Page 32

EPILOGUE

ROYCE

Royce

A Few Months Later

“Are you sure about this?” Skyla flips up my collar before reaching for the tie and looping it around my neck. “Because if you so much as think about hurting Gia again, it’s going to be me you have to answer to.”

I swat her hands away, ripping the tie off and tossing it to the side. “I’m not going to hurt her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and that’s not going to change. It hasn’t in the years that I’ve known her.”

“You know, I didn’t peg you as the romantic type. I always thought I would get married before you.”

Skyla grabs the tie off the bed, slipping it back around my collar and knotting it into place. She pats it down against my shirt and grins. As she steps back to admire her handiwork, I roll my eyes.

“You could’ve gotten married before me if there was one man you wouldn’t bite the head off of.”

She snorts and grabs her clutch, tucking it beneath her arm. “I’m running a money laundering empire. I don’t have time for men and their need to be the dominant ones in the relationship. You and Aiden sport enough testosterone to have to deal with for a lifetime. I don’t need to go through any more of that bullshit.”

Ellie scoffs as she walks into the room with a little green velvet box in her hand. “Here.”

I take the box from her, pulling out the ring and slipping it into the pocket of my slacks. “Thank you.”

She nods and eyes Skyla. “You know, you’re going to be singing a different tune when you finally meet the man of your dreams.”

“Says the woman who had to be forced down the aisle.” Skyla sticks out her tongue at Ellie before striding out of the room. She stops, looking at me over her shoulder. “I mean it. You hurt Gia and I’ll kill you and hide the body somewhere nobody is going to find it.”

Ellie pats me on the shoulder before following Skyla out of the room. “You’re going to have to beat me to it.”

Their laughter echoes down the hall as I look in the mirror one last time.

I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but this feels right.

I leave the room and head downstairs, met by an overwhelming number of red and white heart decorations thrown around my living room.

When I told Summer and Jade to decorate the house for Valentine’s Day, I didn’t think they would go this overboard. I’m going to spend the next three weeks picking up heart-shaped confetti. I can see it now.

My family mills around the living room, Aiden bouncing Bianca on his knee while Ellie and Sean sit by the fire, their feet up on the coffee table as the pair of them lean together and whisper to each other.

Gia dances in the kitchen with Jade to some old love song as they pull a tray of cookies out of the oven, setting it to the side to decorate later with the rows of icing laid out on the kitchen island.

The longer I look at my family crammed into my penthouse, the Manhattan lights shining bright outside, the more I like what I see. With the Rinaldo family lying low, it’s easy to picture this as normal life without the worry of Gia having to see her family destroyed.

I don’t want that for her. Not tonight at least. I want her to focus on the good that has been put in our lives over the last several months.

Gia smiles, making her way over to me, her white dress swishing around her ankles, the low back showing off the tattoo of flowers and Bianca’s birthday that she had inked there only two weeks ago.

She loops her arms around my waist, standing on her toes for a kiss. “I was beginning to think you were going to keep us waiting.”

I kiss her again, grinning down at her while my heart takes off like a runaway train. “I’ll never keep you waiting again.”

The corner of her mouth twitches. “You’ve always been worth waiting for.”

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, and yet, as I toy with the ring in my pocket, everything I wanted to say gets lost. The speech I rehearsed for the last month dies on my lips as I look down at her.

Gia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Something wrong?”

“Not even a little bit.” I weave my way out of her arms as the eyes in the room turn to me.

Aiden holds Bianca still, even as she whines to get down. He whispers something in her ear, and she beams up at him.

Gia’s eyebrows pull together as she looks over at them before looking back at me.

I get down on one knee in front of her, pulling out the gold band set with an oval diamond, holding it out. “I didn’t know when the right time to do this was. I found the ring a month ago and I figured you would want something special, surrounded by the people who love us.”

Her eyes shine with tears as her hands fly up to cover her mouth. “Royce.”

“I’m not good at speeches. I’m not going to tell you how much I love you for an hour. That’s not us. You know I fucking adore you, and I’m going to love you until we’re both dead and gone.”

Gia laughs, her hands dropping and her smile spreading. “What happened to not rushing things?”

“I’m not sprinting down the aisle with you right now.” I take a deep breath. “Gia Esposito, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She laughs, her hand shaking as she holds it out for me to slip the ring on. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

I stand and pull her into a tight hug, kissing her until my family starts to hoot and holler. Gia blushes and buries her face in my chest, but her shoulders shake with laughter. As I hold her tighter, I know I’m never going to let her go.

She pulls back to look up at me, a teasing smile curving her full lips. “I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

“Oh, so you’re just giving me hell about the rushing into things, are you?” I ask, tone teasing as I drift my fingers along the curve of her waist where she’s the most ticklish.

“I have to have my fun somehow.”

The family swarms her to offer their congratulations, pushing me to the side as they envelop her. I’m more than happy to snag a cookie off the tray and watch them love on my future wife. She deserves to be adored by everyone in her life and my family are more than happy to do just that.

Even Aiden.

It took him less time than I thought it would to come around to her, but after spending more time with both Gia and Bianca, he melted for them.

