The suite’s living room was decorated for a bachelorette party. I hoped I would be spared that tradition, but my mother had insisted that it would be an affront to the women in Luca’s family if they could not meet me before the wedding.
I smoothed out the green cocktail dress. It was a color that was supposed to bring good luck. I knew that my interpretation of what good luck would be at this point differed widely from Luca’s and my father’s.
Lily was not allowed to attend the bachelorette party as she was considered too young, but Gianna had managed to stay. Although I feared there might be another reason behind her mother’s ‘agreement. Gianna had turned seventeen a few days ago. This meant that she was also old enough to be married. I put the thought aside. I could hear my mother and Gianna arguing in the bedroom about what Gianna should wear when someone knocked on the suite door. It was a little early; the guests were only due to arrive in ten minutes.
I opened the door. In front of me was Valentina, behind her Umberto. She was my cousin but five years older than me. Her mother and my mother were sisters. She smiled apologetically. “I know, I’m early.”
“It’s okay,” I said, stepping back so she could come in. Umberto sat in the chair outside my door. I liked Valentina a lot, so I didn’t mind spending some time alone with her. She was tall and graceful, with dark brown, almost black hair and eyes of the darkest green imaginable.
She wore a black dress with a pencil skirt that reached her knees. Her husband Antonio had died six months earlier, and at my wedding it would be the first time she would wear anything other than black.
Sometimes widows, especially older women, were expected to wear mourning for a year after their husband’s death, but Valentina was only twenty-three. Luke’s age. I caught myself wishing her husband had died sooner so she could have married Luca, and then I felt terrible. I shouldn’t think like that. Romero lingered by the window.
“Could you please wait outside? A bachelorette party is no place for a man.
He tilted his head and then left without adding anything else.
“Did your husband send you his bodyguard?” asked Valentina.
“He’s not my husband yet.”
“No, you’re right. You look sad,” she said with a knowing expression as she dropped onto the sofa. On the table behind were champagne, soft drinks and a wide range of appetizers.
I swallowed. “So you.” And I immediately felt stupid for saying such a thing.
“My father wants me to remarry,” he said, twisting the wedding ring.
My eyes widened. “So soon?”
“Not right away. Apparently he’s already talking to someone.”
I couldn’t believe it. “You can’t say no? You were already married.”
“But it was a childless marriage and I’m too young to be alone. I had to go back to live with my family. My father insisted on protecting me.”
We both knew that code. Women always needed protection from the outside world, especially if they were of marriageable age. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“It is what it is. You know it as well as I do.” I laughed bitterly. “Yes.”
“I saw your husband yesterday when I visited the Vitiello mansion with my parents. E…
imposing.”
“Terrifying,” I added softly. Valentina’s expression softened, but our conversation was interrupted when Mom and Gianna came out of the bedroom. And soon after, more guests arrived.
The gifts were everything from lingerie to jewelry to certificates for a day at a luxury spa in New York. The lingerie, however, was the worst thing, and when I opened the gift from Luca’s stepmother, Nina, I had a hard time keeping a straight face. I lifted the newly arrived white nightgown and smiled broadly.
The entire middle part was transparent and it was so short that it didn’t even cover most of my legs.
Underneath, in the gift box, was an even smaller garment; white lace panties that left much of my bottom exposed and were held together by a bow in the back. A chorus of appreciative murmurs came from the women around me.
I stood open-mouthed looking at the lingerie. Gianna discreetly pointed her finger at her temple.
“This is for your wedding night,” Nina said with a calculating twinkle in her eyes. “I bet Luca will love unwrapping you. We have to please our husbands. Luca will surely expect something so bold.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Had Luca induced his stepmother to give me this? I wouldn’t take him for granted. Not after he had provided me with birth control. My stomach twisted with worry, and it only got worse when the woman started talking about their wedding night.
“I was so embarrassed when it came time for the sheet presentation!” – whispered Luca’s cousin Cosima from the stage.
“The sheet presentation?” I asked.
Nina’s smile was condescending as she said, “Didn’t your mother explain it to you?”
I cast a glance at my mother who tightened her lips and two red patches appeared on her cheeks.
“It is a Sicilian tradition that the Familia has been proudly carrying on for generations,” Nina explained, staring at my face. “After the wedding night, the women of the groom’s family go to the bride and groom to collect the sheets on which they spent the night. Then those sheets are presented to the fathers of the bride and groom and anyone else who wants to see proof that the marriage was consummated and that the bride was pure.”
Cosima chuckled. “That is why it is also called the tradition of the bloody sheets.”
My face was frozen.
“This is a barbaric tradition!” hissed Gianna. “Mom, you can’t allow it.”
“It’s not up to me,” Mom said.
“Right. We will not abandon our traditions.” Nina turned to me. “And from what I know you have been well protected from male attention, so you have nothing to fear. The sheets will prove your honor.
Gianna’s lips curled, but all I could think of was that this tradition meant I absolutely had to sleep with Luca.