*Several Months Later*
*Caterina*
‘He should be ho any mont now,’ I thought calmly to myself as I leisurely stirred the red sauce I had simring on top of the stove.
I’d decided to give the chef the night off and make dinner myself tonight. I chose a simple nu—eggplant parmigiana with angel hair pasta and a tossed salad.
Now that I’d officially finished up with my classes, I was finally free to relax and take a proper breather. It was honestly strange having so much free ti on my hands now. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with myself now that my coursework no longer took up the majority of my ti.
My finals had been difficult, I had to admit. But without any imdiate threat looming over or Elio, I was able to study and prep without any interruption.
And much to my surprise, that peacefulness managed to stick around longer than anticipated. Part of thought that once word spread of Artem’s death, Junior would have tried to retaliate.
But now, there had been nothing that caught anyone’s imdiate attention since that night. It should have bothered that there hadn’t been anything going on. It should have made feel anxious and downright suspicious.
But my inner voice was determined to allow myself to relax and enjoy this tranquil period.
With the trouble of Katz gone, life carried on the way that it should. Anna and Elijah’s relationship grew deeper, the two finally committed to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. With classes finally over, they were able to finally spend so real ti together off campus.
I was so happy for Anna... happy and deeply grateful for having such an understanding best friend. I never did tell her about Artem Katz and his involvent with Junior, nor did I ever intend to.
I was lucky enough that she was willing to accept the truth of my family and Elio’s background. So things were just better off not being said.
“Ignorance is bliss,” my mom had once said.
If I’d co to understand anything this past year, it was that exact ideal.
There was no need to fill Anna’s head with thoughts of death and tragedy, especially when her life had been taking such a positive upturn with Elijah.
The corner of my mouth curled into a knowing smile as I continued to stir the sauce at a slow pace while thinking of the early days of my relationship with Elio. The very night that he and I shared our first kiss would always hold a special place in my mory.
How foolish we both were for thinking that it was a mistake. To think we had ever considered going back to the way that we once were—constantly bickering and despising each other.
‘Oh, please,’ I thought dryly. ‘Like there was any real chance that he and I would’ve ever been able to go back to the way we were.’
I should’ve known that beneath all that anger I harbored for him, was secretly a bottomless pool of love and admiration. Maybe I was just too young to realize it at the ti. I was thankful that it hadn’t taken too much longer to figure it out.
“What’s got you smiling like that?” a deep voice purred from across the room.
Hundreds of chills rolled over my skin and sent heat rushing straight to my core.
Elio.
I didn’t need to turn my head to know who it was. But I did, nonetheless.
There he stood, dressed in a deliciously stunning suit with his hair slightly slicked back and his gaze transfixed firmly on . His eyes were hooded with natural arousal, while his muscled form leaned on the doorfra of the kitchen.
Oh, yes. That was all mine. Not a single thing on the planet was ever going to pull away from him.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” I brushed off.
I turned back toward my cooking and playfully ignored him. My smile grew deeper, making it much harder to hide.
“Nothing?” he questioned doubtfully. I could feel his smirk behind . His tone was filled with bubbling humor. “Mm, now I find that very hard to believe. And I take it by your stirring that pot there that we’re alone?”
The heat between my legs doubled and I closed my eyes for a second, nearly dropping the spoon. “I gave her the night off,” I said.
His hands ca to wrap around , and I was quickly enveloped in his welcoming embrace. Elio pulled until my back was pressed firmly against his chest. He lowered his head to rest his chin over my shoulder.
“Well then... that is an interesting developnt. And since when do you keep secrets from ?” he whispered alluringly.
I giggled in response to his taunting. “There is no secret. I was just thinking about us.”
“Oh? Well, now I’m even more intrigued,” he said, nipping at the curve of my neck.
Elio spread small, delicate kisses over the sensitive part behind my ear that drove crazy every single ti. And he knew this.
Elio knew every part of . He knew all of my triggers and each of my weak points. Never once did he use them against , but rather used them to deepen our connection and introduce to a world of pleasure like I’d never known.
I could have easily let myself beco wrapped up in him and walk away from my imdiate task at hand.
I swiftly changed the subject before things got too carried away. “How was work today?” I asked him softly.
“Running smoothly as ever,” he answered happily.
Elio had finally found the ti to hire soone for his restaurant once Leo managed to interview the five guys I’d narrowed down for them. The guy he’d chosen, Killian Vallas, turned out to be a perfect fit for the position. In just the short ti that he started working, he had proven himself to be a quick learner and capable of taking initiative when the occasion called for it.
