot as it recites the words back to Matteo. I want to tell myself to run, to get the hell out of there, but I can’t. I have to do this for my mom.
“We’re ready for the rings,” Father Barone says, addressing Enzo who pulls two bands from the front pocket of his suit jacket. When the hell did they get those?
Matteo slides the dainty silver, diamond encrusted wedding band over my ring finger while repeating the words Father Barone says. It’s a beautiful, simple wedding band, and because it’s skinny, it doesn’t overwhelm my slender fingers.
Father Barone hands me Matteo’s ring and leads me in another declaration while I slide the plain silver wedding band over his finger. His knuckles are red, and a couple of them have fresh cuts as if he’s been pounding into a cinder block.Where the hell did he get those from?
“In the sight of God and this witness, I now pronounce you husband and wife!” Father Barone says with enthusiasm. “You may now kiss the bride!”
Even though I know Matteo has no interest in kissing me, I can’t help but feel the slight flutter in my heart at the thought of him doing it. It’s not what I want. It’s not what either of us want, and yet my body still reacts to the idea of it.
Matteo’s gaze falls to my lips, causing me to lick them. Everything from there seems to happen in slow motion as he pulls me to him and wraps his strong arms around me.
Before I have time to react, he leans down and captures my lips with his in what surprises me to be a soft but firm kiss.The warmth that spreads through me as he moves his lips across mine cannot be contained while I slowly melt into him.
Instinctively, I lock my hands around his neck as I rise up on my tippy toes. A low groan emanates from deep within his chest, a chest I regrettably haven’t stopped thinking about since walking in on him changing earlier.
