I felt her inhale sharply as all eyes turned to her.
“And soon,” I added, slowly meeting her gaze, “I hope she will be my wife.”
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
“Enzo,” she whispered, shock softening her voice.
A smile tugged at my mouth, and I leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I promise a better proposal later, but I needed everyone to know my intentions.”
Her hands tightened around mine. “I love you.”
“Love you more,” I replied, leaning down to kiss her until the room erupted in applause and whistles.
As I pulled back, I caught Matteo grinning up at us, utterly delighted.
In that moment, I understood what my father had meant all those years ago.
Power wasn’t just territory or fear or control.
It was having something orsomeoneworth protecting.
And this time, I intended to protect it all.
With everything I had.
Epilogue
Serenity — 6 months later
“You arenotworking on your wedding day,” Toni said firmly, plucking my phone from my hand with a look that brooked no argument.
“I’m not working,” I protested, laughing even as I reached for it again. “I just needed to confirm that the signed lease was received.”
She raised a brow. “That’s the definition ofworking.”
I sighed, but I couldn’t help smiling. “Fine. Last-minute work, and now I’m done. I swear it.” Starting a California branch of ENS had been exhilarating and overwhelming in equal measure. The need out here outpaced Texas by a factor of ten, and three months in, I already had a larger staff than I’d ever managed before. It was exactly the kind of problem I liked to solve.
Still, today was not for solving problems.
Today was for starting the next chapter.
“Are you absolutely sure you want to keep doing this?” Toni asked, softening as she looked me over. “I mean, you could probably just retire and live a really comfortable, fun life.”
I looked at her and arched a brow. “You could just retire and live a really comfortable, fun life,” I shot back.
Toni rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Fine. But I mean it, Serenity. You want another ENS?”
“I do,” I nodded. “And this is fun, which is why I’m done with it for today.” I raised both of my hands in the air to show her I wasn’t making a play for my phone. Again. “I swear it.”
The truth was, I’d only checked my email because everything else was done. Hair and makeup had finished up about twenty minutes ago, doing final touch-ups after I stepped into the fitted silk gown with the delicate lace overlay. It was elegant without trying too hard. At least I thought so.
When I first stepped into the dress today in full makeup, I’d barely recognized myself. Not because I looked all that different, just better, but because I finally looked like a woman who belonged exactly where she was. It was a feeling I’d been searching for my whole life, not that Enzo completed me, but he and Mattie completed the picture I always wanted but had denied myself for too long.
I felt beautiful.
“Thank you,” I said quietly to Toni. “Thank you for being here. And for taking over ENS in Texas while I try my hand at this crazy plan.” At first, I thought it was crazy, but with each passing day, I knew it was more than that. This was exactly what I was meant to be doing.
Toni waved me off as I knew she would. “I’m happy to do it, honestly. It’s a nice change of pace now that the kids don’t need a full-time Mommy, and when they do, they love greeting people at the office.” Her gaze softened at the mention of her kids. “And I needed to see for myself that you were okay. That you’re…happy.”
