Page 38 of Deadly Don's Arranged Vows

“Don’t thank me yet,” he warns me and them at the same time. But he smiles slightly, and I take that as a good sign. My husband is a good man. He may be a Mafia king, but he’s a good man, and I’m proud to call him mine.

I begin the introductions. “So, I’m Isabella, your big sister. And this is my husband, Carlo. And your names are?”

“I’m Lisa,” the older one says. She looks at Carlo. “Thank you for saving us and not leaving us back there. I don’t know much about things, but I know loyalty means a lot to people like us. So, I pledge my loyalty to you, sir.”

“Me too,” the younger girl says. “I’m Mary, and I want to say thank you for saving us too. I will always be loyal to you, sir. I promise.” She looks at me. “You’re really our sister that we’ve heard about? Your mom stole you from our father. My mom said it was what she did that made our father as mean as he was.”

Shaking my head, I say, “From what I have heard about our father, he was a very mean man before my mother left and took me away. I’m sorry for all the bad things you must have been through. As long as my husband allows it, I will make your lives much better than they have been.”

With a nod, Carlo says, “As long as you two devote yourselves to me and your sister, we’re good.”

“No problem there,” Lisa is quick to say. “I had nothing to do with any of this mess. I’m the quiet one. That’s served me well all these years.”

The girls hug each other and then look at me. “Thank you both so much,” they say at the same time.

I smile at them. “Hey, we’re happy to have you.”

“We’re happy to have you too,” Mary says. “I’m ready to move on to something better. Life so far has been kind of sucky.”

“Way sucky,” Lisa agrees.

Later that night, we lie in our bed together. I can’t stop crying as I realize how close we came to losing each other. “I’m sorry for letting them take me out of that store.”

“They drugged you.” He kisses my lips softly. “If you’d had the ability to get away from them, I’m sure you would’ve. And if your guards had stayed close enough to you, it wouldn’t have happened at all.”

I can only imagine what happened to the men who were guarding me that day. But that’s not what I want to think about right now.

“I’m just so glad to be here, home, in our bed together.” I know he would walk through fire for me, and there’s no one else in this entire world who could ever love me more than he does.

His lips press against mine, taking me to the depths of the abyss only he can take me to. Drowning in our love is the best feeling ever. But I’ve got something to tell my husband that might make him very happy.

When he eases his kiss, I whisper, “I think I’m pregnant.”

He emits a low growl before turning into a straight-up savage, claiming me in every way imaginable. I could not be happier to belong to this man!

***

Carlo

Eight months later . . .

I can’t seem to take my eyes off the sight of my wife as she feeds our baby from her plump breast. “A boy. You gave me a boy. I swore all the way until I saw his little pecker that you were having a girl.”

“I kept telling you that I felt like it was a boy.” Running her finger over his little forehead, she sighs. “He looks like you.”

“He’s got my hair, but his nose is yours.” Kissing the top of her head, I wonder if I could ever have more love in my heart than I do at this moment. “We have a son. Our firstborn. But all I had picked out was a girl’s name. We have to figure out what we’re naming our son.”

Looking at me with shining eyes, she asks, “Is there anyone you have in mind right now?”

I have the feeling she’s the one with someone in mind. “You tell me first.”

“He’s no longer with us. He was a real hero, just like you. I miss him every single day, and I know you do too.” A tear falls, and she swipes it away before it can fall on the baby.

I know who she’s talking about. “He never had any children of his own. It wasn’t a thing we ever talked about. But I bet he would have made a great father to some lucky kid.”

“He was a good big brother to me.” Wiping away another tear, she sniffles. “Then we agree?”

Nodding, I ask, “What about a middle name?”

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