Is he still talking to Sergei? I quirk an eyebrow and turn around just in time to see Louis lean on the hood with his hands on both sides of Sasha’s thighs and kiss her. Sergei makes a face behind his back and climbs into the car without another word to honk at them as if scaring a pair of birds.
“I guess these two are going home together,” Giovanni grumbles with displeasure and looks at me. “Do you think you could give me a ride? I’m pretty sure Alina is ready to leave.”
“Sure.” I chuckle, patting his shoulder, and gesture for Ruben to get back into the car. “Let’s go before Isabella gets grumpy.”
One by one, our cars leave the scene, and I don’t even glance at the bloody mess behind. Alvaro has found out firsthand what it means to go against the De Lugo cartel.
Ruben takes us to the main base where I discharge him to go home and switch to my own car to drive Giovanni to his apartment building.
Thank god they’re finally planning to buy a house. I mean, no matter how good the neighborhood is, you can’t compare it to the peace of suburban life, especially with a child.
There, I drop him off so he can pick up Alina and Benito and get them settled in his car while I drive home. It’s already starting to get dark, the sun rolling closer to the horizon, and the clock shows quarter to seven. Almost on time.
“Hey, honey,” I announce as soon as I walk through the front door. Jacinta, who happens to be passing by, gives me an amused look.
“Hi there.”
She walks away to the living room, where happy children’s music and chattering voices are coming from, and I follow her with curiosity. Oh wow. There are at least twenty balloons all over the room, flowers in the corners, toys in the middle, and colorful decorations on the walls, one of which Liss is currently trying to fix. Isabella did go all out for the birthday party-but I can’t blame her. I want it to be perfect too.
“Oh, you’re here!” Isabella finally notices me, looking up from the table with drinks and snacks for the kids, and a beautiful smile blooms on her lips. “Are you done for the day?”
“Yes.” I chuckle and walk over, wrapping my arm around her waist to press a quick kiss to her lips. “We killed a dozen idiots.”
“Good, good,” she murmurs, unimpressed, and squeezes my shoulder. “Can you look after the kids? I need a few more minutes.”
As if she has to ask.
I leave Isabella to the plates and confetti and walk to the crib that holds the most precious babies in the world. Ever so restless, Lucia is holding on to the wooden planks of the crib, looking up with a demanding cry as soon as I walk closer, while Piero is lying on his back next to her. He’s more than content, quietly studying the balloons hanging right below the ceiling.
“Hi, princess,” I murmur softly, picking Lucia up and pressing a kiss to her cheek that only makes her more discontent. When was the last time Isabella checked her diaper?
Before stepping away to check it, though, I stroke Piero’s cheek, and he pushes his hand in his mouth, staring at me with a serious frown. I smile at him, feeling my heart fill up with warmth and peace-as it always does in their presence.
Yes, exactly a year ago, Isabella made me the happiest man on earth by giving birth to not only one but two little miracles who have been keeping my life alight ever since. Of course, we’ve had our share of good and bad days, struggles with keeping an eye on both of them, and joys with every milestone of their first year. But even the sleepless nights and headaches of the first couple of months didn’t spoil the pure happiness that Lucia and Piero have brought into our life.
While I keep the twins clean, well-fed, and entertained, the Italian and Russian guests start to pull up. Giovanni and Alina, with sleepy Benito in her arms, show up some fifteen minutes after me, followed by Louis, Sasha, and their son Misha. Elena, her sister Irina, and Maxim arrive next. Then Riccardo and Paolo come straight from the Messinas’ main base, and after that I kind of lose track of the order and number of guests.
Yeah, I have one hell of a family now, but it’s fun. Maybe that’s why I never feel the urge to go back to Tijuana where I never really had anyone to share even my own birthday with.
Soon enough, chaos takes over our house, but I embrace it. The children are running around, the adults are laughing and talking about
Alvaro’s defeat, and even though we all are different, I feel invisible threads connecting us together. The alliance of the De Lugos, the Messinas, and the Pushkov is strong and peaceful as ever, and when I look at our kids playing together, something tells me that it’ll last for a very long time.
And I don’t know what comes over me at that moment, what feelings squeeze my heart, but I clear my throat and raise my glass of
champagne above my head, tapping a fork against it. The ring of it attracts the attention of the crowd before me and I look into their eyes one by one, feeling content to be in their midst.
