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EPILOGUE
NINE MONTHS LATER
Lexi
“Her name is Lexy, with a y,” Ruby says, handing me my niece.
My heart glows in my chest as I cradle her in my arms. For almost a year, I’ve tried to lock my feelings down. As Ruby planned her wedding and flew into the most love-filled relationship a person could imagine, I stubbornly ignored the silliness clinging to me. But Lexy breaks down my walls.
Ever since that tall, silver-haired, intense stranger stopped me from making that mistake—with his dark eyes, cute dog, and aura of mystery and fierceness—I’ve felt things I promised myself a long time ago that I’d never let myself experience. It doesn’t matter that Mom and Dad are still going strong. It doesn’t matter that they’ve proven me wrong. It doesn’t matter because I’m simply not built for love.
Even if Ruby has found the impossible, I can’t assume the same would ever happen to me.
Focus. I’m ruining the moment by letting my mind go there. Tears flow down my cheeks as I look into Lexy’s eyes. She makes a cooing noise, curling her entire hand around my finger.
Across the bed, Ruby looks tired but accomplished, and I’m so proud of her. Luca, Mom, and Dad watch with big smiles on their faces. Mom and Dad are holding hands with all thoughts of divorce long in the past.
“She’s so tiny,” I whisper. “I’m afraid I’m going to hurt her.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ruby says, giggling. “You’d never hurt her.”
“I mean by accident.”
“Look at her, Lexi. She’s happy. She knows you already. She loves you already. You’re going to be the best aunt ever.”
“And you’re going to be the best mother,” Luca says.
My heart fills even more when I see the love blazing between my little sister and Luca. Maybe they met unconventionally, and perhaps people might judge them because of the age gap or the whole mafia thing, but not me. I knew Ruby had found her man as soon as she told me. After Luca buried that dirtbag Nate, he earned all the brownie points in my book.
Lexy makes another cute noise, squeezing my finger even tighter.
“Careful, little angel,” I whisper, tears flowing down my cheeks. “You’re going to hurt me.”
Ruby laughs again, and I look up to find her eyes red and tears flowing down her cheeks, too.
“I’m so happy for you,” I say.
“Me too,” Dad and Mom say simultaneously, then exchange a look like lovestruck teenagers.
Luca leans forward and gently kisses his wife on the cheek.
Behind them, the window looks out onto the parking lot. A light rain is falling. A shadow flits across the street. For a second, I’m certain I see him staring. I see Colt. I see his dog. I relive those moments outside the house, screwdriver in hand, intent on doing something. Then I blink, and the stupid, insane image turns into a rainy haze.
Leaning down, I kiss my niece on the head.
EPILOGUE
TEN YEARS LATER
Luca
“Daddy, I’ve found something!” Lexy yells from her “archaeology site” in the yard.
I grin over at my daughter. She stands shin-deep in a hole we’ve spent the summer morning digging, dust all over her pants, her brown hair tied up in a bun with a pencil stuck through it. It’s her historian look since Ruby often does that with her hair before driving to the college to teach a class.
From the back deck, Ruby watches while bobbing our youngest son on her knee. Little Leo loves being close to his mama, and I know he’ll be the biggest mommy’s boy ever for a long time. Ruby beams over at us, wearing a flowing summer dress that draws attention to her natural beauty.
In the pool, Enzo and Sophia have the biggest splash fight in the history of splash fights, their laughter and the sound of water a constant backdrop to our archeological dig.
“Let’s see, then, my little historian,” I say, climbing into the hole.
She shows me a bright penny, beaming up at me. “I wonder who left it here. Do you think we can do some special tests on it?” She raises her voice. “Mommy, I found a coin!”
Ruby walks over, holding little Leo to her chest with one hand. I’m always in awe of my wife. Between her PhD, popular history books, teaching, and research, she’s always been the best mother anybody could ever dream of.
She takes the coin and then smiles. “Lexy, this might actually be a real find.”
Lexy pouts, folding her arms playfully. “Of course, it’s a real find. I’m a real historian.”
Ruby grins, hands Lexy the coin, and then ruffles her hair. “I’m proud of you. Really.”
