Keep: The Wedding: Romanian Mob Chronicles (8 page)

V
asile

“
E
verything has been quiet
?” Sorin asked a month later.

I nodded. “Fine. Have you heard something?” I asked, going on alert.

“No, but if there’s nothing, what’s your problem?” he said.

“What problem?” I said.

He stayed silent, waiting, and I knew he wouldn’t drop it until I spoke, something he had probably learned from me. I had gotten accustomed to the new, more mature if not entirely mature Sorin, but his insightfulness was still somewhat unnerving.

“I asked Fawn to marry me. She said no,” I responded, giving voice to something that had plagued me for weeks now.

“You asked?” he said.

“Yeah. The day she was taken. I wanted to give her the world, and she’d told me she wanted to get married, so that day I said we would. But she said no,” I said, still worried, not sure what she meant, fearing that maybe this was her way of beginning to break away from me. Even though she’d tried to explain her reasoning, I wasn’t entirely convinced by her words, and as the days had passed, the unthinkable had become more of a reality.

Sorin just shook his head, looking almost disgusted.

“What?” I barked a moment later.

“You’re still an asshole,” he said.

“What? I wanted to give her what she wanted.”

“Yeah. You tried to give her something. You didn’t
ask
her.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just did the asshole thing and declared you would get married.”

I glared at him and then looked away and then back again. Was that so wrong? “So what if I did? Easy, simple.”

“Did you even get her a ring?” he asked.

“No. I don’t need a stupid piece of jewelry to show my feelings,” I said scornfully.

“It’s not for you, idiot. You practically forced her to say no,” he said.

“What else would you have me do?” I asked, puzzled by Sorin’s scorn and what he was saying.

“Let me think. Maybe try to convince her that you’re asking because you want to and not because you feel some twisted sense of duty to do so,” he said.

“You think that matters?” I said skeptically.

“Yeah. You got to do it right. The ring and all that shit,” he said.

“Fawn doesn’t—”

He cut me off. “You’re wrong. She does. She wants to know that you want it.”

“And how do you know this?” I said.

“My woman’s not quite so shy as yours.” He shrugged. “Esther told me exactly what to do, including the part about the ring.”

I laughed, not at all shocked that Esther had dictated the entire thing.

“It seems to be working out,” I said.

“Yeah, it does,” he said.

I left then, thinking of what Sorin had said. He was right, and I would fix this.

F
awn

“
W
hy are
you doing this again?” I asked Esther as she zipped Maria’s coat.

“Because you need some time alone.”

“But I—”

“No excuses. We agreed,” Esther said. Then she softened. “I’m going to watch her, Fawn. Nothing will happen.”

I nodded and then kissed Maria good-bye. Esther was right. I’d been clinging, and it was time to move on with our lives.

“We’re gone,” she said and then she headed out of the front door.

A few minutes later, Vasile came in.

“You’re early,” I said, smiling at him.

Then I looked toward the door, suspicion rising.

“What are you up to?” I asked.

“I wanted us to be alone,” he said. His voice lacked inflection and I searched his face, trying to understand this turn in behavior.

“Why?”

“Because we need to talk,” he said.

He looked at me, his green eyes bright but still unreadable, and my stomach dropped.

He walked over and grabbed my hands, towering over me. And then as I watched, my mouth gaped open as he lowered himself to one knee.

After an exhale, he started talking, though I could hardly hear him over the booming of my heart. “Fawn, because of you, I have a life I never thought possible. I live for you and I would die for you. I love you with all my heart. You
are
my heart. I want to know if you will be my wife?”

I was struck speechless, and stood there for long moments, mouth open as I tried to process.

Then, finally, I said words I’d only dreamed of. “I will.”

From his one-kneed perch, he flashed his eyes open at me and gave me a bright, almost innocent smile. In that moment, he wasn’t a Romanian mobster and I wasn’t a random victim.

He was just a man who loved me, and I was the woman who loved him back with all my heart.

He rose and then swept me into his arms, carrying me to the bedroom. He set me down and then lifted a hand to still me as I reached for him.

“Wait,” he said.

I watched him as he exited and then returned with four or five bags in each hand.

He smiled, as excited as I had ever seen him. “I got you a ring.”

“That’s a lot of bags for a ring, Vasile,” I said.

He dropped the bags in front of me and then gestured toward them. “Look,” he said.

I reached into one of the bags and pulled out several small boxes. Then I looked in the others and saw what had to be dozens more.

“I got them all. Pick,” he said.

“You bought every ring in the jewelry store?” I asked.

“I wanted you to be happy,” he said.

I dropped the rings and then went to him and wrapped my arms around him.

“I have you. How can I be anything but?” I said.

F
awn

A
couple of weeks later
, things were back to normal, or as close to it as they could be.

