“I made dinner,” I say proudly, setting the chicken on the large dining table.
“I can see that.”
“I wanted to have a nice night with you. For us to talk. We haven’t done much talking. I want to get to know you better.”
His smile is soft as he gives me a tender kiss. “What do you want to know?”
“You’ve never told me about your family and yet, you know all about mine. Let’s start there.”
He pulls away with an uncertainty in his eyes. “I’m not sure I want to talk about family.”
“Open up to me, Leo. It’s only fair after everything we’ve been through together. You say I’m your wife so treat me like it.”
“When did you get so brave?” He settles down at the table with a sigh. “All right. We can talk about family.”
I serve us each a plate before sitting down myself. “Tell me about them? I’ve never seen them around here.”
“That’s because I didn’t want anyone coming around my house when you first came here. You were my prisoner back then.” He takes a large bite of the chicken. “This is delicious.”
I blush under his praise. “Thank you.” I tap his arm. “Now, tell me.”
“You sure are needy now that you’re no longer my prisoner.”
“Tell me, Leo. You know about my mother. You know about my father. You knew about my father before I even knew who he was. So tell me.”
“My mother died when I was a kid. Breast cancer. A fucking bad way to go. She was sick for a long time before it took her.”
“Oh, Leo. I’m so sorry. Were you close with her? I can’t imagine being close with my mother.”
“I was so young, I barely remember her. Just remember her being sick. It made my father depressed. He raised me until I was eighteen before…”
I frown. “Before?”
He sighs, running a hand down his face. “Before he took his own life. I had to live with the shame of a suicidal father. That clings to a person. A lot of the mafia men I knew judged me for it. They thought I would be just as reckless as my own father and in some ways, I am. But I’ve never wanted to die like he did. Then I met Gabriel and he didn’t judge me for what my father had done. He had his own stains from childhood. We became friends that way.”
“So that’s why you fought so hard to avenge his family’s death when it wasn’t even your own.”
“Yes. Gabriel took me in when no one else would. I felt like I had to fight for him like he fought for me. I am just sorry you had to be the casualty. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken you. Despite being a mafia man, I don’t relish in kidnapping innocent women.”
“I know. I believe you.”
He sucks in a breath. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“What did I do to deserve you?” He gives me another tender kiss that melts my heart. “Gabriel and I told Matteo that we’re staying married. He’s going to marry another woman to Matteo. So you’re safe.”
The thought of being truly safe settles in my body like a warm hug. “I’m really safe?”
“You really are.”
“But my mother is still out there. She might come for me again.”
Leo squeezes my hand. “We’ll face that together. I took two bullets for you, Emma. I think I’ve proven that I’ll fight for you. And you put yourself in harm’s way to save me. Why? You could have let me die.”
“I didn’t want you to die. I… care for you, Leo.” For some reason, I can’t say the word ‘love.’ It feels too intimate. Too naïve. And I don’t want to be a naïve little girl anymore.
“Well, I care for you too. Come here.” He motions to his lap and I sit down on it. “That’s better. I like having you close. You’re completely mine now, Emma. No other man will have you. No other woman either. I’ll make sure your mother doesn’t cause any more problems for you.”
