Page 126 of The Butcher's Wife

“Hey. Most of it was the other guy’s.”

“I couldn’t lift you up! I thought…” A few tears escape and trail down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not all your fault. You might have had a chance if I hadn’t put on so much damn weight since you moved in.”

She laughs through her tears, and I grin. She looks so beautiful when she laughs, like her face is reflecting pure sunshine.

“Dom, could you ever forgive me?”

Why is she still talking about forgiveness when I’m in bed, and she’s all the way over there? I reach for her wrist. “Already forgiven. Now get under these sheets and on top of me.”

She slaps my hands away. “Dom! You almost died.”

“Exactly. Let’s celebrate life.”

“You told me you loved me.”

I slow, looking up into her dark, teary eyes. Strands of her hair catch the harsh, fluorescent lights and transform them into gold against her rosy cheeks and her elegant neck.

Maybe thisisheaven.

“Of courseI love you.”

She sucks in a tiny gasp and touches her fingers over her heart. I cup a hand on her hip. I’d better get it all out so she knows how I feel, and we can get to the good stuff.

“Annetta, I fucked this all up too. I did everything wrong in that church and made plenty of mistakes after, and you still treated me like the sweetest, most loving wife alive. You’re loyal, kind, and strong. And a great cook. And a fucking bombshell in bed. And everything a man like me doesn’t deserve but is going to hold onto anyway. I’m going to cherish you for the rest of my life. And if that ending comes sooner rather than later, you already know my final thoughts will be of you.”

I want to kiss the tears streaming down her cheeks. She’s beautiful when she laughs, and she’s beautiful when she cries.

I never stood a chance.

I need her to stop crying so far away from me and come lie on top of me, or better yet, boss me around a little as she takes me inside her, so we can both feel better.

I clutch her waist and heave her to my side.

“I love you too!” she bursts out with wet cheeks and a wide smile as I tow her toward me. “I love you, I love you so much. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find a man like you, but I’m so happy I did. I’ll never let you go, Domenico Lombardi. I love you.”

I cup her cheek. “Oh, angel. I know. It’s why all your cooking tastes so fucking good. Now get over here.”

She laughs and kisses my fingertips. “You barely fit on that bed by yourself, you big idiot. There’s no way we can both fit.”

I laugh. “We’ll make it fit.”

EPILOGUE

ANNETTA

5 Months Later

A young deerwalks into Dom’s view.

Half of it is hidden behind dark tree bark, and the other half is bisected by a shaft of sunlight filtered green by the tree leaves.

I hold my breath, waiting to see if Dom will take the shot.

He presses the shutter.

The deer flicks its head in our direction and bounds away into the underbrush.