Page 101 of Cavaliere

“I love you, too,” I admit, feeling a weight being lifted at finally getting it off my chest. I had been denying how deep my feelings ran for him for too long.

I’m more than content knowing that if another shitstorm blows our way, he will go into it knowing he has my heart and I have his.

Epilogue

WREN

THREE MONTHS LATER

Ishould have known this day was going to come sooner rather than later.

I wasn’t exactly smart about this whole situation. Not that the blame should be put all on me, because it shouldn’t. He's equally responsible. I just know I didn’t push as hard as I should have.

That’s why I didn’t know why I was so shocked that I threw up when that little blue and white stick told me I’m pregnant. It shouldn’t have been a shock. Honestly, it should have probably happened sooner than this.

For the last month, I had been chalking up being overly emotional and not wanting to eat but also being in a constant state of nausea from not eating to the traumatic events I had gone through over the past year. I just figured it was all catching up to me at once and would eventually explode into a giant mental breakdown that Matteo would help me through, and we would be in the clear to get on with our lives.

It was when I threw up after eating my favorite pastry from The Drip that I knew something was off. I was baffled at how my body would betray me and reject that savory, flakey crust. I knew something was up.

So, I dragged Aldo with me to the store on the condition that he swore on his firstborn that he wouldn’t tell Matteo about this. After the whole tattoo thing, I knew I could trust him.

All of this happened two weeks ago. I didn’t have the courage to tell Matteo. We haven’t really talked about kids or anything for that matter. All we know is we both want to be with each other, and that isn’t changing for the foreseeable future.

“Wren?” I hear Matteo call out from the bottom of the stairs.

I made a big girl purchase once I got out of the hospital and bought one of those giant reading poofs you see all over the internet. The thing is big enough to sleep on. It fits perfectly in his library that I’ve turned into my own. No one warns you how dangerous reading becomes. One day you’re reading a cute rom-com on your Kindle, and the next day you’re dropping hundreds of dollars on a special edition with a dick on the cover. It’s a very slippery slope that I’m not complaining about. Being around books I’ve collected that hold personal meaning brings me some form of peace and comfort.

“Yeah?” I call back, hitting the power button on my Kindle.

“Come down to my office for a second. I have something for you.”

I would love to be that person who says surprises are their favorite, but I’m not one of them. They give me a massive sense of dread, much like the one that’s forming in the pit of my stomach right now. I haven’t had many good surprises in my life.

I don’t make him wait because I’m more nervous than he sounded. I just want to rip this bandaid off and get it over with it.

“What’s up?” I ask as I enter his office. His back is to me while he looks out the large window behind the beverage cart.

Matteo grabs a long, slim rectangular box off of the cart and slowly turns around to face me. “I’ve been wanting to give you this since I brought you home from the hospital, but I didn’t know how. No moment seemed right, and I’m tired of waiting. So I thought, why not do it in the first place I took you?”

It takes me a second to realize what he means by that.

“Is it the anniversary of the first time we had sex? Because if it is, I didn’t realize we did gifts for this type of thing…” I trail off as I start to feel like the biggest piece of shit for not getting him a gift when he clearly got me one.

Don’t cry.

Please don’t cry.

“Don’t cry, tesoro,” Matteo says softly. “You didn’t miss anything, and that’s not what this is.”

God, I need to get a grip. It’s this baby’s fault.

“Here,” Matteo holds out the box toward me, “I had this made for you.”

I take the box out of his hands and slowly lift off the lid. My breath catches in my throat as I take in the smooth, black handle and the shiny, new, sharp blade of the chef's knife. On the blade next to the handle is engraved ‘Tesoro.’ I swallow the lump that’s forming in my throat.

“I had it made for the little stabby love of my life. While I hope you never have to use it, I want you to have something that makes you feel safe. Keep it in your nightstand or under your pillow for all I care.” He shrugs like it’s perfectly normal to sleep with a knife under your pillow. “Take it out and have a look.”

I gently grab the knife by the handle and lift it out, being careful not to smudge it. A small black box is revealed underneath where the knife just was. Before I can set the knife down and take it out, Matteo is down on one knee, gently taking the knife box out of my hand.