Epilogue
Valentina – One Year Later
Cristian winks at me from across Luca and Katerina’s dining room table.
I smile, not just at the man, but the father who holds our three-month-old son, Matteo.
"He's getting so big," Katerina says, sliding a platter of lasagna onto the dining table. "Those Bonetti genes are strong."
I laugh. "Three months old and he weighs a ton."
“Those are Dante genes,” Luca says, setting his and Katerina’s five-month-old daughter, Alessia, in the high chair.
“I’m big and strong,” Enzo, Luca and Katerina’s seven-year-old son says, showing his bicep.
“The biggest and strongest.” Luca rustles Enzo’s hair.
To be honest, I never would have guessed Luca could be such a mush for a woman or kids, but he’s a marshmallow when it comes to his family.
And I’m beyond grateful that Cristian is the same.
Food filled with garlic and basil is passed around the table. Cliché Italian, but why not?
It’s delicious.
And it’s become a regular thing that Cristian, Matteo, and I have Sunday dinners with my brother and his family.
Since that horrible day last year, my life has greatly improved.
Cristian and I were married in a small ceremony that even Alessandro and Adriano attended, although I had to promise I wouldn’t try to kill them for their deception.
Cristian and I settled into a cute and highly protected home, and he’s steadily grown in the Luca Dante family business.
And while I’m kept away from anything dangerous, they both ask for my input as they do with Katerina, who has some great insights on the New York Bratva and has been useful for Alessandro and Adriano.
Now a year later, I can’t imagine anyone is as happy as I am.
"What are you thinking about?" Cristian asks, his hand finding mine on the table.
"How lucky we are. How impossible this all seemed a year ago."
His fingers tighten around mine. He doesn't need to respond. We both know what it cost to get here.
"To family." Luca raises his glass, his eyes meeting mine with understanding. "Found and made."
"To family," I echo.
Luca's expression shifts. “I heard from Alessandro today.”
The table grows quieter.
“Ivan is getting bolder, apparently,” he says of Maksim’s brother who has come in to take over the business and seek revenge.
Once it got back to New York that Cristian wasn’t dead, the ruse was over.
Cristian's jaw tightens. "I still have contacts in New York. Ivan's been recruiting heavily, bringing in men from Moscow."
Luca scoops up a bite of lasagna. "I've offered support, but you know Alessandro."
"Too proud to ask for help," I finish for him.
Katerina looks between us. "You think there will be war?"
Luca shares a look with Cristian. "Alessandro won't let it come to that if he can help it. He’s convinced that there can be more profit in peace, but I wouldn’t cross him. He’s gotten bolder too. I think he’s finally coming into his own.”
I’ve always wondered why Luca seemed born to lead, whereas Alessandro was raised to lead, but struggled after my father’s death.
I suppose it’s just the difference in people and personality.
"He's grown into a Don that even Lorenzo would fear," Cristian says with a genuine tone of respect.
"He’s definitely more strategic, more lethal,” Luca agrees.
"And Adriano?"
“There’s never been a question about him. The guy moves through life like he’s got nothing to lose. It makes him the perfect enforcer," Cristian says. "They make a formidable pair."
"Are you afraid of him, Luca?" I ask. "Of Alessandro?"
Luca laughs, but it's not entirely convincing.
"Afraid? No. But would I want to be on the wrong side of him?" He shakes his head. "Not anymore." He takes a sip of wine. “But, he’s mentioned more than once that he’d like Cristian back, and well… over my dead body.” He says it jokingly, but it still sends a shiver through me. I know it’s the world I live in, but I don’t want more death.
"I've found my place here,” Cristian says, smiling at me over Matteo.
“So they’re on their own,” I say. I lift my glass. “To Alessandro and Adriano. May they stay ten steps ahead of Ivan Vasiliev."
“Hear, hear,” the rest of the table agrees.
"Speaking of them," I say after I sip my wine, "wouldn't it be nice if he and Adriano could find what we have? This…" I gesture around the table, at our family filled with love.
Luca nearly chokes on his wine. "Alessandro? In love?" He laughs, shaking his head. "I'm not convinced our oldest brother even has a heart. The Dante empire runs through his veins, not blood."
"Luca," Katerina chides, but I can see her fighting a smile.
"I used to wonder the same thing," I admit. “Alessandro was groomed from birth to be Don. I sometimes think Father trained the humanity right out of him."
Matteo lets out a soft snore, and Cristian leans over, kissing him on the head. When he straightens he says, "Your brother is calculating. But the way he orchestrated everything to get you out safely, to give us this chance…" Cristian shrugs. "There's something human in there."
"What about Adriano?" Katerina asks, refilling water glasses around the table. "Didn't you mention he was once in love, Luca?"
A shadow passes over my brother's face as he nods slowly. I feel a familiar ache in my chest at the mention of Adriano’s heartbreak.
"He was," I confirm. "Her name was Eva. He was completely gone for her, but she died. Adriano was never the same after. It was like all the gentleness left him overnight.”
“It’s why he’s so good at what he does,” Luca adds.
"Do you think he'll ever move past it?" Katerina asks.
I shake my head. "I don't think he wants to. Or maybe he can’t. I know I wouldn’t if something happened to Cristian.”
The table falls silent for a moment.
"To Adriano," Luca finally says, raising his glass. "May he find his way back someday."
"To Adriano," we echo, though I can't help wondering if my brother is already too far gone to find his way to anything resembling happiness.
After dinner, Cristian carries a sleeping Matteo to the car while I hug Katerina goodbye, promising to meet for lunch later in the week.
We drive to our little house, secured to the nines, partly by the security consulting work Cristian does as his legitimate hustle as well as for Luca.
"He's completely out," Cristian says quietly as we make our way inside. I smile at my man and my son.
How did I get so lucky?
I follow them upstairs, leaning against the nursery doorframe as Cristian gently lays our son in his crib.
He tucks the blanket around Matteo's tiny form.
My heart swells watching them.
My fierce protector and our innocent child.
"What?" Cristian asks, noticing my gaze as he backs away from the crib.
"Nothing." I smile, taking his hand and leading him to our bedroom. "Just thinking about how different everything is now. How I never imagined I could have this."
He closes the door behind us, pulling me into his arms. "You deserve every bit of it."
His lips find mine, and that same electricity that sparked in the backseat of that car a year ago still courses through me. His hands slide down my back, cupping my ass and lifting me against him.
“It’s so easy now to get you in the mood,” I tease.
“You’ve always put me in the mood. I was just trying to be a good soldier.” He unzips my dress, pulling it from my shoulders until it pools at my feet.
“And now?”
“And now, I’m under your spell.” He lays me on our bed, his body covering mine.
"I love you," I say on half a moan as his mouth trails down my neck, across my collarbone, between my breasts. "God, I love you so much."
“I love you more, Mrs. Bonetti.” His hands and mouth worship my body like he's discovering it for the first time, and I lose myself in him completely.
Until it’s my turn, and I push him back. I rise over him, take him into my body, my soul.
“Say that again, Mr. Bonetti.”
He levers up, his fingers fisting in my hair as he tugs me toward him. “I love you more, Mrs. Bonetti.” Then he sears his lips to mine and I rock over him.
Together, we move in a dance I can’t imagine having with any other man. And I never will.
When the pleasure peaks, I let myself go. I soar into the moment, feeling him fly with me.
In our bed, in our home, with our son sleeping peacefully down the hall, I know with absolute certainty that I’m the happiest, luckiest woman in the world to be Mrs. Bonetti.