The night air is crisp. As always, the lights of New York seem to be dancing all around us. The leaves in the trees are tinted orange and yellow now. Winter is definitely creeping upon us.
My phone goes off, alerting me to a text. I open it up and bust out laughing.
“What’s so funny? Who’s it from?” I show Aiden the text. He starts laughing while reading it.
Shannon: Hey you two, we are starving, get out of bed and come join us already.
Anthony pulls up in front of the restaurant, comes around, and opens the door for us. Aiden slides out, holding his hand out for me. Then flashes start going off in our faces.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this.”
Aiden tries to shield me as much as possible, but there are at least four or five paparazzi taking pictures all at once. One of them is shouting different things at Aiden. “Alexis came back to you! You took her back after she cheated with the other guy!” Then he directs a question at me. “Alexis, how much did Aiden have to beg for you to come back?”
Aiden releases my hand and charges toward the reporter. Anthony stands in front of him and helps me to usher him into the restaurant. I look over my shoulder once we are inside and see Anthony helping the waiters that have gone out to deal with the paparazzi.
“Aiden, please try to not let people like that get to you. We know the love that we feel for each other. Everyone else doesn’t matter as long as I know you love me, and you know that I love you, only you.”
Pulling me close to him, he kisses my forehead, then my nose. “You’re right, baby, I’m sorry.”
The hostess comes up to us, flashing a big smile and batting her lashes at Aiden. “Your regular table, Mr. Steffan?”
I tug on his arm. “No, my husband and I are meeting family here. We’ll be requiring a table for four. Thank you.” I bat my lashes at her.
She seems to stutter as she says, “Yes, of course, this way.” As we follow her, I see Shannon wave at us. I tell her that we see our family and to please send the waitress over to take our drink order. “Very good, as you wish, Madame.”
When we get to the table, Johnny stands. He and Aiden give each other a brotherly hug. Shannon and I hug as if it has been years since we have seen each other. When we step back, we both have the biggest smiles on our faces. “How is married life treating you?”
“Oh, she has got the whole wife thing and attitude down. Already telling me what to do and everything.” We all start laughing.
“Good for you, Alexis. Show my big brother that you are boss.”
“Yes, well, wait till you two are married and Shannon is telling you what to do. See how you like it.” I give Aiden a look. “Baby, not that I mind in the least for you to tell me what to do.”
We sit down. Aiden pulls me close to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. The waiter comes and takes our order. Johnny asks him to bring us the best bottle of wine they have. Aiden says, “Make it a bottle of Amarone, please.”
“As always, a very good choice, sir.”
After he walks away, Shannon reaches across the table for my hands. “You look good, Lexie. You’re being good to my sister, right, Aiden?”
“He is being very good to me.” I lean over to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turns and we kiss on the mouth.
We start talking about the wedding. “Alexis, I think we should have a Valentine’s Day wedding. It is the day to celebrate love, after all.”
I look over at Aiden in shock. “But Valentine’s is in February. That’s only a little over two months away. I can’t plan a huge wedding in two months—that would take a miracle.”
“Amore mio, you won’t have to do everything all alone. My mother and sister will help you, as I am sure that Shannon will help as well.”
Shannon winks at me. “Yes, we got this. Aiden, I will help give you and Lexie the biggest wedding New York has ever seen.”
“Amore mio, I would like us to get married in Italy. There is this historic church that my family has belonged to ever since I can remember. I’m sure my parents would love it if their oldest son were to have his wedding there.” I can see how important this is to him. Johnny is wearing the same expression.
I smile and say, “I guess we are having the biggest wedding Italy has ever seen.”
Shannon gives a small yelp. “Yes! I haven’t been to Italy in a long time. Exactly where in Italy is it, Aiden?”
Still looking at me, he answers her with a huge grin. “Tuscany.”
“I’ve never been to Tuscany, let alone Italy.”
“My parents should be here in New York at the end of the week. They are anxious to meet their new daughter, as is my sister Ysabel.” A knot develops in the pit of my stomach. The thought of meeting Aiden’s mom and dad has me nervous all of a sudden. Of course, I knew it was going to happen—I mean, without a doubt they would want to meet the new daughter-in-law.
“Shannon, do you have any aspirin? I have a splitting headache.”
“Are you okay, my love?” Aiden caresses my face. “You don’t seem to have a fever. Is it the same as the other night?”
“I’m fine. It’s probably just all the excitement of the wedding and meeting your parents.”
Johnny chimes in. “Our parents and sister will love you, Alexis, just as we do.”
The food arrives, and everyone begins eating. The dinner is delicious, but I can’t eat much with my head wanting to explode on me—that’s what it feels like. I don’t want to worry anyone about how bad I really feel, so for tonight I’ll just play it off. Shannon seems to have a hundred ideas for the flowers, the table settings, and the gifts for all the people in the wedding party. She’s even planning the bridal shower already. “What colors have you two chosen for the wedding?”
