Chapter 74
Chapter Seventy-Four
VIOLA
The boat’s cabin is small and warm, the wooden walls creaking softly with every gentle rock of the waves.
A single lamp casts a golden glow over us, and the distant hum of the engines vibrates through the floor beneath my bare feet.
I’m wrapped in a thick blanket Ricci pulled from somewhere, my wet hair dripping onto his shirt, but none of it matters.
I melt into his arms, pressing my face against his chest, breathing in the salt and smoke and him.
His heartbeat is steady under my cheek, strong and real, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I finally feel safe.
I can’t believe this is my life.
The plane, the jump, the explosion still echoing in my ears.
It all feels like something from a movie.
But his arms around me are solid, his hands stroking slow, soothing paths up and down my back.
The terror that gripped me so hard is finally loosening its hold.
I tilt my head up to look at him, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“So where are we actually going?”
He smiles, that soft, private smile that still makes my stomach flutter even after everything. His fingers brush a damp strand of hair from my cheek, lingering there like he can’t stop touching me.
“It’s a secret,” he says, voice low and warm against my skin. “You’ll find out soon. But I know you’ll love it.”
The words settle over me like sunlight, and something bright and giddy blooms in my chest. Ecstatic. That’s the only word for it. I press closer, my lips brushing the line of his jaw, and I feel him smile against my temple.
I pull back just enough to meet his eyes again. “Who were the people in the plane?”
He doesn’t hesitate. His hand slides down to rest at the small of my back, holding me steady as the boat cuts through the water.
“A politician, a prostitute, and her pimp who were murdered a few months ago,” he says quietly. “I stored their bodies in a freezer. I figured they might come in handy one day.”
The casual way he says it should horrify me, but it doesn’t. Not anymore. Not after everything I’ve seen and felt. Given a second chance, I would choose him again. I nod, letting the pieces click together in my mind. He had planned for this. For us. From the very beginning, it seems.
He cups my face then, his thumbs brushing over my cheekbones, his eyes dark and intense in the low light.
“I’m in love with you, Viola,” he says thickly, like these words have been waiting years to be spoken. “I’ve been planning for this day since the first time I saw you. You will never see your family again, and I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s okay,” I reply. “They never cared about me when I was alive, so why would they care about me now that I am ‘dead’?”
“But you have me, and you have Freddie, and you will have our children when they come.”
“Do you want kids?”
“Yeah,” he nods, and I hug him warm and hard.
“I love you, Mr. Santori,” I whisper. “Oh wait. That’s not our name anymore, is it?”
He shrugs. “We have a few options.”
Further surprising me, he goes down on one knee in the small cabin, right there on the gently rocking floor, his hands still holding mine.
The boat sways softly beneath us, the distant sound of waves lapping against the hull the only other noise in the world.
He looks up at me, eyes shining with everything he’s never been able to say before.
“I love you, Viola,” he says again, voice thick. “Truly. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. You’re the only person that has ever made sense in my life.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring. I gasp with shock and awe. It is a huge, utterly gorgeous emerald surrounded by a halo of diamonds that catch the lamplight and throw it back in sparkling bursts. It’s stunning and perfect.
“Marry me again, Viola,” he says, his words simple and fierce and full of promise.
I don’t even have to think. “Yes,” I breathe, the word breaking on a sob and a laugh all at once. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
He slides the ring onto my finger, the metal cool and heavy and the perfect size. Then he rises and pulls me into his arms. His mouth swoops down in a deep, passionate kiss, tasting of joy, relief, and the future we just chose together.
“God, I love you so damn much,” he growls when we finally pull apart.
And in that moment, with the boat carrying us toward whatever secret life waits for us, I believe him with every piece of my heart.
“I love you too, Ricci.”