Five years later
Matteo
I throw open the door as the bell rings. George has a guest list at the front desk and is sending people up. It’s been a steady stream of family and friends arriving for the last hour. There are already about thirty people milling around the living room. The condo is open, airy, and spacious.
It fits the three of us perfectly.
I’ve been doing my best to convince my wife that we should take over my parents’ compound in the country. It would be the perfect place to raise Caterina.
Along with the rest of the kids we plan on having.
I shake Jonathan’s hand. “Hey, man. Good to see you.”
Jonathan and Grace have been friends since she started at The Art Institute five years ago. Jonathan volunteers on a weekly basis. Grace will finish up her doctorate program next spring. She’s already been offered a permanent position as a curator with the museum.
Can you believe that?
Dr. Grace Valentini, PhD.
Damn right it has a nice ring to it.
Although I can’t deny that Mrs. Grace Valentini has a damn fine ring to it as well.
I sprung the question on her about six months after the attempted hit-and-run incident. I knew how our relationship would play out before I stormed over to Dominic’s to claim her. By that point, Grace was already my woman. She may not have known it, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
I wasn’t lying when I told her godfather that I protect what’s mine.
I do.
I give the two-year-old bundle of energy in my arms a kiss on her cherub-like cheek. I’ve been protecting what’s mine for five years now and that’s never going to change.
Jonathan grins. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Jamie hands over a six-pack of Corona.
I nod appreciatively. It’s one of my favorite beers. “Thanks for bringing the good stuff.”
He gives me a wink. “Anything for you.”
Jonathan holds out a bottle of white, which I happen to know is one of Grace’s favorites. She won’t be partaking in any today, though. The three of them love getting together and indulging in a few glasses of wine while gossiping about what’s happening at the museum, which is kind of mind-blowing because you would expect it to be dull and mundane in a stuffy place like that.
Apparently not. The art museum is a hotbed of love, scandal, and intrigue.
I almost snort at that thought.
“And this is for my most favorite girl in the world.” Leaning toward me, Jonathan tickles Caterina’s belly. She squeals and holds out her chubby arms.
“That’s right, baby girl, come to Uncle Johnny.”
Caterina shrieks with excitement as Jonathan lifts her high above his head. Jamie smiles at her while making silly faces. I keep waiting for them to pop the news that they’re adopting. They’ve been talking about it for a couple of years.
“Every time I see you, beautiful, you look more and more like your daddy.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mention that to Grace. It’s kind of a touchy subject. Every time someone makes a comment, I end up getting an earful about how she’s the one who carried her for nine months and gained all the weight.” I shrug and add, “With any luck, this next one will take more after her.” Everything in me softens as I think about a little girl or boy with my wife’s looks and coloring.
Both of their heads whip toward me.
Realizing I just let the cat out of the bag, I wince. “Shit. I wasn’t supposed to mention anything yet.” I want to bellow it from the rooftops, though. “Grace wants to wait a few more weeks before we make an official announcement.”
“Oh my God!” Jonathan shoots a triumphant grin at Jamie. “See! I told you there was another bun in the oven. In fact, I was just saying the other day that the girls were looking more bodacious than usual.”
I give him a deadpan look. “Yeah, I don’t want you discussing my wife’s girls. Or how bodacious they look.” I’m the only one allowed to discuss my wife’s breasts. The girls belong strictly to me. Bodacious or otherwise.
Jonathan rolls his eyes. “Please. We all know that I am most definitely not a breast man.”
Jamie laughs his ass off, and I can’t help but smile. Not that I’ll tell him this, but he’s right. Grace’s breasts are bigger. Bodacious is the right word to describe their newfound lushness.
And I fucking love it.
I love when my wife is pregnant. Knocked up with my kid is a good look on her. I’m gunning for at least two more. Maybe three. I want a whole houseful of Valentinis running around.
My gaze locks on my beautiful wife. She’s surrounded by my parents and siblings. Chloe is right beside her. After what went down with Dominic, the two women are tighter than before. Chloe may not be blood to either one of us, but she’s family.
Just like Jonathan and Jamie.
That means everything to a man like me. And I know it means everything to Grace. She may not have parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, or cousins, but she has all the people in this room. Every single one of them would do anything for her and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Some of these people are family, bound by blood. Others are friends that have been pulled into our tight-knit inner circle. They are the family we’ve chosen to walk with us.
As our eyes continue to cling, I want to stalk over, sink to my knees, and run my hands over her bulging belly. Sometimes I catch sight of her when I’m not expecting it, and she literally steals my breath away.
How the fuck did I get so lucky?
How does a woman as amazing as Grace end up falling for a guy like me?
I don’t know.
And furthermore, I don’t give two fucks.
Her lips curve into a radiant smile as if she knows what’s running through my head. As if, from across the room, she feels the need I have for her.
A need that eclipses almost everything else.
A love that continues to pound through me, growing stronger, running deeper, and encompassing more of my world, with each passing day.
A love I wasn’t looking for but nevertheless found in an elevator on the way to the thirtieth floor.
See that woman across the room?
The gorgeous blonde with big blue eyes that can bring a grown man to his knees?
That has already brought this man to his knees?
Yeah, that woman is mine.
That woman will always be mine.
And just like I told her five years ago, I protect what’s mine.
~The End~