The reaction from everyone else in the limo was immediate and loud. "You what?”
After the rehearsal dinner, I met Angelo, who I had to admit was a funny guy who had a unique sense of humor. At the time, I didn't understand why Adriana was ready to hit him when he said that the pop group, Genesis, would be playing at the reception. He was still a handsome, funny guy, and I knew I would have to keep him away from my sister, Ana, if she ever visited Seattle.
Tomasso and I both slipped our wedding rings off before the wedding, so it was nice to not have to answer questions, at least not about being married or being pregnant. The most common comment I had to deal with instead was how nice it was that I’d taken the time to visit again. Most of the people assumed it was due to the new friendship between the Bertolis and the Mendosas.
After dinner, I rode back to the Bertoli mansion with Adriana and Daniel while Carlo left for work and Margaret caught a ride home with Angelo. Daniel looked over, and in nearly flawlessly accented Portuguese, asked my reaction. "So what did you two think?"
"I never knew he spoke Portuguese," Tomasso said, leaning over to Adriana. "Did you know, Red?"
"I get amazed on a weekly basis with him,” Adriana replied. "Be careful, or else you're going to be looking pretty bush league compared to my husband."
Tomasso leaned back and laughed. “It was great. The reception should be an eye opener, though. Tonight was mostly just the well-behaved members of the Bertoli family. Everyone’s going to be at the reception.”
"Who all will be there?" I asked, worried. "This is my first American mob wedding."
Adriana chuckled and took Daniel's hand, leaning back. "I guess it is a mob wedding, isn't it? Anyway, since Daniel here isn't representing any of the other big families, it won't be as bad as some I've been to, but there'll be representatives from most of the bigger West Coast families that are friendly with Uncle Carlo."
We got back to the mansion, where Daniel gave Adriana a kiss outside the limo and looked over at his BMW. "Well, one night of a cold bed isn't too much to pay."
"What do you mean?" I asked, and Daniel laughed.
“We decided that the night before the wedding, we'd go back to sleeping in separate bedrooms. Makes tomorrow seem, I don't know, a little more old-fashioned? It'd be about the only thing old-fashioned about our relationship, but hey, why not? You might want to look at doing the whole wedding thing here, you know.”
“What? Why?" I asked, curious. "Don't tell me the family wants another wedding."
"No, but the INS will probably want a governmental wedding certificate if they're going to grant you a green card. You might just need to go down to City Hall and do the whole thing over again."
"I think we can manage that,” Tomasso said, squeezing my shoulders. "I'd marry Luisa again every day if I had to."
Tomasso and I went inside while Adriana and Daniel said their farewells for the night, and as soon as the door was closed, he pulled me close, kissing me hard. "I've been wanting to do that for hours," he whispered in my ear when our lips parted. "I need you, Mrs. Bertoli."
"Then lead the way, my husband," I purred in reply. "I may have forgotten which room is yours. We wouldn't want to frighten the staff."
It wasn't the most romantic dance-like sojourn through the halls and up the stairway to the second floor, not with Tomasso's cane and brace thumping on the hardwood floor and carpets, but it didn't matter. When we reached his room, I laughed when we closed the door. "You know, this would be our chance to actually consummate our marriage?"
"So how would you like to celebrate the occasion?" He murmured, chuckling. "As frisky as I feel, I do have certain physical limitations right now."
"Which I’m going to take advantage of," I said, thinking quickly. I led him over to a chair, which was perfect, since it had no arms, just solid wood with a well-padded seat. "Sit down."
Tomasso took a seat, a small grin on his face. "This reminds me of the first night we had sex. Except you're wearing a cute dress instead of that suit."
"Me too," I replied, straddling his legs and running my fingers through his hair. I lifted his head up, and we kissed, soft and loving, different than that first strip dance that broke through so many barriers. This was instead a confirmation of our bond, and I trembled while Tomasso stroked his fingers up and down my spine, pulling me closer until my breasts squashed against his upper chest. I smiled as he broke our kiss to nuzzle and suck at the soft skin around my cleavage. “So that's what you like."