“Oh yes, I did.”
After she eased him into the cook of my arm, I rubbed the nipple of the bottle on his lips, which he quickly took.
“Did our guests leave?” I asked as I watched Luca eat.
She nodded. “Maeve said she’d be back to check on you tomorrow.”
With a smile, she then left to give us three–the center of my world–to enjoy the small little moments that made life worth living.
EPILOGUE: DREA
Six Months Later
“Wouldyou quit being stubborn and let me get you dressed!”
Luca responded by kicking his legs and blowing a raspberry at me. “You are just like your father. You love giving me a hard time.”
Leo appeared in the bathroom doorway. “Did I just hear you shit talking me to our son?”
I laughed. “I think we can agree to disagree on any alleged shit talking.” I gave him a knowing look. “We both know it’s the truth.”
He came striding toward me with a towel slung low across his hips. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he said, “I will admit that I do love giving you a hard time in the bedroom.” He smacked my ass. “Very, very hard.”
Wriggling out of his arms, I huffed, “Do not even start getting fresh with me. The gallery’s opening is in an hour, and I’m not showing up with cum dripping out onto my couture.”
Leo laughed. “What if I wore a condom?”
“Will you please make yourself useful and wrangle our son into his suit?”
“I thought we were waiting until the absolute last minute to do this so he doesn’t puke or shit himself?”
I motioned to my evening dress. “This is the very last minute for me. I need to get to the gallery early.”
Most people would question why I was bothering to dress Luca when I could've had Vittoria do it. Especially while wearing an expensive dress and having my hair and makeup professionally done. But I was determined to be a hands-on mother. It was one reason why Luca was even coming to the opening.
He was the sun of my world, and everything else just rotated around him.
Leo motioned to the door. “Go on. I’ll get me and the little monster dressed, and we’ll see you in half an hour.”
“Are you sure?”
He smiled. “This is your night to shine, Drea.”
My heart beat a little faster at his words. “Okay. I’ll see you there.”
As Guilio helped me into the SUV, I found Romano behind the wheel. He flashed me a grin in the mirror. “I didn’t want to miss your big debut.”
I laughed. “I hope you’ll be able to come in for a little while.”
“Absolutely. My wife and daughters are meeting me there.”
“I look forward to meeting them.”
As the SUV pulled out into traffic, I exhaled a nervous breath. The last six months had been a whirlwind. I’d spent time trying to take it easy for my C-section recovery while at the same time trying to regain all my movement in my left arm.
After my father’s torture and murder allegedly at the hands of Vincent Moreno, Antonio retaliated by taking Vincent out. That left the expansion lot Leo needed for his casino to beunchallenged. So, he purchased it. We had the groundbreaking for construction last month.
Because Leo’s heart was here with the casino and mine was here with the gallery, we decided to drop roots in Philadelphia. We bought a house in the historic district because I wanted Luca to have a yard to play in. It was only fifteen minutes from my parents’ house, so that meant Audrianna and Adamo could come for dinner a lot.
