It was a strange thing to hear from a woman so much smaller than he. But as he swayed, feeling weak from loss of blood, she was beneath his arm, supporting him, the source of his strength. As he was the source of hers.
“And I know I’m safe with you,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “I will never leave you. I’m yours for life.”
Her love washed over him like an enveloping embrace. Vin exhaled. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath for so long, waiting to hear those words. Years. Decades.
He breathed, “Scarlett...”
Snow fell softly in the dark January night, frosting the streets of Rome. As people swarmed all around them, Vin pulled her close. He felt new, reborn. She’d made him the man he’d been born to be.
Then he staggered back as his vision got a little hazy.
“You’re losing too much blood!” She waved wildly to the paramedics. “Over here! Quick!”
The paramedics swiftly assessed Vin’s injuries and worked to control the bleeding, applying pressure and bandages before leaning him into a backboard, to carry him into the ambulance. “We need to get him to the hospital, signora.”
“Yes,” she said anxiously.
“Wait.” Feeling woozy, Vin looked at his wife. “We’ll live in Rome.”
She tried to smile. “What about the long-term lease to Mr. Hollywood?”
“Canceled. We’ll stay.”
She looked down at him, her tangled red hair streaked with snow and blood. “No.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “That’s not how marriage works. It’s not my decision.” Taking his hand in hers, she kissed it. “It’s ours. I love you, Vin.”
He looked at her, now holding nothing back, letting her see his whole heart and soul. “I love you more.”
* * *
“Are you ready?”
No, Scarlett thought, biting her lip hard. She shivered, then nodded.
“Good.” Vin held out his hand.
She took it and stepped onto a plane for the first time in almost a year.
“You can do this,” he said.
She took a deep breath. She looked at his hand in hers, then squared her shoulders. “I know.”
He smiled. “That’s my girl.”
The plane was tiny, a four-seater Cessna. There would be no flight attendants. Only one pilot. And only one passenger.
But it was going to be all right, Scarlett suddenly knew. Because she trusted this pilot with her life.
She sat beside him now as he pushed knobs and flicked on switches. He moved the throttle, then glanced at her. “Maybe someday you’ll get your own pilot’s license.”
“Ha-ha,” she said, then realized he was serious.
Vin looked at her. “The best way to live is to do what scares you most. You taught me that, cara.”
Maybe he was right, Scarlett thought suddenly. Maybe. But...
“I’ll just survive being a passenger first,” she said, gripping her headphones tightly.
He reached over and put his hand on her knee. “Look at my face.”
She did and relaxed.
“There’s no way we can crash.” He sat back in the pilot’s seat with an encouraging grin. “I’m safe with you, remember? You’ll watch out for me.”
“I meant it.” She knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, either. If anyone could keep Vin safe, it was Scarlett. If anyone could keep Scarlett safe, it was Vin.
She took a deep breath, clutching her armrests.
So much had changed in the last eight months, since the night of Maria’s wedding, when he’d been shot by Blaise Falkner. Vin had spent days recovering in the hospital, where he’d also been interviewed by the police. But he’d been lucky.
“If he’d shot you a little lower in the shoulder,” the doctor had told him, “the bullet would have hit you in the heart. If he’d shot you a little higher in the thigh...” He hesitated.
“I’d be done fathering children?” Vin had grinned up at Scarlett, standing by his hospital bed. “Remind me to visit Falkner in prison and thank him for his poor aim.”
She didn’t find it funny at all. “This is no laughing matter.”
“Oh, cara, but it is.” Vin had kissed the back of her hand, then looked at her seriously. “One should always be joyful in the presence of a miracle.”