Page 78 of Reclaimed Dreams

Chapter24

42 years ago

Dom stood in front of the altar in the church he’d struggled to stay awake in every Sunday his entire life. The church he and his brother had been baptized in. The church his parents had married in. A shiver ran down his spine. No chance of him snoozing today.

The adrenaline and nerves coursing through his veins had kept him wide-awake last night. His skin was still buzzing right now as he waited. What the hell was taking so long?

He tugged at the stiff collar of his tuxedo shirt. Why did they make these things so damn tight? He’d even gone to the Big n’ Tall store. Two weeks ago the fit had been perfect. Today he couldn’t breathe.

“Quit pulling at that collar.” His mother slapped his hand, much as she had when he’d turned church flyers into church fly-ers. He’d only thrown the one… The memory of the priest’s face made him smile. Thank goodness Father Pietro had retired and wouldn’t be serving today. “You’ll wrinkle it.”

“I can’t even swallow, Ma!”

“That’s not your bow tie’s fault.” She straightened the offending piece of silk he’d tugged askew and kissed his cheek. As she rubbed her lipstick off his skin, he was transported back to his childhood, even though she now stood on tiptoes to reach him.

Everything had been easier then. His father had held the weight of the world on his strong shoulders. His mother had held their home together with the strength of her heart. His brother had been a pillar to lean on and his best friend.

Still was. Dom grinned at the man standing next to him. The only thing that made this bearable was that Tony looked as uncomfortable as Dom felt.

For so long, these three people had been his rock, his home, his family.

Today he would take the step to start his own family. The nerves were appropriate. Giving Jo the kind of stability and love his family had given him was no small task, but he was determined to succeed.

He still wasn’t quite sure how he’d convinced Jo Bertelli to give him the time of day, let alone marry him. But he wasn’t going to question it too hard. She said she loved him, and he was going to hold her to it.

In less than an hour, she’d be Jo Valenti, his to have and to hold. Together they would build what his parents had. A solid, stable home. A successful partnership. A loyal and loving family.

God, they would make some beautiful babies. He hoped they all looked just like Jo.

Couldn’t they just skip all this pomp and tradition and get to the baby-making part of the evening?

His smile shifted to a grin as he imagined taking off the big white wedding gown Jo was putting on right now. Tonight was gonna be fun.

A door slammed at the back of the church, and he jolted. Right. Message received. No sexy thoughts in church. He dutifully cleared his mind and tugged at his collar again.

Tony knocked his elbow from his spot right behind him.

“Knock it off, or Mom’s gonna come back up here, and we’ll never get this thing started.”

“What the he— heck is taking so long?” Dom barely held back the curse word. Patience had never been his strong suit, and today was testing his limits. He checked his watch again. “We should’ve started five minutes ago.”

“Maybe Jo came to her senses…” Knowing his brother was teasing him didn’t help.

Dom turned a glare on Tony, who laughed and raised his hands in surrender. Dom bit back his instinctive response. He’d really never hear the end of it from Ma if he tore his tux before Jo even saw him in it. Besides, he was pretty sure wrestling in church was frowned upon.

“Do you want to talk football or go over the business plan again?”

“What? No. Are you crazy? I’m about to get married.”

“I know, idiot. Those are two topics that generally hold your attention for more than five minutes. Just trying to distract you from the wait.”

“I don’t want to be distracted. I want to be married.”

Once he was married, the rest would fall into place. Jo would start working in her classroom. He had a job lined up with a construction crew. They’d started scrimping for a honeymoon. After that, he and Tony were going to save up their money and open their own business as soon as possible. And he’d get to come home to Jo every night. The future looked bright indeed.

But he couldn’t do it without Jo. Where was she?

She calmed him. She listened to his rants and brought him back to reason. She opened her heart and loved him unreservedly. She was the key to everything. And today, of all days, she was late.

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