“Is it time for bed?” I whisper, slowly rocking her as I make my way to the stairs.
Behind me, I hear Leo whistle to Vito, guiding him into the kitchen, where he has a nice bed and water to kennel for the night.
As I climb the steps, my sweet little daughter stares up at me with such innocent joy, it breaks my heart, and I know that these precious moments are why I’m so blessed to be a mom.
By the time I reach the second floor, Leo’s caught up to me, and he opens the nursery door to let us inside. I sink into the rocking chair so I can feed Aiko one last time before she sleeps.
Leo smiles softly as he watches her suckling, his face so tender it makes me fall for him a little harder.
Gone is the cold, hard crime boss who threatened to kill me if I didn’t back out of our engagement.
And while the man who replaced him is still dangerously attractive and rippling with powerful muscle, I never dreamed a man so intimidating could be such a gentle, loving, wonderful father, so different from my own father—and his.
I don’t know where he got such a paternal instinct, but Leo’s a natural, and watching him be a dad is my favorite thing to do.
I know Aiko’s tired when her drinking starts to slow, her eyes sinking closed as she falls asleep in my arms.
My heart swells as I share a silent glance with Leo, and he rises from his seat on her blanket chest to help me up from my chair.
Together, we lower our daughter gently into her crib, tucking her favorite stuffed bunny in beside her.
Then we tiptoe out of her nursery like two overgrown children sneaking out of class. Leo closes the door softly, wrapping an arm around me as he presses a kiss to my temple.
I lean into him, loving the way his arms automatically curl around my waist.
“You’re really good at this whole fatherhood thing, you know,” I whisper.
He chuckles softly. “Not nearly as good as you are at being a mother,” he promises. Then his voice grows quieter and rough with emotion as he admits, “I never thought I’d want this. Never thought I’d get a chance to have a family I love.”
I lift my chin to look up at him. His expression is serious now, eyes dark and unreadable, the weight of his past still flickering in their depths.
But then he brushes my hair back and kisses my forehead, and just like that, the heaviness lifts.
“Sometimes, it still feels like a dream,” I murmur after a while.
He hums in agreement, his fingers trailing lazy circles along my spine. “You ever think about it? Our old life? What happened?”
“All the time,” I admit. “I think about that warehouse. The look on your face when you came for me. The way you held me like I was something precious.”
“You are,” he says simply. “You always were. I just didn’t see it right away.”
I rest my cheek on his chest, my heart aching in the best way. “You’re different now,” I say softly.
He chuckles. “You mean boring and suburban?”
I shake my head. “No. You’re lighter, happier.”
He nods slowly, his chin brushing the top of my head as he lets out a breath like he’s been holding it for years. “Walking away from the family wasn’t easy. But it was right. I never wanted to be like him. I just always thought I had to be. And then you came along…”
He trails off, and when I glance up to meet his eyes again, I find him looking at me like I hung the damn stars.
“You gave me a way out,” he finishes. “A reason to be something more.”
Rising onto my tippy-toes, I press a soft kiss to his lips. “You did that for yourself.”
“No,” he murmurs against my mouth. “I did it for us.”
His lips claim mine again, deeper this time, and the warmth that’s been simmering between us all evening finally starts to boil over.
