He’s seated in an armchair by the fire, Lev dozing peacefully on his chest.
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to have our little bambino’s first Christmas be a humble affair,” he says.
Sylvie is beside me on the couch, holding a mug of tea that Oscar keeps refilling. She’s gained a healthy amount of weight back since the Kolya incident. She’s been living with us ever since, and no one is in any hurry to have her move out.
“Yeah,” she says with a smile. “And when Christmas is over, you can hollow it out and make a canoe with it.”
Everyone laughs. It’s good to see Sylvie smile, to hear her laugh. For the first few months, she was practically a ghost. It’s going to take time for her to recover from the trauma of what Kolya did to her. But I’m more than happy to be here for her in the meantime.
Oscar enters. “More tea, anyone?” he asks, “or coffee?”
He tilts his head, noticing that Sissy’s mug is empty. Without a word, he comes over and tops her off.
“Oh,” she says, “you don’t have to.”
“It’s my pleasure,signora.”
Gabriel checks his watch. “Oscar, why don’t we call it an early day? Come sit with us.”
Oscar smiles and nods politely. “If you insist, sir. I wouldn’t mind a little time by the fire, especially on such a snowy day.”
With that, he departs.
“Is it always this fancy?” Sissy asks. “A butler? Really?”
“Don’t forget I was a maid here for a time,” Liza says. “And the strangest thing is, despite everything, I find myself looking back on it with fondness.”
“Good bosses will do that to you,” I respond with a wink.
I can’t resist getting up, going over to Gabriel and Lev. I lean in and kiss Lev on his chubby cheek, Gabriel taking the opportunity to plant a kiss of his own on my forehead.
“Love you,” he says quietly, so only I can hear it.
“Love you, too.”
I go back over to the couch and sit, leaning my head on Sylvie’s shoulder. She lets me. Gabriel meets my eyes over our son’s dark hair and smiles. Liza and Sissy chatter away, still catching up on the years they missed.
Outside, snow is falling.
I couldn’t ask for anything more.
EPILOGUE II
THEA
Two years later…
His mouth finds that perfect spot, that little divot just behind my ear. Gabriel kisses me gently there and I arch into him, fingers gripping the sheets, a gasp of pure, unrestrained pleasure escaping me.
“Look at me,” he says in that commanding tone that I can’t help but obey.
I open my eyes. Gabriel is above me, silver hair falling across his forehead, dark eyes burning. And the way he’s looking at me—two years in, two children, a war, a proposal, and a wedding—still makes my breath catch.
He rolls his hips, pushing deeper into me. I moan as I wrap my legs around him, pulling him as far into me as he’ll go. His hand slides down my side, tracing the curve of my hip, gripping the soft flesh of my thigh with that same possessive reverence that hasn’t faded.
If anything, it’s become even stronger.
“Sei tutto,” he speaks against my skin as he pulls back and plunges into me again. “Sei la mia vita.”
