“Like I said. Complicated.” I tuck the invitation back into the envelope. “We’ll go if you like. Your first big, over-the-top Malus wedding.”
“Will Adora be there?”
“Absolutely. Lucy and my sister are best friends.”
Mina nods and tucks the invitation back into her purse. “I’d love to go with you.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her gaze drifting back to the construction site, over the rubble and twisted metal. But my mind is still lingering on weddings. One wedding in particular in a warm, flower-filled garden.
I pick up Mina’s hand and admire the engagement ring sparkling on her finger. “Have you given any more thought to our wedding?”
Mina looks up me. “I’ve been thinking about the garden.”
My heart kicks against my ribs.
She twists her fingers through mine, and I recognize the nervous gesture. “I wasn’t sure if—” She stops and takes a breath. “I wasn’t sure if I could stand there in a white dress and pretend what happened there didn’t happen.”
I knew she’d be hesitant after watching me murder four Lucanias in the garden. “We don’t have to get married there,” I say, even though I hate the thought of giving up that dream. “We can go anywhere you want. Venice. Paris. A beach somewhere.”
She shakes her head. “That’s the thing. I’ve been spending time in the garden with Leon while he plays, watching the flowers and bees, and I realized something.”
I wait, barely breathing.
“The garden is still a happy place for me. It’s where you fell in love with me when we were children. It’s where we imagined our wedding together. It’s where Leon will play with his little brother or sister. I’m not going to let men who tried to hurt my family spoil that.”
She smiles up at me.
“Let’s get married there,” she says. “The fairy-tale wedding we talked about. You, me, Leon, and everyone we love. White roses and fairy lights and all of it. I want it to feel like ours again. Make it mean love instead of fear.”
I gaze into her fierce, beautiful face and wonder what I did to deserve her.
“You’re sure?” My voice comes out rough.
“I’m sure.” She rises up on her toes and kisses me. “Plant those white roses you promised me. I want to get married in our garden.”
Our garden.
The place that’s always been ours.
I pull her against me, and bury my face in her hair. “Let’s do it.”
We stand there for a long moment, holding each other while the demolition crew works behind us and the Sokoli territory looms to the south. My father’s voice whispers something snide in my head as the ashes of the Diamond Grand settle in the wind, but I block him out.
Mina is warm and real in my arms, and our child is growing inside her. Our son is waiting at home for me to read him three stories.
“Come on,” Mina says, pulling back and adjusting her hard hat. “Show me the rest of the plans. I want to see where the swimming pool will be.”
I take her hand and lead her over to the blueprints, and talk to her of timelines, materials, and the future we’re building together.
Leon’s bedroomis quiet except for the soft rhythm of his breathing. Mina and I have settled into a routine together, taking turns tucking Leon into bed at night. I’ve read my son his stories.
I should leave. I’ve been standing here for ten minutes, long past the point where a father lingers after tucking in his son, but my hands are still shaking. I press them flat against my thighs and watch Leon’s chest rise and fall in the dim light. He’s on his side, one arm flung out, the T-rex tucked against his stomach. His dark curls are spread across the pillow. His face is completely open in sleep, unguarded and trusting, the way children’s faces are when they have no reason to be afraid.
Good night, Papa.
Two words, said so easily. He’d looked up at me with those amber eyes, the eyes of every Montoni man going back God knows how far, and he’d said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he’s been saying it his whole life, and I realized I couldn’t remember the last time he called me anything else.
For one perfect moment, I was the happiest I’ve ever been.
