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“Stop it,” Renata says, blushing furiously. I give her a look that only makes her turn a deeper shade of crimson. She knows damn well what I plan on doing to her once we’re back in our new master bedroom. A man can only wait so long before he has to break in his new bed.
“Look at us, thoroughly domesticated.” Gareth sighs, stretching. “Even Lanzo. Who would’ve imagined it?”
“Not me,” I admit.
“Wouldn’t it be weird if all our kids decided to hook up with each other?” Ford asks, grinning huge.
“Yes,” Gareth says, shooting him a frown. “It would bereallyweird.”
“I just want them to be friends,” Evander grumbles. “Good friends are important.”
“Someone’s getting soft.” Carmine elbows his shoulder.
“He’s right though.” I look around at my brothers, at their wives, at my Renata. This is the family I’ve been missing, my tribe, my people. They are my heart, they are the end of my long journey back home. “I missed the hell out of you all when I wasn’t here.”
“We’re glad you’re back,” Carmine says.
“Enough sappy shit.” Evander pounds the table. “Let’s drink some more before we’re forced to disperse.”
“Easy, big guy,” Fiona says with a laugh. “You can at least pretend like you have emotions for once in your life.”
“I removed those peskyemotionsa long time ago,” Evander says, showing teeth.
Laughter follows. Conversation, joy. After a while, the parents begin to excuse themselves, until it’s only Renata and me left behind. She leans on my shoulder, sighing with contentment.
“They seem so happy,” she whispers. “I thought kids made things hard.”
“They do, but having money helps a whole lot.”
She snorts. “Nannies? Babysitters?”
“Cooks, cleaners, all that stuff. We’ll have it all too.”
She’s quiet for a little bit. I can tell she’s got something on her mind, but I know her well enough not to press, until finally, she says, “I’m worried about being a mother. You know I don’t have the best role models in that regard.”
“That isn’t true. You were raised by your grandfather. The way he was with you, that’s how you’ll be with our children.”
She nods slowly. “That’s a good point.”
“It’s our chance to be better than our parents were, right?”
“You really want that? Kids and all?”
“And all,” I confirm, pushing back my chair. I reach out my hand and she takes it. Together, we walk from the bar, leaving the staff to clean up.
Out in the lobby, I steer her toward the tree. She says nothing as we pause beneath the branches. We’re alone in the expansive space, most folks having gone home for the evening. I don’t say anything for a few minutes as we gaze up at the heart of the Oak, at the magic of this living thing here in the middle of a man-made marvel, until I turn to her.
“I love you,” I say, drawing her attention back to me.
“I know that,” she says, smiling slightly. “What’s not to love about me?”
“You’ve become everything to me, Renata.” I won’t let her pithy little comment sidetrack me. “We have a home together. Soon, we’ll have children as well. But first, I need to do something.”
I drop to one knee.
“Lanzo.” Her eyes go wide. “What are you doing?”
“Renata, will you marry me?”
