Epilogue
Mia
Two months later
‘Don’t you ever feel guilty, Mia?’
I shifted round on the lounger to find Evie staring at me wide-eyed.
This was her second visit to Isla Donna since I had come to live on Vito’s island…
Vito had made a huge fuss over her, and she’d loved being here, I knew that.
He’d also spoilt us both rotten this week with another trip to Milan on the jet, to purchase a wardrobe for both Evie and me this time as a belated Christmas present.
I ran my open palms over my now enormous belly. It was late January already, but we’d had a rare chance to use the pool today vecause of an unseasonably warm spell.
My new wardrobe had been designer maternity clothes—which I had tried to explain to Vito weren’t necessary, because the baby was due in less than a month.
But I’d eventually given in to the trip because I had known Evie would adore it, especially after having to spend her first Christmas alone in London, and I’d also known that Vito was still a little unsure of my love for him.
Apparently allowing him to buy me and my sister a load of unnecessary clothes helped put his mind at rest, so who was I or Evie to complain?
‘Guilty about what?’ I asked, concerned that Evie was finally going to ask questions about Vito’s businesses.
I had never questioned him about what he did for a living.
It was part of our unspoken agreement. An agreement I’d signed up to by loving him.
And the rewards had been, well…incredible.
Not in monetary things, not really. As much as I had come to love living on Isla Donna, it was him I wanted, not his wealth.
It was that feeling he gave me of being cherished and adored, the knowledge that he would do anything to protect me and the baby.
Vito was still an unreconstructed alpha male, which meant he still insisted on bossing me around every chance he got.
And while his dominance worked in bed—because it was seriously hot—whenever he got too bossy out of it, I now knew I simply had to stand up to him.
And he could be reasoned with. Because he loved me and wanted me to be happy.
And when he pressed and I pushed back, it also usually led to lots of hot makeup sex. So there was that…
Although in the past couple of weeks, as I had become increasingly enormous, he had become much more tender in bed and out of it.
The look of awe in his eyes as he stroked my belly at night after we’d made love, or in the mornings when the baby was usually super active, had only added to the deep sense of belonging I felt in his arms.
He was the one who had surprised me a week ago with a visit from Evie.
I’d only discovered this morning that he had brought her here because he was concerned the baby might arrive early, and he had wanted me to have her support during the birth.
His thoughtfulness had surprised me, not because he didn’t constantly show his compassionate side to me, but because I knew he was still struggling with the problem of how to deal with Dante, and the island had been in lockdown as a result.
But as I steeled myself to deal with any difficult questions from Evie, her face lit up with what could only be described as excitement.
‘Guilty that we’re living like queens,’ Evie said, her voice hushed but animated. ‘While Vito has his brother locked up in a dungeon here…?’
I manoeuvred myself up so I was sitting on the lounger and snuggled into the warm swimming robe I’d brought down to the pool, a chill running through my body.
‘How do you know about Dante, Evie?’ I asked, not liking the sparkle in her eyes.
Evie had always loved drama, so it didn’t surprise me that she’d romanticise this situation.
But Vito would be unhappy that she even knew about Dante being here.
No one was supposed to know of his whereabouts.
‘I was on my morning run yesterday on the other side of the island, Mia, and I saw him. Lorenzo was with him, and some of the other men. Did you know they’ve been beating him?’
I knew that Vito had ordered the beatings to stop, I would have to tell him that may not have happened. But that wasn’t the point, as far as Evie was concerned.
‘Don’t go there again, Evie. You’re not supposed to be on that side of the island.’ Something my inquisitive little sister had been warned about before. ‘How did you know who he was?’ I asked. If someone had leaked the information, Vito would be furious.
‘Oh, come on, Mia, it’s obvious if you look at him. They’re so alike. He’s even more handsome than Vito.’
I’d never seen Dante. Vito had insisted I did not need to know what was going on in the negotiations with the Malvinis, and I’d respected that.
He’d promised me he wouldn’t kill his brother, and I knew he wouldn’t break that promise, so that was enough for me.
It wasn’t my business what happened to his brother while he was held prisoner here.
But the dreamy look in Evie’s eyes was totally my business.
