He Swapped Brides for a Game. I Married His Worst Nightmare.

On the night of our wedding celebration, Vincent's crew and their wives crowded into the bridal suite of his new Long Island mansion for a few drunken party games.

Our civil ceremony was booked for the next morning. Vincent had insisted we celebrate first and arrange the church wedding later.

The very first round required the bride and groom to kiss for three minutes.

But Vincent Russo, the man I was supposed to marry, grabbed his bookkeeper and kissed her without a second's hesitation.

They kept going until the timer rang. When they finally pulled apart, Vincent wiped her mouth with his thumb.

The smiles around the room froze. Glasses of grappa stopped halfway to mouths. Every pair of eyes shifted to me, stiff with awkwardness.

Gina Marchetti leaned against him. Neither of them looked embarrassed.

"Gina gets shy about these things. I was giving her a little practice for her own wedding someday."

He tossed a rubber-banded stack of cash onto the table in front of me, the way he'd pay off a dock foreman. Twenty thousand dollars.

"That enough? Take the money and settle down. Don't act like you've been so terribly wronged."

"All I did was change partners for a game. I threw you a wedding party in front of my whole crew. You should be grateful."

Gina nestled into his arms, coy and blushing, her eyes brimming with adoration.

I nodded calmly, slid my engagement ring off, and dropped it onto the pile of bills.

"Of course I'm not upset, Mr. Russo."

"You changed partners for a game. I can change mine before the ceremony."