Page 23 of His Mafia Sunshine

I blink, a slow, incredulous laugh bubbling up in my chest. It hurts like hell, but I can't stop, the absurdity and wonder of it shaking through me like a fever.

My Asher, my sweet, stubborn sunshine... stepping up and taking the reins, steering the ship of my bloody kingdom into calmer waters. The image is so incongruous, so utterly right, that it steals my breath all over again.

"I love that man," I murmur, more to myself than to Mia. "Fuck, I love him so much it hurts."

"He knows," Mia says softly, a wealth of understanding in her voice. "Believe me, Liam, he knows. What you did for him, taking those bullets, being willing to die for him... there's no greater proof of love than that."

I swallow hard, tears threatening at the backs of my eyes. "I'd do it again," I rasp, the words a vow, an oath carved into my very bones. "In a heartbeat, Mia. He's everything to me. Everything."

She squeezes my arm again, her own eyes suspiciously bright. "I know," she whispers. "And so does he. You two... you're the real deal. The kind of love people write stories about."

Before I can respond, the sound of running footsteps echoes down the hall, growing louder with each passing second. My heart rate kicks up, the beeping of the monitor beside the bed accelerating in response.

And then the door flies open, and Asher is there, his hair wild and his eyes fever-bright in his pale face. He stops dead at the sight of me, his chest heaving, his hands trembling at his sides.

"Liam," he breathes, the word a broken, hopeful thing. "Oh my God, Liam."

Mia shoots to her feet, a knowing smile on her face. "I'll just... give you two a minute," she says, squeezing past Asher and out the door, pulling it shut behind her with a soft click.

And then we're alone, just me and Asher, the air between us charged and heavy with a thousand unspoken things.

"Hi, sunshine," I rasp, drinking in the sight of him, the living, breathing reality of his presence. "Long time no see."

Asher makes a choked, wounded sound, and then he's flying across the room, his arms coming around me with almost painful desperation. I grunt at the impact, my injuries protesting, but I don't care, I can't care, not when he's warm and real and here.

"Don't you ever fucking do that again," he sobs into my neck, his tears hot and wet on my skin. "Liam, God, I thought... I thought I'd lost you. I thought you were gone."

I bring my arms up to cradle him, one hand cupping the back of his head, the other smoothing over the quivering line of his spine. "I'm here," I murmur, pressing my lips to his temple, his cheek, the trembling corner of his mouth. "I'm right here, sunshine. Not going anywhere, I promise."

He pulls back to look at me, his eyes red-rimmed and shining with a love so fierce it takes my breath. "You better not," he says, the words as much a threat as a plea. "Because I swear, Liam, if you die on me, I'll fucking bring you back just to kick your ass."

A laugh startles out of me, painful and perfect. "Noted," I say, grinning up at him like the besotted fool I am. "I have no doubt you'd find a way, too. My stubborn, gorgeous man."

He smiles, a real smile, bright and blinding as the dawn. "Damn right," he says, leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me, O'Connor. In this life and the next, remember?"

"I remember," I whisper, my throat tight, my heart so full it feels like it might shatter. "Forever and always, sunshine. No matter what."

He kisses me then, soft and sweet and brimming with promise. It feels like coming home, like stepping into the light after an eternity of darkness.

Like the first page of a new chapter, the start of a story I never thought I'd get to tell.

But now, with Asher in my arms and a future stretching out before us... I can't wait to see how it ends.

Or rather, how it begins. Because this, right here?

This is just the beginning. Of our life, our love.

Our happily ever after, hard-won and precious as diamonds.

And I'm going to cherish every goddamn second of it.

CHAPTER 10

ASHER

The diner is transformed, the usual retro decor replaced with twinkling fairy lights and delicate floral arrangements. The air is thick with the scent of roses and vanilla, with the hum of conversation and the clink of champagne flutes.

I stand in the center of it all, my heart so full it feels like it might burst out of my chest. Everywhere I look, I see the faces of the people I love, the family Liam and I have built out of broken pieces and sheer, stubborn will.

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