Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 297

When we come back to the house, I realize that many people have been working over the past hour or so that we've been in the church to absolutely transform the area behind the house into the most beautiful space. I gape as Kent sets me gently on my feet, trying There are long, long tables all lined up under the open sky, all beautifully set for what promises to be an amazing dinner.

to take everything in.

But beyond those are tall, round cocktail tables for people to mingle, and beyond that a dance floor with a stage where I'm shocked to see a full band setting up.

"Kent," I breathe, shocked, staring up at him. "This is - this is insane -"

"Better than your wedding to Daniel?" he asks, raising a brow and smirking because he knows he's got his son beat, hands down.

I burst out laughing, smacking Kent in his chest. "I'll have you know that I was very fond of my first little wedding -"

"You wore a short dress, Fay," he says, his voice low and full of contempt.

"It was cute!"

"You were adorable," he concedes, even as he rolls his eyes, leading Dominic and I to a little white tent, "but it wasn't a wedding gown."

I laugh, letting myself be shepherded along, but I gasp a little when I enter the little tent at the edge of the party because someone has been very thoughtful here. While most brides and grooms get a little table to themselves, someone has taken care to arrange a whole tiny room for us. Theres a table at the front, of course, so we can enjoy the party, but the back is very sweet and private.

The whole area is covered in flowers and candles, of course, but to the back of the tent theres a little bassinet, so Dominic can sleep when we want to put him down, and a little changing table, and a couch I can sit on when I need to feed him. And even as I look towards the entrance again, I see that the tent's flaps can close, so we can have privacy.

"This is so nice!" I gasp, undone again by the thoughtfulness and generosity of my new family.

"Comes with champagne too," Kent murmurs, moving to a chilled bucket in the corner and lifting the bottle out. He raises an eyebrow at me and I nod, so he pops it open. "And a dog, apparently," he says, glancing down at Titus when he trots in, looking for me. "I was promised a whole bottle of champagne upon the day of my son's birth, after all," I murmur, raising my brows significantly at Kent, "which did not appear."

"We were distracted," Kent says, smirking at me. "Also, I didn't have time to get you champagne because you didn't tell me you were in labor."

Haugh, waving a hand at him to dismiss it all, and Kent laughs too as he pours me some. We clink our beautiful coup glasses together, toasting our marriage, and I only take a tiny sip before putting it down and signaling for Kent to close the tent for a little bit. We take a moment then, the three of us, to be a little family.

I feed Dominic, who fusses unhappily for a moment as I get ready, and I lean back against Kent on the little loveseat as I do. And even though I can hear the party getting started outside - in full swing, really- I feel a little selfish but...honestly, I don't miss it. Everything, everything I want is right here in this tent. As much as I love my sister, and my dad, and Daniel and Jerome, and Gio...

I lean my head back against Kent's chest, and take a deep breath, and find that I am...completely content here with my husband and my son. And even my little dog, who curls up at the foot of the couch."I love you," I murmur to Kent softly.

"I love you more," he replies, and honestly - as ridiculous a statement as it is - I let him believe it, if it makes him happy. "You are my entire world, Fay Lippert."

"What about Dominic?" I murmur, looking up at my husband.

Kent shrugs, but I see the smile on his face. "He's good too.

But you were here first"

I laugh, resting back against him, not fighting him on it as I reach up and let my fingers play idly in Kent's hair while our little boy eats dinner and then falls back asleep in my arms.

As happy as 1 am, Nonna and Janeen don't let us stay away from the family forever. After about half an hour they burst into the tent, helping me fix my dress before shooing us out. Nonna offers to stay with Dominic, but I can't bear to be parted with him, so I just take my sleeping baby with me out into the party, letting him doze against my chest as we move around, greeting everyone and accepting their wishes for a long and happy marriage.

We dance, and we laugh, and we sing - but eventually I get tired, so Kent and I retire to our little table to eat and talk to whoever wants to come over to us. I'm a new mom, after all

- I don't think anyone expected me to have the stamina of a normal bride.

It's an incredible night. Kent didn't lie, not at all, about the food either. I'm shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn't eat another bite if I tried.

And trust me, I want to try.

"It will all be here in the morning," Kent murmurs, leaning over to kiss my shoulder. "There will be leftovers for days."

"No there will not," I mutter, watching jealousy as a try of tiny lemon cakes goes by, "because I will eat them all tonight, when Dominic wakes up wanting to be fed. I'm going to carry him down to that kitchen and eat every single one of those." Kent laughs, shrugging and saying I should do what I want.

I'm the bride, after all.

The party goes for a long time until I, like Dominic, am dozing just a little bit. Luckily, Kent stays awake, his arm wrapped around me and keeping both me and the child steady. He only wakes me up once, tapping my shoulder and then lifting his chin towards the dance floor. "Thought you'd want to see this," he murmurs, and I turn my sleepy head towards the crowds of people dancing slowly to a soft love song. And my face breaks into a brilliant smile when I see Gio with his arms around Janeen, staring down into her face and talking softly with a little smile on his lips. She looks seriously up at him, which is a feat in itself. Janeen - she never does anything without a laugh.

At least, not until now.

"She's gone for him," I murmur with a sigh. "Poor doll. Do you think he'll ever feel the same way?"

"I think he already does," Kent murmurs, and I blink, turning to him in surprise.

"What?"

"Gio's a lot like me," he says softly, giving me a shrug. "He doesn't show his cards for a long, long time. But there are little ways to tell that he can't get enough of her."

"Oh?" I say, smiling at him. "Like maybe, for instance, she could be the only girl that gets to sleep in his bed night after night, when he made all his other girlfriends go back to their rooms? Or that he stays up all night staring at her, obsession in his eyes -" "The first half of that, I will concede," Kent says, grinning at me, "the second half, I maintain, is still you."

I laugh too, turning my focus back to Janeen and Gio. "So?

What are you seeing with him, Kent? What am I missing?"

"You're missing," Kent murmurs, "that he hasn't danced with anyone else all night. And it's not for lack of opportunity - his mother, she made sure to invite all of the eligible girls from the town for this, and every daughter from a good family from anywhere in Sicily." I look around, my eyebrows raised, noticing for the first time that there are a good number of beautiful young women around, shooting glances at Gio, and at Daniel, and at Jerome.

"Oh, all the poor girls," I murmur, my voice sorrowful. "Oh, they're going to break their hearts over these boys, and they've got no chance..."

Kent laughs at this and gives a little shrug. "They'll get over it. But Gio... Kent shakes his head and gives a happy sigh.

"He's not ready to tell Janeen how he feels. But for those of us who have the time and patience to sit back and watch, the writing's already on the wall."

"So, are we like, old and boring now?" I ask, curious, looking up at him. "Are we just dull married parents now, the kind of people people who sit back and watch the young people fall in love?" I make a little face, not liking that idea at all. "Well, considering that Gio and Janeen are older than you,"

Kent says, quirking his brow.

"Just because you're a cradle robber," I mutter, making Kent burst into laughter. I grin, because I'm just teasing - I don't really care that Kent is older than me. Honestly, I don't think I could have handled him in his twenties. Now, he's just right for me. "You're an old soul and I'm young at heart," Kent murmurs, his lips close to my ear. "Besides, I don't think we'll let each other get boring. I don't think it works that way with us."

"Better not," say, settling warmly against him. "I expect a rich, thrilling life, Kent Lippert."

"And I'll give it to you, Fay Lippert," he says, his voice again rich with happiness and promise. "Dominic too. You just wait and see - the best is yet to come."

And I smile as I lean back against my husband as he wraps his arms around me, because I believe absolutely every word of what he says.