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“What?” Harper said.
Kayden had been trying to find evidence that Bradley was behind all the sabotage, but the man had airtight alibis for the nights of the fire and theft, as well as the afternoon of the near-flooding.
“NYPD arrested Bradley’s cousin yesterday for possession. Apparently, the guy has already spent some time behind bars. His rap sheet reads like a grocery list—DUIs, assault, petty theft, low-level dealing. According to the arresting officer, he called Bradley to bail him out, and he refused. Probably not the wisest decision because the cousin—not the brightest bulb—went the revenge route, confessing to setting the fire, clogging the drain, and stealing the electrical wire. Said Bradley paid him to do it. And he had a bunch of incriminating texts and emails from Bradley to back up that story.”
“Wow. Talk about family love,” Conor muttered.
“Yep,” Kayden agreed. “Guess the cousin decided since he was going down anyway, he’d take Bradley with him. Bradley has lawyered up, but the detective in New York says it doesn’t matter. They have enough evidence to put him away for a while.”
Harper suddenly felt lighter, something Conor and Luca clearly realized as they both turned to her, smiling. She’d confessed after Bradley posted bail for assault that she couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder. She’d been told he’d returned to New York, but that hadn’t helped. Knowing he was behind bars now, and likely would be for some time, felt incredible.
“They got him,” Conor said, hugging her.
She let those words sink in and soothe her.
Luca reached around from behind her, drawing both her and Conor into his arms. If she lived to be a thousand, she would never tire of being wrapped up in these men’s arms.
“What a great night.” Harper thanked Kayden, then pointed out where Hazel and Aldo were sitting with Gianna and Elio. “They all waited for you, to eat. I’ll send the waiter over to take your drink order right away.”
Kayden gave her a grateful nod, then went to join his partners and friends.
“Happy?” Luca asked.
“So happy I’m not sure I can hold it all inside. It’s too big,” she confessed.
Conor kissed her cheek. “I feel the same way. We did it,” he said as the three of them looked around the restaurant, busting at the seams with family and friends, all having a good time and enjoying their meals.
“Dream come true,” she whispered.
The rest of the night passed far too quickly as Harper moved between the kitchen and the dining room, preparing the meals and chatting with her guests.
Matt and Liza were the last to leave, Conor locking the door behind them.
Harper’s apartment above the restaurant had been completed a few weeks ago. And while she’d moved her furniture out of storage, she hadn’t spent a single night in her own bed, the three of them always sleeping at Conor’s.
“Ready to go up?” Luca asked as he turned off the lights. They’d decided to spend the night here rather than drive back across town to Conor’s.
She nodded, and they walked to the kitchen, where she checked that everything was turned off and cleaned up. Luca made sure the back door was locked, set the alarm, and then they climbed the stairs.
When they reached the top, Luca paused. “You know, I hate to put a damper on the night, but we’ve got a big problem.”
“We do?” Conor asked.
Luca nodded. “Yeah. We need to decide where we’re going to live. My place is out, obviously, because it’s too small. Which leaves us choosing between Conor’s penthouse or here.”
“We’re moving in together?” Harper asked, excited by the prospect.
“Of course we are.”
Conor shook his head. “We’ve been officially dating all of two months. Typical Moretti. Always rushing to the next part.”
Luca punched Conor on the arm. “Typical Moretti, huh? Gage was married to Penny about five minutes after they said I love you, and Matt and Liza are currently trying to set some record for shortest engagement in history, planning a big-ass wedding in two months. So if you ask me…you should be saying typical Russo.”
“You really want to move in together?” Every now and then, Conor still seemed as if he couldn’t quite believe what the three of them had was real.
“I definitely want to,” Harper said. “To be honest, Conor’s place feels more like home to me than this apartment. We could always rent it,” she said. “Joey mentioned he and Miles were thinking about finding a place together. I wonder if they’d like to live here?”
“That’s a great idea,” Luca said. “I’ll mention it to them tomorrow. As long as Conor’s okay with us invading his home.”
