Deep (Pagano Family #4)(95)

Actually, Nick wasn’t so sure that was paranoia. But he hadn’t lost the rings…yet.

Yeah, he might slit his throat if he lost them.

For the last time in his life, he was alone. He closed his eyes and took a breath. Everything would be different. In moments, he would marry. Tonight, he would give his wife a wedding gift. Tomorrow, he would take her to Italy and Greece for their honeymoon. And then, when they came back, their life would be different.

There was a light knock on the door.

“Come.”

His mother opened the door and peeked in. He smiled and stood. “Hi, Ma. You look beautiful.” She really did. She looked elegant and regal. He went over and led her all the way into the room, then kissed her cheek.

She beamed at the compliment and smoothed the skirt of her long gown. “Thank you, Nicky. I just wanted to let you know everybody’s here. We had a little drama with Bev’s dress, but it’s all taken care of.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, caro. We had to take her dress in a just hair at the last minute. She’s lost a little bit of weight since the last fitting. But everything’s fine, and she is a vision to behold. That dress—my word. She looks like Grace Kelly.”

He’d paid for the dress, but he hadn’t yet seen it. Beverly had been adamant that the first time he’d lay eyes on it would be when she was standing at the end of the aisle.

He’d thought she was losing weight again, but she’d been happy and light, and he hadn’t noticed her skipping meals. Then again, she’d been working long hours at the bookshop, and doing planning for a five-hundred-guest wedding in barely more than two months. He hadn’t been with her all that much.

His mother fussed with his tie. “You’re a vision, too. Her handsome prince.”

Seeing her eyes get moist, Nick put his hands on her shoulders. “Ma, don’t.”

She dabbed at her eyes. “I’m your mother, Nicolo Pagano. If I want to cry at your wedding, I will. I want to say something right now, and I know I’m going to cry, and you’re just going to have to deal with that.” She took his hands in hers. Her wedding and engagement rings glittered on her left hand. His parents had had a complicated, volatile marriage with a lot of heartbreak and pain. But they had loved each other fiercely, even through the worst of it.

“I’m so proud of you, Nicky. You know that?”

“I do. Thank you.”

She shook her head. “It’s not a compliment. It’s the truth. You are such a good son. You saved me. From the day you were born, you saved me. You’ve always saved me.” Letting go of one of his hands, she cupped his cheek. “You were strong when I wasn’t. You were strong for me and for your father. You’ve been strong for us since you were too young to be.” Her tears topped over.

He pulled his face away. “Ma, no. Stop.”

“Today, I want you to remember. I loved your father since I was a girl. I love him still. And he loved me. But I don’t want you to be a husband like he was. I want you to be a good husband like you’ve been a good son. I don’t want you to bring your business home. I don’t want you to let pain poison love. Treasure her, Nicky.”

He was angry and offended. He’d lived most of his life with the mission to take what was good about his father and learn from the bad. To be a better man. And he certainly would be a better husband. He didn’t need his mother to tell him to treasure his wife.

But she was crying and trying not to smear her makeup. He was her only surviving child, though she’d wanted a big family, and now she lived alone in a big house. And she had borne the weight of his father’s weaknesses.

It was his wedding day. Instead of telling her off, he hugged her. “I will, Ma. I already do. I’ll treasure her until I die. And I’ll always take care of you.”



oOo



“Where are we going? Did you book us a suite somewhere?” Beverly sat at his side in the limousine, her enormous white skirt covering his legs and the entirety of the seat. His mother had been right—she did look like Grace Kelly. Her lace bodice and this gigantic, embroidered satin skirt glittered in the passing streetlights. Hundreds of little crystals were sewn into the embroidery.

Her hair was done up in a wide bun, circled by a crown, and his mother’s sapphire and diamond earrings sparkled from her lobes. She was indeed his queen, and her wedding had been fit for her.

“A suite? Something like that.”

“You’re just not going to tell me, are you?”

“Nope. Maybe you need a lesson on the word ‘surprise.’”

She laid her head on his shoulder. The little crown dug in, though, to his shoulder and apparently her head. She sat back up straight. “I’m so ready to get out of all this stuff.”

“You’re beautiful, though. Just spectacular.”

She grinned and plucked at her skirt, making the crystals twinkle. “It really is pretty, isn’t it?”

“The dress is lovely. But I can’t wait to get you out of it. You’re the vision. You glow.”

“It took three people to get me into this thing. There are buttons everywhere. I’m not sure you’re up to the task.”

“Sounds like a challenge.”

“Are you up for it?”