I laugh happily, realizing I haven’t even opened the jewelry box to show her the ring. I do it now, the diamonds of my grandmother’s antique engagement ring catching the light, glinting as I take it out of the box and slide it onto her finger.
I rise to my feet and lift her off the floor, into an embrace, tipping her forward into my arms and squeezing tightly. Both of us are laughing like idiots, and when I pull back for a kiss and see the wetness on her face, I realize that I, too, am leaking tears of joy.
Only one person remains. I look back at Simon, waiting to hear his reaction. The two of us could not be happier, and I only hope that he can see that.
A long moment passes. In the end, I almost think that he will tell us that we don’t have his blessing, that he wants me to leave, that I won’t see his daughter for as long as he is alive. But then he raises his head, tears shining in his eyes, and I know that we have him at last.
“You look after my daughter,” he says, his voice choked. “Damnit, Marco. I only say this because I can see how happy she is. But if you ever make her unhappy, if you make her cry or break her heart, so help me God…”
“I know, old friend,” I say, laying a hand on his shoulder. I understand everything that he’s trying to say, even if he struggles for the words. I feel the same way about anyone who would hurt Hannah. “You will tear me limb from limb and feed me to the dogs. I would deserve nothing less.”
Simon nods his face a warring landscape of different emotions and accepts a hug from his daughter. He still refuses to look at me over the top of her head, and I know that it might be some time until things are comfortable again. But that’s fine. Because after everything, I have the one thing I want more than anything in the world. My Hannah. Even when I didn’t know it was her that I was looking for, I was searching.
And now that I have her, my life is complete.
Well, except, just maybe, for the pitter-patter of tiny feet…
EPILOGUE
Hannah
I’m in the kitchen when I hear the front door open and close, and a gentle chime plays. These days, Marco’s coming home routine might be a bit less dramatic, but I can still always tell when he arrives home.
It was his idea to have the chime play when he comes back. That way our baby girl also knows that her Daddy’s home. I hear a happy gurgle from behind me, where she sits in her playpen, and smile to myself. She’s becoming a real Daddy’s girl.
“We’re in here!” I call out so that he can find us. Before a few moments have passed, I feel a pressure at my back and nuzzle into it. Marco, with his hands on my hips, giving me his homecoming hug. I feel his lips at the top of my head and turn to give him a kiss on the lips, before turning back to stir the pot of boiling water on the stove.
“What delights await us today?” Marco asks, trying to peer into the water to see what’s inside.
“Surprises,” I tell him. “Get changed, will you? It won’t be long before it’s ready.”
Marco kisses my head again, and, with a quick wave at baby Simona, heads upstairs to change. I listen to the familiar sound of his footsteps on the stairs and smile to myself. When I first set foot in here, a little over a year ago, I had no idea that this place would be my home. That the marble countertops and kitchen appliances I admired would be my own domain, for me to do with as I will.
Getting pregnant so quickly definitely changed our plans, but in the end, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can study from home, doing an online degree that is accredited by the college I would have attended anyway, and I get to be with my husband and my baby daughter every day of the week. Not only that but here in beautiful Rome, in Marco’s villa. Our villa, now.
I ladle out the steaming spaghetti, now cooked to perfection, and busy myself with serving it up. The perfect amount of sauce, a few sprinkles of herbs for dressing, and the meatballs perched neatly on top of it all. By the time Marco comes back downstairs in more casual clothing, I’m carrying two full plates to the table, as well as a small bowl of mush for Simona.
“What’s this?” Marco says, with an amused smile. “Spaghetti?”
“Not just any spaghetti,” I tell him, with a proud smile. I can’t help it – I’ve been waiting to show this off for a while. “I finally managed to convince Mamma Luccio to show me how to make her famous sauce.”
Marco’s eyes widen. “This is the Bolognese?”
“The very one,” I tell him, grinning as we take our seats.
“Wait,” Marco says, hesitating with his fork poised above his dinner, clearly eager to get started on it. “This is a special meal.”
“I like to think so,” I tell him.
“But there is no special occasion, is there?” he asks, narrowing his eyes. “There’s no anniversary, no one’s birthday, no special holiday…”
“No, not yet,” I say. “But it is still a special occasion.”
“Why’s that?” Marco puts his fork back down on the table. I have his full attention now. Beside us, in her high chair, Simona gurgles and smashes her spoon into the mush of her food.
“Because I have something to tell you,” I say, reaching for Simona’s tiny hand – a gesture which she does not appreciate, throwing me off immediately so that she can continue playing with her food. I look back at Marco and see him with wide eyes, waiting expectantly. I can’t keep him on pins and needles anymore. With a laugh, I give in. “I’m pregnant again.”
