Chapter Fifty-Four - Elise #2
“There’s one more matter I’d like to address before we disperse for the day,” Joshua announces. “At the end of this week, I’ll be making an announcement to officially appoint my newest capo. After recent events, it’s abundantly clear that Elise is the best person for the job.”
I whirl around on his lap to face him. “Excuse me?”
“What?” my brothers exclaim in unison.
His lip turns up, and he presses a kiss to my temple. “I’ve been planning to bring her into the family business for a while now, but after everything that happened at the factory, I have no doubts. She’s the perfect candidate.”
I study Joshua’s expression with all the brain power my concussion will allow, looking for any sign that he’s joking—but there’s none. His gaze is earnest, shining with certainty.
I look to my brothers next.
Damon leans back in his chair, a slight smile on his lips like he’s watching me win an award. James’s stare is trained on me, and I can practically feel the waves of wariness rolling off of him. Logan doesn’t shift his gaze from Joshua’s, testing the sincerity like I had.
“You should do it,” Damon states, and it’s the first time he’s spoken to me since I woke up.
I smile my gratitude to my oldest brother and look to Logan, waiting for his objection.
Instead, he sighs. “Elise, what do you want to do?”
Everyone looks at me expectantly, and I realize that I don’t have an answer to that. I’d been so focused on their reactions that I hadn’t considered the actual proposition.
My whole life, I’ve been running from this very fate. I spent years searching for something better—something normal—but I never found what I was looking for. Sure, I could fill my time and tell myself I was happy, but there was always something missing.
Now I know that it was me.
I suppressed so much of who I am in the name of freedom, and in the end, I was only holding myself hostage.
In some strange twist of fate, when Joshua kidnapped me, he also set me free.
I look to Joshua, who is practically beaming at me with love and pride.
My smile is wide. “I accept.”
It’s been hours since the meeting, but I’m still riding the high of accepting my new position.
Joshua tried to convince me to go back to our room and rest, but sharing a celebratory drink with the other capos was too enticing to pass up, even if I had to drink water and take a three-hour long nap afterward because of how exhausted I was.
I’ve only been awake for an hour, despite the fact that it’s now early evening.
“Why don’t we go on a walk?” Joshua asks, placing a sweet kiss on my forehead.
“You’re the one badgering me to stay in bed,” I remind him.
“Who said you’d be doing the walking?”
Careful not to jostle me too much, Joshua scoops me in his arms so I’m cradled against his chest.
“Ready?”
“Lead the way,” I say with a laugh.
The gentle rocking is so calming that it almost lulls me to sleep.
When we step into the garden, the first thing I notice is the sky. Dark purple, orange, and blue color the vast space, and the sight is absolutely gorgeous.
I’m captivated by the view, which is probably why I don’t notice my surroundings until Joshua stops walking and gently places me on my feet.
If I thought the sky was beautiful, then what I’m looking at now is breathtaking.
We’re at the base of the gazebo, but the smooth stone is no longer bare.
Candles line either side of the staircase with string lights wrapped around the handrails and Roman-style pillars.
Their illumination blends seamlessly with the dusk lighting.
Hundreds of flowers that I can’t even name line the inside of the structure, and rose petals have been sprinkled over the ground and stairs.
I’m speechless.
Joshua takes my hand, and we ascend the stairs until we’re standing in the center of the lights and flowers.
As he faces me, taking my hands in both of his, I find my voice. “Joshua, what—what is all of this?”
He smiles, and it’s a sight that rivals the beauty around us.
“When I walked into that bakery, I knew that I was about to change your life, but I had no idea that you’d flip mine upside down. I spent months creating the perfect plan, and within twenty-four hours of meeting you, it was already going off the rails.”
He shakes his head. “Every time I saw you, it was like I was losing control of the situation—like you were breaking my walls and stealing every last bit of my sanity. It pissed me off that anyone—let alone some girl—could have that kind of effect on me. It wasn’t until that night in the garden that I realized I had it all wrong.
You weren’t breaking or stealing anything.
You were giving pieces of yourself to me.
I had no idea what to do with the hope and trust you were putting in me despite everything I’d done to you.
All I knew was that I needed to protect it. Then Tripp attacked you…”
Joshua’s gaze, overflowing with sincerity and love, locks on mine. “I let you down, and I’m not sure I’ll ever fully forgive myself for that.”
I open my mouth to tell him that I’ve already forgiven him, but he silences me with a peck on the lips before going on.
“When you agreed to stay with me for the month, I promised myself that I’d be worthy of the chance you were giving me. I never wanted you to look at me the way you did in that basement ever again… But you did after you saw what I did to Tripp.”
He goes on. “I lashed out because I was pissed at myself for breaking that promise again. It felt so hopeless to keep trying to make this work when I clearly couldn’t get it right.”
He drops my hands, only to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me to him. I instinctively wrap mine around his neck so our foreheads rest on one another.
“But the idea of losing you…” He shakes his head. “The idea of you being out in the world and not being mine? That’s worse than anything I could imagine.”
He places a long kiss on my forehead.
“I’ve screwed up more times than I can count, and I can’t promise that it won’t happen again. What I can promise is that I will never stop trying to be the man you deserve. Being without you isn’t an option anymore, so I’ll do whatever it takes to have you. You are my light, my life, and my heart.”
He releases my waist, slowly lowering himself to one knee. I feel a single tear sliding down my cheek as Joshua reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the familiar box.
“Exactly one month ago, I asked you to stay with me, and I told you that at the end of that time, I’d be making you my wife.”
When he opens the box, revealing the stunning ring, I realize I haven’t felt complete since taking it off.
“Elise Maya Consoli, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
I fall to my knees, wrapping my arms around him and bringing my lips to his.
“Is that a yes?” Joshua asks through kisses.
“That’s a yes,” I confirm, smiling against his lips.
He’s kissing me again before the word is even out.
As the sun sets over the flower-filled, dreamily-lit garden, I lose myself in the complete and utter perfection of this moment.
Joshua Moreno is the love I never saw coming. He came crashing into my life like a hurricane—brutal and destructive. I thought he was stealing my life away from me, but he’s given me more than I ever imagined I could have.
He says that I’m his light, his life, and his heart, but Joshua Moreno is my everything.