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I had no idea it could be like that.

So intense.

So freeing.

So…intimate.

I rest my palm against the center of his chest, directly over his heart, and it brings me comfort to find his mirroring my own. A blanket slides over my shoulders, and Alex presses a kiss to my temple. I rest my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes as his arms wrap protectively around me. “I’ve got you, Fiorellina.”

Chapter twenty

Alex

Istep into the kitchen to find Clara and Charlotte finishing breakfast. Morning sunlight spills through the windows, painting the room gold and yellow.

For a moment, I simply watch them.

Charlotte is helping Clara wipe syrup from her fingers, a small smile playing at her lips, and Clara hangs on her every word, looking at her as if she hung the damn moon.

Something in my chest shifts around my heart, and I drag my palm over it.

This scene is dangerously close to something I never let myself imagine.

A family of my own.

Last night, as Charlotte came around my fingers, my mind wandered into dangerous territory. To a place where I wondered what it might be like to have her in my arms every night like that. To fall asleep and wake up beside her. To be privileged to love her the way she deserves.

But it’s a fantasy a man like me doesn’t deserve.

The doorbell rings, and Charlotte’s head snaps up, her shoulders tensing, her body shifting so she stands between Clara and the door like a shield.

I step into the room, making my presence known. “It’s Scarlett and Leo.” Charlotte’s shoulders drop with relief, and I head for the door and pull it open.

Scarlett stands on the porch holding a stuffed unicorn nearly half her size, grinning from ear to ear as Leo is positioned right behind her.

“I hope Clara’s ready for us!” she beams, looking around me.

I chuckle, shaking my head as I open the door wider to let them in. “They’re in the kitchen.”

Scarlett scurries in that direction.

Leo removes his sunglasses. “She barely slept a wink last night.” He grins, his eyes following his wife with a softness coating them. “She wants to be ready for when it’s our time to do this.”

“She’ll be a natural,” I tell him with no doubt in my tone.

We follow behind her, watching as Scarlett immediately scoops Clara into her arms. “It’s my favorite niece!”

Clara giggles. “Silly Scar!”

Charlotte steps aside, drying her hands on a dish towel as she watches them.

I lean against the counter, folding my arms over my chest. “You’ve got the day off.”

Surprise flashes across her face, but she quickly hides it by nodding.

Scarlett rubs noses with Clara, making her burst into laughter. “I don’t think learning how to shoot counts as a day off,” she says in an exaggerated baby voice.

Charlotte’s eyes widen, her attention turning to me.