Page 101 of Heir of Darkness

THIRTY-NINE

VALERIO

“Are you kidding me?I told you to hang the fabric elegantly, not half assed,” Gianna screamed at Dante, throwing her hands up in the air. “Useless, all of you.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s why I chose a life of crime, not wedding planning.”

Valerio watched the interaction, shaking his head. Somehow, Gianna had self-selected herself to be the wedding planner, and despite her barking at everyone, she was getting things done on the tight deadline.

“If she’s this bad as a wedding planner, I’m scared to see how she’ll be as an actual bride,” Allister said.

“I’ll send a prayer for the idiot that falls for her. He’ll need it,” Valerio said.

“Where’s Luna anyway?” he asked. “Shouldn’t she be the one deciding where all this shit goes?” He picked up some fabric, tossing it back on the table.

“She’s making the others carry in the rest of the decorations,” Valerio said.

“And what are you doing then?”

“I’m the groom. I wait until my bride calls for me.” He gave him a grin.

“Allister! Come help this idiot hang these drapes,” Gianna screamed from across the room. He muttered a curse word, begrudgingly making his way over.

They’d only had a couple of days to set everything up, but in that time the second living room had been transformed. All the furniture was taken out of the room, replaced with white chairs that had white satin bows tied to the back of them. The guest list was small, so four chairs sat on either side, creating a small aisle that Luna would walk down.

Dante, and now Allister, were in the middle of draping the ceiling with white fabric before they lined it with warm fairy lights. They could have hired companies for everything, but any indication of wedding planning to certain outside forces would have raised suspicions. That left them to do everything themselves.

Tomorrow was the big day though. Tomorrow they would officially be married, and Valerio couldn’t fucking wait. Sure, he had always imagined his wedding would host hundreds of people, most just associates or people he had come across a handful of times, but he preferred this more. As long as Luna was walking down the aisle to him, he didn’t care who showed up or who didn’t.

Valerio made his way back to the dining room, which was now the official reception room. The table had been covered in a thick white tablecloth with white candles lined up in the center. Two floral arrangements sat on either side of the table.

Finn was setting down plates and silverware. The dining room’s ceiling had already been draped, so Augustus added the lights to decorate the ceiling.

Blair and Cecilia laid out the glasses and the many bottles of alcohol on the counter. But Valerio cared most about his bride-to-be, who sat tying her bouquet together. She cut the extra pieces of ribbon off, holding it up to herself with a smile.

“It looks beautiful,” he told her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Thank you. I’m glad the flowers in the greenhouse will get some use,” she said with a smile. “Did you lay out the tuxes?”

“They’re upstairs in the spare bedroom.”

“And the food?”

“Ready to be dropped off tomorrow morning.”

“What about the music? Has anyone tried to connect it yet?”

“It’s all figured out,” Valerio said, easing her mind. “Everything is going perfectly.”

“I feel like we’re missing something. I can’t put my finger on it,” Luna said, biting her lip. She absentmindedly played with the ring on her finger before her eyes widened. “Oh my God, the rings. How did I forget the rings?”

Valerio smiled. “I already took care of it.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, thank God.”

“All you need to do now is enjoy your bachelorette party,” he told her. “And then show up to our wedding tomorrow.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Luna said, grinning. “I’m curious to know how your bachelor party will go. I bet you never imagined my brother would be attending it.”

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