“You’ll see,” he said with a grin.
He continued to drive before he slowed down a bit. Then he turned onto the dirt road that led to my old villa. The one that had been destroyed by gunfire. All the windows had been shattered. It looked like a building that had survived a war rather than a home I’d known for years.
I glanced over at him as we drove between the rows of grapes and kicked up dust from the tires.
He had the same smirk on his face, like he knew something I didn’t.
Minutes later, we pulled up to the house, the light visible through the windows of the villa. I stared as we came closer, as Wolfe pulled around the front and left his vehicle in the dirt. I looked at the door, seeing it intact, seeing new windows installed, the bullet holes erased from the exterior. My terra-cotta pots had been replaced and the flowers replanted.
I stared past him as I continued to see my house exactly the way it used to be—before it’d been destroyed by violence.
Wolfe grinned as he looked at me.
“When did this happen?”
“I’ve been working on it for a while.”
My eyes switched to him. “You?”
“Yeah. All by myself.”
I stared at him incredulously.
“I started shortly after it happened. Asked your dad if I could repair it, and he said yes, but no one else was allowed on the property. So I rebuilt it, piece by piece.”
I couldn’t believe it. “I—I don’t know what to say.”
For the first time, he looked away. “That’s why it took me so long to get to you…on that day. There were no guns at this house, and when I went to Leo’s, he didn’t have any either. So I had to drive all the way back to my place to get everything I needed before I came back.”
I remembered expecting him to arrive and he never showed. I’d assumed something terrible had happened. But now, I understood.
“Really shitty.” He looked out the window and stared at the house. “But I don’t dwell on the past, so…”
I opened the car door and came around the front, struggling to walk in my heels over the dirt and rocks.
Wolfe moved over to me and scooped me into his arms before he carried me to the house, the smell of jasmine hitting my nose right away from where it grew up the trellis. The door had been left unlocked, and he opened it easily and carried me inside.
It was exactly as it had been, like the shootout had never happened.
And the dining table was set with white candles and dinner covered with silver domes, along with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“I assumed you’d want to live here instead of at the main house.” He carried me to the dining table and set me down.
I stared at the dining table for a moment before I looked at him. “I can’t believe you did all of this.”
“I had my maid cook this meal, so it won’t be as good as your cooking.” He moved to the chair where I normally sat and pulled it out for me before he scooted the chair in behind me to catch my fall.
He walked around to the other side of the table and sat across from me before he poured the wine. He removed both of our domes from our dishes and set them aside before he dropped the linen into his lap.
His dinner was steak and potatoes and greens, while mine was pasta with chicken and mushrooms. Steam immediately wafted off the top like she’d plated everything and left just before we got there.
I looked around the room to the kitchen island, seeing the absence of bullet holes. All the pictures on the walls had been reframed, the furniture refurbished, lamps replaced, all the glass and debris on the floor swept away. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
“You’re my wife.” He cut into his steak and put a bite in his mouth before he chewed and swallowed. “I’d do anything for you.”
I felt so much love in my chest that I didn’t know how to express it. Didn’t know how to show him what I felt. I seemed to be beyond words. “I want to say more than I love you…but I don’t know what’s stronger than that.”
Like it was a casual night in, his arms were on the table despite the beautiful suit he wore. His left hand showed the thick wedding band permanently marked in the midnight-black ink that I hadn’t seen before now. “Don’t worry, baby. I see it every time you look at me.”
