Deathless & Divided (The Chicago War #1) (36 page)

“Yeah, you never really did.”

Lily smiled through her guilt and sadness. “This is going to be over eventually, right?”

“The feud?” Evelina asked.

“Yeah.”

“Eventually.”

“I’ll be waiting when it is,” Lily said. “I’ll be waiting to pick this up where we left off.”

Evelina nodded once. “Me, too.”

Because the best kind of friendships never really ended. They could be put on pause for a short while or divided by space and time. But real friends—the truest ones—always waited and never missed a beat.

“I have to go,” Evelina said.

Lily squeezed Evelina’s hand. “Be safe.”

Lily lifted her arms to let Abriella and Cara slide the wedding dress over her head. Quickly and quietly, the girls tugged the dress down in place and began doing up the hundred or so tiny little pearl buttons along Lily’s spine.

The off-white lace dress reminded Lily that she was only an hour away from walking down the aisle. An aisle she hadn’t wanted to walk down at first, but now she couldn’t wait. The excitement was beginning to seep in a little more with very passing minute.

Cara Rossi took a step back as Abriella smoothed out the rushing waves of lace. While most of the day had passed with happiness, smiles, and a few joyful tears, Cara was having a rough time. She hid it well, but Lily knew.

“Cara?” Lily asked.

Abriella stood straight, crossing her arms. “Looks good. Just like we thought.”

Lily paid Abriella no mind. She was more concerned about her new friend and the permanent frown Cara couldn’t seem to get rid of. Lea Rossi’s funeral had been a quick, quiet affair. Lily accompanied Damian to the service and grave when Lea was buried. The Rossi family was still suffering from a mixture of shock and pain from the killing.

Cara probably had it the worst. She hadn’t just lost a friend and sister, she’d lost her twin. The thing some people considered to be the other half of her soul. How could someone ever settle something like that in their heart?

Lily didn’t begrudge Cara for her distraction or sadness.

Lily said the girl’s name louder the second time. “Cara?”

Cara’s head snapped up like someone had burned her. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” Lily asked.

“I’m—”

“Please don’t say fine,” Lily interjected gently.

Abriella rolled her eyes. “You’re the bride, Lily. We’re not supposed to upset you today.”

“Exactly,” Cara said, waving at Abriella. “I’m fine, really.”

She wasn’t.

Lily didn’t care what the girl had to say.

“It upsets me when you fake something for my benefit,” Lily pointed out.

Cara laughed a sad sound. “I don’t know how to do anything else right now.”

“Be honest,” Lily said. “Tell me something about Lea and you. Or even just you. Whatever. Give me anything.”

Cara didn’t look like she knew what to say to that.

“Are you going back to Canada after the wedding?” Abriella asked.

“Yes,” Cara said. “I have school.”

Lily frowned. “You don’t want to stay a little while longer? I know your family is glad to have you back.”

Well, Damian and Tommas seemed to really like having Cara home.

Cara sucked in a deep breath. “I need to go back. I can’t stay here. This place doesn’t feel like Lea at all. The only memories we have here are bad ones from when we were younger. I don’t know how Tommas does it. Or even Damian, really. I can’t stand being near my parents. I wished they would have cremated her so I could take a piece of her back with me. This isn’t home. She deserves to go back home.”

Lily watched Abriella blink away the wetness gathering in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Lily murmured.

“I’m still waiting to wake up and find out this is a dream,” Cara said quietly. “But it’s not, I’m never going to wake back up to find her here, and that makes it worse.”

Lily’s guilt only climbed higher.

Abriella opened up the door a crack and popped her head in. “Ten minutes.”

Lily nodded. “Thanks.”

“By the way, somebody is here to see you.”

“Huh?”

Abriella waved at Lily. “Come here, but stay behind the door.”

Confused, Lily did as Abriella asked.

“All right, but make it quick. If Dino or Theo catches you, I am not excusing your dumb ass,” Abriella said to someone on the other side of the door.

The dark chuckles that echoed in response to Abriella’s warning filled Lily with happiness and desire. She grinned as she peeked out the doorway, making sure the wood kept her dress hidden from Damian’s view.

As he looked toward the door, she hid behind it again.

“You’re not supposed to be on this side of the church” Lily said.

Damian made a dismissive sound. “No, I’m not supposed to see you.”

“You’re treading a thin line, Damian.”

“I can’t see you, sweetheart. I am firmly on the right side of the rules.”

“For once,” Lily teased.

Damian didn’t even try to deny it. “Your point?”

“Nothing.” Lily turned and looked out the door again, getting just a glimpse of his black tux from the breast down to his waist. Abriella’s hand shoved Lily back in the door before she could see more. “Hey!”

“No looking,” Abriella barked.

“You’re terrible,” Lily said, scowling.

“It’s only fair,” Abriella replied.

Lily was positive the girl was having fun with this.

“I have something to give you,” Damian said quietly.

Lily perked at that. “Oh?”