There’s a pause as Marco takes in the news, and then he leaps to his feet with a roar of joy, raising his fists in the air as if his football team just scored a goal. “We’re having another baby?” he cries, grabbing me by the hands.
“Yes,” I tell him, getting to my feet so that he can pick me up and spin me around.
The kitchen, my baby, my husband, all fly by in a whirl of colors, so quickly I can’t see a single thing. But it doesn’t matter. I could tell them all by heart, every line, and every dimple. Because this is my heart. My family, my home.
And I couldn’t be any happier if I tried – I’m sure if I was, I would burst.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Marco
“So, this is the famous Luccio’s,” Hannah’s mother, Tina, says, looking around the place.
“Yes, it is,” I laugh. “One of our favorite haunts in Rome. You’re going to love the food.”
“Oh, we know that,” Simon laughs. “Hannah’s told us enough times.”
I look over at my beautiful wife, who is having some trouble corralling our three-year-old, Simona, and little Graziana. The two girls are both feisty, always looking for attention – and when they don’t have it, they usually manage to escape and get up to no good.
I give her a hand getting the chairs set up so that Graziana can eat at the table with the rest of us without falling over. There is a moment of bustle and chaos as well get ourselves situated, and then the waitress is taking our order, and it’s a long moment before we’re settled enough to talk again.
“So, how’s the new job going?” Tina asks, looking at Hannah.
“Very well,” she says. “But my boss is kind of a drag, you know?” She rolls her eyes with an exaggerated look, and the whole table laughs.
Of course, they understand the joke. Because Hannah is working with me, assisting me in my office, putting her brand-new business degree to good use. It’s been part of our plan for a long while, but now that I finally have her by my side, it’s even better than I thought.
“She’s doing really well,” I tell her parents sincerely. “She’s giving me a run for my money, as you say. One day I will be out on the streets looking for a job because she’s taken mine.”
Laughter again and Graziana bangs excitedly on the table of her high chair, wanting to get in on the conversation.
“It’s better with the children, now, is it?” Tina asks.
“Oh, yes,” Hannah gushes. “We can both look after them now. It’s so nice, being able to share both the work and the kids’ childcare, and havi
ng the girls with us in the office as well.”
“It’s unconventional,” I admit. “But it works well. We support each other in both areas.”
“Isn’t that lovely?” Tina says, in a dreamy voice. “We should have done something like that, Simon.”
“We didn’t work in the same company,” Simon points out, shaking his head. “And this was years ago. You couldn’t do this back then.”
“Alright, alright,” Tina says, rolling her eyes, putting on the long-suffering wife tone. “I’m only saying.”
I let the conversation wash over me for a moment, turning to my left side where Simona sits. She’s already deep in concentration, coloring in a picture with the crayons provided by the waitress – or, at least, coloring on it, not much of it has gone inside the lines. “What’s this picture, bella mia?” I ask her, waiting for her to tell me in largely nonsense about the fun she’s having.
I spend a long moment appreciating what I have here, my best friend, my wife, my children – my family, all together. It took time for us to be this close again, but now here we are, and we even get to share our favorite memories with them.
It seems things work out for a reason. I waited twenty years to find a wife, the perfect wife. I didn’t even know I was looking for her, but in truth, I was just waiting, waiting for her to become a woman. Now here we are with our beautiful family, our business flourishing even better than before, everything in our lives finally at peace and in balance.
And I whisper a quick prayer for the gratitude towards Luccio’s Bolognese and its fame outside of Italy. Because without it, we might never have come here today, all six of us, in harmony and in love.
