James."All is well, James," Giovani said, looking over the list he made on his phone. He glanced up to give me a reassuring smile, but I wasn't buying it. Something was wrong. I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair, letting out a sigh. "You're sure? I have noticed a lot of odd going-ons lately," I said. Giovani tilted his head as if confused by this. At the moment, we were sitting at our kitchen table in the compound. Giovani took a long sip from his coffee and nodded. "I am," he said, giving me a smile. "I have yet to let you down, James, and I don't intend on starting anytime soon," he said. He leaned back in his chair and then asked, "What odd going-ons, then?""The feeling of being watched, which I suppose I should get used to. I caught people in dark clothing staring from the distance, however, before scurrying off like rats," I said, a frown plastered on my face at the memory of that. Becca had been around when that happened, and I'd ap
James.'There he is, being an asshole again,' I thought to myself, my jaw clenched as I watched the new butler, Sylvio, scurry about and set things up. Becca and I were currently at the hall where the wedding would be taking place. She'd hired a butler who was no less than a pain in my side. He favored little underhanded insults he thought would go over my head. "Oh, you're the groom. Beg my pardon, sir. I just assumed you were the father of the bride," he'd said. Comments like that drove me nuts. At the moment, he was setting up some tablecloths and carrying some chairs over while I oversaw that everything would be going well. I leaned against the wall, my eyes narrowed as I observed, annoyed that he did his job well. Giovani was also here, always one to help out during times like this. "Friend of yours, then?" I asked, my tone a bit tired. Giovani chuckled in response, though it wasn't a kind one as he looked at the butler through narrowed eyes. "Yeah, I
James."I'm surprised to see someone so young and vibrant with someone so set in his ways," Sylvio, the butler was saying to Becca around the corner. I listened to the conversation while gritting my teeth. Wedding prep had been going phenomenally aside from this bastard and his piss-poor attitude toward me. Now, he was clearly coming on to Becca. At the moment, I was setting up some art pieces I wanted to be displayed in the halls when I overheard this entire conversation. I wondered if I should butt in, but I told myself that Becca could handle it. This was very true; I heard her laugh as if the man was joking. "Oh, he's not like that at all!" Becca said cheerfully. "James is a family man. Sure, we had our conflicts in the past. I went back and forth for a bit. But we are very much in love and happy." I smiled to myself, feeling my heart warm at her words. Not that I had any worries otherwise, of course. This butler, however, seemed to think she needed to be wit
Becca."Mama! Mama! Mama!" Dahlia said, crawling over to me and sitting on her bum. She had a little dog plush in her hand and was waving it at me. I smiled at her and took the plush, hugging it close. Then, I leaned down and left a soft kiss on her forehead. At the moment, I was visiting the kids. The night before the wedding had been pretty exciting. I wasn't sure what was up with James, though, and felt a little bit worried. He was so stressed; I wished I could ease some of that from him. Weddings could be a lot, though. I made the plush dance in front of my daughter, smiling at her and giggling right along with her keeling laughter. She tumbled about and kept playing, eventually joined by Alessandro. My family was so beautiful, I felt tears in my eyes. Tears that slowly crawled down my cheeks from sheer happiness. James and I were going to be married tomorrow, I realized for the fifth time in the last few minutes. My heart was bursting with hope for the futur
Giovani.Everything was going according to plan, and I was beyond happy. There I stood, as James's best man, wearing a soft smile and my best tuxedo. So many happenings lately landed on my plate, but like I promised James, I took care of them all. As I looked at my cousin, I felt a warmth in my chest. I genuinely wanted him to be happy. The responsibility of the Don couldn't be easy to balance with a growing family. I wasn't greedy or power-hungry. In fact, the prospect of the Don was daunting. However, I had a feeling James may ask me to take over at some point. I would be there for him if he ever made that decision. For now, I needed to make sure this wedding went as smoothly as possible. Some of James's old 'friends' wanted to ensure this wedding was less than savory for him. I couldn't let that happen. I smiled kindly at the butler, my 'friend,' as he passed by and turned to acknowledge me. "Sir," he grumbled. "I don't know why Becca would choose James."
Becca.It had happened. I'd done it. I was Mrs. James Valentino! My heart pounded so hard in my chest, I could hardly believe it.Everything had happened in a blur. One minute, I'd been getting ready, along with the help of my stepmom and Sophia, as well as the stylists I'd hired. The next minute, I'd been standing next to James at the altar. I'd been so focused on him, I'd hardly heard a word of the ceremony, which was short and to the point.He looked so handsome in his tuxedo, I couldn't pull my eyes away from him. James was such an amazing man in every way. We'd had our problems in the past, but I loved him with all of my heart. We were starting a new chapter of our lives together, and I was looking forward to spending every moment with him.After the pictures, we went into the reception hall and greeted all of our guests. My father, who hadn't said much earlier, kissed my cheek. I was hoping he was starting come around. "Dance with me later?" I asked him.
Neal.I knew I was going to miss the wedding, but I didn't want to intrude on Becca during that time, even if James was a prick. I just needed to see her happy. One more time. Before I could move on with my life. The conversation on the phone played out in my head again and again. I needed to move on, but I couldn't stop hearing her voice in my mind. I wished things had worked out between us, but that sadly wasn't meant to be. "Why can't I stop thinking about you, Becca?" I asked aloud, my knuckles white on the steering wheel as I parked my car at a bar. The wedding would be going on right now, but I wasn't close enough to make it, anyway. What would I do? Say that they shouldn't be married, or it should be called off? No. I just wanted to see her happy. Allegra sounded none too pleased on the phone, and I couldn't blame her. This wasn't healthy.Yet, here I was. Well, drinks at the bar would drown away some of that. The moon shone clear overhead as I
Giovani.The wedding was wonderful, but I knew our troubles were not over. As much as I adored the happiness of James, I couldn't let my guard down. These people were relentless, as had been made pretty clear by the poisoned cake. According to my men, there was a gathering outside of the wedding hall. I couldn't have this interrupt James on his special night. Not to mention, kids were involved. I would sooner die by a bullet to my chest than have any of them get hurt. This was my job, mine and my men's. James being the Don of our family was irrelevant. My heart pounded in excitement as I stared toward the woods that surrounded the wedding venue. My intelligence told me that they were going to try and end James once and for all. Yeah. That was not happening. I chuckled at the thought that they thought they could win this. They were sloppy, leaking information left and right. Negligence? Rage? Didn't matter. They had a vendetta against James and Becca, and th