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“Yes.” Don G’s glance slides back to Emilio with distaste. “I misjudged which direction the conflict would come from.”
Fuck it. Hannah’s love made me generous. Or maybe she’s just working through me. That infinite abundance of non-judgment she seems to carry. I close the distance between me and Emilio and hold out my hand.
He looks at me doubtfully, like he still expects me to pull out a gun and shoot him through the teeth, but I wait with my palm extended, steady.
When he finally takes it, I haul him to his feet. “Dumber things have been done to keep a woman. You be good to Grace.” I pull him in for a bro-hug, and he grips my shoulder tightly, like I’m the only thing keeping him alive. Which I guess is sort of true.
The tension in the room releases all at once, grunts of approval going around.
“Don’t—don’t tell her,” he begs when I release him.
I shake my head, totally cool. “Never. Nobody here will.” It’s probably true, but I look around to be sure, making it a warning.
Everyone nods his agreement.
Don G. turns and walks away, like he’s not going to dignify Emilio with any more of his attention. He stops at the door. “Settle it by tomorrow. Mando, tell me when it’s done. And then I don’t ever want to hear of this shit again.”
“Capito, Capito,” Emilio says, but Don G gives him his back again.
Marco saunters to my side, eying Emilio with disdain. “Well, I’d be worried, too, if I took your girl. You are a fucking badass.”
It’s a joke, and it lightens some of the tension in the room. Guys start moving around, talking to each other.
“My girl’s waiting for me at home, so no offense, but I got better places to be.”
“Go. Go home.” Lorenzo makes a shooing motion. “Take care of that pregnant girl of yours.”
Some of the guys grunt in surprise to hear my news.
I suspect Lorenzo’s invested in me and Hannah and the baby since I entrusted him with their lives earlier. I might think about making him godfather. Although Marco would be a wiser choice, not just because he’s younger.
That guy would saw off his own hand for me.
I clasp his hand, and we smack each other’s shoulders.
“See you tomorrow, Emilio,” I say without any taunt in my voice. I don’t know how the guy is going to come up with a hundred grand by tomorrow, but it’s not my problem.
Even if I offered to give him some time to pull it together, Don G would never stand for it.
He made his ruling. His will be done.
Hannah
Armando comes in at six in the morning.
I remember him getting a phone call and leaving. It must have been around three.
I sit up in bed, scared. Searching his face for bruises or blood, but apart from looking tired, he seems whole.
“Is everything okay?”
I don’t ask where he’s been. I know he can’t tell me.
He nods. “It’s good. Shit got resolved with Emilio.”
Emilio. It’s not like me to hold a grudge, but he put a hit on Armando, so I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive him for that.
Still, I don’t really want to hear he’s dead, either. Not that Armando would share that with me if he was.
“Will there… still be a wedding for him and Grace?”
Armando shucks his clothing and comes to the bed. “Yeah. He’s paying me restitution. Do you know what that means, Flowers?” He crawls toward me and pushes me back down, covering my body with his own.
I have absolutely no clue. “No?”
“It means I have money to invest in Garden of Eden. Our family business.”
My eyes fill with tears.
Family business.
I don’t think I realized how alone I’ve felt running Garden of Eden until this moment. I brought Josie on to try to lessen that burden, but she wasn’t invested in it like I am.
But now I have Armando. And I already know this man can do anything. Which means, the business is saved. I know he’ll help me straighten it out. Fix everything.
That’s the kind of guy he is.
“That’s it, baby. Cry me those tears. Are they happy ones?”
“Yes.” I nod. “I’m happy.”
He grins. It’s a rare occurrence to see a smile on him, and it takes my breath away. “What are you happy about?”
“That we’re a family.”
His smile grows wider.
“You’re my family, Flowers. You and that baby are everything to me.”
I reach for him and pull him down.
After a searing kiss, he lifts his head. “You're mine, Hannah,” he says, his voice low and possessive. “You're mine, and I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the conviction in his words, but I don't shy away from them. Instead, I welcome them, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his. We kiss deeply, passionately, the world around us fading away as we lose ourselves in each other.
