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His tiny limbs stretch out as Viktor places him on Riley’s chest, and I watch her soothe his back with her shaking fingers as tears of joy fall off her cheek and onto his head of jet-black hair.
“Riley.” I swallow past my tears, and whisper her name because at this moment there is nothing else. Just her and him. My whole fucking existence feels like it’s been for this moment.
She looks up at me and smiles through her tears, and I cradle her tighter in my arms, my palm resting over hers and feeling our tiny son’s strong heart beating through his back.
The rush I feel is so consuming. I almost fear it. Because I know what it’ll make me capable of.
“I did it!” Riley’s eyes glimmer with pretty tears, and she’s so fucking beautiful that it hurts to look at her.
“You did.” I kiss her forehead, and when we both look down at the tiny person we created together, suddenly, the world doesn’t seem like such a bad place.
13 MONTHS LATER
“For goodness sake, Raphael, I practically raised you. I’m sure I can manage a sleeping child for a few hours.” Sylvia argues with an uneasy-looking Rafe as she shoos us out the door. He’s been planning, us, a night out for weeks now. It will be the first time I’ve left the house since Rafe let me drive his Ferrari into the mountains, and this will be the first time we’ve left Gabriel since he was born. I understand that he’s apprehensive. It feels strange for me to be leaving my little boy, even for a few hours, but I know Sylvia is more than capable. She’s incredible with him.
“Fine, but if he wakes and won’t settle back down, you call us. I’ve ensured there is cell reception where we’ll be,” Rafe promises Sylvia as we take a few more progressive steps out of the house.
“Yes, Raphael, and I will make sure to check in on him every half an hour.” Sylvia rolls her eyes at me as Rafe takes my hand in his and guides me around the car to the passenger side.
“Oh, and don’t forget to carry the baby monitor around with you. Even if you go to the bathroom.” He turns back around before opening my door for me. Sylvia lifts the monitor from her apron pocket and waves it in the air at him. “Just get out of here and enjoy yourselves. We will be fine,” she promises.
“You know she’s been desperate for you to trust her to babysit,” I tell Rafe after he checks my seatbelt is secure and pulls off the drive.
“Riley, the last baby she took care of was me,” he points out seriously. “Gabriel can be a handful. Especially now he’s started walking.”
“Sylvia has been helping us take care of him since the day he was born. She’s not exactly rusty. Now, please, can we enjoy our night together? I’ve been so excited about leaving the house.”
Rafe rests his tattooed hand on my knee and relieves a little of his tension by squeezing. Then he looks across at me with those narrow eyes and his sexy pout before his face transforms into a smirk.
We travel for about an hour before I finally cave into temptation and ask where we’re going.
“Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me now?” I ask, trying to contain the excitement in my voice.
“I’m taking you on a date.” He gives nothing away, and his voice sounds so seductive that my lady parts quiver.
“You’re about two years too late,” I giggle, and the look he gives me suggests I’ve earned myself a thrash of his palm when we get home. Me and Rafe have never had a normal relationship. Our circumstances prevent us from going to restaurants or fancy bars, not that it bothers me. Everything we need is at home. But I do love the idea of a date with him. Especially since I’ve never been on one before.
“I invested in a restaurant a few months ago,” he informs me, taking me by surprise. Raphael never speaks to me about his business dealings. But since he makes his money from property development, I don’t know why I’m so shocked.
“It’s in a secluded spot, with an excellent view,” he explains further, “So, I arranged for it to be closed to the public this evening, enabling us to sample the chef’s new menu. I’d like your opinion.” He continues to concentrate on the road ahead of us.
“I’m hardly a food connoisseur. My favorite food is burgers and fries.” I laugh again, thinking of the number of times Rafe has sent Ricardo, or one of his men, into town to fetch me food from the diner.
“Okay…” Rafe gives in and smiles to himself. “Perhaps I have a proposal for you.” His eyes flick from the road onto mine briefly, and I sense a little nervousness in them.
He pulls up at the mountain top restaurant, and when he gets out of the car, I stay in my seat and wait for him to open my door for me. I take in the beauty of the place while Rafe opens my door like the perfect gentleman, offering me a hand to help me out. There must be hundreds of twinkling lights and beautiful roses decorating the trellis that lines the path to the entrance of the restaurant.
The place has a real Italian vibe— the building is small and cozy, with shutters on the windows. The smells that come out from the one that I assume is the kitchen are heavenly.
A middle-aged man dressed all in black meets us at the door, and I notice the table that’s been set up in the perfect place to admire the scenery. Looking down at the short, black lace dress Rafe picked out for me tonight, I suddenly feel totally overdressed. Especially since it’s only the two of us and a few restaurant staff here.
“You look beautiful tonight,” Rafe tells me as if he senses my doubt, and his hand rests on my ass as we move to follow the waiter. Rafe takes over from him, pulling out my chair for me before I sit down.
Parenthood hasn’t changed our relationship at all. I still feel the need to jump his bones every second of the day, and Rafe still needs a certain level of control. The fact he does it with such sex appeal makes me yield to him willingly. That and the fact I know his overbearing ways come only from his heart.
“We’d like a sample of everything,” Rafe explains to the waiter, refusing the menu he tries to hand him. “Also, a bottle of the Castello Vicchiomaggio, please.” He waits until the waiter has left before reaching across the table and taking both my hands in his. The way he stares at his fingertips as they brush over my skin is intense. It always is when his hands are on me.
“This is nice, isn’t it? Just the two of us. Sometimes I don’t think I give you enough of this,” he confesses guiltily.