“Yes. I could have handed it off to someone else to deliver it, but I wanted to. I sneaked away from Tommas and Theo while I had the chance. It won’t be long before they realize it doesn’t take me ten minutes to piss.”

Lily laughed, turning her back to the door. “What did you bring me?”

“Give me your hand.”

Sticking her hand through the crack of the door, Lily waited. Damian placed something small, round and cool into the middle of her palm. His fingers grazed along all of hers as he pulled his hand back.

“I realized a few nights ago that I forgot something important about this whole thing,” Damian said. “I felt like a jackass and had to rectify it. But it never came in until yesterday and you weren’t allowed to see me. I really wanted you to wear it when you met me at the end today.”

Lily’s heart raced, jumping into her throat. She clenched her fingers around the tiny gift as she drew her hand back inside the room. Opening her hand again, a white gold, princess cut two carat diamond ring rested against her skin. It was simplistic in design, but Lily loved that style. She wasn’t one for flashy things and Damian wasn’t either.

It would make sense for him to pick something like this.

“I know you picked the wedding rings,” Damian said.

“It’ll match.”

“I figured. Do you like it?” Damian asked.

“You know I do,” Lily replied.

“Well, I wanted to hear you say it.”

“I’ll wear it,” Lily told him.

“I’ll meet you at the end.”

Not five seconds after Lily couldn’t hear Damian’s footsteps retreating down the hallway, Abriella cooed, “
Awe
.”

“Shut up, Ella.”

“That man loves you, Lily.”

Lily smiled. “Yeah. He does.”

Lily linked her arm with Dino’s as they waited behind the small progression of the wedding party. Only Abriella, Cara, and a young girl from Damian’s extended family acted as the party for Lily. Tommas would stand as Damian’s best man while Theo filled in for an usher. For such a large guest list, they chose a small party.

Dino patted Lily’s hand softly. It was the first time all morning she had seen her brother and he barely spoke a word to her.

“Are you happy?” Lily asked Dino.

Dino raised a brow at the question. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“I think you already know, Dino.”

“Well, I hoped. I’m glad it worked out.”

Lily decided not to mention a thing about what she knew regarding the shootings, his involvement, or anything even relating to the subject to Dino. Doing so could put Damian in danger from Dino or worse, someone else. Lily wouldn’t do that. Not to Damian.

The doors opened to the church and Cara Rossi gave Lily a small smile before starting her walk down the aisle.

Almost time …

“I’m proud of you, Lily,” Dino said quietly.

Lily hadn’t been expecting that. “Why?”

“Sometimes I look at you and all I see is this little girl who you used to be. I often forget you’re not a child anymore and you’ve seen nearly as much as I have in life. I always thought Theo and I would forever be watching after you and minding you in some way, but you proved us wrong. You don’t need us at all, do you?”

“Why would you ask that, Dino?”

Dino shrugged. “It feels that way today. Instead of handing you off, I’m actually just giving you away. Dad should have been able to do this for you. I don’t think I’m a worthy enough man to stand in his place and do it for him. I need to know you’re going to be okay, Lily.”

“You know I’ll visit you,” Lily said.

No matter what, when they talked about Dino’s upcoming trial or his sentencing possibility, they never discussed it outright. Usually the topic was danced around or vaguely hinted at. Even being as mad and hurt by her brother’s choices as she was, Lily didn’t want to say goodbye to Dino for twenty years.

She didn’t want to say goodbye at all.

Lily watched as the doors opened for Abriella to make her way down the white silk aisle, too.

“You won’t visit,” Dino said, sounding like he was sure of it. “Because I don’t want you to. It’s not the kind of place for someone like you.”

“Fine, then I’ll call.”

Dino sighed, chuckling low. “You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

“I can’t imagine where I learned that from, Dino.”

“The best, of course.”

“And I got my sweetness from Theo,” Lily said.

Dino nodded. “That must be it. God knows you never got any of that nonsense from me.”

Lily squeezed her brother’s arm as the mother of the tiny flower girl urged her daughter through the opened doors. When they closed, shutting out the quiet murmurings of the church and the eyes of the guests trying to get a peek at Lily and Dino, her heart began to calm.

“Did you like my gift?” Dino asked.

Lily’s brow furrowed. “What gift?”

“The rosary, little one.”

Oh.

“That was from you?” she asked.

Dino nodded. “Yes. It’s very special to me. I waited a long time to finally be able to give it to you like I was supposed to.”

Lily’s hand clenched around the stem of her bouquet, feeling the rosary beads roll under her fingers. “Why is that?”

“You probably don’t recognize them. Church wasn’t a big thing for Mom, I guess. She only really brought them out on special occasions and whenever she went in for confession.”

Lily’s heart stopped and she grabbed her bouquet tighter. “It’s Mom’s?”

“Yes. She used to hang them off the bedpost on Dad’s side of the bed because she always said he needed more reminders of faith than she did. She loved him like crazy. I don’t think she ever really liked what he was or the things he did, but she loved him. And we came along for the ride, you know.”