“A toast,” I announce, and Louis chuckles, as mischievous as ever, but I can’t even be annoyed by him at the moment. Everything feels so right that I can’t help but smile, looking at all of them. “For our family, and for the union that has brought us together.”
Everyone cheers, someone even whistles-I assume that it’s Louis again-and it feels as if the air itself glimmers with joy when we all share a smile over our glasses.
But I know that not everyone is in the living room with us, the empty place by my side tugging at the strings of my heart, and as soon as our guests return to their conversations, I leave my glass on the coffee table and quietly leave to go upstairs. The music and voices are muffled here, the celebration sounding distant even though the ones who are supposed to be at the center of it are here.
I hear Isabella’s gentle voice as soon as I get to the nursery door, and for a moment I linger there, just listening to her voice and Lucia’s dissatisfied cries. She’s the vocal one in this family as you have probably figured. But when I hear Piero join her with an upset whine, I quietly knock on the door and peek inside.
“Do you need help?”
Isabella turns to me from the armchair by the twins’ cribs, and I don’t need any word of confirmation when I see the tired smile on her lips. She’s had to deal with so many tasks today while I was wasting my time on this dumbass Alvaro, but it’s her day too. She went through so much to give birth to our stars, and the least I can do is be here for her tonight.
“Thank you,” Isabella murmurs, and I press a kiss to the top of her head before turning to Lucia with a soft smile.
“Does someone want a late-night bath?”
I focus my attention on Lucia, Isabella picks up Piero to rock him, and with a well-practiced routine, we put them to sleep fairly soon. Piero whines for a little longer than Lucia, tossing and turning, until we turn on his favorite night light. It immediately distracts him from his gloomy mood, and he dozes off just a couple of minutes later, holding his blanket tightly.
“Isn’t he cute?” Isabella whispers, smiling at Piero with peace and delight in her eyes, and god, I still can’t believe how beautiful she is. Every day, I discover a new way to adore her-her strength and softness, her endurance and gentle heart-and remind myself just how lucky I am.
When I say nothing to her comment, Isabella glances at me as if expecting to read it on my face, and when our eyes meet, I can’t help myself. I pull her into my arms, holding her close in the middle of our nursery with our children sleeping soundly right by our side. Isn’t it better than anything I could ever dream of?
“God, you make me so happy,” I whisper into Isabella’s hair, kissing it gently. “Every day is such bliss when I’m with you.”
But Isabella giggles quietly, nuzzling my shoulder for a moment, her hands tied into a loose lock behind my back, and she looks up at me with a soft glimmer in her eyes. The smile on her lips is small but genuine, and when I place my hand on her cheek it only grows wider.
“It’s not me, Raul,” Isabella whispers, leaning into my touch and tightening her embrace. “It’s our love for each other that makes the world a better place.”
“Alright, but if I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t be able to love you, and then everything else wouldn’t make sense,” I reason with a teasing
smirk, and Isabella giggles against my shoulder-but Lucia fidgets in her crib, making both of us freeze. She doesn’t wake up, but it reminds us that we’re not alone.
The twins need to sleep, and there are at least a dozen guests waiting for us on the first floor. We have plenty of things to do tonight-but I can’t find it in myself to let Isabella go so easily. Because here, in her arms, I feel the happiest.
“My heart is yours,” I murmur, pulling back just enough to look into her eyes.
Isabella is still smiling, but I hope she can see my heart through my eyes. She should know that I mean it-and the look in her eyes softens and shifts into something deeper. Isabella pauses for a moment, her gaze darting over my face with affection and yearning, before she reaches for my hand and places it just over her heart.
I can feel the fast rhythm of it even through her shirt, and it makes my own heart beat faster, warmth filling it from within.
“And I am yours,” Isabella whispers, holding my gaze. “For the rest of my life.”
I look at her with my throat tight, looking for words-but what is there left to say? How can I describe the warmth I feel in her presence?
How can I repeat the frantic rhythm of my heart? There are only three words that I can say right now, and even though they will never be enough,
I repeat them every day in hopes that Isabella knows the overwhelming wave of feeling behind them.
“I love you,” I murmur, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips, and she doesn’t need to say anything. The way she wraps her arms around me, closes her eyes, and parts her lips with a breath full of pleasure is all I need to know that our hearts understand each other.
And forever, they will be entwined as one.
***** THE END