She was getting married.
She was getting married.
Even thinking the words twice did little to dispel her current reality. Melina looked down at the sparkling engagement ring Mac had given her two months ago. It was even more beautiful now than the night he’d given it to her. A symbol of his love and his commitment to her. Even now, on the threshold of starting their new life together, she was still amazed.
A year ago she had been struggling in more ways than one. Coping with the illness of her father and doing her best to survive in a profession that changed people in the worst of ways. Things hadn’t been easy and more than once, she’d wanted to give her burdens to someone else, but there’d been no one else to take them. Now she had someone.
Mac.
There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the man would crawl over broken glass for her or deal with any threat that came her way. He’d proven that in his own quiet, unassuming way more than once. And now he was about to prove before God, la famiglia and those who mattered to him, just how important she really was to him. Tears threatened to fall but with sheer force of will she held them back.
Today was a happy day.
Today was the day that little girls dreamed of when they grew older.
It was the day women dreamed of even as they grew older and were faced with the harsh reality that life was not the fairytale they’d grew up believing it to be.
Melina had been one of those women.
Until Mac had proven her wrong and dared to make her believe in happy endings again.
Now they were about to start living one of their own.
If only … Shaking her head, Melina pushed those thoughts away. There was no point in dwelling on the past. On things that could never be. But still, a part of her wished that things could have been different.
Standing before the full-length mirror in the room that served as her bridal chamber, Melina smiled at her reflection. Her long, glossy hair was curled, pulled atop her head, and secured with pins. A thin silver and diamond studded diadem was the centerpiece of her veil.
And her dress.
Her dress was something she might have never picked for herself, but there was a first time for everything. The gown she wore was cream and made of lace. Off the shoulder with small sequins around the bodice and a tapered waist that trailed down to a long train. It was beautiful.
She looked like a bride out of a glossy, couture magazine. From the ornate headpiece she’d reluctantly allowed Neeya Pivetti to talk her into choosing, to the long veil embedded with more Swarovski crystals than she could even dare to count, she looked every inch a princess.
Melina Morgan Maccari, mob princess.
She laughed at the thought. For better or worse, she was about to tie her life to a man who moved in shadows. To a man whose first loyalty would always be to a family that hadn’t initially been welcoming to her. To a family that would always come first, even above their own. Was she ready for everything their lifestyle would entail?
“Melina?”
She turned at the sound of the soft voice and found Cynthia Maccari standing hesitantly in the doorway.
“Come in,” Melina told her.
“You look beautiful, dear. Absolutely breathtaking. James isn’t going to be able to take his eyes off of you.”
Melina smiled beneath her future mother-in-law’s praise.
“I can say the same. You look wonderful. There’s a glow about you.”
“I was expecting to see the same glow about you. What’s wrong?”
Melina shook her head. “Nothing. Just a bit emotional is all. Never thought I’d be getting married.”
Cynthia’s eyes were soft. “That may partly be true, but there’s more that you’re not saying. It’s your parents, isn’t it?”
Melina turned away in an effort to get her warring emotions under control. She felt Cynthia’s hand touch her shoulder and the tears she’d been fighting slipped down her cheeks.
“Yes,” the word tore from her suddenly raw throat.
“They’re here. In spirit. In your heart. In your memories.”
Melina faced Cynthia. “It’s not the same.”
“I know. Loss is never an easy pill to swallow but it’s on days like today that we appreciate what we still have left. I know that somewhere, your parents are smiling down, so happy that you are finally about to have all the things they ever dreamed of for you.”
“I would give anything to hold my dad’s hand. To have him walk me down the aisle.”
“He’ll be right beside you every step of the way.”
Cynthia took a tissue from the holder and carefully wiped Melina’s tears away.
“I don’t know how to be a wife. Mac needs …”
“Mac needs you and only you. Everything else will fall into place. Besides, you’ve already got a head start.”
“And what’s that?” Melina asked.
“You’ve learned to cook decent food. That’s half the battle.”