His Juliet: An Age Gap Hurt Comfort Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 2)

The bed shifted and I rolled over with a groan. I didn’t know what time it was except for too early. I reached for Romeo, but my hand hit air.noveldrama

A low chuckle by my ear had me relaxing. “I love how much you want me even in your sleep.” His lips brushed my cheek.

“Come back to bed,” I whined, stretching behind me to grab him.

“I can’t. I have very important wedding things to do.”

I pried my eyes open. “What kind of things?”

His hands bracketed my body as he leaned down to kiss me. “Secret things.”

I tried to tug him down on top of me, but he didn’t budge. “When will you get back?” I was pouting, but it was my wedding day, so I was allowed to.

“The groom can’t see the bride before the wedding.”

I scowled. “You’re seeing me now.”

He chuckled, the sound low and delicious. “It’s too early in the morning. Doesn’t count.” He half-lowered himself on top of me. “Don’t look at me like that. You’ll like the surprise. Besides, I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

My cheeks flushed and my pussy clenched, desperate for what he was promising. “You better.”

“Fuck, you’re cute. I can’t wait to marry you, wife.”

I breathed him in and savored the weight of his body over mine. “Can’t wait to marry you, husband.”

He kissed me gently, pulling away with a smile when I tried to deepen it. “Sofiya and Sienna will be here soon with breakfast. Have fun today, angel. Next time I see you, you’ll be walking down the aisle.”

“Hair and makeup should be here in just a few minutes,” Sienna said as she cleared our plates from breakfast.

“Which means it’s time for this!” Sofiya said, holding out a small box wrapped in silver paper.

I grinned when I saw Queenie’s name on the gift tag. “Hey, cutie, come here. Daddy got you a present.” Queenie hopped down from her perch on the couch and slowly stretched, showing off the powder blue sweater Romeo had crocheted for her—part of an extensive, growing collection of miniature clothes.

“Oohh, what is it?” Sienna moved closer as I unwrapped it.

“Oh my god. He didn’t.” It was a gold kitten-sized tiara with stones that looked like diamonds.

“That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Sofiya squealed. “Let’s see it on the queen.”

Queenie trotted over to us, and I picked her up and sat her on the countertop. “They aren’t real diamonds, right?”

Sofiya snorted. “No, of course not. That would be a completely absurd thing to do.”

I groaned. “Fuck, they’re real, aren’t they?”

Sienna laughed. “Wait, that reminds me. You know that grant you got before Christmas?”

I nodded, suspicious of where this was going.

“I forged that letter and Romeo sent the money.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. He wanted to send you half a million dollars and was very irritated when I told him that was way too much to be believable.”

My lips twisted as I tried not to smile. My ridiculous man. I’d yell about this later, but right now, I was going to enjoy being spoiled. It was my wedding day, after all.

I placed the tiara on Queenie’s head. “You look like absolute royalty.” I was worried she would shake it off, but she just looked around imperiously.

“Oh, you know that you’re the queen, don’t you?” Sienna scratched her chin, and Queenie purred.

I removed the tiara. “We’ll put it back on when it’s time for the wedding.” I went to place it back in the box on the counter and froze when I saw a larger box beside it.

“Yours next,” Sofiya said, grinning.

This present had my name on the tag. My fingers shook as I unwrapped the silver paper and opened the black velvet box underneath, revealing another tiara. Except this one was human-sized and even more gorgeous. It was composed of small gold branches converging to form a point at the top. Small diamonds were embedded in the tips of the branches, adding sparkle without overpowering the organic design. It was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, besides my engagement ring.

I looked up at Sofiya and Sienna, my mouth wide. “He gave me a tiara.”

“It’s going to look amazing on you,” Sofiya said, clapping her hands.

I wanted to argue and say it was too much, too extravagant for a former foster care kid, but I was too busy staring at it to argue.

A knock at the door signaled the hair and makeup people had arrived, and the apartment was quickly filled with a blur of activity. Two women ushered me into a chair and started working on me. The entire time, I clutched the tiara, trying to stay present and grounded. This was my day, my life. I deserved to savor it.

Once my hair was set in loose waves—the pink ends freshly dyed at Romeo’s insistence—the hairdresser placed the tiara on my head. I took a deep breath as she spun me towards the mirror. The tiara worked perfectly with my hair, and my makeup was soft and natural while somehow highlighting all my best features. A seed of giddiness bloomed in my stomach. I looked like a princess. This was how I would look when I married my dream man.

Life was pretty freaking amazing.

“Wow,” I breathed. “I’ve never looked like this.”

“You look breathtaking,” Sofiya said as she bounced Clementine on her lap. Matteo had brought her up a little while ago to nurse.

Sienna gently wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I can’t believe how drop-dead gorgeous my new sister is. Romeo is going to lose it.”

I fanned my hands in front of my face. “Don’t make me cry.”

