ANTONIO

“Stop touching it.” Stefano smacks my hands away from my bow tie. “I can’t keep fixing it.”

The tiny scrap of fabric feels more like a noose than a decoration. My palms are sweaty, and I can’t seem to stand still. I’ve never been this nervous in my life, not even when I asked Lauren to marry me.

“Don’t,” he says as I start to reach for it again.

“We should’ve gotten married on the beach in the Bahamas.”

Stefano shoves a glass of whiskey in my face, urging me to drink. “Your island is too small for all of us.”

I chug it down without taking a breath and hand off the empty glass to him. “Lauren never should have let Mamma plan the wedding. She turned it into the affair of the century.”

“It’ll be fine. By the end of today, it’ll all be just a memory.” Stefano smiles as he refills my glass. “One more and then I’m cutting you off. Mamma will have my balls if I let you get drunk.”

There’s a light knock on the door, but I let Enzo answer it because he’s the closest, and I’m too busy with my second glass of whiskey.

Mamma steps inside carrying a small envelope in her hands. She kisses my brothers before she steps in front of me. “My son. You look so handsome today,” she says.

I kiss her cheek, careful not to mess up her makeup. “Thanks, Mamma.”

“I saw Lauren. She’s stunning in her gown.”

“Is she okay?”

I hated being away from her last night. Spending the night apart the evening before the wedding is a silly tradition, but one my mother had insisted that we observe. My brothers took it upon themselves to take me out for a final hurrah before my life changed forever. It was just another excuse to get drunk and party a little too hard at their age, but I indulged them. I was the only one who woke up without a headache this morning.

“She’s fine, dear. She’s a little nervous, but she’s in better shape than I was when I married your father.”

“You were nervous?”

My mother always seems so put together and in control of her emotions. She’s loving but calculated in everything she does, and she has always carried herself with a certain sense of self. To think of her nervous about anything is almost absurd.

She nods as she hands me the envelope, closing my fingers around the paper. “Don’t read this until I leave, and do it alone. And yes, I was nervous about our wedding night mostly.”

“I don’t want to know.” I laugh and carefully kiss her cheek again. “Go be with Lauren. She needs you,” I tell her.

Today won’t be an easy day for her. As a little girl, Lauren dreamed of her wedding day. She’d told me as much. She’d thought her mother would button up her dress and give her sage advice before her father walked her down the aisle. But none of her dreams would become a reality with both of her parents gone.

“I’m going. Do not get your brother drunk,” she tells Stefano.

“Mamma,” he says like he’s insulted.

“The priest will be in here soon to escort you to the altar.”

My mother leaves without another word, and I glance down at the envelope with my name scrawled across the front. To my surprise, it isn’t written in my mother’s handwriting, but it’s Lauren’s familiar cursive style.

“Give me a minute,” I say to my brothers and wave the envelope in the air. “I’d like a moment in private.”

I’m certain the words inside aren’t bad. My mother wouldn’t deliver bad news without a warning. Or at least, I don’t think she’d bring me something without knowing what it was first.

Enzo, Stefano, and Marcus leave the room and shut the door quietly behind them. I sit on the couch at the opposite end of the room, resisting the urge to pull the bow tie away from my throat.

Slowly, I tear open the envelope, carefully unfolding the delicate pieces of white paper inside. I lean back and prepare myself for anything.

My darling Antonio,

Six months ago, you walked into my life and changed everything in an instant. You were my Big Bang, causing every particle and atom in my soul to burst into life. Before you said hello, I’d been walking in darkness without any real purpose.

I tried to forget you. I tried to move on. You weren’t Lou, and I wasn’t Elizabeth, no matter how badly we wanted to be. But being the man you are, you didn’t give up and chased me until I had no fight left in me.

As you said before, our orbits are locked together. You are my sun, the giant, shining star that chased away the darkness and cold that had filled my world.

All the things I accomplished before you hold little meaning. There’s no point in victory without someone to share in the tiny moments that dot our brief lives in a seemingly endless universe.

I’ve put a lot of thought into our future and everything that you dream for us to be. Your dreams are mine as we’re about to say I do and became a single entity, forever locked together in wedded bliss.

I want nothing more than to hear the patter of tiny feet as our children play. I want their laughter and tears and everything in between. I want to leave behind a piece of us when our time here is up. Something that only we created through the true miracle of life. Not something we built with our hands or constructed out of a pile of scrap, but a sacred moment that is truly a blessing from the heavens.

The thought of having a family had always scared me. After losing my parents and being left alone, I never wanted to face that heartache again. But I can no longer deny myself a chance at happiness. I can no longer deny you the thing you want the most. I want us.

I want our children to know their family and grow up in Italy, surrounded by nature’s beauty and so much love that they’ll never know the sadness I’ve endured.

I want the family I never had.

Because of this, effective January 1^st, I’ll be stepping down as CEO of Cozza Interstellar and starting on my new journey.

You’ve taught me that life is too short to be trapped in a boardroom. I’ve achieved everything I ever wanted to in business and fulfilled my father’s dream. To continue my legacy, and that of our families, you better knock me up fast because it takes many years to grow a small tribe.

I’m laying down the gauntlet, Mr. Forte. Will you accept the challenge?

I’ve never been more excited about a journey and the unknown, but I know with you by my side, the best is yet to come.

Love Always,

Lauren xoxoxo

I stare at the piece of paper in my hand in complete shock. It takes a full minute after I read the last line before I can even muster a single word.

Every ounce of nervous energy leaves my system. No longer am I worried that she’s second-guessing her decision to become my wife.

“It’s time,” Stefano says, opening the door slowly as I sit stunned on the couch.

“I’m ready,” I tell him as I climb to my feet with my bow tie still perfectly intact.

I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.

LAUREN

He’s there.

Standing at the altar, waiting to be mine.

“You ready, kid?” Mr. Grayson asks at my side.

When he heard about our wedding, he insisted that he walk me down the aisle. It was a little surprising, but I politely accepted his invitation. No one else had been as kind and supportive of me at Interstellar than him.

“I am,” I say and take a step forward, holding on to his arm. “Thank you, Mr. Grayson.”

He pats my hand and smiles. “Anything for you, my dear girl.”

Antonio hasn’t taken his eyes off me. The look in his eyes is similar to the first time we stood in a boardroom together. All the guests have stood and are watching as I glide down the aisle as gracefully as I can in the heels and puffy dress that I just had to have. I wanted to be the princess I’d always imagined when I was a little girl.

By now, Antonio’s read the letter and knows that not only am I marrying him, I’m going all in. I no longer want to spend my life locked away in my office while the rest of the world lives. I want more than I’ve ever allowed myself to dream.

The trip up the aisle passes in a blur because I haven’t stopped staring at the man who will be my husband long enough to focus on anyone else. He meets us at the base of the altar with his hand extended and a smile on his face.

“Mi amore,” he says softly as he takes my hand in his.

“Mio marito,” I whisper.

Mr. Grayson releases my hand and disappears toward the crowd that is still on its feet.

My eyes are locked with Antonio’s as we ascend the steps to say our vows. I don’t have a single doubt as I’m staring into the eyes of the man I love. The eyes that hold my future.”