Joy.
"I love you too," I whisper. "I have for a while. I was just too scared to say it."
"And now?"
"Now I'm still scared. But I'm saying it anyway." I lean up and kiss him softly. "I love you, Lupo. Alessandro. Whoever you are."
He kisses me back, gentle and tender, like I'm the most precious thing in the world to him.
When we finally pull apart, he rests his forehead against mine. "Come to bed. We can talk about Naples tomorrow. About the villa and everything that comes next. But tonight, I just want to hold you. Make sure you're real. That you're safe."
We walk to our bedroom hand in hand. The bed looks the same. Feels the same when we climb in, still wearing our clothes from today. Too exhausted to do anything but curl into each other.
He pulls me against him and I press my face into his neck, breathing him in.
"Lupo?" I murmur, already half asleep.
"Mmm?"
"Can I still call you that? Or should I call you Alessandro?"
"Call me Lupo." His arms tighten around me. "Please. The rest of the world can have Alessandro. But you and Elena, you get Lupo."
"Okay." I press closer. "My Lupo."
"My Isabella," he whispers into my hair. "My brave, beautiful Isabella."
We lie there in the darkness, holding each other. The farmhouse quiet around us except for the occasional murmur of the guards outside.
Tomorrow everything changes.
But tonight, we're just us.
Chapter 35: Lupo
Morning comes too soon.
I wake to find Isabella curled against me, still sleeping. Elena is between us. She must have climbed in during the night. Her rabbit is tucked under her chin, her small hand resting on my chest.
For a moment, I just lie there. Looking at them. My family.
Twenty-four hours ago, I was planning an operation. Thinking tactically. Being Don Rossi. Cold, calculating, strategic.
Now I'm Alessandro Rossi the father. The partner. The man who has everything to lose.
It's terrifying.
It's also the best thing I've ever felt.
Isabella stirs, her eyes opening slowly. When she sees me watching her, she smiles. Soft. Warm. Real.
"Morning," she whispers.
"Morning." I brush a strand of hair from her face. "How did you sleep?"
"Better than I expected. You?"
"The same." I look at Elena, still sleeping peacefully. "She came in around three. Bad dream, I think."