“No crying allowed!” Sofiya said.

“I would never,” I scoffed.

“Don’t worry—I’ll be here until the ceremony for touch-ups if needed,” the stylist said with a wink.

A shout at the front door had me leaving the bedroom.

“Don’t worry, everyone. The fun has arrived!” Leona blew into the apartment in a whirlwind of energy, her red hair an explosion of curls around her. “I brought the essentials for the day—a wedding night gift, champagne, and your mothers-in-law!” She stepped aside, revealing two women.

I recognized Allegra De Luca from a childhood photo Romeo had shown me of him with his parents. The lines on her face spoke to the passage of time, but she was still stunning with her olive skin and a short black bob. Holding her hand was a woman with a silver pixie cut.

“Hi, Juliet,” my mother-in-law said, sounding almost shy.

We both froze for an awkward moment, unsure of what to do, and then we were hugging. We were around the same height, and her arms were warm and strong.

“You look lovely. It’s easy to see why my son is so in love with you.”

“It’s so nice to meet you. Thanks so much for coming,” I said when we parted. Allegra wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye. I turned to the woman she was with. “Both of you.”

“I’m Francesca,” she said before pulling me into a hug. “We’re honored to be here.”

“How was your trip?” I asked.

“Oh, it all went very smoothly,” Allegra said.

“Romeo got us first-class tickets, so we were very spoiled,” Francesca added.

“That’s good.” I fidgeted with my robe, unsure of what else to say. “I’m sorry we haven’t spoken before now.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other in the future,” Allegra said. “If that’s what you want.”

Francesca put her arm around Allegra’s shoulder. There was something vulnerable in this woman that I recognized.

“I would love that,” I said. “I don’t really have family, so…” I cleared my throat as I trailed off awkwardly.

“I always wanted a daughter,” Allegra said, voice tight. She pulled out a small box from her purse. “I brought this for you.”

A pair of dainty gold earrings that looked like mini sunbursts sat within the black velvet box.

“They’re beautiful,” I breathed.

“You don’t have to wear them today, of course, but I wanted you to have them. They belonged to my mother.”

Why was everything making me cry today? I blinked away the tears, touched beyond measure that she wanted me to have a family heirloom. I never thought I’d have that.

“I love them, and I’d be honored to wear them today. They match my ring. But are you sure you want me to have them?”

“Yes, of course.”

I turned to the mirror in the living room, and as I put them on, the door opened again. This time, Arturo stepped inside, wearing a dapper green suit and matching bow tie. I broke out into a huge smile. It had been too long since I’d seen the bookstore owner and I’d missed him.

“Juliet. You look beautiful.” He pulled me into a tight hug and lowered his voice. “Are you sure you want to do this? I brought my car in case you want to make a break for it.”

Arturo had grown up in the Mafia—he knew exactly how much he was risking with his offer, but I had no doubt he was genuine.

My lips twitched. “Yes, I’m very sure.”

He looked slightly disgruntled, and I nudged his arm.

“Cheer up. It’s going to be great. Thank you for agreeing to marry us.”

When I’d told Arturo I was getting married, he’d given me an earful for hiding my beau from him—his words. When he found out who my fiancé was? He had launched into an even longer lecture about the dangers of Mafia men and how could I have been so stupid and Romeo De Luca was a known playboy who couldn’t be trusted.

The next day, he called me saying he’d applied for a marriage officiant license in case I wanted him to officiate.

Of course, I’d said yes.

“This is Mrs. De Luca, my almost-mother-in-law,” I told Arturo.

“Oh no, Juliet. Please call me Allegra,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you.” Arturo kissed her cheeks and did the same to Francesca.

“I’ve worked at Arturo’s bookstore for a couple of years. That’s actually where I met Romeo.”

My heart ached thinking about the bookstore. Even though I was making progress in therapy, I didn’t feel ready to go back to work. Part of me worried I would never be ready. Arturo had been completely understanding, and I’d helped him hire a new manager, but it still hurt. Sienna and Sofiya kept encouraging me to start a book account on social media so I could share what I was reading, and I was considering it.

“Juliet is practically my granddaughter,” Arturo said firmly.

Don’t cry. You can’t ruin your makeup.

Sienna ushered us all over to a large table that had been set up for a late lunch. Romeo kept texting me, saying time was moving too slowly and why had we decided on a sunset ceremony?

When it was finally, finally time to get dressed, Sienna and I headed to my bedroom so she could zip me up.

“What do you think?” she asked, resting her chin on my shoulder as she stood behind me.

“I love it.”

She grinned. “Good, because you look so fucking hot Romeo isn’t going to know how to cope.”

I walked out of the bedroom to my gathered guests’ gasps and tears. Even Arturo got choked up. While everyone fussed over me and told me how beautiful I looked, it finally sank in—I had a family now.