Chapter Nine
“Hold still.” Gussie, the adorable wedding planner charged with making Lila look gorgeous on her big day, leaned over to press the false eyelash into place. “These are cry-proof, too. I promise.”
“I won’t cry, trust me,” Lila declared. She’d made it through a ridiculously emotional day without shedding a single tear, hadn’t she?
With one eye shut, Lila leaned an inch to the left to find Poppy, who was supposed to be enjoying the pre-wedding party, already tidying up the bridal dressing room. “Unless not crying is bad luck, Pop-Tart,” she called out, purposely using Gabe’s nickname to get her attention.
“Your luck is good, Miss Lila. I checked with my, uh, sorceress.”
“Did she say sorceress?” Gussie asked in a shocked whisper.
“Source,” Lila supplied. “Can I open now?”
“Yes, carefully.”
Lila opened both eyes, fluttering to get used to the feel of the fake lashes and looking around the opulent surroundings. All the chaises and chairs were filled with women she loved, sipping champagne, touching up their own makeup, chatting and laughing, and throwing some teases Lila’s way.
Since she’d spent so many years deeply undercover and had crafted a brand-new identity in the process, Lila hadn’t come into this new life with many girlfriends. And as an only child of deceased parents, she had little in the way of her own family.
But, as he had with so many of her needs, Gabe saw to it that she had plenty of friends and family now. Sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, and nephews. All related to him, but just as close and kind to her.
Especially Chessie, her maid of honor, who sat perched on a vanity bench a few feet away, running a brush through her daughter’s long black hair, whispering into Lita’s ear, teaching her English and showering her with love. Chessie’s dark mane was lifted in a beautiful wrapped braid, her blue eyes, so like Gabe’s and Rafe’s, bright with her own freshly applied makeup.
If it hadn’t been for Chessie and her incredible computer skills, Gabe might never have known he had a son, and he might never have sent Chessie and Mal on a mission to Cuba to find him. And Isadora might have stayed “dead” in his mind.
“You okay?” Chessie asked, looking at Lila.
“I’m just…” Lila gave a wistful smile. “Thinking.”
“No doubts, I hope.” Chessie winked.
“Not a single doubt. I was just silently thanking you for risking life and limb to try to find Rafe.”
Chessie lifted her champagne flute. “Are you kidding?” She pressed a kiss on little Lita’s head. “I should thank you. Because of Cuba, I have the man of my dreams and the world’s sweetest daughter.”
Vivi, Gabe’s cousin, took a step closer to the conversation. “Chessie joined a long line of Rossis and Angelinos who fell in love on undercover jobs,” she told Lila. “I’m sure Gabe told you I met Lang when I was posing as a stand-in for Cara Ferrari.”
Gussie looked up from her makeup tray. “The movie star? You do look like her a little.” She frowned at the group. “Is the whole family in the spy business?”
“Not all spies,” Vivi said. “My husband’s FBI, and my brother, Zach, and I run a security and investigation firm up in Boston.”
“Zach is your husband, right, Samantha?” Gussie asked.
“For better or worse,” Sam said on a laugh. “It’s almost always for better.”
Gussie gave her an uncertain look. “How did he…” She touched her eye, referring to the patch Zach wore. “I ask since I’m an accident victim myself,” she added quickly. She turned and lifted her hair, revealing a ghastly scar and burn that left a huge bald spot, making all of the women sigh or gasp softly.
“His was a war wound,” Samantha said. “I would never have noticed that if you hadn’t shown us.”
Gussie smiled. “I wore wigs for years, but then I met Tom, my husband, and just learned to feel beautiful as I am.”
“A good man will do that for you,” Lila said with a knowing smile. Gabe had not been thrilled when he’d learned that his freckle-faced, auburn-haired, voluptuous Isadora had been remade by the CIA into a flat-chested blonde with a far-from-perfect nose. But not because they’d changed the way she looked, but because he didn’t know if she was still Isadora on the inside. “Love goes deeper than looks.”
“Patch or not, your man is hot,” Gussie said to Samantha. Then she tapped Lila’s chin to get her to look up. “And so’s yours. I think I hear the sound of a million hearts breaking now that Gabriel Rossi is officially off the market.”
Lila laughed. “Not that I expect to ever subdue that man.”
“You got him to stop swearing around Rafe.”
“No, I did,” Poppy said, lumbering over to join the fun. “But he has stopped, mostly.”
