He raised his hand stiffly, most of his arm bandaged, and cupped the back of my head. I let him pull me down. “For them. For you,” he murmured, fiercely, harshly, angrily. His lips brushed mine, and my entire being melted. I fell as I had the first time he kissed. Shuddering, I drew back and straightened. This was too soon. I needed to figure things out between us.
He watched me with a bitter smile. For some reason, the sight tore at me. I leaned down and briefly brushed his lips with mine to show him that my withdrawal didn’t mean “never” only “later.”
I quickly stepped back and turned.
“Will you show them to me?” he asked quietly.
I looked over my shoulder. “Of course.”
I held Greta and Nevio tightly against my body as I nudged the door open. Then I stepped in. I was inexplicably nervous. My family had never looked at my children the way I regarded them, like they were something precious, a gift I wanted to cherish every single day. Remo’s eyes zeroed in on our babies as I moved closer, and he didn’t look away again, appearing almost stunned. I sat down beside him and carefully put Nevio down on his back next to Remo. Greta still clung to me tightly.
Remo’s expression held wonder, and when he raised his eyes to mine, they were softer than I’d ever seen them. He stretched out his bandaged arm and stroked his fingertip over Nevio’s chest reverently. Nevio being Nevio snatched up Remo’s finger and brought it to his mouth to chew on it with a toothless grin. Remo’s lips twitched. Then he raised his gaze to Greta, who’d turned her head to watch him curiously.
“She’s shy around most people,” I said. She’d always been like that, even when she was a tiny newborn.
I took his hand so she saw me doing it then brought it toward her. When she didn’t protest, I released Remo’s hand, and he caressed her back with his fingertips. He was so gentle and careful with her, I could feel a mix of happiness and wistfulness rise up in my throat. Greta watched him silently. Did she know he was her dad?
Tears ran down my cheeks. Remo stroking Greta’s back and having his finger chewed off by Nevio was the most beautiful sight I could imagine. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy,” I admitted, not caring that I was being emotional in front of Remo. This was no longer a battle of wills, a twisted game of chess. These stakes were too high.
Remo locked his gaze with mine. “I know I’ve never been happier.”
CHAPTER 29
SERAFINA
As far as patients went, Remo was a nightmare. He was a nightmare in many other regards as well, but giving his body time to heal wasn’t on his agenda.
Nino wasn’t happy about it. “You need to rest, Remo. It’s been only three days and you’re already running around.”
“I’ve had worse. Now stop the fucking fussing. I’m not a child.”
“Maybe not. But I’m obviously the only one of the two of us capable of sane decisions.”
“Neither of you is sane. Now help me with this fucking crib,” Savio muttered.
I leaned in the doorway of the future nursery. Nino and Kiara had gone shopping this morning, and now the four Falcone brothers were trying to put together the furniture. Though Nino and Savio were doing all the work because Adamo’s arm was in a cast and most of Remo’s body was bandaged, not to mention the many broken bones in his body.
Adamo sat on a plush baby blue armchair, which sat close to the window. Sometimes when he thought no one was looking, his eyes twisted with something dark, something haunted. Some wounds would take a long time to heal. Remo leaned against the windowsill, wearing only low cut sweatpants, barking orders.
A smile tugged at my lips.
“The instructions are quite clear, Remo,” Nino drawled. “I don’t need your orders on top of that.”
Savio scoffed. “As if that’ll stop him.”
It was still difficult to grasp what had happened these last three days. I’d left my family, Samuel, to live in Las Vegas with the man who kidnapped me and his family who helped him do it. But with every passing hour, I realized it had been the right decision for my children and maybe even for me. The moment Remo saw his babies, a knot in my chest loosened, a knot that had strangled me since he released me, only to be pulled tighter when Greta and Nevio were born. They belonged here.
I had tried to keep my distance from Remo so far, only visited him twice so our twins could get used to his presence, and I knew he wasn’t happy with it.
Remo spotted me in the doorway, his eyes becoming more eager and intent. My pulse picked up, and I turned around to return to Nevio and Greta who were waiting downstairs with Kiara.