The breath leaves me in a sharp rush. It’s then that I realize I’ve been holding it since the moment I saw her and Luca disappearing beyond the hospital doors. I lift my free hand slowly, cupping her face. My thumb brushes the remnants of rain, or maybe tears, from her cheeks.
“You’re everything I never thought I could have, Elena. I’m sorry so much has happened… that I couldn’t protect you. But I swear to you, I won’t let you and Luca be harmed again. You have my word.”
Her eyes glisten. She blinks hard. “I believe you.”
I lean in until our foreheads touch. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the first time you looked at me from across the table at that dinner your father brought you to when we were kids. I will never, ever stop loving you. No matter what, my heart belongs to you and only you.”
Her answer is immediate. Certain. “And I love you. Even when I shouldn’t have. Even when it hurts. I’ll never stop loving you, Dante. Never.”
I smile and pull her into me.
The kiss is deep, full of everything we’ve carried with us through the years we’ve been apart. Four years of silence, blood on my hands and hers, the terror of almost losing her twice. It tastes like rain and salt and the kind of relief that grips my heart and refuses to let go. The past doesn’t disappear completely, butthat’s okay. We will learn from it, grow from it, and come out the other side better.
When we break apart, I turn to find Luca standing in the bedroom doorway, watching us with wide, curious eyes. He has a towel wrapped around his body like a blanket, his hair sticking up in odd angles from being dried briskly.
“Do we have to leave again?” he asks, his voice small.
I crouch immediately, bringing myself down to his level. I offer my hands out to him, pulling him in close when he leans into me. My hand circles his back, working soothing motions into it.
“Do you want to stay here with me, Luca?” I ask him, keeping my voice soft.
He looks up at me. “Forever?”
“Yes. I would like to be your Papa if you’d let me.”
His eyes widen. His eyes snap to Elena, me, and then back again. His little brow furrows in thought the same way hers does when she’s weighing her options with care. Then a shy smile tugs at the corners of his mouth.
“Mama, can I?”
She lets out a soft laugh. “Yes, sweetheart. Of course.”
He beams at me then, nodding. “I want to stay here forever. You can be my Papa.”
I wrap one arm around Luca and pull him close, then reach for her with the other as I stand again. We fold together in the middle of the bathroom—wet clothes, tired bodies, three heartbeats finding the same rhythm and finally steadying in the aftermath of it all.
“Then it’s settled,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to the top of Luca’s head. “We stay together.”
Elena leans against me, her cheek brushing my shoulder, her hand finding mine again. Our fingers thread together over the small of Luca’s back. For the first time since our world turned upside down, we have something real.
A home.
A promise.
Each other.
And this time, neither of us plans to let go.
Luca squirms free after a moment, already buzzing with unrestrained energy. I let go of him, letting him dart out of the bedroom and run out into the hallway, more than likely to go find one of my staff to play with.
Elena’s still looking at me when I meet her eyes again.
“I love you,” I say quietly, needing her to hear it again.
“I love you too, Dante. Always.”
I exhale a shaky laugh. “A part of me believes I don’t deserve this.”
“You don’t get to decide what you deserve.” Her thumb traces the line of my jaw. “Take what is offered and keep earning it. Every day. The same way you always do.”
