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“Do you look at me differently now?” he whispered, and the pain in his voice told me he questioned my role for him now.
“I see a boy who grew up beside me as my best friend. We chased frogs and hogs in the woods together, you helped me beat up those little shits behind the church when we were thirteen—”
“God, that was a good day.”
“It was.” I smirked. “Niccola, you were right there with me through so much, including when we moved here, and I lost her.” I lowered my head and felt once again the pain from the hole in my heart that had never healed until that day we locked eyes at the party. “You got me through the hardest time of my life. If someone had told me then that you were a Coppola, I can honestly say that nothing would’ve changed.” I turned to look at him. “Ever.” He nodded once and pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry we are leaving at such a difficult time for you, but—”
“No, you both deserve this. You and Sienna.”
“And I know I’m about to leave you to deal with the aftermath of fighting our way through this hell, but you’re the under boss. You’re in charge while I’m gone, and I know you’ve got this.”
We stood and hugged. He needed to hear from me that nothing would change, and I would continue to remind him of it until he got back on track.
“Have a great trip.” He smiled at me and slapped my shoulder.
“Thanks.” I hopped off the table and went inside, happy we’d had the chance to clear the air.
In a whirlwind, we said our goodbyes, slipped into the car, and headed for Bora Bora. We were to spend the next few weeks in a hut overlooking the crystal blue waters.
Once we were settled in our roomy seats on our private jet, I threaded my fingers through hers and thought how our wedding felt so long ago, even though it was still the day of.
“Ready for some relaxation and a little less blood?” I chuckled and kissed her full lips.
She laughed as she breathlessly pulled away, her eyes sparkling with mischief and promises to come. She snuggled in close and gave a happy sigh. “I’m ready for anything, as long as we’re together. But yes, a little less action would be a nice change.”
Three Years Later
“Elio?” I called from the driveway, “I know you two are out here somewhere.” Before I moved on, I took a moment to watch Vinni. I had to roll my eyes at what was going on. He was trying to convince a woman about twice his age to get into her car and leave. But as always, Vinni had that charm with the ladies—and men, apparently—and they always wanted more from him than just a one-night stand. So, Vinni had enlisted the help of Gain. Poor Gain had been busy training a new group of soldiers. Vinni didn’t date, I laughed to myself, he just entertained. His escapades sometimes led to events such as this.Yes, great use of our men, Vinni.
Since the twins were born, Elio had hired several new men for security on the property. He was so protective of us that I had a hard time even going to a shop these days. It was smothering at times, but I understood.
Normally, I’d tell him he was being overwhelming, but truth be told, we had lived with a magnitude of people who wanted to hurt us for so long that I welcomed the protection.
“Where’s your papa?” I bounced Marabella on my hip until she wiggled to get down.
“Papa there!” She pointed her tiny finger at the sunflower field.
“That’s my good girl.” I laughed, thinking how great it was that his little daughter constantly kept tabs on him. “Should we go find them?” Her sprig of a ponytail bobbed as she raced ahead, happy as could be, toward the brightly colored field.
“Po gain’ frogs, Mama.” She outed her brother in her jumbled speech.
“Yes, Filippo loves his frogs.” I chuckled, but it soon faded when I spotted the boys. “Elio! Seriously?”
“Mama!” Filippo squealed from the pond. He was covered from head to toe in mud as he held up a poor little frog. It dangled unhappily from his grabby mitt. “Frog!”
“Elio, we have guests coming in less than thirty minutes.”
Elio laughed. “Wyatt isn’t a guest,bella, he’s family.” With his jeans rolled up to his knees and his white t-shirt stretched over his lean body, he looked just like he did when he was eighteen and caught me bathing in the pond in Sicily.
“His friend is a guest.”
“Well, his friend will just have to be all right with a little mess, won’t he?” He scooped up our son and flew him in the sky, sending mud and water everywhere.
“Eww!” Marabella ran for my legs and hid her face. I found it funny because she was normally the one getting into a mess. I guessed mud was different. It was usually Chef Donte’s flour that was the victim of her shenanigans.
Elio laughed, coming up to us, and I held up my hands to stop him.
“I swear I’ll leave you for another man if you get this dress dirty.”