“He swore plenty today,” Lila told her. “He should just write the Jamaican Children’s Fund a check for a thousand dollars.”
“Of course he swore,” Vivi said. “Just like my aunt and uncle swore every time Gabe did something outrageous as a kid. Going out in the middle of a storm to find those rings was crazy.”
“Rafe knows it was wrong and stupid, and I’m sure he’s gotten his talking-to from Gabe,” Lila said.
“But not Nino,” Poppy added. “That man thinks the sun rises and sets on that boy.”
“That’s how he was with Gabe,” Vivi said. “The rest of us would all get in huge trouble for whatever we did, but Nino defended Gabe until Mom and Dad let it go. He got away with murder.”
“Were you all raised together?” Gussie asked.
“Zach and I were born in Italy and lived there until we were ten,” Vivi told her. “The Rossis are our American cousins, and they adopted us when my mom died and we were orphaned.”
“Aww.” Gussie sighed. “I’m sorry about your mother, but what a sweet family you became part of.”
A few of the women laughed. “I don’t know if I’d call them sweet,” Devyn, Marc’s wife, chimed in. “But it’s a fantastic family to marry into, I promise.”
“Thank you.” Fran Rossi slipped her arm around her daughter Nicki and came closer, smiling. For having raised five kids plus two cousins, Gabe’s mother seemed remarkably relaxed. Maybe because of all those kids, nothing seemed to faze her. “Every time one of my children—and I count Vivi and Zach in that—marries, our brood gets bigger and I get happier.” She shot a meaningful look at Nicki. “Some are making me wait longer than others.”
“And the Nicki Isn’t Married Yet zing comes out of left from Mom,” Chessie teased, pointing at her older sister. “Get on that, Nick.”
Nicki laughed, clearly used to the ribbing. “Hey, I’m a shrink. I don’t go out on these romantic undercover adventures in the field like the rest of you.”
“Neither did I,” Chessie reminded her.
After a tap on the door, Willow, one of the other destination wedding planners, stuck her head in. “Twenty minutes to sunset, ladies. I know you want to time the ceremony to coincide.”
“We’re done with makeup,” Gussie told her. “We just need to get that dress on.”
While the rest of the women cheered and toasted, Lila stood and let Gussie guide her up to the small dressing platform in the center of the room. At that moment, the whole thing suddenly started to feel…real. Unbelievably real.
After all Gabe and Lila had been through—having a child, “dying” and coming back as someone else, the headaches and the heartaches and the love and the longing—she was finally going to be Gabe’s wife.
The satin fell over her with a whoosh that matched the sudden rush of blood in her head as the hem of the long dress brushed her bare feet. Every woman in the room gasped, applauded, and cheered.
“This one is a winner,” Gussie said smugly, clearly proud of her role in designing the stunning dress. “You look like a goddess.”
The dress was simple, a column of white with spaghetti straps and a small train. She remembered the night she’d come back to Gabe, wearing the same color, knowing how difficult it would be to convince him she was Isadora and desperately needed help.
“Miss Lila,” Poppy said, holding up her phone to take a picture. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful bride.”
“Thank you.” Her voice hitched, and emotion made her throat swell. “I guess I’m a little teary after all,” she admitted.
“Totally understandable.” Chessie came closer and offered her a champagne flute, but Lila shook her head.
“I don’t want anything to dull my senses. I want to remember every single moment of tonight. I’ve never been happier.” She looked from one woman to the next. “Thank you for letting me into your family,” she said softly. “I’m overwhelmed by how much I love you all.”
Chessie climbed up on the platform and slipped an arm around Lila, squeezing her waist. “We love you, too,” she whispered. She lifted her champagne flute and beamed at the other ladies.
“Sisters, cousins, Mom, and friends, please join me in welcoming Lila to the Rossi clan. It takes a mighty strong, smart, patient, and special woman to tame a guy like our Gabe. Many have tried, but only she has succeeded.”
Lila snorted. “Not quite.”
“It’ll be a lifelong challenge. May that be a long life full of laughter, joy, babies, and family. To Lila Wickham Rossi!”
Lila Wickham Rossi.
Gabe had given her the family she lost, the permanence she craved, the son she adored, and a love she’d always dreamed of. Gabe had given her everything.
The glasses clinked, and the women’s voices joined in a chorus of cheers. And Lila lost the battle and shed the first of what she knew would be a lifetime of happy tears.