Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Our wedding was glorious, with Lucy proudly displaying her bump beneath the dress, walking elegantly down the aisle with Maria at her side. We were both honored when Maria offered to do that. Aldo stood beside me, beaming as my best man, and little Toto was the ring bearer, though the rascal got lost halfway up the aisle and a couple of my men had to chase him down while we all laughed.
“I mean it,” I tell her firmly. “Your business has only been open for, what, half a year? And you’re already making inroads into the big stores. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.” She beams. “I love you, husband.”
I grin.
She loves calling me husband. As we sat in the limo on our way from the wedding to the reception, she whispered close to me, so her breath painted my ear, “I’m going to call you husband every chance I get, so get used to it.”
I smiled and laid a tender kiss on her forehead.
“Only if you don’t mind me calling you wife every chance I get,” I told her.
Now I smile wider at her, this woman who has changed my life in all the best ways possible.
“I love you, wife.”
Extended Epilogue
Ten Years Later
Lucy
I stand on the balcony, the air shimmering from the heat of the barbecue grill, smiling as Maria flips a burger and her husband, Reginald, cheers and claps his hands together.
Maria and Reginald are the perfect match, both loud, both hilarious, both independent but happy to be together.
“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Give it a break, you wicked man,” Maria says, all banter and fun. “I knew I could do it. You were distracting me with your loathsome smile.”
I giggle and turn to the garden below, my heart feeling like it’s going to float out of my chest and kiss the sky when my gaze moves over my family.
There’s Aldo sitting in the lawn chair next to the pool – the new pool we recently had installed – with old Toto in his lap, stroking him softly.
And then there’s my man and our children, all of them splashing around the water, making mayhem and memories.
If the citizens of this great city could see their mayor now, they might think his stern demeanor is a façade.
He leaps out of the water, roaring and splashing around, as Elizabeth swims away from him and the twins – Jack and Billy – rush toward him, laughing as they jump toward their father. Lila sticks close to Elizabeth, bobbing in her inflatable, our oldest keeping a close watch on her little sister like she always does.
I giggle as he chases the boys around, and our rambunctious five-year-olds do everything in their power to tackle their hulking father.
At fifty-two, Luca is somehow more muscular, stronger, sturdier, and more handsome than he’s ever been. His muscles gleam in the afternoon sun as he lifts the boys over his head, one in each hand.
“We’re flying,” Billy cries.
“Higher, Daddy, higher,” Jack sings.
My heart soars when I think about all we’ve worked for over this past decade, with my fashion business soaring as high as Luca’s political career. All of Luca’s businesses are legitimate now, and our city has the lowest crime rate on the east coast with him as mayor. With his underworld connections and his business savvy ways, Luca has attracted investors and businesses to further enrich the city.
He’s started charities and volunteers at a martial arts center for underprivileged kids.
But through it all – through the travel and the awards and the work – we always find time to spend together as a family.
We never forget why we work so hard.
“Mommy, look,” Billy yells, waving his arms up at me. “Jack, look, look at Mommy.”
Jack turns to me, the boys competing to see who can break my heart the quickest with their wide smiles. I wave down at them and then catch Luca’s eyes, his smile mirroring our sons’, getting wider and fuller with each moment.
After over a decade of marriage, we can reach each other better than our reflections.
Deep gratitude moves through us both, a silent moment of pure thankfulness, that this is ours. We made it.
We built a life worth being proud of.
And we’re only just getting started.
Splash.
The twins fall into the water and pop back up, laughing like mad, as love flurries around my heart.