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Luca gave me the perfect wedding gift. A studio to call my own, the one place in the entire house I felt at peace. Whenever stressed, I picked up a paintbrush and created another masterpiece.
I was five paintings short for my next gallery showing and needed to focus. Midway through the third song on my Spotify playlist, Marcello entered the room, his dress shoes tapping the floor. I could tell each of my husbands apart without seeing them.
I only needed to hear them.
Sitting in the chair beside my easel, I turned to look at him with the brush clasped between my fingers. "Where have you been hiding, Marcello?”
"Going over strategy with Cole and my team." He sat in the chair beside mine and tapped his fingers on his knee. "We leave in five hours for New Mexico."
I dropped the paintbrush onto the tarp and climbed onto his lap. He rested his hand over my giant belly and rubbed soothing circles beneath my shirt.
"I love you, Marcello." My lips brushed his. "Please come back to me." A tear slid down my cheek. "I can't do this without you. I hope you know that."
He kissed my lips, a quick peck that left me craving more. "Don't worry about me, princess. I've lived many lives. Fought plenty of wars. I've been shot and almost died, and I'm still here."
"Almost died," I added for extra measure since he seemed to think he was invincible. "You barely survived the gunshot to your liver. If my grandfather hadn't been close by, who knows if you would have survived? Out there, you won't have access to medical staff. Anything can happen."
Marcello stroked his long fingers down my arms. "My love for you keeps me going every day. It's what got me through the gunshot wound." He cupped my cheek with his hand and smiled. "You're my wife, Alex. I don't want to lose you or what we've built together. I will always come back to you."
"But what if something happens," I choked out. "What if…"
"Baby, please. Can we spend the hours we have left thinking about something good?"
"Okay," I whispered. "Tell me something good."
"The first time I kissed you." He tucked my hair behind my ear and smiled. "That was one of the best days of my life."
"What's the number one?"
"I don't think we've hit number one yet."
"Why not?"
He rubbed his hand over my stomach. "Because I didn't get you pregnant yet."
"Your brothers screwed you out of that deal."
He nodded. "Bastards. They always get their way."
"I would have married you." I hooked my arm around his neck and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth. "You're my first love, Marcello. I may have said it to Bash first because I was drunk on sex, but I loved you first."
"I know." He nuzzled his nose against my neck. "That's why I never made a big deal about Damian getting you pregnant first. We all got one thing we wanted from you."
"The four of you have given me a life I never thought was possible. When I was a girl, trapped in that hell with my parents, I wished Prince Charming was real. For the longest time, I thought you guys were devils. I'm glad all of you proved me wrong."
"You're so sappy when you're pregnant." Marcello chuckled. "It's cute."
"Please, who are you calling sappy? You whisper sweet things in my ear when you think I'm sleeping."
A blush spread across his tanned cheeks. "No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
My tongue slipped into his mouth, tangling with his. Grabbing the ends of his hair between my fingers, I deepened the kiss, wishing we could stay like this forever.
Freeze a moment in time.
He rose from the chair with me cradled in his arms. "For the next few hours, you're all mine, princess."
