30
ALESSANDRO
The moment hits me a few weeks later while I’m watching Bianca chase Giovanni in the playroom at the compound, her laughter echoing off the walls as she pretends to be a monster hunting for her prey.
Her dark hair falls around her shoulders as she gets down on her hands and knees to crawl under the table after the giggling toddler, using her oversized sweater as the “mouth” of the monster. Arianna squeals with delight from her perch on the couch, clapping her hands as she watches her big sister play.
“I’m gonna get you!” Bianca growls playfully, making exaggerated monster faces that send both twins into fits of giggles.
“No, Banca!” Giovanni shrieks, his round cheeks red with laughter as he scrambles away from her. “No monster!”
There’s something about seeing her like this—completely unselfconscious, purely happy, showing the side of herself that has nothing to do with crime families or trials or the weight of leadership—that makes an emotion I wasn’t expecting well up.
This is who she is underneath everything else. The woman who can command a room full of dangerous men then get on the floor to play with toddlers. The person who can plan the systematic destruction of an entire organization then worry about whether her brother is eating enough vegetables.
She’s perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect. And I don’t want to wait another day to make sure she’s mine forever.
“Got you!” Bianca announces, scooping Giovanni up and spinning him around while he squeals with joy.
The ring has been sitting in my safe for three weeks, a two-carat diamond surrounded by sapphires that reminded me of her eyes the moment I saw it. I’ve been waiting for the right moment, the perfect opportunity, but watching her now I realize that I’m not waiting for the right moment—I’m justwaiting. And life is too short and too dangerous to postpone the future we both want.
Well, at least I hope she wants it too.
“Bianca,” I call softly.
She looks up at me, slightly breathless from chasing toddlers, Giovanni still giggling in her arms. “What?”
“I love you,” I tell her, because sometimes the most important things are also the most basic.
Her smile is radiant, her eyes soft as she cradles Giovanni to her chest. “I love you too.”
I guess this means I need to have a conversation I’ve been dreading for a while.
The next morning, I find myself sitting across from Matteo in his study, both of us holding coffee cups like shields while we dancearound what I came here to discuss. The morning light bathes everything in golden hues that should be peaceful but instead feel charged with the weight of what I’m about to ask.
“How’s Bianca adjusting to everything?” Matteo asks, settling back in his leather chair with the careful movements of someone who’s still healing from recent battles. “The official recognition, the new responsibilities?”
“She’s thriving,” I tell him honestly, noting how his entire demeanor softens when we talk about her. “Better than I think even she expected. The other families respect her now, truly respect her, and she knows it.”
“Good.” He nods then studies my face with those sharp blue-gray eyes that are so much like hers. “But you didn’t come here to tell me that.”
I set down my coffee cup and meet his gaze directly. Trust Matteo to be direct. “No, I didn’t.”
The silence stretches between us, loaded with unspoken understanding. He knows why I’m here—fathers always know—but he’s going to make me say it out loud.
“I want to marry her,” I finally state, the words carrying more weight than I expected. “I want to ask for your blessing.”
Matteo goes completely still, his expression cycling through emotions I can’t quite read. When he speaks, his voice is carefully controlled.
“She’s nineteen years old.”
I nod. “I know.”
“You’re thirty-five.” Still so controlled.
It takes everything in me to not say “duh.” “I know that too.”
Matteo’s mouth twists, his nostrils flaring slightly. “She’s been through hell in the past few months,” he continues, his voice nearly glacial. “Her entire identity was shattered and rebuilt. She’s just found her footing as a leader.” His voice now gains an edge that reminds me exactly why people fear him. “And now you want to add the complications ofmarriage?”
