Chapter 5

FIVE

Maria

I said I wasn't nervous, but I was.

The moment we walked into the chapel, my soul was overwhelmed with memories of the past.

Of my first wedding.

My first love.

My first everything.

I'd loved my Mario with everything I'd had.

We'd been young, and our parents pushed us together, but we'd been totally on board. One thousand percent in love. Ready to take on the world. There was never any doubt about what we wanted: each other and a family.

We'd had hopes and dreams and plans and desires.

He'd been my first and I'd been his.

Our wedding night had been awkward and silly and frustrating and passionate. So much to learn about ourselves and each other, and yet, we'd tackled it with trust and humor.

That same trust and humor had lasted our entire marriage, getting us through tough times, when we'd made more babies than money. When our parents told us to stop having children and focus on saving for the future. When we'd spent everything we had so we could move to Florida and open a restaurant.

Those had been crazy times, back when we'd been young and thought we had a lifetime ahead of us.

And we'd been both right and wrong.

Looking back, I wouldn't change a single thing.

Our life had been wonderful.

Right up until the night Mario, Jr. had found his father dead of a heart attack in his office at the restaurant.

Something none of us had been prepared for.

Mario had been at my side essentially my entire life; I hadn't known how to live without him. My earliest memories as a child included him, so settling into middle age without him had seemed unfathomable.

Falling in love with someone else felt like an impossible dream.

Until Adam.

I was completely in love with this man.

It was different than what I'd had with Mario, the sweet romance of a first love mingled with a lifetime of memories. We'd settled into routine, busy with raising children, building the legacy of our restaurant, and saving for the proverbial rainy day.

I'd been happy, but I now recognized that a bit of boredom had set in.

Adam had brought excitement back.

Passion, love, adventure, entertainment…and contentment. A feeling of being exactly where I was supposed to be, whenever we were together. Knowing he was coming home, coming to work, coming to be with me—it fulfilled me in ways I hadn't anticipated. Daily stressors no longer overwhelmed me because I knew he would be there waiting.

Mario had been my rock; Adam was now my anchor.

"…with this ring, I thee wed." I pushed the simple gold band onto Adam's finger, and he smiled, his gorgeous blue eyes finding mine.

I missed the next words, but then…

"…with this ring, I thee wed." Adam slipped a more ornate ring on my finger and tears pricked my eyes.

This was it.

I was about to become his wife.

"You may kiss the bride."

Adam bent his head and ever-so-gently pressed his lips to mine.

We'd kissed many times leading up to today, but it had never been quite this sweet. Or magical.

Our eyes met again, and I couldn't help the tears that streamed down my cheeks.

"Don't cry, baby," he murmured. "I love you and I'm never letting you go."

"I love you too."

"I now pronounce you…man and wife."

Adam kissed me again, his tongue sliding against mine for a brief moment before he grinned down at me. "How does it feel to kiss your husband ?"

"Wonderful," I whispered. "How does it feel to kiss your wife?"

"Un-fucking-believable."

I laughed.

"You sure you want to skip out on lunch?" he asked as we stepped outside hand-in-hand.

"I just want you," I admitted. "I don't know if I'll feel married until you've made love to me. We've waited a long time for this."

"Well, then." His blue eyes blazed with intensity. "I guess we need to get our asses back to the hotel."

"Room service can bring us lunch," I whispered. "But later. Much, much later."

He typed something into his phone. "Uber is six minutes out…think you can keep your panties on that long?"

I arched my brows. "Who said I was wearing panties?"