“What about this one?” Esther held up a dress that was so weighted with ruffles, she needed the help of the shopkeeper to lift it.

I scrunched my face into a frown and stared at it before finally shaking my head. “No. Too bridal,” I said.

Esther stared icy daggers at me, daggers I pointedly ignored as I moved to the next rack.

“Thank you,” she said to the shopkeeper, though I heard the tight irritation in her voice.

“You don’t have to stay, Esther. I’m sure I’ll find something,” I said as I wanly flipped through yet another rack. And though I sounded confident, or at least I thought so, I wasn’t sure. Half, more than half, of this stuff wouldn’t fit me, and the rest…ugh.

“Yeah, right. I’m the matron of honor. I don’t think I’ll be abandoning you to find your own wedding dress. Though I am tempted,” she added.

I laughed and looked at her, somewhat alarmed by the serious expression on her face.

“What is it?” I asked as I left the rack and settled on the chaise lounge in the middle of the storeroom floor.

The place was empty, save the owner, something Vasile had insisted on before he’d agreed to this. He’d told me to have a dress made, and when I replied that would mean hours in the dressmaker’s home or hours with her in ours, he’d relented. But he’d still made arrangements that any store I attended would not be open to the public, so Esther and I had the run of the places.

“You tell me,” Esther said, bringing me back to the present.

“What do you mean?” I asked lamely, knowing that my best friend wouldn’t buy it for a single moment.

“Um, you know how much I
love
shopping. It’s my favorite thing to do. Not. But I seem more excited about this than you do, and I care fuck-all about dresses. You seem so…detached, not yourself, Fawn. Tell me what’s wrong?” she said.

“Nothing.” I stopped when she cut sharp eyes at me and then restarted. “I just…I don’t…”

Her eyes widened and I trailed off. “Are you getting cold feet?” she whispered as if saying the words in a loud voice would give them power.

“No,” I said firmly, wanting to leave no question that marrying Vasile was something I wanted with all my heart, and something I had absolutely no hesitation about.

“Good,” Esther replied, nodding rapidly. “I didn’t think so, but that would be okay, you know? You’re allowed to have feelings of doubt and you’re allowed to express them.”

“I know,” I said. “And I really am excited, more than excited, and anxious to be his wife, but…”

“Go ahead,” she said.

“I hate people looking at me,” I said on a whisper, feeling every bit as stupid and ashamed as I had since before I’d even met him.

“Ah,” Esther said, nodding sagely. “So the wedding of the century was not what you’d had in mind?”

I shook my head. “I thought it was going to be just us, you know, like with you and Sorin. Maybe Lily and Anton. But there are over fifteen hundred people coming. And that’s not the final count,” I said.

“What?” Esther replied loudly. She looked around the room and then smiled before she lowered her voice. “Sorin said it was going to be a small event.”

“Funny. Vasile said the same thing. I guess they have the same misguided ideas about what ‘small’ means,” I said.

“There’s nothing wrong with not wanting every person under the sun at your wedding,” Esther said.

“I know, but he’s so into it. He’s taken over the planning completely, and I told him to run with it. But when he mentioned the size of the guest list…”

“Maybe half of them won’t show up,” Esther offered.

“They’ll be there,” I said with certainty.

“Yeah, I guess his is not an invitation you turn down,” she said. “Still, it seems out of character for him. That many people.”

“He says it’s a matter of respect. He can’t invite this one without the others or offense could be taken.”

“Oh, so you’re worried about safety?” Esther asked.

I shook my head. “He’ll protect us, but I just—the thought of all those people looking at me…” I shivered.

The thought of it now, eyes on me, measuring me, assessing me, judging me. It was nearly too much to bear.

“You know only one person who’s going to be there matters, right?” Esther said, her voice quiet, sincere. “Focus on him, and the rest will take care of itself.”

I looked at my friend, saw the conviction in her eyes, and tried to latch onto it and make it my own. She was right. I had the man I loved. Nothing else mattered.

Esther patted my hand and stood. “Now come on. We’re finding a fucking dress today or else.”

W
edding Day
…

F
awn

“
Y
ou look amazing
!”

Esther hugged me gingerly, not having to lean down quite as far since I was wearing heels today.

I smiled at her and then looked down to scrutinize my dress. It was an ivory satin sheath, with nothing much to it at all.

“You don’t think it’s too simple?” I asked.

“Well, today’s the day, so you don’t have time to change it. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s perfect. Classy, elegant, just like you,” she said.

Then Esther leaned in and hugged me, her face nearly radiating with joy.

“You know, you don’t look so bad yourself,” I said.

She wore a soft pink satin pantsuit that fit her to perfection. She stretched her arms and looked down. “You’re right, I don’t,” she said.

