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Massimo continued, unaware of the green-eyed monster gnawing at my heart. “I meant more along the lines of a man’s wife and his children.”
Without thinking – and probably because I was still jealous – I blurted out, “So you’d protect our children.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I about had a panic attack.
SHIT – why did I SAY that?!
But Massimo just smiled at me. “Yes… but that’ll be your job, too.”
My fear subsided a little and was replaced by curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“It means that I keep you and our children safe… and you keep our children safe. You’re the last line of defense.”
“…the last line of defense?” I asked uneasily.
“If something happens to me.”
My chest constricted and turned cold. “You said you wouldn’t leave me.”
It was like six-year-old Lucia had taken over my body and was giving voice to my deepest fears.
“The only way I would ever leave you is if I had to die to protect you.” He smiled. “And our children. That’s my job.”
His words slammed into me again with another tidal wave of emotion.
There was grief as I pictured my parents dying in front of me…
But there was also this deep gratitude. Because I knew without question that my parents would have given their lives to save me.
It’s just that they were taken by surprise. They had been killed before they could even make the choice.
But there was another emotion that raced through me:
Overwhelming love.
That this man wasn’t running from talking about having children with me…
That he wasn’t running from talking about his duties…
That it was actually part of his code – the entire definition he had of himself as a man.
That he would fight and even die for me and our children…
And he expected me to do the same for them if the time ever came.
My eyes filled with tears that spilled down my cheeks.
He misinterpreted what my tears meant, though.
He thought that I was thinking of my parents.
Or, more accurately, he thought I was only thinking of my parents.
“Hey… I’m sorry,” he whispered as he gathered me to his chest. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
I pushed away from him. I could see a hint of fear in his eyes, afraid that he’d said something to fuck it all up –
But instead, I only pushed away from him so that I could grab his face and kiss him.
