Page 62 of Broken Princess

I'd take him over Kayleigh and Natalie any day, though.

Mr. Rossi nods to us before leaving the study, and I'm left with Dad and Lorenzo, still reeling from everything that just happened. I can't believe it.

"I'll give you a moment alone while I see your father out," Dad says gruffly to Lorenzo, walking over to the door. He pauses. "But leave the door open."

"Yes, sir," Lorenzo says, already smirking.

Dad shakes his head in resignation as he leaves.

The moment he's gone, before I can even hear his footsteps on the stairs, Lorenzo pulls me into his arms for a searing kiss that takes me off my feet and leaves me breathless. By the time he breaks the kiss, I'm limp in his arms, staring up at him in a daze.

"We did it," he says in a low, intimate voice that makes my spine tingle as he presses his forehead to mine. It's an unexpectedly tender gesture, especially after that kiss, but it has an equally dizzying effect on me. "You're mine now. Forever."

A few months back, that would have sounded like a threat, but now?

Now, it sounds like a promise.

CHAPTER 29

AMELIA

As I stand in the courthouse, facing Lorenzo with our parents, Anthony, and his best friend, Jeff, I feel like I'm in a dream. Lorenzo and I are actually getting married. Sure, it’s a rushed courthouse wedding, but it’s still a wedding.

Ourwedding.

It’s all so sudden, and yet it feels so right. So much more than the elaborate church wedding that felt like it was going to be the end of my life because I was marrying the wrong groom.

Kayleigh and Natalie are notably absent, which is fair enough, all things considered. The former hasn't been back to the house since the church wedding since she still lives on campus, too, and even though I know I need to apologize to her at some point, that's clearly not something she's ready for right now.

And I can't say I blame her.

As for Natalie, I can't help but feel like there's a viper in my own home, but she's been uncharacteristically civil. Not in the new, reformed Natalie kind of way, but in the old planning something kind of way.

There's nothing I can really do about that, though. Nothing but keep my guard up, and after our honeymoon, Lorenzo will be living in the house, too. I have to admit, I'm excited for the chance to get away with him for a while. The last time we were alone, he had just saved me from being kidnapped, and if there's one benefit to a low-key courthouse wedding, it's that I know Milo isn't going to make any sudden appearances.

"Do you, Lorenzo Rossi, take Amelia Carillo as your lawfully wedded wife?" the justice of the peace asks, and Lorenzo looks into my eyes.

"I do," he says firmly, and I can see the love in his gaze. The love that's been there since the moment we met, even though it took us a while to get here.

"And do you, Amelia Carillo, take Lorenzo Rossi as your lawfully wedded husband?"

I can't help but smile as I answer. "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Lorenzo pulls me into his arms and kisses me deeply, in front of everyone. I'm surprised my father didn't clear his throat in irritation by the time Lorenzo finally sets me back on my feet, but I am a married woman now, and there's really only so much he can do.

I look up at Lorenzo, smiling as I take his hand, the small white bouquet in my other one. Wearing the same dress felt unbelievably tacky, so I opted for a much simpler off-the-shoulder white dress and a simple veil, but it feels a lot more like my tastes, anyway.

"You are so beautiful," Lorenzo says softly as he looks down at me, reaching to brush a dark curl behind my ear. "My little fawn."

His words make me blush, proving some things don't ever change. I can't imagine they ever will, either, and I'm... oddly okay with that.

At the door, while my father and Lorenzo's parents are thanking the justice, Anthony approaches and gives Lorenzo a familiar look of judgment.

"Well, congratulations," he says, offering his hand to my new husband. "I hope you're aware you just became the luckiest man in the Mafia."

"Surely more than that," Lorenzo challenges, returning the handshake. "Looks like we're frat brothersandbrothers-in-law now, Tony."

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