His gray eyes turned to dark silver and he pulled her close for a kiss. Her head swam as love passed between them. Love and infinite joy.
Afterward he released her just a little. “I want to kiss you until we grow old together, darling.”
She caught her breath. “Oh, yes.”
He grew more serious. “I didn’t want to say this before because I wanted you to make the decision, but we could always adopt.”
Her heart rose in her chest. “I didn’t dare let myself think about that option. Your father—”
“Is happy for us,” he said, startling her. “I told him how much I love you. I told him I wasn’t about to leave you and that the business could go to hell for all I care. My brothers would survive without it, just as I would.”
Her eyes widened. “You said all that?”
“We Valentes don’t mess around when we want something.”
“That’s true.” She looked up at him, letting him see the love in her eyes, no longer afraid of hiding it. “And seeing that I’m a Valente now…” She began undoing his tie.
“You want me?” he said huskily.
“No, I need you.” In that heartbeat, Olivia silently agreed that when it came to love there were no conditions.
Epilogue
S ix months later, they held an adoption party for their new son. Eight-year-old Scott Portman, now Scott Portman Valente, had been orphaned by a car accident two years earlier, leaving him with no relatives. Despite initially hoping to adopt a baby, Olivia and Alex had fallen in love with Scott the moment he’d said, “All I want is a mum and dad to love me again.”
Talk about a serious tug on the heartstrings! They’d asked about adopting him there and then and Scott had come to live with them soon after in the new house.
Today, Scott’s adoption had been made official. He was well and truly theirs.
And now all the family were celebrating Christmas at Villa Valente. Cesare had retired just after his heart attack but was in good health. He and Isabel looked very happy.
Alex had taken over the business with the help of his brothers, taking the House of Valente toward outstanding success through more international settings.
Even Felicia had flown in from the States in between recordings of her television show, which had proven a winner. Someone else had won the part in the movie but Olivia’s mother hadn’t minded by that stage. Felicia had found a new medium to showcase herself. And she was doing it well.
As for herself, a month ago she’d held a showing of the Valente Collection designs and it had been a huge success. Her boutiques were doing well and Lianne had even suggested they expand more, but Olivia was rather enjoying being a mother right now. Besides, she and Alex had spoken about going back to the orphanage in the near future to find a brother or sister for Scott.#p#分页标题#e#
Life was good.
“Hmm, what’s that perfume you’re wearing?” Alex teased, coming up behind her in the sunroom where she was placing plates of food on the table.
She spun around in his arms. “You know it’s Valente’s Woman.”
His mouth hovered over hers. “No, you are Valente’s woman.”
She smiled, loving the possessive sound in his voice, confident they were equal partners in this marriage. “Is that so?”
His brow rose. “Are you going to argue with the man who loves you more than life itself?”
She breathed in his words of love. “Yes.”
“I thought so,” he murmured, lowering his head for a kiss.
And as his lips met hers, Olivia changed her mind. Life wasn’t just good. It was better than good.
It was fantastic.