I looked over, and Molly a
nd Stacy were dancing together, doing a variety of silly hip-shaking moves and giggling together.
Kelly grumbled. “That looks like so much fun.”
Marco rubbed Kelly’s shoulders. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”
Luca hopped up from the table and ran over to where Stacy and Molly were dancing and said some words we couldn’t hear across the distance. Suddenly, Stacy and Molly ran over to the table, and Stacy dragged Kelly up from her seat. They stayed right near the table, and their movements were much more subdued, but Stacy and Molly danced around Kelly, and Kelly started to smile and dance along with them as best she could. They continued dancing together until, eventually, Stacy split off and walked over to Willow. She looked down at Willow, and Willow shook her head. Stacy insisted, reaching down to take Willow’s hand.
“She is the bride,” I huffed to Willow, earning myself a death glare, but Willow relented and let Stacy pull her from her seat.
The four wives danced together, and eventually, Willow cracked a smile as she swayed along. When the song ended, all four women returned to their seats, and shortly thereafter, Gabriel returned.
“Your mom is a spitfire,” he said, kissing Stacy on her cheek.
“Where do you think I get it from?” Stacy replied.
“Thank you,” Kelly said. “I know that wasn’t really the most fun but—”
Stacy put a hand on top of Kelly’s. “It was so much fun. I got to dance with all of my sisters at my wedding. What could be more fun than that?”
Cake was served, and the guests quieted again as everyone settled into dessert. At the head table, we were quiet, as well, but not because we were digging into our cake. We exchanged glances with one another, and it was unspoken across the table—we wanted to talk business, even though we decided we wouldn’t at the wedding.
“I’ll do it since no one can get mad at the eight months pregnant woman,” Kelly broke the silence finally. “What’s next?” She looked at Stacy. “I’m sorry, Stace, but I’m in a car back to Maine today, and that makes me anxious enough. I need to know something. I hate that I have to leave without my husband.”
Stacy shook her head. “It’s okay. I wanted to ask, too.” She grabbed Gabriel’s hand. “You guys have been awesome this week, keeping the business away from the wedding, and I’m so thankful, but I’ve been going crazy wondering what happens now.”
Gabriel looked at Stacy. “You sure?”
She nodded. “Positive. I married into this family, knowing what it meant.”
Gabriel gave her a kiss and stared lovingly at her. “I love you, Mrs. Varasso.”
“I love you.” Stacy looked over at me. “Okay.”
All eyes turned to me, apart from Luca and Molly, who both kept their eyes trained in other places, but I could tell they were listening. Exactly one week ago, I told Luca that I thought he had no business running the family. We were, hopefully, nearing the end of our shady dealings, but snuffing out the Binachis and getting all of our loose ends tied up was going to take a rougher neck than the one Luca was ruling with. I told him that I thought he should hand over the throne of the family to me, and he did, but reluctantly.
The only person who seemed to hate his loss of power more than him was Molly. Maybe it was just that she hated taking orders from anyone other than her own husband, maybe it was because she was irritated I snatched the reins before she could, but either way, she’d been downright nasty to me ever since Luca turned the ring over to me. It’d created a bit of strain between my eldest brother and me, as well as between our wives.
“We still haven’t found Dario yet, though we’ve been looking. Marco called nearly every leech he knows out in the city, and we still haven’t dug him up. Don’t let up, Marco. Crack skulls if you need to. What he did to our family is unforgivable. There’s a beautiful life waiting for us in Maine, but we can’t have it until we know the threat here has been eliminated.”
Marco nodded. “Yes, boss.”
“Wait, you don’t have any leads?” Kelly asked, her voice drenched in concern. “What if you don’t find him before I go into labor?” She looked at Marco. “You promised you wouldn’t miss the birth.”
“He won’t,” Luca replied. “I will personally see to it that the second we get the call, Marco is on a plane on his way to Maine. It’s an hour and a half flight. If you even feel like you’re going into labor, call, and I’ll have him on Dad’s jet in no time flat.”
I glared at Luca, irritated. He wasn’t the head anymore and didn’t have the right to speak out. I opened my mouth, but before I could get a word out, I felt a hand on mine. I looked over, and Willow was looking back at me.
“Not at the wedding,” she said, a hint of warning behind her voice.
I looked over at Luca, and he was side-glancing at me, daring me to say something, but I gritted my teeth and turned my attention to Kelly. “Marco won’t miss the birth of his child.”
Kelly nodded and took a deep breath. She didn’t seem to entirely believe us, but she also understood that there was no choice but to do so.
“The car is ready to take you back to Maine, and the driver knows all of the hospitals between here and there just in case,” I continued. I looked at Gabriel and Stacy. “The newlyweds will be riding with you and enjoying a honeymoon night in Maine before flying back in tomorrow morning.”
Kelly gasped and looked at Stacy. “You can’t do that! It’s your wedding night!”