EPILOGUE
Three months later
“Happy birthday!” A chorus of cheers echoed through the room. We lifted flutes of champagne, toasting Remington’s father, who was turning seventy-five.
My chest warmed as I looked through the crowd of people in the huge dining room at the Theriot house in Metairie.
My brothers were there, along with Remington and his brothers, Alina, and most importantly, Niko.
He held my heart in his hands, and he had taken such good care of it for the last few months.
I’d cared for him the best I could through nightmares of the night his father died and fears about Ivanov still being out there in the world, but today was a big day, not only because of Remington’s father, but because Alina and Niko had both been accepted at Dumonde University. They would start classes in January.
Remington had insisted that there was no reason for Alina to wait until her father was found. He didn’t need her working full-time. She said she could manage work and school, and he would make sure she was protected. She was something else, and I was really glad that she was staying here with us.
When everyone broke apart and began to talk again after the toast, I saw Niko standing with Remington and Henri.
He and Henri had gotten close over the last few weeks, and I was so happy to see them talking animatedly to each other.
Niko was coming out of his shell more and more. It made me so happy.
There had been no more talk of him leaving when we tracked down Ivanov, and I had a feeling Remington knew that wasn’t going to happen, but making my position as clear as I could wouldn’t hurt.
I walked over to join them. Niko immediately reached out for me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I draped one over his shoulders, pulling him to my side.
“You doing all right over here, or are they bothering you?”
“Seriously, Lorenzo, I was trying to have a conversation with him,” Henri said. “But for some reason, he really does seem to like you a lot.”
“Do you like me?” I asked, looking down at Niko.
“Of course I do.”
“Well, I don’t just like Niko,” I said, glancing at Remington. “I love him more than I ever imagined possible.”
Remington narrowed his eyes. “Is this your way of saying he won’t be leaving?”
“He won’t be leaving, because he’ll be family.” I dropped down on one knee and took Niko’s hands in mine. “Nikolai, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”
Niko stared at me, his mouth opening and closing.
“You’re supposed to answer,” Henri said, tapping him on the shoulder.
“Yes. Yes!”
As tears formed in his eyes, I rose and pulled him to me. “Don’t cry.”
He wiped at his eyes. “I never thought I’d have a real family.”
“But now you do,” Henri said, “and it is a really good one.”
Remington huffed, but when Niko turned to him, he held out his hand. “Welcome to the family, Niko.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe this is real.”
We had drawn the attention of others. My brothers, Remington’s and Remington’s parents, were all watching us.
I nodded to Bébé. “Sorry to steal your glory on your birthday.”
“No, no, no, he doesn’t care about birthdays,” Remington’s stepmother said. “I forced him to have this party. This is much better. I saw this was coming. The party just provided you a place to do it.”
I pulled a ring box from my pocket and opened it. Nikolai smiled when he saw what was inside, a simple gold band, engraved with roses.
“As soon as I saw you in the rose garden at your father’s house, I knew I wasn’t going to let you go.”
Tears ran down his cheeks again as I slipped the ring on his finger. “Oh, Lorenzo. This is perfect.”
“No, you’re perfect.”
“Wow, since when did Lorenzo get so mushy?” Rafe asked.
I turned and glared at him. Dante took his arm. “I’ll get rid of him.”
I took Niko’s hands and led him outside onto the terrace.
“This is real, right?” he asked. “I’m not dreaming.”
“No, baby, you’re not dreaming, but I’m going to make sure the rest of your life is just as good as any dream.”
“I love you, Lorenzo.”
I gave him a gentle kiss. “I love you so much. I can’t wait to be married to you.”
He pulled me to him, and we swayed in the dark to the music that was pouring from inside. I could hear the chatter of people, but as far as I was concerned, we were in our own little world there together, one we’d made for each other.
Thank you for reading His Forbidden Obsession. I’m excited to be writing another mafia family. Dante’s story is next.