Bought Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle

Natalia

“You know, I’ve always told Marcelo that I want to travel more, but I just never thought that it would be for a wedding and a family reunion.” The woman speaking, Tess, reaches out and lightly touches my earring. “These are gorgeous, by the way. Where in the world did you get them?”

“Airy loaned them to me.” I glance over at the tall woman watching from the doorway. She’s Salvatore’s wife and had immediately gone through my jewelry, declared that I didn’t have anything to wear, and pulled these from her luggage. “Aren’t they great?”

“Salvatore’s been shopping, huh?” Tess throws her sister-in-law a grin. “I might have to have him take Marcelo out to show him what to buy me for our anniversary.”

“Same.” Jane, the third wife, is sitting on my bed.

Well, it’s not my bed. It’s the bed I share with Dane, which is still bizarre to me. How did I get to the point where I’m sharing a bed with someone? It’s only been three days since everything went down at the construction sight and now I can’t believe that I’m going to get married.

Reaching out, I brace myself on the dresser. Airy sees the look on my face and walks over to me, and she and Tess help me to the bed.

“Look,” she says, sitting down at my side, “what you’re going through is crazy. Believe me, we’ve all been there. I don’t think that a single one of us has a traditional love story to tell the kids.”

“Unless you want to talk about kidnapping, imprisonment, and a lot of crazy sex,” Tess offers, making me smile.

Airy grins, then continues. “But that doesn’t mean that you’re not doing the right thing. He loves you. I don’t know Dane very well at all, but I know the men in this family. He may have a different last name, but the same blood runs through all of them. They’re all born of the same desire to protect and defend, to love and to save.”

Jane slips from the bed and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze. “She’s right, you know. Marrying into this blood, marrying into the knowledge that you’re going to give them everything and get everything in return, that you’ll be more loved and protected than you ever thought possible...it can be overwhelming, at best. But it’s worth it. I’m serious, Natalia, I had no idea how very worth it it would be.”

The three of them make tears burn my eyes, but my makeup is already done and I’m in the white dress I picked out a few days ago, and I don’t want to ruin anything. I know that they’re right. They’re living the same thing that I am--the passion, the danger, the love.

I believe them, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not still scared. When I admit this, the three of them all nod.

“Marriage is scary,” Airy says, “especially to men like this. They’re family men, through and through, it doesn’t matter that they have two different last names.”

“Look at how quickly the three of them came down when you guys needed us,” Tess says. “That’s loyalty. That’s family.”

“That’s love, and now you’re in it, too.” Jane gives me a smile and then pulls me to my feet. “Welcome to the family, Natalia. You’re a great addition. I know that you and Dane are going to be happy.” Before I realize what she’s about to do, she pulls me to her for a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around me.

I exhale hard but before I can catch my breath, the other two women are hugging me, too. I’m surrounded by love, which isn’t something that I’ve felt in a while, certainly not from women like this.

It feels so good that I want to cry, but I refuse to do that right now.

“I’m about to get married,” I say, but my face is pressed into Airy’s shoulder, and she laughs, pulling back from me.

“What did you say?” Her eyes are sparkling as she looks at me and I feel happiness rise in me. This is my family. They aren’t people I’ve known forever, but that doesn’t matter. When we needed them, they came. That’s what family is.

“I said that I’m about to get married,” I repeat, feeling a little foolish. Even though all three of them have similar stories to mine, we’re all different. They’re older than me, all have kids, but I can’t contain the joy coursing through my body.

“Hell yes, you are,” Airy says, reaching out and wiping a tear from my cheek. “And before long I bet that Dane will want babies.”

I blush and nod. “Yeah, he already mentioned that,” I tell her. What I don’t admit to is the fact that he’s been demanding babies and fucking me without a condom, telling me that I’m going to look gorgeous knocked up.

That seems like the kind of thing that should stay between the two of us.

“Let’s do it.” Jane glances down at her watch, a gorgeous silver band studded with diamonds, then takes me by the hand. “They’re going to think that you snuck out the window if we don’t get you up there sooner rather than later.”

Before we can leave the room, there’s a bark and the door flies open. Frank stands there, his tongue hanging out, then rushes me, slamming into my legs and almost knocking me over.

“Frank!” Now tears do stream down my face and I fall to my knees, throwing my arms around my dog. “Oh, my God, Frank, I thought I’d never see you again!”

The women are are silent, then I feel a hand on my shoulder. When I look up, Airy is smiling at me.

“Bring him with you,” she tells me. “I know how much you’ve missed him. Dane made sure to get him back for you.”

I follow them, my heart in my throat, my hand on Frank’s head, as they lead me out of the condo to the stairs that go up to the open top deck on the building. It’s a gorgeous day, cool and sunny, perfect for an outdoor wedding.

I’d told Dane that we could get married anywhere he wanted to, but he’d said that getting married on the roof meant that he could fuck me after the ceremony as quickly as possible.

It feels like I’m in a dream as I follow Airy and Tess up to the roof. Jane walks next to me, squeezing my hand tight as we step out into the clear air.

From that moment, everything is perfect. The sky is an incredible shade of blue and there are birds singing in the trees down below us. A stiff breeze blows towards us, but Airy and Tess step off to the side and all I can stare at is Dane.

He’s watching me, his lips curled up in a smile, his tux perfectly tailored to his body. Everything about the man is sexy, from the way his muscles show beneath his jacket to how his eyes lock onto mine as soon as he sees me. His lips part and I shiver, imagining how he whispers my name right into my ear when he’s entering me.

“Let’s get you married,” Tess whispers, turning and handing me a bouquet. I grip the flowers hard, barely noticing them. They smell good, though, and I dip my nose into them to sniff them. Soft violin music fills the air and I turn to see the quartet standing by the edge of the roof.

When I glance back at Dane, the three wives have gone to sit with their husbands. Lorenzo and Johnny stand at his side, both of them watching me.

But it’s Dane I can’t stop staring at. The way he’s looking at me, like he can’t wait to get his hands on me. The way he bites his lower lip when we make eye contact. I take one step, then another, led as if by some invisible rope pulling me closer and closer to him. Even if I wanted to walk away, I know that I couldn’t.

I’ve belonged to Dane since I was a little girl, but this is more than that. I want to belong to him, want him to take me and take care of me. I need him in a way that I’ve never needed anyone in my life. The past few days have proven that, and although we’re not having the big wedding that my dad had planned for me, this is even better.

This is me joining a family. A big family, but one that still has enough room for me.

When I reach Dane, Tess rises and takes my bouquet from me. The priest looks at both of us before giving himself a small nod and clearing his throat. It doesn’t matter what he says. All that matters to me now is that I’m going to be Dane’s. I’m going to belong to the one man in my life who is willing to put me first and do whatever it takes to keep me safe.

“Dane Accardi,” the priest says, pulling my attention from my future husband. “Natalia stands in front of you, wanting to be your wife. Would you like to give her your vows?”

I’m nervous. I’d been expecting to just repeat what the priest said. Never in my life did I think that someone like Dane would write his own vows, but he squeezes my hands, looking deep into my eyes.

“Natalia. Ever since I’ve known you, I knew that you were going to be mine. You’ve belonged to me, but only now will you really be mine. I promise you keep you safe and protect you. I’ll carry you when you are too tired to walk, make you laugh when life is too hard and you are weary, and always take care of our family. Everything about you speaks to me. I belong to you, Natalia. You have my body, ,my mind, and my soul. You’re perfection, Natalia, and you’re mine. I love you.”

I feel dizzy, like I’m going to pass out, but the priest looks at me, raising his eyebrows a little to encourage my vows. I know what I want to say, but it still takes me a minute to form the words.

“Dane.” Here I pause, catching my breath and clearing my head. “You are the first man to protect me. To see me for who I am. To love me.” He smiles at me and I’m encouraged to continue, even though this is hard.

I’ve never been great at sharing my feelings but I don’t have a choice right now.

“I want to be your wife,” I say, aware that everyone is listening but no longer caring. We’re not alone, but we seem to be in our own bubble where we’re the only ones who matter. “I want to love you, to have your children, to laugh with you. You brighten my days and make me feel safer than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I love you and can’t wait to be your wife.”

There. It may not be perfect. May not be pretty, but it’s honest. It tells Dane how I feel about him even though it may be clunky. Still, I’m nervous as I look at him.

When will I stop wondering if I’m really enough for him?