Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“I expect you to protect her with your life.”
“Agreed.”
“And marry her.”
“As soon as possible.”
Rafa’s eyes narrowed, and the Mafia King of the South was staring at me once again. “And there better be a fucking wedding before I hear about any babies.”
Shit.
The saints were on my side at that moment because I was saved from lying to Rafa—or admitting that she could already be pregnant—when Gabriella came bursting into the room.
“Mico!” she cried, racing toward my bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. I braced myself, knowing it would hurt, but I was more than happy to feel the pain if it meant she was in my arms.
She scrambled onto the bed and threw herself at me, pressing her lips frantically against mine.
I groaned from the agony radiating through my body.
“Oh, crap! Am I hurting you?” she asked tearily as she tried to back away.
“Don’t give a fuck,” I grunted, dragging her up until she was straddling me and I was sealing my mouth over hers.
A throat clearing made Gabriella jump, and I scowled at her brother when she stopped kissing me and looked at him with a sheepish smirk.
“Out,” I growled.
Gabriella giggled, and Rafa shifted awkwardly.
“I’ll come back later,” he mumbled. His wife, Vivienne, was waiting by the door, and when he turned and faced her, she shot a look at Gabriella that had them both breaking into peals of laughter.
I turned my attention back to Gabriella, pulling her close once more, but Rafa’s voice interrupted again.
“Domenico.”
I turned my head to see him glaring at me, then glancing meaningfully at his sister, who was basically plastered against my body. “Don’t forget that third condition.”
“What condition?” Gabriella asked as she sat straight up and looked at her brother warily.
“Nothing to worry about, sole mio,” I murmured. “We just need to get married fast. Probably in the next few days.”
“What the fuck?” Rafa’s roar had Vivienne and Gabriella covering their ears while I just rolled my eyes.
“How far along are you, Vivienne?” I asked casually.
She blushed hard and yanked on her husband’s arm. “Let’s go, babe. I think I need something sweet and salty. The baby is hungry.”
Rafa’s attention was sufficiently diverted when he flipped around and hurriedly guided his wife out of the room, muttering something about the stubborn woman going hungry.
Gabriella laughed, then reached for me again, but I palmed her face and held her back to stare into her gorgeous brown eyes.
“I love you, sole mio.”
She blinked a couple of times as if in shock, then she lit up the whole fucking room with her smile. “I love you too, Mico.”
Before we could say anything else, the doctors bustled into the room. I refused to let Gabriella off the bed, but they stopped grumbling about it after one sharp look from me. Besides, the De Angelis family owned the pediatric wing of this hospital, and the De Luca’s owned the one I was currently stuck in.
They filled me in on the injuries, surgeries, and what came next until I couldn’t be patient any longer.
“Out!” I bellowed.
Gabriella turned tomato red, burying her face in my chest to hide her laughter.
When they were gone, I lifted her head to kiss her once more, but she stopped me with a question. “Will you tell me why you call me your sun?”
I brushed some flyaway hair away from her face and kissed her forehead, then her nose, following them up with a quick peck on the lips. “Because you’re the light in all my darkness, Gabriella. Without you, I’m not living. The only reason I have any humanity in me is because you’re bright enough to shed light on it for others to see.”
“Well…” She blinked rapidly, trying to keep moisture from spilling down her cheeks. “That was unexpectedly poetic and incredibly sexy.”
I grinned, sending her into a state of shock for a beat, then she returned my smile.
“Ti amerò per sempre, sole mio,” I murmured.
“Per sempre, Mico.”
EPILOGUE
GABRIELLA
“Great touch with the lighting,” Aston complimented, stroking his beard as his gaze swept over the feature wall I had just completed this morning for an exhibition tonight. “It highlights the composition of this series quite well.”
I gazed up at the wall showcasing six paintings by an emerging artist, looking for anything I might want to adjust. After a moment of thought, I finally decided the display was perfect just the way it was and gave a nod of approval. “It really does.”
He patted me on the back. “Good job.”
“Thanks.”
The front door to the gallery chimed, letting us know a potential customer had come in, so Aston and I walked around the wall to greet them. My welcoming smile widened when I spotted Domenic striding toward us with a to-go cup and white paper bag from my favorite café.
“I see more of you now than I have in the entire year before you got together with Gabbi,” Aston grumbled as he pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket.