Page 111 of My Best Friend Is Broken

“You haven’t been obvious either. This is much better. I like it when people are happy and in love and not afraid to show it.”

Dario raises his glass again. “To Nicolo and Liam. May they build something beautiful together.”

“To Nicolo and Liam,” everyone echoes, and we all drink.

The rest of the evening passes in a warm haze of celebration and good company. We move to the sitting room after dinner, where Molly insists on showing us his latest interior design plans despite Dario’s gentle protestations that maybe not everyone is as interested in fabric swatches as Molly is.

“I’m interested,” Liam says earnestly, and Molly lights up like Christmas has come early.

They disappear into an animated discussion about color theory and whether gold fixtures are too gaudy for a bathroom, while I find myself pulled aside by Dario for a quieter conversation.

“I meant what I said,” he tells me, his voice low enough that only I can hear. “You’ve earned this promotion. But it’s not just about what you’ve done, it’s about what I know you’ll continue to do. The family needs people withintegrity, people who understand that power comes with responsibility.”

“I won’t let you down,” I promise.

“I know you won’t. That’s why you got the position.” He glances over at where Liam and Molly are now debating the merits of marble versus granite countertops. “He’s good for you. Liam. You’re different with him, more centered, more focused on what actually matters.”

“He’s everything,” I say simply, because there’s no other way to express it.

“Good. Hold on to that. In our world, it’s easy to lose sight of why we do any of this. Easy to let the violence and power and money become the point rather than the means. But when you have someone like that, someone who reminds you what you’re fighting for, it keeps you human.”

It’s possibly the most personal thing Dario has ever said to me, and I understand the gift he’s giving me isn’t just the promotion. It’s this acknowledgment that we’re the same, him and me. We are both men who’ve found something worth protecting in a world that tries to destroy anything soft or beautiful.

“Thank you,” I tell him. “For everything.”

“Thank me by continuing to do good work. And by keeping that man safe and happy. He saved Molly’s life, and that makes him family in my eyes, regardless of any official position.”

The evening winds down eventually, though not before Molly extracts promises that we’ll come for Christmas, and that Liam will help him with some mysterious design project. We say our goodbyes at the door, stepping outinto the cool London night with our hands linked and our hearts full.

“That was amazing,” Liam says as we walk to the car. “I can’t believe Dario promoted you. Deputato, Nicky. That’s huge, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I agree, pulling him close and pressing a kiss to his temple. “And do you know what it means?”

“What?”

“It means I can start looking at houses for us. Real houses, not apartments. Somewhere with a garden and space and everything you deserve.”

He stops walking, turning to face me with wide eyes. “Nicky, I don’t need…”

“I know you don’t need it. But I want to give it to you anyway. I want to build something permanent, something that’s ours.” I cup his face in my hands. “Will you let me do that? Let me give you the home you should have had all along?”

His eyes go suspiciously shiny. “You know I’d be happy in a cardboard box as long as you were there with me.”

“I know. But I’d rather give you something with actual walls and a roof that doesn’t leak.”

He laughs, then pulls me into a kiss that tastes like promise and hope and all the futures we’re going to build together.

“Okay,” he whispers against my lips. “Let’s find our home.”

And standing there on a Mayfair street, under the glow of expensive streetlamps and surrounded by the kind of wealth we used to only dream about, I think about how far we’ve both come.

From council estates and broken homes, to this, standing here as a deputato of the Ajello family, with the man I love in my arms and a future that looks brighter than anything I dared imagine.

We’re going to make it. Not just survive, but thrive.

Together.

Chapter thirty-seven