Enzo silently appears at my door, because of course he does, the man is like a well-dressed ninja. He opens it with a little bow that would be mocking from anyone else but somehow feels genuine from him.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Valentino," he says, and there's the faintest smile on his usually stoic face.
Home.
Not prison. Not safehouse.
I step out and the first thing I notice is the sound. Instead of the oppressive silence I remember, there's soft music floating from somewhere, and... laughter?
The staff is lined up along the entrance, every single person who works here, and they'reclapping. Actual applause, like I'm some kind of returning war hero instead of the crazy American girl who once threatened to haunt their boss in full glam and threw stiletto heels at the wall.
"This is insane," I whisper to Rafe as we walk through what I can only describe as a fairy-light tunnel of flowers.
"This is your family now," he corrects, and something in his tone makes my throat tight.
We reach the front door, the same door I was dragged through six months ago, kicking and screaming about my lack of coffee options, and I pause. My hand goes to the handle, remembering.
But then Rafe's behind me, his chest warm against my back, his arms coming around my waist. "Different now," he murmurs into my ear, like he can read my mind.
"Very different," I agree, leaning into him. "For starters, I'm wearing better shoes."
He laughs, and I turn in his arms to face him. The fairy lights catch in his dark hair, making him look like some kind of beautiful, dangerous angel.
My beautiful, dangerous angel.
Who I married. In a secret chapel. While his bodyguards stood watch.
My life is unhinged and I'm living for it.
"You know what the best part is?" I ask, going up on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
"Tell me."
"This time, I get to stay because I want to. Not because you'll disappear me forever to Portugal if I try to leave."
His arms tighten around me. "I'd never let you leave anyway."
"I know," I say, and kiss him. Soft and sweet and perfect under the fairy lights and flowers, with applause still echoing around us.
When we break apart, I grin up at him. "So, husband mine, ready to carry me over the threshold like a proper mafia bride?"
He sweeps me up without warning, making me shriek with laughter. "Always," he says, and carries me through the door.
The same door.
The same villa.
But everything, everything is different now.
Because this time, I'm not a prisoner.
I'm home.
And honestly? The aesthetic upgrade ischef's kiss.
CHAPTER 37
RAFE
