Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Laurie, are you seriously going through with this?
Ten million. Ten million. Ten million.
I stop beside Adriano and glance between him and the priest.
Adriano’s dark gaze slowly roams over every inch of me, then a smile forms on his face.
Not a grin. Not a smirk.
The first, honest-to-God smile, and it makes him look devilishly handsome.
“You can begin, Father,” he orders, his eyes locked on me while he takes hold of my hand.
Oh Jesus. This is happening.
A tremble moves through my body, and my breaths are nothing but quivering puffs over my lips.
“Adriano and Laurie, have you come here to enter into marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?” the priest asks.
Hell no. Adriano tricked me, but I don’t have a legal leg to stand on.
“I have,” Adriano replies, his intense gaze not leaving mine for a second.
Scowling at him, I mutter, “I have.”
“Since it is your intention to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and His church,” the priest orders.
He’s already holding my hand, old man. Clean your glasses.
“I, Adriano Rizzo, take you, Laurie Barnes, for my lawful wife…” The promise in his tone gets my attention and my thoughts quieten down. “…to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”
A snort escapes me, stunning the living hell out of me, and making a scorching blush sweep up my neck and face.
“Hmm…” The growl from Adriano makes me blush harder, and feeling very embarrassed and awkward, I look down at his shiny, polished shoes.
“Do you need me to say the vows so you can repeat after me, Miss Barnes?” the priest asks.
“Uhm…yeah, please.” I look at him, avoiding Adriano, and repeat like a parrot, “I, Laurie Barnes, take you, Adriano Rizzo, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”
The priest clears his throat before saying, “Please, exchange wedding rings.”
Adriano lets go of my hand and pulls a velvet black pouch out of his pocket and shakes two gold wedding bands into his palm before holding the bigger one out to me to take.
I notice an inscription, and my lips part when I see the letters A & L engraved into the gold.
He takes my left hand and gently pushes the wedding band onto my ring finger. “Laurie, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
What love? He should’ve added insanity instead.
Just because it’s expected of me, I say the same thing while pushing the ring onto Adriano’s finger.
Then the priest announces, “In the sight of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
What witnesses?
I glance over the empty pews and only see Little Ricky and the other two men standing by the open doors.
Still trying to come to terms with what’s happening, I feel like I’m stuck in a twilight-zonish-daze.
The priest gestures toward a small table beside the altar where a thick leather-bound book waits open beside a stack of papers. “Please sign the register.”
Adriano’s hand settles against my lower back, nudging me forward. Even though his touch is light, it feels like a controlled move.
As I stop in front of the table and stare down at the register, I notice how old it looks.
It’s filled with rows of signatures of people who probably got married because they loved each other, instead of being tricked into it.
My chest tightens when I spot our names already written neatly beside today’s date.
Adriano Rizzo. Laurie Barnes.
Dear God.
The priest first hands the pen to Adriano, and he signs without hesitation. Then he holds it out to me.
For a second, I just stare at him while panic crawls up my throat.
There’s nothing you can do. You already signed your life away. This is just dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.
Adriano leans closer, his voice deep and rough. “Sign, Laurie.”
I swallow hard before forcing my fingers to close around the pen. My hand shakes as I write my signature.
When I finish, Little Ricky strolls over, looking way too entertained by all of this as he signs as a witness, followed by one of Adriano’s men.
That’s it.
No family. No flowers. No music. Just an old cathedral, an even older priest, signatures, silence, and the terrifying realization that I legally belong to a man I barely know.
When I aim to head back to the room so I can change, Adriano grabs my arm to hold me back.