Page 166 of The Crowned Garza
Heaven. Chimeric. Bliss.
Who knew peace like this existed?
I hear the lazy footballs first. From feet that are never lazy, feet that never shuffle, never drag. But here, with me, they do. Here, they’re relaxed. Here, they have nothing to prove. Here, theytrust.
Warm, protective arms curve around me from behind and scratchy beard brushes against my cheek. “Buongiorno,wife.”
He smells like spice and peace. Like commitment and lazy mornings. Like forever and always.
“Buongiorno, husband.”
“This place is dangerous. How on earth did I become a late riser andyouan early bird?”
Considering how I wore him out last night, I’m surprised he’s up at all. “It’s amazing what peace of mind can do, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, I don’t want to leave.” He hugs me tighter. “Not ready to go back to sharing you yet.”
Laughing, I lean my cheek into his, just to feel the scratch of his beard again. “Funny. If anyone’s sharing anyone, it’s me sharing you with, well, everyone. Especially that psycho woman.”
“Shh, she might hear you. She has ears in the wind.”
“Good, I want her to.”
It’s the last week of our overdue one-month honeymoon. We spent a week in Greece, a week in Israel, and now we’re here on this beautiful private island among an archipelago. Our stay here was meant to be for one week, but Saint loved it here so much he adjusted our schedules to extend our stay here for another week. He’s loving being away from civilization, here all by ourselves with just a staff of three.
Our two weeks exploring Greece and Israel were my gift to him. I discovered he’s obsessed with Biblical history and wanted him to tick some of the things he’s always wanted to do off his bucket list. It was beautiful watching him be unusually animated while we explored in those two weeks. Seeing him laugh and relaxed with his guard down has become a new obsession of mine. Happiness looks like glory on him, a crowning halo.
We got married three months after he proposed to me. It was a whirlwind.
My entry into the Rossetti Family was...a thing. A big thing. They’re the epitome of wealth and splendor mixed with hardcore grittiness. Intimidating and imperious, while simultaneously being warm, loyal, and fiercely protective. Before the wedding, I spent two weeks in Italy getting to know the—very large—family. I didn’t win everyone over, but Saint assured me that only Eleanora’s and Adamo’s approval mattered.
Still, they liked me enough to gift me a wedding so grand I couldn’t have even dreamed it. They took care of everything. All I had to do was give them a list of my must-haves and non-negotiables and show up. On their massive estate in Italy, I had a wedding like a royal princess in a fairy-tale movie. Joyously, heart-flutteringly magical.
One of the happiest, most memorable days of my life.
A honeymoon didn’t happen because almost immediately after the wedding, life—on Saint’s end—got extremely busy. JB, from the super-secret organization or whatnot, called on him to fulfill his obligations with them. Then she called on him some more…and more…and more.
Saint later admitted that he knew the upcoming months would be hectic, but he rushed the wedding to “lock me down” because he didn’t want to risk me running off with someone else again. Goes without saying, the argument that followed that admission was huge.
He’d known the summoning from JB was coming, but I didn’t, and thus was not mentally prepared, so it was frustrating as hell for those first few months, which caused a lot of little arguments. Eventually, I decided to adjust because I might not have known about JB’s random summonings, but I was aware of the man I was marrying. A man who everyone wanted a piece of. A man in more demand than oil. I’d known the life I was signing up for—one where I’d always have to share him.
Instead of complaining, I learned to make the most of the times we got together, because when he was with me, he waswithme and all about me.
We found a flow, the bumps smoothed out, and it got better...and better...
Then, we did long-distance for a little while when I left for Italy and spent two months shadowing Eleanora to glean everything I could about being a restaurateur.
Why? Well, about two weeks before the wedding, a prenuptial agreement was placed in front of me, which was when I learned that Saint’slegalname is SantoRossetti. Apparently, Eleanora had legally changed his surname from Luciani to Rossetti when he moved to Italy at age nine. In the US, he operates under Luciani—for obvious reasons.
That meant I wouldn’t be taking the Luciani surname as I initially thought, but Rossetti. And the Rossettis, as we’ve established, are an imperious bunch. According to the prenuptial agreement, I would receive an exorbitant endowment, plus an additional lump sum for every five years we remained married. Blew my mind, butyay me.
There was, however, a clause that becoming a Rossetti meant career-wise, I could either be a boss or a dutiful housewife. Put simply, I’m allowed to be an employer but never an employee.
The entrepreneurial life that I’ve spent years running from had become nonnegotiable, seeing as the dutiful housewife thing isn’t my style. Lord knows I tried to talk my way out of it, but they wouldn’t budge. If I didn’t agree, there would be no wedding. Saint would’ve had to change his name back to Luciani to get rid of the agreement, and I didn’t want him to have to do that. Plus, I quite liked the idea of being a Rossetti more than a Luciani. So, I signed it. I chose to spend the rest of my life with Saint, and all this comes with the territory.
That said, by the time I got back from my mentorship with Eleanora, I had a different view on entrepreneurship. Eleanora allowed me the opportunity to meet and speak to a number of successful restaurateurs, and the main takeaway I got from them is that steering the ship is only as stressful as I allow it to be. I can choose to be a workaholic control freak, or I can choose to hire competent, driven, passionate, trustworthy employees and delegate, delegate, delegate. Eleanora admitted to being the former, and I’ve decided to be the latter.
When I got back, I took over Regalità—the restaurant Saint had secretly bought me—and have been running it smoothly ever since. With Dulce as my adviser.