When Elio told of Killian’s perfect fit in the business, I felt a strong sense of pride in my powers of deduction and intuition.
Nevertheless, it was a peaceful feeling to know that there were no current problems within Elio’s inner circle of work. Peaceful work ant a very peaceful Elio.
And nothing, absolutely nothing, made my day brighter than to have a relaxed Elio co ho from work. There was no mistake about it; the man was utterly ruthless when he needed to be. But I hated to see him stressed and at his wits end with frustration.
Relaxed was so much better.
“Dinner’s just about ready,” I humd.
Elio pulled back and went to take out a few plates and silverware. He’d brought everything over to the table while I finished tossing the salad.
I made up our plates and the two of us fell into a comfortable silence. Among my various blissful thoughts of my friends and family, there were, unfortunately, certain things that couldn’t be perfect.
Alessandro was still keeping eyes on Junior.
According to Elio, there hadn’t been any word as of late about the sneaky bastard. But what we all suspected was that Junior was planning on remaining hidden now that Artem was dealt with.
Part of wished that I could have seen the look on Junior’s face when word ca through that his little paid assassin was no longer. After that, Junior had beco silent, and not much could have been said about his movents. I hoped he would finally give up on trying to hurt our family.
If anything, hiring The Ghost made him appear even more of a coward than before. Then again, none of it should have really surprised . Sowhere, in the back of my mind, sothing told that Junior was always going to be a threat.
But as long as Elio and I were at each other’s sides, we could face anything.
During the rest of our al, Elio went into further depths about work. Apparently, he and Leo were trying to nail down a particularly difficult client who was very picky about his developnt. We discussed tactics for getting him onboard.
Ever since Elio and Leo had let crash in on one of their etings with their client, I’d taken on a whole new appreciation and respect for what they did as real estate developers.
I loved that he felt he could discuss things like this with . But what truly impressed , and always captured my most undivided attention, was when he brought up his ‘secondary’ work over dinner.
“Franky’s currently in the process of hiring two new guys to refill the positions in shipping,” he said.
I took a sip of my iced tea and raised my eyebrows. “Has he found anyone yet?”
“He’s reached out to Alessandro, inquiring if there were any n who were looking for a change of scenery and were willing to move out here,” he told .
The topic always made my stomach flip, but it was sothing that I knew I needed to ask. I wondered if there would ever co a day when my nerves wouldn’t tense when I asked the question.
“Speaking of Alessandro... has there been any word?”
Elio rely shook his head. I supposed the good thing was that he didn’t appear stressed or worried. In fact, the man looked calm and well satisfied.
As we finished up with dinner, Elio insisted that I go sit in the living room while he’d take care of the dishes.
“You need to rest. I’ll take care of this,” he told insistently.
His eyes had always seed to linger on my stomach recently—really since my pregnancy started to truly show. It wasn’t as though Elio began treating like I was sothing fragile, but he pampered more—more bubble baths, more trips to the spa, more comfy clothes.
Anything I talked about possibly wanting, he’d go out of his way to make sure I had it. I couldn’t help but feel so lucky despite everything that had happened.
Elio ca to join on the couch in the living room, where I’d already selected a movie for us to watch. He’d slipped his arms around and pressed a sweet kiss to my head while noticeably rubbing small circles over the slight bump of my belly.
This was exactly the perfect way to end a long day. I couldn’t wait for many, many more just like it.
The baby was doing just fine. According to my doctor, everything was developing as it should, and there were no issues thus far.
Elio had insisted on attending every doctor’s appointnt with . And after each one, he’d always walk out with the sa wondrous look in his eyes and the sa heartfelt words... especially the ultrasound visit, when we finally learned the baby’s sex.
“I love you.” I said those words to him now.
“I love you, too,” he said. He touched my belly again. “And you, little one.”
He reached into his pocket, turning toward on the couch, and pulled out a tiny box. My breath caught in my throat, and suddenly the movie was the last thing on my mind.
Elio looked at tenderly. “There was just one thing missing from our family. I was thinking that maybe I needed to have sothing more to say at this mont, but after all we’ve been through together and been to each other, I think extra words don’t matter so much.”
He opened the box, and the beautiful diamond ring sparkled in the dim light. “Will you marry , my beautiful Caterina?”
“Yes!” I squealed, jumping into his arms before he had the chance to even put the ring on my finger.
I had tears in my eyes, but it was okay. They were tears filled with both devotion and unyielding love... love for him, love for us.
Love for our son.
And the unbreakable love for our family.
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