First Epilogue
FIRST EPILOGUE
Cassandra, Three Months Later
I’m going to kill Mia Chiavari.
I let my hatred fuel every step back along Bay Ridge toward the brownstone. I need the walk home to calm down before confronting anyone. The last thing I need is anyone accusing me of having baby hormones.
But I think any rational person would be annoyed if they showed up to work only to discover someone else had closed the club already.
My club.
Mia might still work behind the bar some nights, but I’m not afraid to pull rank on her if she tries this shit again.
It’s only been three months since we discovered the pregnancy, but if she’s already insisting that I need to be coddled, we’re going to have a problem.
I shake it off as I reach the familiar brownstone, my house keys jangling as I open the front door.
The walk home begins to bother my sensitive joints, and I absently rub my little swollen bump as I imagine stepping into a nice warm bath. Mmmm. Yeah, that will take the edge off.
I step into the foyer, kicking off my shoes as I go, and open my mouth to shout for Donatella…
“SURPRISE!”
One second, the two-story entrance way is entirely deserted. The next, about fifty people line the stairs, each throwing confetti and streamers over the railing, revealing a banner that rolls down from the topmost banister.
Written on it, in giant sparkling letters, is the phrase, “Baby Shower”.
I blink at the wild display of sound and color, trying desperately to orient myself when another body slams into mine.
“Happy surprise baby shower, bitch!”
I bury my face in Mia’s flaming red hair, returning her embrace just as tightly. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
She laughs as she pulls away, dragging me toward the row of my eagerly awaiting friends, all wanting to offer me congratulations.
The vast majority are from the Candelabra . The bar and wait staff I’ve come to know far too well, and some of the regulars who are coincidentally also mafioso are here as well. Even some of Rocco’s closest circle are here. I wave at Martino and Teo, who smile back sheepishly.
“Congrats, Bellini.”
I’m surprised when my gaze lands on the stunning blonde before me. “Thanks, Danny.”
Things had been awkward when I returned to the Candelabra as her boss. At first, she was treading on eggshells, trying to avoid me, probably out of fear that I might fire her. But as things settled, a tentative acquaintanceship had blossomed.
Now that I’m temporarily out of commission, she is, after all, our best performer.
“Will you all let me through!” a voice cries out from the back of the gathering crowd.
My brain short-circuits.
“Mom?”
Giuseppina Bellini elbows her way past the line of bodies and stands before me, radiant as ever, the soft lines of her face curving up into a huge smile.
My mother opens her arms for me and I run to her, a child all over again.
“Cassy, Cassy, Cassy!” she whispers into my hair, a near-perfect match to her own. “I missed you so much.”
“Mom!”
She pulls back, squishing my cheeks between her palms. “I can’t believe my baby is having a baby.”
I grin, although the snot and tears leaking from my face must make me look monstrous.
“Honestly,” she laughs, wiping it all away with a tissue. “And here I thought you’d forgotten me, now that you have this new fancy life in the big city.”
“Never,” I laugh right back.
Ever since that fateful day in Giuliano’s penthouse, we must have spoken on the phone almost every day.
At first, it had just been a lot of crying. Mom took some time to adjust to the news about my dad, and though I had spared her many of the gorier details, she was terrified by my encounter with Giuliano.
But slowly, we began to rebuild our relationship. She’d share the stories she remembered of being a part of the Guild while I introduced her to Rocco and all the new branches of my ever-blossoming social circle.
I throw my arms around her once more, not quite believing that she is finally here, standing in front of me. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Rocco flew me out and set me up in one of the rooms here,” she tells me. “We have all week to catch up properly, so go talk with your friends.”
I pull away, squeezing her hands once more before letting her go.
I’m about to turn back into the chattering fray, when a familiar warmth encircles my waist from behind, and a head rests on my shoulder.
“Did you really have no idea, Angioletta?” Rocco’s voice sends shivers down my spine as he whispers in my ear.
“I was a little preoccupied today, actually,” I admit.
