Page 164 of Mila: The Godfather

If he fakes all his smiles for me like I do?

“Make a wish, Riagan!” The sweet and exciting sound of my wife’s voice pierces my soul and brings me back to the present and away from the past. “And smile wide!” she beams happily.

Shit, I do.

I smile with my whole face because for the first time in a long fucking while, I am truly happy. I don’t smile because I was granted another year on this earth, especially with the life I lead, but because I have her. I have someone who makes me believe in magic and happily ever after. Someone who has trouble expressing her feelings, so instead, she shows me with her actions. Someone who had tears in her eyes yesterday but woke up with the most blinding smile on her face today. She spent all morning and afternoon decorating and baking with men twice her weight, and who look like serial killers, even when gets shy and sometimes has trouble relating to them. Yet she tries.

For me.

I also smile wide when I see her holding a waffle cake with green frosting—- my favorite that she baked with the help of two of my men, who now seem to like her more than they like me, and I have zero issues with that unless they step out of line, which they won’t because they value their lives.

My girl is wearing ripped jeans that show a bit of creamy skin and an oversized mint shirt that reads ’Ask Daddy.’ I don’t think she realizes the sexual meaning behind the message, but I’ll gladly show her tonight.

What makes me laugh is the crooked birthday hat she has on— the same one she put on the dog. That’s another one who quickly attached himself to her.

Good because he was always meant for her.

All I’ve built for the past couple of years, I did it with her in mind. With the hope that one day, maybe she would be here in my world.

And here she is.

Celebrating me when, before her, everyone knew how little I cared about birthdays, but if celebrating me makes her smile like she’s doing now, I’ll deal.

Tuning out the rest of the men gathered around, I lean over the Irish-themed waffle cake she’s holding and blow out the candles without looking away from those blue eyes that have the power to stop the heart in my chest. Once every single candle is out, I whisper for her and only her. “I got all I want right here, butterfly. Don’t need anything else.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, her eyes grow softer, and that perfect smile of hers widens, robbing me of air.

That’s it, baby.

That’s all I need.

“Dig in, motherfuckers. This shit looks good.” Byrne roughly says. I’m about to call the fucker out for his lack of manners when he playfully touches Mila’s head.

Fuck.

Before I have time to react and break his hand for touching her without her consent, she freezes.

Swear to fucking God, she freezes in place as if she’s trapped inside her head.

Nothing like the time when that filthy cunt that was after her in the alley pulled her hair. This time I watch as she completely goes into her head. Her eyes are no longer focused, and I’m not sure she’s breathing with how still she is.

A long moment of silence falls, and then the cake falls to the floor, crumbling at both of our feet.

Fuck.

That’s when she snaps out of it.

I see the look of sadness that falls over her face when she realizes she dropped the cake.

“It’s okay, baby.” I grab her shoulders and make her look at me when she tries to look around the room, embarrassed. “You’re fine. It’s nothing.” I hug her closer, kissing the top of her head as I do. “Hey, look at me.” I step back and try to get her to look at me, but she won’t.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, dropping her head.

My chest feels tight.

I drop another kiss on her head, comforting her. “Nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault.”

But she doesn’t believe me I know.

I witness how quickly she puts on a wobbly smile and acts like all is fine. She learned to adapt to bad or awkward situations when she was a child. She goes to her head for protection, and when she snaps out of the daze and comes back, she pretends, and that just breaks my fucking heart.

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