“What?” she says after I pause for too long.

“I am in love with you.”

She rolls over in the bath so that she is lying with her stomach against my chest.

“You love me?” she says with a massive smile on her face and her eyes glittering.

“I love you. More than I could ever describe with words. I love you, and I promise I will always protect you and our baby. I don’t want any secrets between us. I’ll always be honest with you. I want to spend every day for the rest of my life making you smile.”

“I love you too, Leo. I want the same thing. I want to be with you forever.”

I wrap my hand around her jaw and pull her face closer to mine.

She grins as I press my lips against hers.

“So, you love me more than you can describe with words?” she whispers against my mouth.

“Yes.”

“Can you show me without words?” she giggles.

Chapter 28 - Sasha

We had a second wedding before the baby was born.

This time Leon’s entire family was there, I chose my own dress, and we danced beneath the stars holding each other close, smiling the entire night.

It was beautiful. It was everything I could ever have dreamed of.

With the second, official wedding, we also made a public announcement that the Dubrovs and Balakins were now allies. It caused a massive stir in the mafia underworld, as there were a lot of people who were not happy about it. But, of course, in finding out who wasn’t happy about it, we were able to get rid of all of my father’s old allies that were not good people.

I’ve been working hard to turn his business around, make it better, and build a new name for my family. Marie has moved into the other wing of our home to help take care of our son, and she’s been a huge help.

It’s all taken a few years.

Leon and his cousins have been a strong force, working with me to flush out the bad seeds and restructure the business so that my strong, good employees have a chance to really shine and show me what they’re capable of.

It turns out that I’m actually a very strong businesswoman, and I have a knack for it. I love it.

The only thing that was every holding me back was my father. With him out of the picture, and Leon there to support and encourage me, I’ve become the best version of myself.

I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and every single day with Leon as my husband, I just seem to get happier.

I pin a loose stand of hair up into my bun just as Leon walks into the bedroom.

He stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he looks at me in the mirror.

“Are you ready, little flower?” he asks, leaning down to kiss my neck.

“I think so. I just need to decide which shoes I want to wear.”

“You look incredible. You are going to be the most beautiful girl in the entire place. You are every time,” he smiles.

I turn around in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck and standing on my tiptoes to kiss him.

I love kissing him.

I love holding him and touching him and being near him.