Gia finally weaves her way out of Skyla’s hug a few minutes later and comes to steal another cookie with me. “You know, they can be overwhelming at times. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that loved. I mean, I know Zoe and Mom love me, but they’re quiet about it.”

“Do you wish they were here?” I loop an arm around her waist, tugging her closer to me to press a kiss to her temple.

“A part of me does, but Mom still isn’t talking to me, and Zoe is keeping her distance. With the Rinaldos restructuring, she doesn’t want to rock the boat, which I understand, but she’s not likely to be the one taking over either. Noah had a stepbrother too.”

I nod. “I know about him, but I don’t think we need to worry about them right now. I think tonight we should worry about enjoying ourselves the best we can, and if your family is too stupid to call a truce for a single night to celebrate you, then they don’t deserve you.”

She leans into me. “Somehow, you know what to say when I need you to tell me the truth.”

“I think your family are a bunch of assholes for turning on you, and I hope one day they come to their senses, but until they do, you know mine is more than happy to give you all the love in the world and then some.”

“I’ve been thinking about what our lives will turn out like if we have a family like yours.”

“There’s going to be a lot of fighting when they’re growing up. Even as adults, our kids are going to argue if they’re anything like me and my siblings, but we all would die for each other in a heartbeat.”

Gia nods and takes me by the hand. “I actually have something I want to show you.”

Her fingers lace with mine and we walk down the hall to the room that’s become her art studio. She moves one of the forgeries she’s been working on to the side, showing off a painting done in various shades of black and gray with white accents here and there.

“What am I looking at?” I ask, tilting my head to the side, trying to figure it out.

“A sonogram I got done last week.”

My jaw drops as I look between her and the painting. “We're having another child?”

“I know that it might not be the time for it right now, but I started feeling weird, so I went to see Ellie and she dragged one of the ultrasound techs in. So, it’s not much of a sonogram, but I thought it might be nice to have the first one hanging in our home. I painted one of Gia’s first sonogram too. It’s in storage right now.”

I grin and scoop her up, peppering her face with kisses. “You’re going to have to get that painting out of storage so we can hang them both up.”

“I didn’t know if you were going to be happy about having another child.” Gia laughs as I set her back on her feet. “I thought it might be too soon.”

“Not even a little bit.”

“You’re sure?” She nibbles her bottom lip, but even she can’t contain the smile on her face. “I was going to tell you earlier, but Skyla convinced me that a surprise would be more fun.”

“I love it, and I love you, and I love our kids.” I grin and look at the painting again, already trying to figure out where in the penthouse we’re going to hang it.

“Speaking of Skyla, have you noticed that she’s a little off tonight?”

Just as Gia asks the question, Skyla steps into the room. She smiles and tips the champagne flute in her hand toward the picture. “I was wondering when she was going to show you that. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” I study her for a moment, noticing the dark circles beneath her eyes that her makeup doesn’t quite hide. “Want to talk for a minute?”

Skyla shrugs. “I guess.”

Gia scurries out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

I turn to Skyla, leaning back against one of the counters, careful not to touch the pallet of wet oil paint sitting out. “You seem off. You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just been a weird day. Saw someone I thought I wouldn’t see again, and it’s put me through a bit of a loop, but everything is going to be fine.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.” Skyla pulls me into a hug. “Congratulations on a new baby. You’re such a good dad.”

My heart swells, eyes stinging as I hug her back before letting her go. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. If there is something wrong, you can come to me. We don’t have to tell Aiden.”

She nods, giving me a small half smile before walking out of the room.

As she disappears down the hall, I get the feeling that something is wrong with her, but I know better than to push Skyla. If there is something going on, she’ll come to me on her own later when she’s ready to talk.

For now, I’m going to let it go and spend the rest of the night with my future wife.

* * *

Gia sprawls on the bed with her tablet, sketching me as I read a book. “I’ve been thinking a lot tonight.”

I close the book and put it to the side, rolling onto my stomach to lie beside her on the bed. “About?”

“What happens next with my family. I know that I should be thinking about the engagement, but Mom and Zoe keep playing on a loop through my mind. I think they might die in this war, and it makes me sick.”

“Nothing has happened for the last few weeks.” I run my fingers up and down her tense spine, trying to get her to relax a little. “And I don’t care if you think about things other than the engagement, Gia. You love your family, and you want the best for them.”

“Can you promise me that your family isn’t going to kill mine?”

“You know I can’t.” My hand stills on her back before she moves the tablet to the side and curls up closer to me. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“Then at least promise me that through whatever comes next, you’re going to be there with me every step of the way.” She kisses my shoulder, her eyes shining. “I love you and I don’t think I can do this without you.”

“I’m going to be there for you. Every single step of the way. You’re going to get sick of me.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” She snuggles into me and for the millionth time since she came back into my life, I have hope for the future.

Once upon a time, I thought I was born to be a killing machine, taking life at my father’s every whim and not giving a damn about the consequences. Gia was the one who made me start to see a different life. She didn’t give up on me when she should’ve.

Now I know I was born to love her.