Page 108 of Bronx

Because it’s one of my favorite songs, I momentarily forgot that the woman greeted me by name. After finishing the song, I clap in appreciation and she takes a dramatic bow. Then she reaches back into her bag and pulls out a small box with an envelope and hands it to me before walking away.

“Have a blessed day.”

I open the envelope first and there’s a plain piece of paper with the word believe written on it in the same script as the tattoo on the back of knee, but I gasp once I open the small velvet box. There is a pair of diamond hoop earrings inside that remind me so much of my mother’s.

They’re stunning, and I know exactly who they’re from.

I smell him before I see him.

Whiskey, smoke and sandalwood.

“Karma.”

I whip my head around and there he is, in all his badass glory. His hair is freshly shorn on the sides and the long strands on top are combed back. His beard is continuing to come in, giving him a masculine appeal that sets my ovaries on fire. If I ever were to have a baby, this would be the man that I’d want to make it with.

“What is all this?” I ask him. “The singer?”

“A serenade.”

“And these earrings?”

“An apology.”

“And this cryptic note?”

“A promise.”

He moves in closer, but I take two steps back.

“I don’t know if I can do this with you,” I tell him.

“I know that I can’t do shit without you.”

“How can I be with a man who wants to kill my brother?”

“The chapter of that book is closed.”

“So you forgive him for his part in what happened to you?”

“I’m not going to lie and say that I will have him over for wings and a whiskey, but I’m no longer willing to give any ghosts of the past my power. That is the only promise I can make to you. Right here. Right now. I just need you to believe that I can be that man. Believe in us, Karma.”

He steps forward again, and this time I don’t move away. I want so much to believe that this can work. He’s all I can think about. He’s the only thing that matters.

“Come here,” he commands gently, extending his arm out.

I tentatively walk into his embrace and finally wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head against his massive chest.

That’s when I know.

Once I hear the heavy thump of his heart, I realize that this is exactly where I belong.

With him.

Under him.

Always with him.

He kisses the top of my head and holds me tightly, like he’s afraid that I’ll blow away if he lets go. Finally, I pull back.