The way she looked at me made the whole world stop. That look was what had sucker punched me the first time and she still caught me off guard. It was a look that made me feel as though Mia would go to war for me. She already had on more than one occasion. How did I end up this lucky?
“Because sometimes I feel like this life is a dream,” she whispered. “And that if I enjoy the moment too much, or if I look to the future, then maybe I’ll wake up and I won’t have you or Link or Ezra. I’ll go back to this life before you, and I really don’t want that. I don’t want to live any life that doesn’t have you or the boys in it.”
“It’s not a dream, sweetheart,” I told her, brushing a tear from her cheek. “Nothing is going to take this away from you. You. Me. The boys. The four of us are bound for life.” She leaned in and kissed me just as Cerb started to bark from inside the house. I groaned and rested my forehead against Mia’s. “You know what that means,” I muttered.
“Too late to be working on your tan now, bro!” Dante burst out into the backyard, clapping and rubbing his hands together. Cerb was still barking around his legs, and Emilio and a few others joined him out in the sun. “Mia?” Dante said, taking her in. “What are you still doing here?”
“It’s my home, Dante,” she pointed out bluntly, and I laughed.
“Not tonight,” he said, coming over to us. “Up you get.” Dante all but man-handled her so that she was up on her feet. Mia took Link from me before Dante helped me to get back up as well.
“Carmen is already at Dom’s place,” Emilio said to Mia.
“Looks like I’m being given my marching orders,” Mia mumbled and gave me another kiss. She led the procession back into the house and went to gather her things.
“You have the worst timing,” I told my brother.
“You’re going to spend the rest of your life with her,” he replied.
“You’re telling me that your poor timing is going to change, and you’ll be handing the key back to us after we say ‘I do’?”
“Fuck no.” He laughed. “Where am I meant to run to when Vittoria’s in a mood?”
That was the other large change in our lives. Vittoria had become a staple guest at the house. She joined Dante, tentatively at first, for dinners but slowly, she would turn up alone to spend time with Mia. I wasn’t sure how Mia managed it, to keep a Moretti in her inner circle when they’d caused us nothing but grief, but she had smoothed things over with Tori, more forgiving than I was. My half-sister and I kept our conversations short and I wasn’t sure if we’d ever progress further than that, but for Dante and Mia’s sake, I kept it civil.
Gabe had thankfully kept his head down. I didn’t know what his sudden change in motivation was, but I assumed it had to do with Chastity Perkins. I wasn’t about to take issue with him unless he decided to cause a problem for us. I heard his name when I passed by the room that Mia and Tori were in, but Mia never mentioned anything to me, and I trusted there was nothing to worry about.
“Let Mia stay,” I said to him, ignoring the comment. “She’s comfortable at home.”
“It’s one night at Dom’s place,” Dante told me. “You’ll both survive.” I twitched at that comment. “You know what I mean. One night, and then I’m sure you’ll never let her leave your side again.”
Mia came back down the stairs with her things, including a white dress bag that she handed over to Dom, who took them out to the car.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay with Link?” she asked me.
“What more capable hands could he be in?” Dante asked in return, slinging an arm around my shoulders.
Mia paled as she looked at the line-up of men who had arrived to celebrate my final night as a single man. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
“Take your smart mouth and leave.” He laughed.
She smiled and stepped up to me. “I guess we’ll see you tomorrow,” Mia said and reached up to kiss me again. I wrapped an arm around her and heard a few whistles.
“Mia,” Dante begged. “Put him down. First off, you don’t know where he’s been. Secondly, it’s just a couple of hours, for God’s sake.”
She pulled away from the kiss. “I know what damage you’re both capable of in a few hours,” she teased.
There would be no heavy debauchery tonight. We had Link at home, and I was still cycling through medication that wiped alcohol off the table. This was a night to reminisce and celebrate with old friends. A night to breathe and worry about nothing.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I told her, kissing her again before Dante pried us apart. I watched as Mia left the house, sinking into Dom’s car and left me for the final time as my fiancée.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Mia
My party was considerably smaller than the one I’d left at the house, consisting of myself, Dom and Carmen. I didn’t want the fuss and I hated being in the spotlight, so I’d opted for those closest to me. A tame evening of romantic comedies, too much chocolate and face masks.
I retired to bed early but not because I was tired. The nervous energy kept pinging through me, and I sat in the guest room, swapping messages with Luc. Neither of us were doing well with the separation even if it was a few hours. When Luc stopped replying, I assumed Dante had taken his phone. I plucked a book from my bag and read quietly to myself as the rest of the house fell silent.