Looking over at them all, I shrug and shake my head a bit. “Oh god, to be honest, we haven’t even thought or talked about it.”
“Well, you two need to decide. With less than two months till the wedding date, we need to hurry. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Shannon gets up and walks toward the hostess. We all stare at her, not knowing what she’s up to. Upon her return, she has a pad and pen in hand.
Johnny laughs and says, “Are you taking our orders for dessert now?”
“Oh, are you trying your hand at being a comedian?” She playfully slaps his arm, then opens the pad. “Let’s do this. First, what colors do you see for the wedding?”
I tilt my head to the side, letting out a deep sigh. “Well, my favorite color is purple, but it would have to be a light shade of it. Nothing too dark. Is that color fine with you, Aiden?”
“Baby, whatever you want is fine with me. This is your special day.” He brings my hand up to his lips, with which he gently brushes each finger.
“It’s our special day. You are just as big a part of this as I am.”
“Okay, you two, stop with all the mushy stuff for now. We have a wedding to plan here.” Johnny laughs. “I think we’re going to need another bottle of wine. Looks like we’ll be here awhile.”
Shannon writes down the color we have chosen. “Okay, what type of flower should we go with, or do you want to go with the traditional white roses?”
As if on cue, Aiden and I say the flower of choice at the same time, “canna lilies.” We look at each other and smile.
“When I sent you those flowers, I somehow already knew in my heart that you were the one I would spend the rest of my life with.”
“Oh, is that why you wrote that I started a fire in you and was the only one who could put it out?”
“Yes, baby, but I honestly don’t think the fire between us will ever be put out.”
Johnny waves his hand in front of us in an attempt to get our attention. “Hey, you two, you have a whole lifetime to go down memory lane. Right now, we need to plan a wedding.”
Shannon chimes in. “Okay, so we have the flowers and the color scheme for the wedding. Do you know how many you want in the wedding party?”
“Um, it’s not like I know a lot of people here or have a lot of close friends. I guess Brandy and Ysabel can be bridesmaids. You will naturally be my maid of honor, right?”
With a smirk, she says, “Well, since I am your sister, duh, of course. Try and stop me.”
“I think we’ll be fine with just you three. Of course, I’ll be the best man.”
We all look at Johnny. Aiden grins. “Yes, little brother, you will be my best man.”
Seriously, I ask Aiden, “You think Brandy would even want to be one of my bridesmaids? I mean, I haven’t even asked her yet.”
“Yes, amore, she thinks very fondly of you. I’m sure she would jump at the chance.”
“And this will also be your chance to meet Ysabel’s boyfriend.”
The smile vanishes from Aiden’s face as he turns to look at Johnny. “Boyfriend? When in the hell did my baby sister get a boyfriend? She’s just a kid.” He has the concerned look of a father.
I slide my hand around his broad shoulders. “Sweetheart, didn’t you say she was twenty already?”
“Yes, but that is way too young to be interested in boys. Much less have a boyfriend.”
“Aiden, I’m twenty-three, that’s only a few older.”
He looks like he’s searching for the right words to say. As if he just realized that Ysabel and I are so close in age. Johnny pats his shoulder. “Don’t worry, big brother. Dad has been very relentless at making sure that Gianni is treating Ysabel right and with respect.”
“So his name is Gianni? What’s his last name?”
I pat his leg. “Sweetheart, what are you going to do?”
He turns to me. “Nothing. I just want to see for myself that he comes from a good home and what his intentions are toward my little sister, is all.”
Johnny tells him, “Dad already had him checked out. Come on, Aiden, Ysabel already got very upset with Dad doing that. Don’t you make her mad too.”
Shannon gives her opinion as well. “Aiden, don’t go all overprotective on her. She won’t like it.”
Looking between all of us, he puts his hands up. “All right, already. But I do intend to let her know that I’m here if she needs me.”
I kiss him on the cheek and tell him, “I’m sure she already knows that, but it’s always nice to hear your big brother is watching out for you.”
Clearing her throat, Shannon says, “Okay, can we please get back to the wedding details now?”
I give Aiden a comforting squeeze on his thigh. “Yes, we can.”
“Good. Are you going to be giving the wedding party little gifts of appreciation?”
“Yes, of course. I need to go shopping for maybe a necklace or a bracelet.”
“Oh goody, I can help you with that.”
Laughing, I tell her, “No, you can’t.”
She gives me her pouty look. “Hello, I’m the maid of honor. I’m supposed to help you so that you don’t stress out. Remember?”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “Not with this certain part of it, you don’t.” She is about to say something, but I put my hand up and shake my head. “No, and that is final.”
We have actually ironed out a lot of the details when I tell everyone that it’s late and we’re the only ones left in the restaurant. We all look around and see a couple of the waiters sitting down. There are no other customers in the whole place. We embrace and say our goodnights. Walking out, we hug each other again. Shannon whispers in my ear, “Look at us. You’re a married woman, and I am in a very committed relationship with the most amazing man.”
