Roses & Ruin

Chapter 94 (Lexi)

There were also floating candles. It was delicate and dreamy. Even the wedding cake was five tiers and cascading with blush pink and cream flowers over gold ribbon.

        When the bridal party arrived from taking pictures the hidden dj announced each of us as we came in. It was to get the crowd cheering and to introduce the new Mr & Mrs. Rizzo. From there we stayed on the dance floor, which I kept that area mostly bare, so it wouldn't detract from candid moments like the first dance. 

First we stood in the middle of the dance floor and waved and smiled for the pictures flashing all around us like paparazzi. This led us into the first dance.

        The guests became the backdrop of an otherwise sentimental moment shared only between bride and groom. The intro to reflecting light by Sam Philips began to play and Anthony took my hand in his. We swayed side to side in small circles, almost lazily. 

As the momentum of the song increased, Anthony pulled me a step closer and brought my arms around his neck, so he could wrap his arms around me. He tucked his face into the side of my neck and I could feel the feathering of his lips against my throat.

        "Are you okay so far?" He whispered to me as we danced through our first song as a married couple. I nodded and by our closeness I knew he could feel it. "I'm afraid I'm enjoying our wedding thus far" I joked, but not really joking. I liked this more than I should. 

"How dare you?" He teased me in my ear. I laughed and so did he. The cameras caught everything.

We just stayed hugging each other moving in unison to the sway of the music until it was over, and then we pulled apart and everyone clapped. I barely paid attention. 

        Hand in hand we walked to the table where dinner was meant to be served. The rest comes after. The party, the greeting guests, the speeches, the dancing. And then the after party, which takes place in a more lowkey venue that will have plain tables and twinkling lights above head. A dance floor and after hour snacks. That all comes after.

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        If you're wondering what mobsters look like in the middle of a fairytale wedding I'll tell you. All sharp, well tailored suits, while some remain stoic most were drinking heavily and slapping each other on the back having a merry time.

People like Domani De Luca were standing with squared off shoulders, a gun holstered below his coat, with a short glass of whiskey in his hands. Enzo, the almost-groom, was knocking back free booze and hitting on all the single women. The Lombardo brothers brought boxes of cigars and were laying them out across the bar top in the side room where the men began to drift. They were off to the terrace for a smoke.

The mob wives were done up with big expensive hair, more jewelry than a jewelry store, and very fancy dresses. The mafia princess daughters wore all the same things, all mob wives in the making.

        Vitaly was with his family in one corner of the room where not a single Italian has ventured. It's not the 'joining' of families as it's meant to be. In business they'll mingle, but during a party? No, they stick to their own kind. 

Uncles and aunts I barely knew from my father's side of the family and cousins too. People I only met a few years ago and hold no strong sentiment to. They were all there. The guys had their hair slicked one way or the other, they wore suits unbuttoned to the collarbone and spoke only in their native tongue.

My brother Dmitriy was amongst those men. Lord knows where Andrei is. Probably in a closet fucking somebody if I had to guess.

         I met Anthony's mother, briefly, she smelt like cigarettes, but she looked nice. All there is to say about it is that she said, "Don't be a dick like your father. She's cute."