CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE – CAMILLO

I stared out at the water while I watched the ship dock in the early morning light. The staff was there, loading the boxes into the Jeeps, and I watched while they made their way up the hill. Everyone was still asleep, and I relished the quiet for a few moments while I sipped my tea.

I went out to meet the staff, and they helped me get the boxes into the living room. I sat on the floor with my knife, and I ripped boxes open. Then, I began wrapping all the gifts for the kids. I wrapped up video games and sports memorabilia. I wrapped up new toys for Ana and placed her beautiful new dresses flat in boxes with bows on them. I got Cassie a new Keurig coffee machine, as well as a personalized coffee mug, complete with a thousand-dollar gift card to a website that specialized in k-cups.

She’d been drowning in coffee by the time she spent it all.

And for Rose, I got her jewelry and specialized lingerie. I bought her new outfits for winter in the Poconos and a gift card to the local furniture store so she could restock her house with comfortable things. New beds for everyone and couches that didn’t have stains. A kitchen table that didn’t wobble and bed frames that didn’t creak.

I’d set up college accounts for both Kevin and Ana. I’d dumped five hundred thousand dollars into each of the investments accounts, which would grow over the years into almost one million dollars. Schooling children was expensive, and I wanted to make sure they had the best start in life possible. I put all of that official bank documentation into a folder and sealed it up.

I wanted the kids to have the perfect Christmas.

I wanted them to remember this Christmas for the rest of their lives. I wanted this Christmas to change the way they viewed the world. I wanted this Christmas to be remembered as the Christmas they stopped struggling and started living.

It was the first Christmas I was spending with my family, and I wanted it to be filled with happiness, smiles, and love.

But Rose had been distant after our lovemaking the night before. As much as she’d seemed to enjoy herself during, afterward she’d curled in on herself. I thought back to how she’d told me she loved me and the words warmed me all over again. But then she’d changed.

Maybe after the haze of her orgasms had dissipated, she had truly realized what it meant when I’d told her we were safe. She had finally admitted to herself that there was only one way that could have happened. Maybe she regretted loving a man with blood on his hands. What would I do if she did?

I sat there by the tree until the sun was high in the sky and shining down on this Christmas morning.

Suddenly, I heard the boys stirring from their beds. I heard the chef come in and walk toward the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee before he came and took the tea cup from my hands. Cassie was dragging herself down the hallway with her heavy feet as she schlepped into the room, but the gasp that fled from her lips caused me to turn my head toward her.

Her eyes were sparkling in shock at the presents lying underneath the Christmas tree.

“Boys, Rose, get the fuck up!” she yelled. “Get up now!”

For the first time since I’d known her, I smirked and shook my head at how brazen she was.

Some man would be lucky to have her by his side one day.

The boys came barreling into the room and screamed with joy. They ran and tripped, stumbling over to the tree as they began to shake the presents. I heard Rose’s feet hit the floor above my head, probably getting herself dressed before she went to get Ana from her crib.

I got up from my seat and started watching the waves crash upon the sandy beach while Rose rounded the corner.

“Oh, my gosh,” I heard her gasp. I saw her reflection in the window, holding Ana close to her as her jaw fell open.

I sighed heavily, memorizing the way she looked in that very moment. She was perfect.

I felt her approach me while my eyes stayed trained on the ocean. The truth was, I didn’t want to look at her. I wanted to keep the memory of her shocked happiness in my mind, not the memory

“How’d you do it?” she asked. “The presents, I mean.”

“I made some orders and rush shipped them,” I said. “They arrived around five this morning.”

“Thank you,” she said lightly.

And she didn’t move from my side.

“I’ve been struggling with things all night,” she admitted while Ana squirmed in her arms.

I nodded but didn’t say anything. I felt my hands gripping themselves behind my back so hard that I split open one of my wounds. I felt the blood trickling down the palm of my hand, and I winced, bringing my hands around to look at them as Rose set Ana down.

“Go see Cassie, sweet girl. Go on.”

I watched Ana run off toward the tree and pounce onto Cassie, who was giggling with the boys while they sorted through the presents.

Without another sound, I watched as Rose picked up the corner of her robe. She took my hand within hers, and pressed the robe to my wound over and over again, soaking up the blood while her eyes danced along my skin. I watched her closely, studying her every move while she drew in a deep breath through her nose.

Then, her shoulders heaved with a deep sigh before she allowed her gaze to travel up to mine.

She took both of my hands within hers and brought them to her lips. She kissed each and every bruise and cut on my knuckles, and as I watched, the heat in my body rose from my toes. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in my scent while my wound slowly began to clot.

Then she smiled into my skin, and I knew in that very moment, I was safe.

“I love you, Camillo,” she said. “And I’m just so glad you’re home.”

“I love you, too, Rose,” I said. “And I’m so glad you welcomed me home.”