But even as I pull her close, my hand spreading across her lower back, my mind races.
Dmitri Baganov looked at Vittoria the way I looked at Kristen.
And I know exactly how that story ends.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Kristen
The morning of Lily's fifth birthday, I wake to the sound of her feet thundering down the hallway.
"Mommy! Mommy! I'm five now!"
She launches herself onto the bed before I can fully open my eyes. Nico grunts beside me as a knee connects with his ribs, but when I glance over, he's smiling.
"Happy birthday, baby girl." I pull her into my arms, breathing in the strawberry scent of her shampoo.
"Nico said there's gonna be a huge party," Lily announces, bouncing on her knees. "With a princess castle cake and a bouncy house and?—"
"Did he now?" I raise an eyebrow at the man currently pretending to be asleep.
One eye cracks open. "I may have mentioned something."
Something. Right. The garden has been transformed over the past week into what can only be described as a five-year-old's fever dream. Pink streamers, balloon arches, an actual bouncy castle that Vittoria special-ordered from some companyin Milan. Lily's new school friends are coming—Sophie, and little Thomas who follows Lily around like she hung the moon.
"Get dressed, piccola," Nico says, his voice rough with sleep. "Giulia's making pancakes."
Lily squeals and scrambles off the bed, disappearing down the hall. I watch her go, my chest tight with something I still can't name. Gratitude feels too small. Love feels too obvious.
"Hey." Nico's hand finds mine under the covers. "You okay?"
I turn to look at him.
"I'm perfect," I tell him. And for once, I mean it.
The party is chaos in the best possible way.
Twelve children run screaming through the garden while parents sip champagne under the white tent Giulia insisted on setting up. Aria has stationed herself by the cake table, personally ensuring every child gets an equal-sized piece. Bruno watches from the terrace, his wheelchair positioned in the shade. He doesn't smile, but he doesn't leave either. Progress.
Lily opens presents in a flurry of torn wrapping paper—stuffed animals, art supplies, a microscope from Lorenzo and Sophia that makes her gasp with genuine excitement.
"For your experiments," Lorenzo says, winking at me. He knows about her butterfly collection, her endless questions about why the sky is blue and how flowers grow.
By six o'clock, the last parents have collected their sugar-high children, and Lily is sprawled on the grass, surrounded by her new treasures.
"There's one more surprise," Vittoria announces, appearing beside me with a grin that immediately makes me suspicious.
"V, what did you do?"
"Nothing." She loops her arm through mine. "Come on. You too, birthday girl."
Lily scrambles up, abandoning Sir Floppington the Fourth to follow us inside. Vittoria leads us to the home cinema room.The one with the massive screen that Nico uses for surveillance footage but the family pretends is for movie nights.
"Sit," Vittoria commands, pushing us toward the leather sectional.
Lily climbs onto my lap, still vibrating with residual party energy. Nico appears in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. His expression gives nothing away, but I catch the slight tension in his shoulders. Nerves. Nico Sartori is nervous.
"What's going on?" I ask.
