Luciana closed her eyes and moaned as she took a bite of eggplant parmesan. Its creamy texture made it feel as though the delicious morsel melted in her mouth.

“You don’t moan like that around Gianpierre, do you?” Adeline asked with a laugh.

Luciana’s cheeks heated in embarrassment but she couldn’t stop her smile. She hadn’t had a fun night out for herself in nearly three months, and she was determined to make this one count given that she had no idea how long it would be before she got another one. Never before had she had to think of someone other than herself before making every single little decision. It was exhausting. How all the other parents of the world did it, she had no idea. But she now understood why. When Luciana’s sister died, her niece became the most important person on the face of the planet, bar none. And while Luciana would have preferred to have her sister back, she now cherished her role as Natalia’s mother.

“Don’t hold back,” Adeline continued to tease. “Is he as good in bed as he looks?”

“It’s not like that,” Luciana said, laughing.

“But do you want it to be like that?” There was no laughing this time as Adeline posed her question. Luciana was surprised at how fast the two of them had bonded and become good friends, and she had definitely needed a friend. Adeline had become a lifeline to her sanity when the whole world seemed to spin out of control.

“I don’t know,” Luciana said, slowly twirling her glass with the tips of her fingers as she stared down at it. “Maybe? Yes?” Her smile broadened and she lifted her gaze to meet Adeline’s. “I could handle a little stress relief.”

“Ha! The Romano boys are good at stress relief.” Adeline winked.

Luciana shrugged and said with a note of sadness in her voice, “He doesn’t see me that way.”

Adeline choked on her drink in response to Luciana’s answer. “What? The man’s kissed you how many times?”

Luciana sucked in air, surprised that Adeline would know such an intimate detail about her life. She hadn’t told anyone. “Once…”

“You mean twice…”

“No, no. The second time I kissed him,” Luciana declared and then realized that she wasn’t succeeding in making any kind of argument about Gianpierre’s platonic-only interest in her.

“Mmhmmm,” Adeline hummed with goodnatured satisfaction. “He doesn’t think you’re cute at all, and he just hates those mile-high legs of yours.”

Luciana leaned forward and hiss whispered, “How do you know all of this?” And then, “He likes my legs?”

“Those brothers are worse than a bunch of girls. They tell each other everything. You caused a cave in that nearly killed you and Gianpierre, so while he had you down on the ground, he figured it was as good a time as any to get in the kiss he’d been dying to give you since the moment you first met. You almost kill him… he kisses you… he figured it was a fair trade.” Adeline’s eyes twinkled as she teased.

Luciana smiled as she sat back in her chair. Instead of feeling as though her privacy had been invaded, she felt relieved. She’d been holding back from talking with and telling Adeline everything since Adeline was engaged to Gianpierre’s brother, Nicolo. She hadn’t wanted to make things more awkward than they already were between them if word managed to get back to him that she’d been talking about him… and the way his lips had felt on hers.

“He is such a good kisser,” Luciana gushed. “And the way he put his body over mine to protect me from all of that falling stone…” She sighed. “They don’t make men like that anymore.”

“I heard that you saw him naked and that you’re living together now.”

Luciana’s smile reached her eyes. “I guess we are doing things a little backwards,” she giggled. “When I asked him to stay instead of moving, I just blurted it out. I… I hadn’t even thought it through. It just felt right.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Oh no. Not at all. After I asked him, I stressed about it and was double guessing myself, but then everything went so well. Did you know that he moved most of his stuff into a storage unit and then hired movers to get us completely moved out of our place and into his place within one day? This army of people and trucks showed up, got us packed, got us moved and then got us unpacked and all of our furniture in place with the beds set up and made before dinner time. He had layout drawings taped to the wall in every room and took me around to each one so that I could make changes, then the movers set everything up to match those drawings of his.” She couldn’t help but shake her head in amazement even though that move had been four weeks ago. “Then he made us dinner—and it was good! Did you know he can cook?”

Luciana laughed and shook her head. “No, but it doesn’t surprise me. All of the brothers, when they decide to learn something, it’s like they get this burning need to not only learn it but to conquer it. They want to best it. They don’t like not being in control of their world.”

“I’m seeing that, which amazes me all the more that Gianpierre was willing to let us turn his world upside down by staying with us. I mean, when there’s a five year old little girl in the house, it’s fun for the adults to think that they’re in control, but it’s all an illusion.”

“Are you liking motherhood?” Adeline asked gently.

“I am. I really, really am. I love it.” Her eyes teared up but she didn’t let the tears fall. “I get it now. For a while after Sophia had Natalia, I felt as though I’d lost my sister because everything about her became about Natalia, but I get it now. She’s worth it. She’s amazing, and… I thought I loved her before, but that was nothing. She’s everything to me now.”

Adeline’s thoughtful smile seemed to sink her thoughts inward.

“How are you doing? Are you looking forward to the little one getting here?”

Adeline put her hand on her still almost flat belly, and she smiled with a glow that came from within. “I am.” When her eyes teared up, she did let them fall, but it was clear that they were tears of joy.

“And Nicolo? He’s happy too?”

“The man’s a wreck.” Adeline laughed. “He wants everything to be perfect. But he’s so happy, too. Everywhere he goes, he fits it into the conversation that we’re going to have a baby. We went out to eat and he told the valet who was parking the car. He struck up a conversation with a gaggle of old women, and I know it was just so that he could tell them that he was going to be a brand new Papa.” She laughed. “You should have seen those women fawning over him. If he didn’t have a big head before, he does now. But,”—she sighed—“he’s scared, too. I see it in the quiet moments. So much in the world is changing, and he so wants her to have a beautiful life.”

Something about Adeline’s words describing Nicolo’s devotion to their unborn child struck a chord for Luciana, and she couldn’t help but think about Gianpierre. She had imagined that she would have to do her best to keep Natalia from bothering him, but the little girl absolutely adored him. She followed him around everywhere. And he was always so calm that it seemed to make Natalia calmer, too. She’d even stopped searching their home for her Matri during the middle of the night. Her nightmares had eased, and she’d giggled until she’d snorted at dinner the other night as Gianpierre explained the finer points of how to eat corn on the cob while getting maximum butter smear on his face. He was a surprise at every turn, and Natalia loved him. She was happier with him in her life… but he was going to leave.

A sick feeling balled itself high in Luciana’s stomach, making her feel nauseous. She had set the little girl up for a second huge loss. Gianpierre was going to leave and he wasn’t going to be back for years. Natalia was only five. Even the length of four years—the anticipated completion time needed for the Dubai job—would have her nearly twice as old as she was now. That was an eternity for a child. For all practical purposes, he was going away and he was not coming back.

“I’ve made a huge mistake,” she said as anguished panic rose within her.

“What? What’s wrong?” Adeline reached across the table and grasped Luciana’s hand. Concern etched her face and squeezed her brows closer together.

“I’ve set that little girl up for misery. She lost her mother and now she’s going to lose Gianpierre. He’d be on a plane tonight for Dubai and not even look back if he thought he could drop the Romano del Mare project that fast. She means nothing to him but he’s the world to her. I’ve messed up. I’ve messed up so bad. What am I going to do?”

Adeline’s lips said a silent “Oh” as understanding settled in. “He’d never hurt her,” she said, giving Luciana’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I know that he wouldn’t set out to, but that’s what’s going to happen. I pulled him into Natalia’s life, and now I have to get him out. And I’ve got to do that as soon as possible.”