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A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
Book 32: Statham
Book 33: Bodyguard
Book 34: Greek God
Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
Book 36: Mountain Man
Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
Book 38: Royal Romance
Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
Book 49: Steamy
Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
Book 51: Possessive Professor
Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
Book 55: Doctor Next Door
Book 56: Possessive Policeman
Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
Book 59: Virgin in New York
Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
Book 61: Possessive Protector
Book 62: Possessive Australian
Book 63: Best Friend’s Brother
Book 64: Possessive Cowboy
Book 65: Summer Romanced
Book 66: Possessive Prince
Book 67: Lovers’s Enemy
Book 68: Cop’s Best Friend
Book 69: Possessive Firefighter
Book 70: Football Next Door
Book 71: Doctor December
Book 72: Possessive Canadian
Book 73: Blue Collar Billionaire
Book 74: Possessive K-9 Cop
Book 75: Possessive Brazilian
Book 76: Hockey Obsession
Book 77: Possessive Boston Irish American MMA Fighter
Book 78: Halloween Next Door
Book 79: Possessive Russian
Book 80: Baseball Mine
Book 81: Cop’s Caribbean Captive
Book 82: Instalove Island
Book 83: Dad’s Best Friend
Book 84: Thanksgiving with Dad’s Boss
Book 85: Possessive Italian Neighbor
Book 86: Possessive Portuguese
Book 87: Possessive Christmas Cop
Book 88: Russian’s Obsession
Book 89: Possessive Doctor’s Christmas
Book 90: Possessive Parisian Pilot
Book 91: U.K. Boxing Day
Book 92: Jealous Russian Stalker
Book 93: Italian Mountain Man
Book 94: Aggressive Russian
Book 95: Possessive Valentine
Book 96: Possessive Hunter
Book 97: Dad’s Russian Mafia Friend
Book 98: Russian Teacher
Book 99: Australian Obsession
Book 100: Russian Next Door
Book 101: Dad’s Irish Friend
Book 102: Nanny for the Russian Mafia
Book 103: Best Friend’s Dad
Book 104: Basketball Babymaker
Book 105: Possessive Veterinarian
Book 106: Brother’s Fireman Friend
Book 107: Brother’s Canadian Cowboy Friend
Book 108: Summer Vacation with Dad’s Best Friend
Book 109: Dad’s Italian Mafia Friend
Book 110: Dad’s Irish Mafia Friend
Book 111: Dad’s Football Friend
Book 112: Possessing His Dancing Queen
Book 113: Brother’s Cop Friend
Book 114: Halloween With Dad’s Best Friend
Book 115: Claimed By Her Boss
Book 116: Possessive Rider
Book 117: Dad’s Ex-Biker Buddy
Book 118: Possessive Undercover Cop
Book 119: Falling For Her Boss
Book 120: Claiming His Fashionista
Book 121: More Than Dad’s Best Friend
Book 122: Thanksgiving With Dad’s Best Friend
Book 123: Bossy Italian
Book 124: Christmas With Dad’s Mafia Friend
Book 125: Maid For The Italian Mafia
Book 126: Nutcracker
Book 127: Cowboy Cerrone
Book 128: Chef’s Kiss
Book 129: Claimed By The Russian
Book 130: Bought By The Italian Mafia
Book 131: Hot Nerd
Book 132: Dad’s Italian Mafia Boss
Book 133: Mine
Book 134: Taken By The Thief
Book 135: Curves Ahead
Book 136: Her Mafia Valentine
Book 137: Doctor Valentine
Book 138: Maid For The Irish Mafia
Book 139: Winning Her Curves
Book 140: Dad’s Cartel Best Friend
Book 141: Dad’s Gre
ek Mafia Friend
Book 142: Lawyer’s Obsession
Book 143: Attending Her Curves
Book 144: Maid for the Russian Mafia
Book 145: Priest
Book 146: Claimed By Dad’s Best Friend
Book 147: His Curvy Office Obsession
Book 148: Easter with Dad's Best Friend
Book 149: Veterinarian's Obsession
Book 150: Curves For Her Older Boss
Book 151: Mob Lawyer's Curves
Book 152: Maid For The Doctor Next Door
Book 153: Possessive Forest Ranger
Book 154: Nurse For The Russian Mafia
Book 155: Dad’s Fireman Friend
Book 156: Russian Mountain Man
Book 157: Possessive Italian Doctor
Book 158: Dad's EMT Best Friend
Book 159: Claimed By The Publisher
Book 160: Mr. CEO
Book 161: His Curvy Castaway Obsession
Book 162: Claiming His Reunion Obsession
Book 163: Claimed By Dad’s College Friend
Book 164: Dad’s Detective Best Friend
Book 165: Attending The Russian Mafia
Book 166: Dad's Biker Best Friend
Book 167: My Dad's Russian Mafia Friend
Book 168: Possessive Landlord
Book 169: Gardener For The Mafia
Book 170: Possessive Fighter
Book 171: Claiming Her Sweet Curves
Bool 172: Possessive Camp Counselor
Book 173: Claimed By Dad's Italian Best Friend
Book 174: Possessive Neighbor
Book 175: 4th of July With Dad's Best Friend
Book 176: Claimed By Her Enemy
Book 177: Bodyguard’s Obsession
Book 178: Falling For The Player
Book 179: Possessive Alpha Cop
Book 180: Her CEO
Book 181: Falling For Her Dad’s Boss
Book 182: MMA Fighter’s Obsession
Book 183: Possessive Lawyer
Book 184: Claimed by the British Rockstar
Book 185: Summer Obsession
Book 186: Paris with Dad’s Best Friend
Book 187: Claimed by the Possessive Fireman
Book 188: Possessive Trucker
Book 189: Falling for Dad's Enemy
Book 190: His Undercover Maid