Epilogue
GIOVANNI
Boston
Eighteen Months Later
D affodils symbolize rebirth and hope, but also resilience, and that was exactly what our family was.
As I promised my wife, I had been slowly checking off every single one of her bucket list tattoos from her list.
This was another one. Dancing barefoot across the field of daffodils.
My wife wanted to walk in a field of them, stronger than ever, and I ensured to make that happen. I bought land all around our home and planted daffodils so she could always run barefoot through them. And she did, over and over again, then she’d run back to me and pepper kisses all over my face, only to go back and run over it again. And now she was dancing in the field of daffodils.
Happy. Strong. And more beautiful than ever.
Leaning against the doorframe of our terrace door with my hands in my pockets, I watched my family run barefoot over the flowers. Jet, Elira, and Lia made a dance circle with their cousins, Lou, Lara, and Kingston, and my brothers who grumbled, claiming they look ridiculous.
They were right; they did.
But judging by everyone’s smiling faces, my brothers would continue looking ridiculous.
Seeing them all like this, it made the journey to get to this moment so fucking worth it.
Life was good, so fucking good that sometimes I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
Our family divided our year between Siberia, Venezuela, and Boston, playing mitigator between three criminal organizations—the Cartel, the Omertà, and the Syndicate. Our relationship with the Omertà, the Kingpins, and the Cartel was stronger than ever. The Syndicate was making progress in tearing down flesh trading. And my wife… she was so fucking happy, she glowed.
Having the twins, Amara, and Lou back in her life made an extraordinary change in Lia. The children, being close in age, became tight friends and extremely close. And so did my wife and Emory. Lia still visited Dr. Freud, although not as frequently, and more often than not it was a social call rather than a professional one. The two had formed an unlikely friendship.
Life really worked in mysterious ways.
“You did good, Giovanni.” Mateo’s voice came from behind me and I glanced at him. “I have to admit, when I first heard about you marrying Lia, I wasn’t so sure about the match.” I rolled my eyes, and he continued, “Not that it would have mattered. In that regard, you’re very much like me.”
“You keep forgetting I’m not your blood,” I reminded him.
“No matter, you’re still family.”
Kian cut in, appearing suddenly.
“Sorry I’m late.” His gaze darted to the circus of bare feet. “Or maybe not. Why is everyone barefoot?”
I shrugged. “It’s my wife’s bucket list.”
“To walk around barefoot?” Kian wondered, his brow furrowing.
“Yes, across the field of daffodils.” I turned my head his way. “Got a problem with that?”
He raised his hands as if to surrender.
“Not at all, I think it’s cute,” he remarked wryly. “I see my niece, Lara, is enjoying it too.”
I smiled.
Lara, Kingston and Lou’s adopted daughter, had became a key part of our unusual family.
“You know she has a bucket list of her own,” I said.
Kian shot me a surprised look. “Isn’t she a bit too young for a bucket list?”
I rolled my eyes, but thankfully Mateo saved me the response. “You’re never too young or too old for a bucket list.”
“You should give it a try,” I retorted dryly.
Kian was a damned workaholic. A fucking machine that refused to stop churning. When he wasn’t running the Syndicate and being everyone’s slight pain in the ass, he ran both a security company and the Cortes Cartel. Honestly, I wasn’t sure where he got the stamina.
“Giovanni,” Jet shouted, running over to me. I pulled my hands out of my pockets and opened them as he threw himself into my arms.
“Hey, buddy. You look like you’re having fun.”
“I’m just playing along, making the girls happy,” he said, rolling his eyes, but the smile on his face said the opposite. He was enjoying it as much as the girls.
“Maybe I should play along too,” I offered.
His whole face lit up. “Yes. It will make Mom happy.”
I smiled. “Then let’s go make your mom happy.”
“Yes,” he beamed, then grabbed my hand in his, pulling me away from the door and toward the field.
As if she could sense me, Lia lifted her head and trapped me in her beautiful gaze. Her long blonde hair fell down her back, her curls bouncing as she danced freely. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I didn’t think I could fall deeper in love with her, but I was so fucking wrong, because with each passing day, I fell deeper and deeper under her spell.
She met me halfway across the field, pressed a kiss to Jet’s head, then brought her hand to my chest, lifting onto her tiptoes.
“Thank you so much,” she murmured against my lips.
“In full disclosure, Jet helped me plant the bulbs last fall,” I admitted.
“Awww, thank you, Jet,” she murmured, pressing another kiss to his cheek. “I love it so much, and I love you even more.”
Jet, being a typical boy, wiggled, but didn’t pull away. “You’re welcome, Mama.”
Then he grinned and took off to play with his cousins, leaving me alone with my wife. I took advantage, pulling her flush to me, her breasts pressing against mine.
“Today, it’s nearly perfect, husband. Thank you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Nearly?”
That wouldn’t do. I needed everything absolutely perfect for my wife.
“We’re just missing Mara,” she murmured. “I wanted to practice swimming with her and she’ll miss the flowers. They’ll probably all die out.”
My wife was eliminating her bucket list slowly but surely, leaving her with one final item to complete. Her graduate degree. She was working on it now, determined to live to the fullest, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.
“I know, wildflower, but she’ll be here next week. I’ll import a truckload of daffodils and plant them if these die, and we can all run barefoot and dance.”
She chuckled softly. “You too?”
I grinned. “Damn right.”
“How did I get so lucky?” Lia asked in a soft voice.
“You didn’t shoot me when you had a chance,” I teased.
“Best decision of my life.” She put her arms around my neck, smiling, then kissed me on the lips. “I’m so in love with you, and life without you would be miserable.”
I chuckled against her lips. “I love you too, wildflower.”
We started dancing, our family’s laughter surrounding us, and the world had never felt more right than it did now with this woman in my arms. She made me so proud and happy, and she loved me unconditionally.
I was hers. She was mine.
In sickness and in health. For richer or for poorer.
Until death do us part.
THE END