“I need to ask you a question.”
I sob, staring at my man, tears of joy cutting hot lines down my face.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Luca
Swallowing, I kneel as my hand goes into my pocket.
I look up at my woman, the stars shining behind her at this angle, her eyes brimming with emotion. I know I’ll never forget the way she looks right at this moment.
“Lena Bonetti,” I say, opening the box and presenting the ring. “Will you marry me?”
She makes an adorable squealing sound, nods, and says, “Yes, yes, yes!”
I take her hand and slide the ring onto her finger, leaping to my feet and sweeping her into my arms.
We kiss, and I know this is it.
The beginning of our journey.
The night we’ll look back on forever, when the dream of the tattoo came true, when we got our freedom.
Our freedom was each other.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Lena
“What’s the surprise?”
I feel my cheeks turning red when my man aims the question at me… my soon-to-be husband.
We’re planning the wedding together, Luca never gets tired when my ideas start spiraling and I brainstorm like crazy.
It feels so much sweeter, so much like a life I would dream of living, would want to live. I don’t have to worry about being used or discarded, or bargained with.
With Luca, I know he loves me. I know he’ll always protect me.
The wedding planning has been a celebration of that moment when he said “I love you”, shiny with the life we’re building together.
But then, yesterday, I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the wedding.
All I could think about was it, the event, the reveal.
My heart is pounding as I gesture at the living room.
There’s a new painting on the wall, covered with a white sheet, a rope attached to it. I wonder if this is way sillier than I thought it would be.
“Lena?”
Luca steps up next to me, looming over me in his silver suit, the shade the same as his iron hair. He looks so powerful when he comes from meetings in the city – legitimate meetings to grow lawful businesses.
In his suit, with his arms throbbing and his stance ready, he looks like a man alert, prepared for anything.
“It’s… I’ve taught Jackson a new trick.”
My mouth is far drier than I thought it would be. It’s difficult to push the words out, even if I’m sure this is good news. After exchanging I love you, nothing could dampen what we have.
This will only make it even better.
But maybe that’s it. Maybe I can’t believe this can get any better.
We’re together a lot, planning the wedding, making love, fucking, sharing laughter and banter and love.
We watch movies and paint in the same studio, and I even tease Luca that I’m going to learn to tattoo.
“I’ll teach you,” he snarled last night. “And you can cover my back.”
“Like you covered mine, remember?”
The sassy response came far easier than it ever would have before. Grabbing his shirt, I pulled him close, kissing him as I hungrily smeared his clothes with paint.
Now, he tilts his head at me. “A new trick?”
“Yes.”
I take a breath, turning to the living room.
“Jackson, pull, pull it boy!”
Jackson turns and darts across the living room, his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging crazily. He’s so excited. He runs right past the rope and then around in a circle, looking at me like he’s forgotten what we trained.
“Pull, boy,” I say, laughing, Luca chuckling from beside me.
Finally, Jackson grabs the rope and tugs on it, causing the covering to fall away from the painting.
Luca gasps and steps forward, his hands hanging at his sides, trembling as he stares wide-eyed at the painting. I can feel the emotion radiating from him, my tough mafia man, made passionate by the love we’re sharing.
The painting shows the words I’m Pregnant, with little vignettes all around it, with scenes of us in the park and in bed and watching TV and living, simply living, and all around it, I’ve painted birds.
Birds like the one on my ankle, like the tattoo which brought us together.
He turns to me, his mouth open in a wide smile.
“Is it true?” he says.
I giggle. “Of course, it’s true. Wouldn’t this be a mean trick?”
He stumbles toward me like he’s completely overcome with passion. I move toward him and squeeze down on his shoulders, tightening my grip and staring into his eyes.
“I love you,” he says passionately. “And I love our child. I love everything about us. I love that you’re going to be my wife. Do you know what I love most of all, Lena?”
“What?” I whisper, as he moves closer, his eyes turning fiery.
“I love that I get to spend every day for the rest of my life keeping you safe.”
He grabs my hips, squeezes onto what he owns, and pulls me closer.
ONE YEAR LATER
Luca
“I don’t consider this moving.”