I put my hands on my head before I run toward them. “Do you think we can hide all the weapons for today?” I ask Billy, who just smiles at me.
“Will do, lass,” he agrees, ignoring me and turning and walking away from me. I turn back, running to the bride’s room, and when I’m about to open the door, another shot fires through the air.
I rush, gasping for breath. “Everything is fine,” I pant out when I walk into the room. I try to settle my breathing as I push my hair to the side and put a smile on my face, even though it’s a fake smile.
“The men were thinking of maybe saluting you guys by shooting off guns and one sort of misfired.” I see the horror on Sofia’s face, and I know I have to calm the situation down. “No one is hurt.”
She laughs at me at the same time someone knocks at the door. “Can I come in?” a male voice says as he sticks his head in. “I come with gifts.” I turn my head to look toward the door and the voice.
It’s as if everything happens in slow motion. I can literally hear myself blink as it happens. My eyes fall onto the man who is coming in. I can feel the blood drain out of my whole body as he steps in, his six-foot-four frame filling the room. His black hair that felt like silk under my fingers is styled perfectly on his head. He doesn’t have to look at me for me to know that his eyes are green. He’s wearing tan pants with a white shirt and a tan vest; the same thing the groom’s party will be wearing.
Someone gasps and I have to wonder if it’s Sofia, and when I turn to her, I see her looking at me with confusion on her face. It’s then I realize I’m the one who gasped. It was me. This can’t be happening, I think to myself; my head feels like it’s spinning around and around at the same time that I feel the room spinning the complete opposite way. My mouth goes drier than the desert on a hot summer day,
my tongue feels like it just grew in my mouth. The back of my neck slowly starts to get clammy and my fingers are tingly. Am I having a stroke? Maybe he’s not here in front of me. Maybe it’s my mind playing tricks on me from the sun and heat from outside. Maybe I got shot by one of the bullets.
All these things run through my mind but halt when his eyes stop looking around the room and then, finally, he’s looking straight at me. “Oh my God,” I declare as I put my hand to my mouth. “It’s you.” It’s him, the man who has been haunting my dreams for the last five years. The man I met one night in a bar and went home with. The man who all I knew is I fell in love with his name. The man who is the father of my child. The minute I think of Avery, I know I have to get out of here and get her away from here. Except, I have no idea where she is. I know she’s somewhere with Shelby’s kids and she is fine.
The color on Stefano’s face drains and he looks like he’s seen a ghost. “You,” he says in a whisper. I can see Sofia at the side of me, her head going from me to Stefano and back to me again. I can’t even imagine what she is thinking. The only thing I’m thankful for is no one in the room besides the three of us sees what is going on. I’m about to sit down or my legs are about to give out when I hear Avery shriek. I close my eyes, trying to force her to go away. Or maybe I close my eyes, thinking if I do this, everything that is happening right now isn’t actually happening. Maybe all of this is a dream. Maybe he’s not right here in front of me.
“Momma, Momma!” Avery shouts, running to me and I look down at her. Her hair is pinned at the sides and she’s wearing a halo of flowers. The white dress she is wearing has short sleeves and looks like there are flowers all over it. It kicks off and looks like a mini ball gown as it brushes her knees.
Her little blush-pink, sparkly ballerina shoes make the outfit complete. “I get to wear a princess dress.” She turns around in a circle on one foot, stumbling while she looks at Sofia and then at Stefano.
“Oh my God.” Stefano gulps, putting his hand to his mouth. I have no doubt he’s put two and two together. Her eyes are the same eyes he has. They have the same golden ring around them. The sound of my heart beating in my chest is filling my ears, along with the sound of buzzing.
“Stefano,” I hear someone call to him. As the door closes, my eyes go over to see a woman coming into the room. She’s stunning as she saunters over to him, her long legs coming out of the split of her dress. A dress that molds her form and shows you she’s got the perfect body. Her breasts look like two small balls, and if this was happening to anyone else, I would laugh. “Baby, where did you go?” she questions, slipping her hand through his. “Who do we have here?” It’s a wonder I don’t vomit all over the place. It’s a wonder there aren’t screams coming out of my mouth instead of all in my head.
He doesn’t say anything to her as she looks at him with a huge smile on her face. Her blond hair is perfectly curled at the end. My eyes immediately go to her ring finger to see if maybe they are married, but it’s empty.
I look at Stefano and then look back down at Avery. “Aunt Sofia,” she says, “do I look like a
princess?”
Sofia, whose eyes were as big as saucers not two seconds ago, smiles down at Avery and squats down in front of her. “You are the most beautiful princess I’ve ever seen,” she assures her.
“Look, I have a crown of flowers,” she brags, touching the crown on top of her head, “like a real princess.
“Momma,” Avery says, coming over to me. “I have a basket full of flowers and I have to throw them.” She mimics what she has to do.
The blonde laughs. “She is so adorable; what is her name?”
I look up now and add this one moment to the list of things I will never forget. “Her name is Avery.”
stefano
. . .
I ’m having an out-of-body experience. Either that or I’ve died and I’m looking down at my life unraveling before my eyes. My heart is beating so fast it feels as if it’s going to come out of my chest.
Even breathing feels like an elephant is sitting on me. The linen vest feels like it’s too tight on my body. I swear I am now hearing buzzing noises from my ears. I listen to Jenna ask her for her name.
The minute she says her name, it’s as if the angels sing. It’s crazy, right? It’s totally out of left field but it’s as if that name settles me. “Avery,” I say her name, but not in my head and more of a whisper than anything else. My eyes never leave her. “That’s a beautiful name.” Avery looks up at me, and I swear to God, it’s like looking into my eyes. What the fuck is going on right now? She smiles at me, a smile that is half her mother and half mine. I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach. Scratch that, I feel like I’ve been kicked in the balls and then my stomach. I look at her and then at Addison, who looks like she’s going to pass out. Her face is white, like she’s seen a ghost, and I guess seeing me after five years is just like that.
“That’s a pretty dress,” Jenna says from beside me as she smiles at Avery, and I look over at her.
For a second, I forgot she was even here. I look back at Addison, whose eyes are on Jenna’s hand gripping my arm.
“Um,” Sofia says, “Addison, this is Stefano.” She blinks her eyes a million times a minute. “And his girlfriend.” She looks at Jenna, waiting for her to fill her in because that is how much I’ve discussed her to anyone.
“Jenna,” she says, smiling at them.
“Nice to meet you both,” Addison replies, avoiding looking at me as she glances over at Sofia.
They share a look and Sofia just nods at her silently and grabs her hand.
“I hate to kick you guys out, but I need to get dressed.” Sofia turns to Addison and asks her, “Is it time for me to get dressed?” Addison doesn’t say anything and just nods her head yes. She then looks back at me and down at my hand. “Is that for me?”
I hold up the box. “Yeah. This is from Matty.”
“Thank you.” She grabs the box from me and I stand here for longer than I need to, looking at Addison and then back down at Avery, afraid to walk out of the room, and then Sofia leaves. Avery