I grasped Evie’s hand and held on to it. ‘Listen to me, Evie. Dante may be handsome, but he is incredibly dangerous. He has a grudge against Vito and the Rocco Syndicate. It was him and his mob who shot at us on our first night together. Don’t go near him again. Do you understand?’
Evie nodded, her face pale. ‘It was him?’ She looked horrified. ‘He was the one who tried to kill you both?’
‘Yes, he was,’ I said, even though I knew it wasn’t entirely true.
Vito had assured me Dante hadn’t actually been attempting to kill us that night.
He had become convinced in the arguments he’d had with Dante while he was captive here, that the nighttime raid on the estate in Naples, the night we’d made our baby, had been a show of strength, a warning that had gone wrong.
But I decided it was better to let Evie believe the worst.
I had no doubt at all Dante Malvini was a ruthless killer. So it made sense for me to make sure Evie realised how dangerous he was.
I squeezed her fingers. ‘This isn’t a game, Evie. Or a movie. This is my real life now. I trust Vito to keep us both safe, or I wouldn’t let him bring you here. But you have a responsibility too, not to do anything to jeopardise your own safety.’
I knew how much Vito loved me now, because he showed me every single day.
All those long looks, the sparkle of approval as well as arousal that was always there in his eyes, that told me I fascinated and intrigued and captivated him.
The way he adored it when I challenged him or said something witty or caustic.
I knew he admired my strength and my determination, as well as my compassion and empathy, things he had had far too little of in his life.
But I also knew that what we had, what we were building together, was pretty unique, especially in his world.
He’d made allowances for me, had softened his desire to be in total control of everything and everyone to make space for my choices, my freedom.
He’d also made allowances for Evie, trusting her the way he trusted me, just because she was my sister.
And no way on earth was I going to throw that back in his face by putting either one of us… or my baby…in unnecessary danger.
I could see I had got my message across when Evie squeezed my fingers back, her face red.
‘Of course, Mia. I get it. And I’m sorry. I guess there’s a bit too much of Mum in me sometimes…’ She grinned that cheeky reckless grin I had always adored, despite the fact it had got us both into trouble more than once. ‘And he is super good-looking!’
‘Stop,’ I groaned.
‘Who is super good-looking?’
We both swung round to see Vito walking across the pool terrace towards us. He’d been gone for several days on a business trip to Rome. My heart leapt into my throat at the sight of him again… I’d missed him so much.
The throb of love in my heart was joined by another throb lower down. He’d rolled up his shirtsleeves to reveal the inked forearms I’d fixated on more than once.
I stifled the little well of guilt at my white lie when I murmured, ‘You are…you big lug.’
He reached me and lifted me easily off the lounger, despite my massive belly.
‘Vito!’ I gasped as I grabbed him around the neck.
‘Who is calling who big, bella?’ His husky chuckle had the throb going ballistic as his lips nuzzled my ear.
‘Jesus, you two, get a room!’ Evie laughed, apparently already over her misguided crush on Vito’s brother as she slipped on a warm robe to cover herself too.
Dante would be dealt with eventually, and hopefully Evie would never need to know about the more dangerous or brutal aspects of the life I’d chosen, I’d decided.
Vito turned and began to carry me back across the terrace towards the steps leading to our suite.
‘Where are you taking me, Vito?’
‘I am doing what your sister suggests and taking you to my bed. It is too cold to use the pool today,’ he said, clearly as unimpressed as his staff that Evie and I had wanted to take advatage of the first sign of sun in over a month.
‘And I have been without you for days…’ he declared, the demand in his voice making me melt in all the right places.
‘But I was talking to my sister,’ I protested, not very convincingly thanks to the breathless yearning already making my nipples pebble and my thighs quiver.
‘Your sister will have to wait. Now you must please your man,’ he said, going the full bossy as he stalked up the stairs with me in his arms.
When we arrived at the suite, he kicked the door closed behind him and dropped me on my feet.
After pulling off my warm rode, he tugged his shirt over his head, buttons popping onto the floor.
I edged back towards the bed as he proceeded to kick off his shoes and undo his fly.
How much he needed me was evident from the huge bulge in his boxers and the dark demand on his face when he shoved them down.