Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance(86)
We clung to each other, neither of us speaking as our breathing slowed. I don’t think either of us took our time together for granted. I knew I never would, and I knew it would never be enough.
We showered afterward before sitting down to eat. I plated the steaks and carried the dish over to the table where Salvatore had just put two beers down. I took a seat across from him.
“You’re really going to eat two steaks now?”
I nodded, ravenous, unsure how to tell him, happy myself but uncertain how he’d feel. We’d only been living together for half a year if I didn’t count the time in New Jersey.
He watched me for a long minute, sipping his beer while I devoured the food. He pushed my untouched beer toward me. I met his gaze but popped another bite of meat into my mouth instead of going for the beer.
“Lucia?”
He could always read me like a book.
“I’m pregnant.”
Salvatore’s Epilogue
Three Months After That
I married Lucia on the beach in our backyard. Lucia walking toward me barefoot, her belly swollen, wearing a simple, flowing white dress bound by golden thread just beneath her breasts and a crown of flowers in her hair, was probably the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I’d never been so happy in my life.
We wrote our own vows, and she blamed hormones when she wept throughout the ceremony. Luke and Isabella were our witnesses and Effie our flower girl. That was all. No other guests apart from the priest who married us. Afterward, we barbecued and swam and talked about baby names and about Isabella and Luke moving closer. Effie spoke more to her little cousin inside Lucia’s belly than to anyone else. She may have been as excited as Lucia and I were.
They spent the night and drove back home the next afternoon. We didn’t have a honeymoon. There was nowhere either of us wanted to be but here. Together.
“We have everything,” she said as we lay on lounge chairs, watching the night sky.
We did, and neither of us took a moment of it for granted.
“Will you tell your father?” she asked.
“In time.”
“What’s on your mind?”
I looked over at her and tugged the thin blanket over her shoulder. She’d filled out a little with the pregnancy, and she couldn’t be more beautiful to me.
“Dominic. I’m worried.”
“He’ll turn up. He has a lot to process, and probably feels awful for what he did.”
“He’d know by now that I’m fine. He’d know where we live. He just disappeared, and that worries me.”
She touched my hand and brought it to her belly. I faced her to kiss her lips and rub the warm mound.
“He’ll turn up when he’s ready. Give him space.”
“What if he’s…hurt himself?”
“He’s not the type. It’s far more effective to torture yourself while living, Salvatore. You and your brother both—guilt is like a second skin to you. It’s like you have to learn how to live, how to breathe, without it. You’re learning, but you’ve got a good teacher,” she finished with a wink.
“How did I end up so lucky?”
“You signed a contract, remember?”
She rolled onto her side, her back to me, and I pulled her in, holding her tight.
“Smart-ass.”
“Don’t forget pigheaded.”
“Oh, no, you prove that on a daily basis.”
She jabbed her elbow into my gut.
“Apart from my brother, my life couldn’t be more perfect. It scares me a little.” It scared me more than a little. “What if… I’ve done bad things, Lucia. I don’t know if I deserve all of this.”
“You’ve done good things too, Salvatore. You deserve all of this and more. We’re making up for lost time, you and I. It’s time for us to be happy and carefree and walk in the sun with sand between our toes. It’s past due, in fact.”
She squeezed my hand, pulled it up to her heart.
“Don’t be scared of losing this. Just be happy and grateful. That’s what I’ve learned. I think that’s what we’re supposed to learn. It’s so simple, but we make it all so complicated.”
“My oracle.”
“I am wiser than you, that’s true.”
“And not at all arrogant.” I heard her smile.
“Good night, husband.”
“Good night, wife.” I kissed her neck and held her as she fell asleep, her body relaxing, her breathing soft and even. I looked up at the night sky, at all the stars, and listened to the sound of the ocean, knowing I held everything that mattered right here in my arms. Knowing she was right about Dominic, that he needed space, that he needed to figure this out for himself. She was also right about the guilt. I was very good at wrapping it over my shoulders, weighing myself down with it. Maybe I needed to learn that some of that didn’t belong to me.