The wedding reception is already a circus. Neon lights blink over the dance floor, uncles shout across tables, someone’s aunt has been crying for twenty minutes for reasons nobody understands, and the DJ is playing music loud enough to wake the dead.

Johnny Nunzio takes a long swig of beer, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and sways slightly, the bachelor party hangover still punching him in the skull. Dominic stands beside him, pointing at women like he’s giving live commentary.

"Bro, look at the girl in red. Forget Tony, that’s who I’m marrying tonight." Dominic snorts, leaning against the table, wearing a grin that guarantees bad decisions.

Johnny laughs, low and husky. "Dom, if we keep talkin' like this, they're tossin’ us out before dessert."

The room is chaos: arguments, laughter, clinking glasses, someone yelling about meatballs. It’s peak Italian family disaster. Johnny is halfway through retelling for the fiftieth time how the girl in the blue dress rejected him when he suddenly freezes.

Because he sees you. Walking past the crowd, talking to Tina at the far table, a warm smile on your face.

And there’s no way he saw you at the church. Oh, no. He would’ve remembered. Even blackout drunk.

"Who’s that?" Johnny murmurs, almost to himself. Dominic follows his gaze. Then bursts out laughing.

"Buddy, she looks way outta your league." But Johnny isn’t listening anymore.

He mutters. "I gotta take my shot, Dom."

He puts the bottle down blindly and runs a hand through his slicked hair, trying to fix the disaster that is his suit jacket. It doesn’t help. But confidence does the rest. Across the room, Tina is mid-sentence when she sees him approaching.

Her smile falters. Her eyes widen.

"Oh God..." She mutters under her breath. "Johnny, no. Not now. Not during my wedding." But he’s already halfway there, swagger in full power mode.

Johnny stops in front of you, flashing that unmistakable cocky smile, the one that says he gets in trouble often... and enjoys it.

"Hey..." He says, voice smooth, loud enough to compete with the music. "I'm Johnny. And, uh, I'm gonna need to know why I didn’t see you earlier, 'cause trust me..." He gestures vaguely toward the crowd. "There’s no way in hell I’d forget a face like yours."

Tina groans into her champagne glass.

Dominic watches from the table, already laughing and mouthing with the others. "He’s dead. He's so dead."