Farrell stopped the car next to the curb in the city and turned off the engine. She waited in the car as he came around to the passenger side and opened her door.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, she saw that they were in front of a worn stone archway flanked by giant trees. Beyond the arch, a wide gravel path was softly lit and lined with trees.

“Where are we?” she asked.

She hadn’t asked any questions on their way into the city. She’d been too shocked by their sudden departure, by the anger that emanated from Farrell in waves.

She didn’t know that it was directed at her — but she didn’t know it wasn’t either.

“The Orange Garden,” Farrell said, taking her hand and leading her under the arch.

“Why are we here?” Jenna asked.

“I want to show you something.”

* * *

It was getting late on Christmas Eve. The park was hushed and desolate, her hand soft and warm as he veered off the main path to a smaller one crowded with foliage.

He’d been exhilarated when they’d finally left the Vitale compound, drunk on their liberation. How long had it been since he and Jenna had been truly alone when they weren’t fucking or sleeping?

He loved Nico like a brother, Christophe and Luca, too. He loved their wives like the sisters he’d never had, their children like the nieces and nephews Ethan would never produce.

But the secret he’d been keeping and the close quarters of the holiday had crowded his mind. Now, for the first time in a long time, he felt like he could breathe.

They walked awhile longer until they came to a low stone wall. Farrell followed it to a large marble facade that rose forty feet into the air, topped with carved Grecian urns.

At its center stood an arched green door, scuffed with use.

She looked upward. “What is it?”

“It started as the fortified palace of Alberico the Second, but it’s been passed to everyone from the Knights Templar to the Knights of Malta.”

“It’s magnificent. But why are we here?”

“Take a look,” he said, indicating the door.

She looked from him to the door and back again. “At what?”

“Through the keyhole.”

“You brought me into the city during Christmas Eve dinner to look through a keyhole?”

He smiled, reaching into his pocket. “Yes.”

“All right.”

She stepped toward the door.

* * *

She didn’t know what she thought Farrell had in mind when he’d pulled her out of the house, but it hadn’t been a sightseeing trip to a Roman garden, an instruction to peer through a keyhole.

Whatever he was up to, he must be onto something. As much as she loved their friends — their new family— she had to admit she felt a bit better since they’d left the house.

She was still nervous to tell him about the baby, but this was as good as it got in terms of an opportunity.

She bent her head to the keyhole, larger than a modern-day keyhole and surrounded by peeling green paint.

At first, she didn’t see anything at all. Then she shifted the angle of her head and the main pathway came into view.

But that wasn’t what made her catch her breath; it was the Vatican, its dome lit gold and perfectly centered through the keyhole.

“I see it!”

It was strangely magical, the view far too perfect to be a happy accident. Somewhere along the way, someone had known what they were doing, had crafted this perfect secret to please anyone willing to look closely enough to find it.

She saw Farrell as he’d looked when he’d happened upon her in that seedy bar all those years ago. She saw the pregnancy test that had told her she was going to have Lily, the one that had driven her away from Farrell and to New York, where she’d ended up working for Nico.

She saw the fall of the Vitale family and Nico’s flight with Angel to Bali, the easy decision Jenna had made to remain in London when she had no job to return to in New York.

Her father’s death had led her to seek Farrell’s help.

Seeking Farrell’s help had led her back into his arms.

Any one of those things might have been a happy accident.

Or maybe none of them were.

She had no idea how long she’d been looking through the keyhole, remembering, when she finally straightened, comfortable in her skin for the first time since she’d found out she was pregnant.

It wasn’t an accident that she and Farrell had found each other again. Nor was it an accident that they fit together like two pieces of the same battered puzzle.

It was meant to be. When had she forgotten to trust in that?

In them?

She turned to face him, took a breath.

“I’m pre — “

He wasn’t standing before her anymore. He was on one knee.

* * *

Everything in him had stilled when she’d spoken.

I see it…

And she had. She’d seen everything. Had made him see everything.

The knowledge made it easy to say what he needed to say.

He took her hand. “Jenna, when you came into my life, it was as if I were really seeing for the first time. As if all those years before you, I’d been viewing life like a black and white movie.” He forced himself to keep talking around the lump in his throat. “Then you left, and after awhile, I thought I’d gotten used to it. I thought I’d learned to see without you.”

He took a deep breath and continued.

“But when you walked back into my life, I knew it had been a lie. I was never going to see what was important without you.” He paused, wanting more than anything to get this last part right. “You were my kaleidoscope, illuminating all the pieces I’d been missing. I knew then that I wanted to share my life with you, that I’d lay down my life for you.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why it took me so fucking long to make it official, and if you don’t want to make it official, I’ll understand, but… jesus…” He opened the ring box, hoped she could see it in the dim light. “Jenna… will you be my wife? Will you let me protect you forever? Serve you forever? Love you forever? Will you do me that honor?”

She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks.

But it wasn’t until she removed her hands from her mouth that he knew they were happy tears.

She was smiling. Smiling and crying and laughing as she knelt in front of him, took his face in her hands.

She pulled his face down to lay kisses on his cheeks and mouth and nose. “I will marry you, Farrell Black. I will protect you and serve you and love you forever.”

He pulled her into his arms, crushed her body against his and exhaled the fear he’d been carrying around since he’d bought the ring.

“And Farrell…” She pulled back to look at him and smiled. “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re… wait… you’re pregnant?” He tipped his head back and laughed as happiness flooded his body. He took her face in his hands and kissed her, then spoke against her mouth. “We’re going to have a baby?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t sure… I didn’t know…”

He looked down at her, sadness tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You didn’t think I’d be happy?”

“I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want you to fake it, didn’t want to… cramp your style, I suppose.”

“Cramp my style?” He stood and pulled her up, swinging her around before setting her back on her feet. He stroked her cheek, his heart overflowing. “Love, you are my style. You and Lily, our life together, you’re my temple, lit up against every dark night. Don’t you know that?”

She smiled through her tears. “I do now.”