He kisses my cheek before spinning me around to face him. His strong, tattooed arms never leave their hold on my waist.
“I want to show you something.” His charming smile never ceases to cause my heart to flutter. “But if I give you my present first, Chiavari might murder me in my sleep.”
“I resent that!” the redhead shouts from the other side of the room.
I roll my eyes, and Rocco’s smile turns mischievous as he leans forward to whisper in my ear. “Let’s get out of here.”
At that moment, music erupts from deeper within the house, and the crowd begins to disperse, offering us the perfect opportunity to slip away relatively unnoticed. I spot Teo wagging his eyebrows at us as we hurry up the stairs.
Rocco leads me right to the end of the corridor toward the room I first stayed in when we arrived.
“I just finished the redecoration of the master suite,” I tease. “Do you want to go make the most of it?”
He chuckles. “All in good time.”
Then he pushes the door open.
I gasp as I behold what’s inside.
Gone is the California king bed and tastefully plain furniture that had once filled the space.
Instead, there now lies a beautiful nursery. Wood and cream tones warm the entire room. A cradle is covered by a draping, sheer curtain which swoops down from the ceiling. A beautifully ornate rocking chair sits in the corner.
I float inside, scanning the bookshelf as I pass, noting the familiar and unfamiliar titles that reside there. My eyes snag on a particularly worn copy of Beauty and the Beast , and I pull it from its new home.
“I used to have this exact edition!” I gush excitedly as I open the first page.
There, in blue felt tip, is my childish script, “property of Cassandra Bellini”.
“Your mom brought it with her,” Rocco explains, reaching over my shoulder to trace over my five-year-old handwriting. “I wanted this space to be filled with everything you love.”
I turn to look at him with tears in my eyes. “You’ve done that already.”
His responding kiss is chaste and tender but, nonetheless, sets my heart alight.
“Come on. Let’s get back before they realize we’re missing,” he announces as he takes my hand once more.
When we rejoin the party, most of the guests have gathered in the living room. Donatella seems to have laid out a veritable feast on every available surface.
My heart sings with joy at the happy chatter, the tinkling music in the background, the laughter and teasing as we walk in.
It’s not until we reach the far table and Rocco picks up a glass of champagne, that I realize he’s been dragging me here for a reason.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention.” His voice booms through the room, instantly silencing everyone. “I hope you will join me in a toast to my beautiful Cassandra.”
I flush with embarrassment as everyone around us pulls out a glass, tilts it in my direction, and shouts variations of my name before drinking the amber liquid.
“As many of you know, from the moment Cas came into my life, I was completely awestruck by her beauty and angelic singing voice. But what you might not know is that it was the passionate fire within her that drew me to her.”
I look up at Rocco, somewhat confused. There was no need for speeches today.
“She has a passion, not just for her career and her interests, but for everyone she cares about. She showed me that love was possible, even in the most dire of circumstances. And I knew, at that moment, that my life would be forever changed.”
I glance around our audience nervously. “Rocco,” I whisper.
He just smiles back at me as he sinks down to one knee. Everyone around us gasps, or in Mia’s case, squeals.
“Cassandra Bellini, I can not imagine a future without you. Will you marry me?”
Happy tears crinkle in the corners of my eyes as he retrieves a box from his pocket and opens it to reveal the most beautiful engagement ring I’ve ever seen.
I laugh as I get down on my knee, procuring a nearly identical box.
“Rocco Moretti, will you marry me ?”
At Rocco’s disbelief, I open the box.
For a second, he frowns at the folded piece of paper wedged within the ring crease. But it fades the second he flattens it out. Instead, he gawks at the picture.
“We’re having a boy? I mean, we kept saying it would be, but…we really are?”
The room erupts around us as Rocco pulls me into his arms. I melt into him. I have never felt more alive than in this very moment.
I’m still laughing when he tugs on my arm urgently.
“Was that a yes?”
I kiss his nose in response.
“Yes, Rocco Moretti. I will be your wife.”