We pull away, still with our hands on each other’s shoulders. Staring at her for a second, with a sigh and a quick laugh, I say, “Yeah, look at us.”
Aiden comes up behind me and put his hands on my shoulder blades. “Okay, you two, I need to get my wife home now.”
Johnny also stands by Shannon. “We need to get home as well, babe.”
I laugh and playfully tell him, “Look at you, getting all domesticated.”
With one last quick hug, we all say goodnight.
***
The whole drive home I rest my head on Aiden’s shoulder. He gently runs his hand up and down my arm. Exhausted from the day, I close my eyes. My head is pounding so I can’t really fall asleep, but I don’t want to alarm anybody. I know my husband—he will undoubtedly make a big deal out of it.
Finally arriving home, we enter the elevator. The pain is subsiding a bit; now it’s just the feeling of a small headache. We walk into the penthouse. “Would you like a glass of wine, amore mio?”
“No, what I want is a warm bath and to have my husband join me.”
He smiles. “Your husband would be only too happy to join you.”
After filling the tub with water and scented oils, we both sink in. I lie back and rest my head on Aiden’s chest. He wraps his arms around me and gets the sponge off the tray by the tub. I tilt my head to the side to look up at him. “Tell me this is not a dream. That we are really finally together forever. That you and I are truly husband and wife.”
He kisses me softly on the lips, then rubs his nose against mine. “Baby, it’s not a dream. We are right where we should be. Together for the rest of our lives.”
Turning to face him, I put my hand out and ask for the sponge. Lovingly, starting at the crook of his neck, I run it down his chest—circling his abs, sliding across his torso, then back up his arm, never taking my eyes off of his. I ask him to close his eyes and lean his head back. “Relax and let me make you feel good.”
Nibbling the side of his neck, I work my way up to his jawline. Kissing and sucking down to his pecs, I see he is getting goosebumps as I gently continue going farther down. Reaching down to the take his cock in my hands, I gently squeeze it, then start to slowly lower myself to take him into my mouth.
“Alexis, you can’t go underwater to suck on me.”
Smiling, I reach around him and take the plug out. As the water drains, we sit still, neither of us saying a word. Once the water is low enough, I lower my head and take him all in. The moaning sounds coming from Aiden’s chest fuel my excitement. Arousing me, consuming me. I suck on him harder, licking him from the tip of his crown to the base of his cock. Feeling the muscles on his thighs tense up, I know he’s close. I take him in and out of my mouth harder, faster. His hand grabs ahold of my head.
“Yes, baby. Fuck, Alexis.”
The hot liquid going down my throat excites me to the point that I am ready to combust. Still with him in my mouth, I swallow the last drop. He pulls me up. “Baby, that was amazing. I’m going to have to repay you.”
Standing and pulling me up with him, he wraps a towel around me. Once he dries me off and brushes my hair out, he picks me up and carries me to bed. Slowly he lays me down. He stands there, his eyes working their way over the entire length of my body. “You have the most breathtaking body I have ever seen. The goddess Venus would be envious of you.”
My body is on fire from his touch, his words. Now it’s me with the goosebumps. As Aiden lowers himself and wraps my body with his own, I don’t know whose heart is beating faster. His lips are warm and tender as he kisses mine. I open my mouth to let him in; our tongues do their familiar dance. A dance of bliss, of lust, and of love.
It starts out tenderly, softly, then seems to engulf us both, igniting and fueling the love we have for each other. Aiden is running his hands up and down the sides of my body as if he can’t get enough of me. I have one hand on the back of his head and the other is on the small of his back. My nails dig into him with the urgency to have him inside of me. Releasing my mouth, he lifts himself up. It’s funny, but even after all this time, I still get surprised at how much power he has to take my breath away. How he can bring every cell in my body to life. We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment.
“Ti amo, amore mio.” Lowing himself again, he is inside me in one swift move. With each thrust I hear him grunt quietly from deep in his chest. It’s exciting me to the core. My hips meet his with every bit of fire that builds up in me. In a split second, he rolls us over so that I am on top. Raising myself up, placing both my hands on his chest, I ride my husband. Tilting my head back, I let the pleasure wash over my entire body, moaning with the orgasm that consumes me. Aiden has his hands on my ass, helping me go faster, harder.
He lets out a sound that is music to my ears. “Fuck, Alexis.”
I collapse on his chest. We are still until our breathing slows down. I roll over to lie beside him. Turning my head, I see he is looking up with a smile. “Amore mio, ti adoro.”
I get a towel from the bathroom to clean us both, then throw it onto the floor and get in bed, where he pulls me into his arms. “Aiden, do you really think your parents will like me? That your sister will like me?”
He slides his hand under my chin and lifts up my face. “Baby, my parents and sister will love you. When they see what I have seen from day one, they will be enchanted with your heart. They will know what I have known all along: that you are the one for me.”
With those words, I fall asleep with a smile, knowing full well that everything is as it should be.