His heart stopped and his jaw dropped. “All of them?”
She gave a shaky laugh. “Once they heard you were alive, nothing would have stopped them.” Her eyes filled with emotion. “You may not think you need them, but you do. And for them, you’re the missing link.”
Leo found that difficult to believe, but he couldn’t resist the love shining from Calista’s gaze. She’d made this trip out of love for him even though he’d brushed her hopes aside. How had he gotten so lucky? How had he managed to find the one woman who would see beyond his detachment with the world and burrow her way into his heart? Looking at her, he felt the magic of possibility again. She made him feel as if he really was better than his past.
“Come here,” he said, staring at her in wonder. “You are the biggest miracle of my life. Never leave me again.”
Calista’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Leo, don’t say that if you don’t mean it.”
“I do. I never thought I could love a woman like I love you.”
Her mouth dropped open in breathless surprise.
“Yes,” he said. “I love you.”
She let out a sob of relief and lifted her hand to touch his face. “I knew when I did this that you might never forgive me, but I had to take the chance. I realize this might be difficult, but if you want me with you, I’ll stay.”
“Forever,” he said. “All I want is forever.”
She closed her eyes then opened them again. “You’ve got me.”
He pressed his mouth against hers, needing to seal their promises to each other. Then he pulled back. “Time for me to meet my family,” he said and he walked with Calista into the living room.
Three men with hair and eyes that matched his looked at him and in the dark, shadowy edges of his mind, a visual flashed of all of them racing toward the dinner table. He could almost smell the scent of spices, meat, sausage, tomatoes and fresh pasta.
“I don’t have any concrete memories,” he said, feeling compelled to break the news right away.
“They already know that,” Calista said and stepped away from him.
One stepped forward. Leo remembered him from the P.I. report. “We can fill you in,” he said and offered his hand. “Rafe,” he added.
“I know,” Leo said. “I read the report. I think I’ve memorized it.” He glanced up. “Damien and Michael.” He hesitated, an unbelievable whirlpool of feelings welling inside him. “My past isn’t pretty.”
“We don’t care,” Damien said, extending his hand. “We’re just glad you survived.”
Leo felt strange emotion form a knot in his throat as Michael walked toward him. There was turbulence in his eyes. “You need to know. You were on that train instead of me. If I hadn’t gotten into trouble, it would have been me on that train. I wished for it so many times.”
It struck Leo that he wasn’t the only one carrying around a load of guilt. It also struck him that fate had dealt a hand in his life, bad and good. “Fate’s a tricky witch,” he realized and glanced at his brothers and Calista. “I can’t be sorry for what I’ve gone through if this is what I’ve gotten in the end.”
Epilogue
On New Year’s Eve, the Medici brothers, all the Medici brothers, gathered at Michael’s house in Grand Cayman to ring in the new year together. Although they had kept in touch since their first meeting, this was the first time they’d been able to come together due to their busy schedules. Everyone was happy to escape the winter blahs and relax at the Caribbean island. Calista sat next to Leo, happily taking in the hustle and bustle of the celebration.
Rafe juggled playing with his son, Joel, and holding his new baby daughter, Angelica. His wife, Nicole, took Angelica from his arms. “Time for her nap. You can’t hold her all the time.”“If she didn’t look like a miniature version of you, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he growled, taking his wife’s lips in a quick kiss.
“Rafe is going to end up with twelve kids. He’s a natural father,” Damien said with a knowing glance.
Nicole shot him a look of horror. “I think twelve is tipping the scales. He’ll be happy to enjoy some nieces and nephews.” She smiled at Damien’s wife, Emma, who was six months pregnant. “Just make sure you get them started changing diapers early on.”
Damien looked at Emma with a skeptical raised eyebrow. “Do you really think you can talk me into changing diapers?”
Emma lifted his hand to her baby bump. “You tell me.”
Damien’s hard gaze softened and anyone could see he would do anything for his wife, including changing diapers.
Michael, sitting next to Leo, lifted a beer. “Cheers to Damien and Rafe for taking on father duty. I’ll let you take the lead.” He patted his wife’s leg. “Bella and I are in no rush at all. Right?”
Bella shot him a pained look. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
Michael looked at her in confusion. “What?” he asked.
Silence fell over the tiled porch.
Michael’s lovely wife shot him a nervous look. “You know how we were afraid I’d gotten a stomach flu?”
Michael set down his beer. “Yes, are you okay? Is it something more serious?”
“Well, my condition lasts about nine months and you might need to bone up on changing diapers, too. I’m pregnant. Is that okay?”
Michael’s color drained from his face. “You’re pregnant. How did that happen?”
“The usual way, sweetie. You remember that time in the limo when we left the opera early….”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, realization crossing his face. Still stunned, he stared at her. “We’re gonna have a baby?”
She nodded. “Are you upset?”
He shook his head and pulled her into his arms. “How could I be? You and I made this together.”
Damien chuckled. “To Michael, uncle and father-to-be,” he said, lifting his beer.
Everyone lifted their drinks. “Hear, hear,” they chorused.
Lifting her own glass of lemonade, Calista felt a twist in her stomach. She wondered when she should tell Leo.
“Looks like it’s in the water,” Leo muttered to her as the group began to chatter with excitement. “We’d better be careful.”
Calista mustered her courage. “I think it may be a little late for that,” she whispered.
Leo swung his head around to stare at her. “Excuse me?”
“I wasn’t really sure until day before yesterday,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked in a low voice.
“I couldn’t figure out the best time.”
“Are you sure?”
Calista was feeling more nervous with each passing moment. “I took three at-home pregnancy tests and was also tested at the doctor.”
“Do you want this?” he asked, his gaze intent and so focused on her they may as well have been the only ones around for miles.
“I do,” she confessed. “I can’t think of anything better than making a new life with the amazing man I love more than anything.”
He took her hand and this time his hand trembled. “You keep making me happier than I’ve ever dreamed I could be.”
Her heart expanded in her chest so much it hurt. “You keep doing the same to me.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. “Don’t stop.”
“Never,” he promised.
“Hey, Leo, take a break from your lovefest with your wife,” Rafe said. “Do you shoot pool?”
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “But I think we may need another round of drinks. Calista and I are going to have a baby.” He shot Michael a stunned look. “Looks like you and I may be on the same daddy schedule.”
Michael gave a half smile and moved toward him, extending his hand. Leo rose and shook his brother’s hand. “This is one trip we can finally take together.”
“To Leo and Calista,” Damien said.
“Hear, hear,” the families chorused.
“And to Aunt Emilia for pictures and encouragement,” Michael said.
Leo toasted the aunt he’d met through his brothers’ letters and photographs then pulled Calista against him. “Thank you for giving me all this,” he said. “But mostly for giving me you.”