I laughed, and she joined in. A moment later, after she’d calmed, she looked at me.

“I’m so excited,” she said.

I chuckled. “I can tell.”

“You doing okay?” she asked, turning serious.

“I’m better than okay,” I said.

And I was.

After everything we had been through together, and after everything that had happened, Vasile and I were finally about to have our happy ending. Him, everything that had happened to us was beyond anything I could have imagined, but we’d gotten through it and were now going to promise ourselves to each other forever.

And I knew that no matter what might come to greet us, we’d face it together.

Esther cleared her throat. “Ehm, so what about your other news?” she asked.

“What other news?” I asked, not meeting her eyes.

“Dude, this is me you’re talking to. Did you think your best friend wouldn’t notice you’re pregnant? You look beautiful, by the way,” she said.

“Thanks, Esther,” I said, again looking at my friend’s face.

With the wedding and everything, I hadn’t found quite the right time to discuss the new addition to our family, and as the wedding had gotten closer, I’d decided to wait to surprise him.

“I’m going to tell him tonight,” I said.

She whistled. “Nice wedding gift,” she said.

“I hope he thinks so,” I replied.

“Oh, he will,” she said. “Let me get out of here. See you out there.”

After Esther hugged me and left, I spent the next few minutes fussing with my hair, which looked as good as it possibly could, and then double-checked my makeup, which was only a light dusting of powder with a little shimmer.

I turned when our bedroom door opened, expecting Esther. But it wasn’t Esther.

It was Vasile, and the sight of him took my breath away. His tuxedo was perfectly cut to fit his broad shoulders, and he’d brushed his hair back more neatly than I could recall seeing it. But he didn’t look tamed. No, he was my wild, dangerous Vasile, the man who held my heart.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked when I finally managed to speak.

“I missed you,” he said softly.

“We saw each other yesterday,” I said, smiling as I remembered how he’d protested yesterday when I had made him leave the house.

“Too long. This is a stupid tradition,” he said.

“Yes. I can see you think so since you’ve already broken it,” I said, smiling at him.

He came toward me, the expression on his face predatory and one that made me feel precious, loved in a way only he could.

I stepped back. “I know what that look means, Vasile,” I said in a tone that I had intended to be warning but was instead deep with desire.

He lifted his face in a full, honest smile, and then almost smirked, something that was uncommon for him but still brutally beautiful. “Good,” he said.

When he wrapped his arms around me, I rested against him, relieved beyond speaking to be back in his arms again, even though I had seen him only hours ago. I would never get enough of him, knew that no matter what happened in this life, I would love him forever, and want him forever.

He put a small amount of distance between us, distance I didn’t want but knew would only lead to more closeness. And slowly, with a tenderness that most who looked at his size, his tattoos, who knew of what he was and what he did would never think him capable of, he pulled the long dress up my legs, letting his fingers linger on each new patch of skin he exposed. Then he lifted me and settled me on the dresser, one of those hardy, sturdy wooden ones that I knew from experience could handle the force of Vasile’s lovemaking.

“Open your legs,” he whispered, his voice rough-edged, needy, and enough to make my sex wet with just the sound of it.

I did as he bade, and he wasted no time in delving his hand between my thighs. At the first brush of his strong, thick fingers at the seat of my damp panties, I sighed out a moan, and lifted my eyes to meet his.

There was satisfaction there, pride, and, most of all, love. And as he slipped his fingers underneath to touch my bare skin, I still held his gaze. I wanted him to see, needed him to see what he did to me, needed him to see how much I loved him and always would.

His eyes darkened as he worked first one and then a second finger inside me, spreading me with strong, hard thrusts that were imitations of what I knew he planned next.

“Take me out,” he said in a thick voice, his words heavy with his accent and his passion. I complied, and reached for him wildly. Without breaking our gazes, I worked his zipper down and reached inside his pants.

“Feel what you do to me, Fawn,” he commanded. “Feel how hard I am for you. How ready.”

I touched him, let my fingers move along his thick, heavily veined shaft and then back up to circle the crown of his cock. The power and urgency in his hot, solid flesh, the expression in his eyes only heightened the wild arousal that threatened to overtake me. Vasile pushed my hand away, and after he’d moved my panties and left my pussy exposed to the open air, ready, waiting, for him, only him, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, so close his cock brushed the lips of my sex.

He stopped then, searching my gaze with his, and when he thrust, I grabbed his solid arm, not caring about anything except touching him, telling him with my body what words would not in this moment allow me to express.

“This is what you do to me,” he said, his voice low. “This is how you make me feel. And this is how it will be between us, no matter what. You and me and this. Forever, Fawn. Forever.”

Vasile took my lips with his and on a single thrust, he made us one in body as we would be in marriage.

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