My grin was a welcome relief from the tears of the day as I absorbed the fact that Dante was planning a future that involved me, but why? Because he felt somehow responsible for what happened or perhaps due to the guilt of killing Aldo when his actions were exactly what Dante would have done had he had all of the facts . . . and just like that, the smile fell from my face.
“What?”
“If this, if I am no longer what you want–”
My words were cut off by his lips landing on mine. The gentlest, tiniest, almost fleeting of kisses landed, leaving me more breathless than any kiss I had ever known. “Let’s not have that conversation ever again, understand?”
“Yes, completely.”
“Good. Now, let’s go home.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
DANTE
Entering the house, I was relieved to see only Gina and Carlo, the former holding a sleeping Amina while the latter had his own daughter sitting on his hip.
Anna immediately rushed towards the other woman and bundled her daughter into her arms, disturbing her slumber. “Sorry, and thank you for taking care of her.”
Gina waved her gratitude away. “Not a problem, we’re all family, right?”
Anna grinned but her eyes looked a little glazed. Amina, began to protest at being woken and I reasoned that she was probably hungry as it had been some hours since she’d been fed. “I might take her upstairs to feed and change her.”
I turned to Carlo who was giving me the ‘we need to talklook’. “Five minutes and I’ll be back.
Following Anna upstairs, I ensured she was settled with a drink, some food, and promises that I wasn’t going to rip Gino apart with my bare hands, however, what I didn’t promise her was that I wouldn’t make him pay in my own way.
“You’re sure you have everything you need?”
“Everything,” she replied, getting to her feet and landing a kiss to my cheek whilst still cradling Amina.
“Get used to it, mia ragazza.”
She smiled, reaching up to rub her hand across my cheek. “I love you, Dante, always have and no matter what happens, nothing will change that.”
A ball of emotion clogged my throat making it difficult to speak never mind breathe. “And I you, both of you.” I looked at my watch. “I have to meet with Carlo, but I swear, I am going to give you the world, Anna, the moon, the sun and the stars, all of it.” Kissing the top of her head, I meant every word and although I couldn’t physically give her those things, I would give her all the things she needed. “And you . . .” I leaned down to land the gentlest of kisses to Amina’s hand that looked so tiny and frail against my much bigger one. The contradictory image of the soft and innocent hand against mine that had known such violence and bloodshed wasn’t wasted on me. I felt unexpected tears well as the baby’s hand closed to form a fist around my finger, claiming my heart, just as her mother had all of those years before. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Anna nodded.
My attention was returned to Amina who still held my finger as she smiled up at me. “Quicker than you could believe, okay? Papa will be back.”
Amina laughed while I wondered where the fuck those words had come from, but jeez if they didn’t sound perfect as they made my heart swell. Panicking slightly, I returned my gaze to Anna who smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Papa will be back soon,” she told Amina who at that precise second released my finger, allowing me to go and take care of business.
* * *
My brothers were waitingfor me and Carlo when we arrived at the compound.
“How’s Anna?” Luca asked.
“Yeah, freaked out, but okay . . . look, I know this probably doesn’t need saying, but what you all know doesn’t leave this room. I don’t want people to know Anna and Amina’s business unless Anna shares it with them. Amina needs to never know the horror of how she came to be.”
They all nodded.
“Carlo, can you arrange for Amina’s birth to be reregistered, she needs a father?”
My eldest brother frowned and in that instant I understood his confusion – he thought I was talking about Gino. I wasn’t. He would never be known to Amina.
“Me, I am her father.”
