“You said you had an idea on how he could pay it back. What did you have in mind?” I asked.
The sexiest, evilest smile I’d ever seen crossed Avion’s face. “He’s out a Lieutenant Governor,” she replied, “and I’ve been thinking about throwing my hat in the ring.”
“You wanna pay off his debt by picking up where your brothers left off?” I asked.
She shrugged and wiggled her eyebrows at me. “You scared?”
“Only at how crazy I am about you,” I said. “You want to run all of New York?”
“Someone has to do it,” she said with a smile. “And I just decided it’s gonna be us.”
EPILOGUE: AVION
One Year Later…
My heart was pounding so fast that I thought it was going to explode out of me. I kept trying to take deep breaths and still my nerves, but nothing I did seemed to be working. I was right on the edge of a panic attack, fighting for breath while being uncertain if I was going to be able to actually do what I came to do, then I felt a hand settle on my shoulder.
“Avion.” I turned and looked up into Gio’s eyes. His stunning, slate gray eyes were one of my favorite things about my husband, and looking into them always calmed me down. “Just breathe.”
“Easy for you to say,” I moaned. “I wish Calli was here.”
“I knew you’d say that,” he said. He turned around and walked down the stairs and into the front garden of the estate I was standing at the front door of, then he came walking back, this time with a sweet, beautiful baby girl in her arms. “Mama needs you, Callista.”
I gasped and smiled at the way she immediately started to reach out for me. She had my red hair growing in wisps out of the top of her head and Giovanni’s eyes and sharp jaw structure. My freckles dotted her nose and made her look like an angelic, albeit slightly dark version of her late grandmother.
“Calli,” I sang, holding out my arms and immediately being rewarded by her reaching into them. “Daddy brought you along for the ride, huh?”
“Well, it was difficult to pry her out of grandpa Merrick’s arms, but we managed, didn’t we, Tiny?”
Ever since she was born, Giovanni had marvelled at the small size of a newborn baby and had taken to calling our daughter Tiny, in the most adorable, loving way possible. Though she loved me, she was a daddy’s girl by every definition of the word, and cooed at Gio as he stepped closer. He responded by giving her a finger to squeeze and nuzzling his nose against hers. No one saw Gio being dad of the year coming, but Callista was his whole world and had been since he first laid eyes on her. God save the person who ever tried to hurt her, Gio would dismember them and whatever he didn’t cut up, Merrick certainly would, and Tamryn would have a field day burning the bones.
Callista Raines was certainly loved; dangerously so.
Ultimately, I was glad that Gio brought Callista with him. I needed the support of my family, and though we had decided that round one would be just me and then we’d bring Calli next, this was probably better anyway.
Gio carefully pulled Calli back out of my arms, then turned me to face the doors and reached over me to knock. My heart began slamming again, but he leaned down and whispered into my ear. “We’re right here. Don’t worry.”
I nodded just as the front doors opened, revealing a beautiful woman with such a familiar face that it brought tears to my eyes instantly. Her hair was gray now, and tied back. Her freckles were dotted about deeply wrinkled cheeks, and the once vibrant lips were now a subdued color, though still sweet in the French afternoon sun. It was like I was staring into my mom’s face.
“Hello?” she said. “Can I help you?”
I didn’t expect her to recognize me. I was still in the single digits age-wise when I last spoke to her, and only a handful of years later my mom died and we lost touch altogether. We’d never met even though we had written back and forth to one another a few times promising we would one day. It wasn’t until Giovanni confirmed it for me that I even knew she was alive.
“Clairette Lemaire?” I asked.
She nodded, a single ring of her hair breaking loose and falling in her face. My mom had a hair that always used to do the same. “Yes, that’s me.”
“Um. Is Verne here too?” I asked. “I have some information regarding your daughter, Evelyn.”
Clairette’s eyes painted over my face before I saw her eyes register with recognition. She brought a shaky, wrinkled hand to her mouth before reaching out and putting both of her hands on either side of my face. “Oh… Avion? Is that you?”
The tears I’d been just barely holding back started to fall. “Yes. It’s me.”
“Oh. My sweet granddaughter. I.” She yanked me towards her with an incredible amount of strength and gave me a huge, tight, bear hug. “Sweetheart. I didn’t know if you were,” but she stopped herself then leaned back. “Of course you would be. Why wouldn’t you be?” She glanced around me, her eyes landing then on Calli in Giovanni’s arms. “No…” She whimpered. “My great-granddaughter?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Callista, and this is my husband, Giovanni. He’s actually the one who found you for me.”
“She’s absolutely beautiful,” she said. “She looks like your mother.”
