kid is too stinking cute and Brooks is teaching good stuff,” Rory tells the group. “But today’s Uncle Adam’s day, Rian. He’s getting a wife today.”
“Wife,” Rian repeats his new word softly while looking at his dad as if for approval.
“To Adam!” Rory cheers.
“To Adam!” “To Adam!” his brothers and cousin toasts.
“To Dad-dam!” Rian finishes with both of his hands raised in the air causing another bout of laughing fit from everyone.
A soft knock on the door breaks into their moment. A second later, the door opens and his precious angel sticks her head in.
“Hey, baby girl.”
“Woah! DAD! You look freaking awesome!” Jazzy beams and bounces over to him. “All of you do!” she says with a sweep of the room.
He walks over hand in hand with his first true love and takes a seat by the window, pulling her onto his lap as if she were no older than Rian.
“I’m glad you came in,” he tells his daughter. “It’s been crazy around here. I’m sorry we haven’t gotten to spend movie nights together these past few weeks.”
“It’s fine,” she says, reassuringly. “I know it’s for a good reason.”
“You’re always going to be my number one, you know?”
“Always,” Jazzy replies. “Until you add a number two, maybe even three.”
“Jazzy—”
“Dad, I’d want you to,” she cuts him off as if she knows what he’s thinking.
She should know though. Because she’ll always be his number one priority. Even with Ariana. And if Ariana and he decide to have children some way, Jazzy will always be his baby girl. Always.
“Ariana loves you too,” he tells his daughter.
“I know she does. She completes our family, doesn’t she? The one that used to be just you and me?”
“Of course, baby. That, she does.”
“Stella, can I have a moment?” he asks.
He has less than fifteen minutes before he needs to make way to the altar but he needs to do this. It took him almost five minutes to find where Stella’s been throughout the venue.
“Sure,” she says with her warm yet tentative smile. “Is everything okay? The last time the wedding planner reported to me, she said all the important guests are here. And I saw both Dom, Lilliana, and Nico just a few moments ago.”
“Yeah,” he answers her. “Everyone’s here.” He steps into the room and closes the door behind him before stepping toward her.
“You look amazing,” he tells her.
“So do you! Definitely a ten,” she replies with two thumbs up.
“I never got the chance to tell you, Stell, how sorry I am.”
Stella’s gaze drops from his face to just a point in the middle of his chest.
“This thing with you and Derrick. I take full responsibility. I was arrogant and I underestimated—”
“Adam,” she cuts him off. “You don’t need to do this. You don’t need to say anything.”
“But this thing with you and Derrick. It can be fixed. You both deserve it. You know that.”
She smiles and finally looks back up at him.
“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t take a moment out of your day to try and make at least one of your brother’s lives better, wouldn’t you?”
He doesn’t respond.
“I love Derrick with every ounce of my being. This whole thing, I know it’s not his fault. It’s not yours either, Adam. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. While we all underestimated Isabella, I overestimated myself. Essentially, my doing is what brought her into our lives to begin with. I’m sorry.”
“Forgiven,” he immediately answers. “Because without these events, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be waiting at the end of that aisle for my perfect woman.”
She smiles at that but he knows how much it’s taking her to give him that smile.
“This thing with me and Derrick will take time. I’m not sure how to get us back to the way things were without remembering her on him.”
“With a kiss, Stella.”
He bends and softly brushes a kiss to the soft of her cheek, his hand gently cupping his sister’s face. Because that’s who Stella truly is. She’s a sister, not just a sister-in-law. His thumb brushes away the tear that threatens to trail its way down.
“Derrick’s heart started beating again all because you kissed him. Start there.” He turns and begins to walk away but feels her pull on his hand.
“Before we get you hitched, there’s something I want to tell you. Consider it a wedding gift,” she says.
“I’m listening but we don’t have that much time left.”
She nods at him before she begins.
“The East Coast Famiglias don’t know about Ariana