Page 101 of Forever Mine

“What the fuck is happening right now,” I whisper, my eyes wide. My mafia father is hugging a twenty-five-year Army veteran who loves and respects his country. This is wild.

“Dante, I’ll text you Monica’s number so you can send it out. I’m sure her sisters would love to talk to her. Maybe hold off on sending the number to nieces and nephews just yet. We don’t want to overwhelm her,” Gabriel says with a wink. “Let’s head home, baby.”

I stand and round the table to say goodbye to my brothers. Giovanni gives me a tight hug before whispering in my ear. “We have so much to catch up on. Wait until I tell you about Marco and Dante and how they met their women.”

I giggle and look up at Gio. “Just the two of them? You don’t have one?”

He shrugs. “I’ve got my eye on one. It’s proving to be … much more complicated than I thought.”

“Text me if you want to chat, baby brother.” He rolls his eyes.

“I’m a foot taller than you, pixie.”

“I’m still your older sister, and I will nail you in the balls if you give me any sass.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time, sis, now would it?” Gio laughs before handing me off to my other three brothers. Alex is last, and he hesitates before finally swinging me into his arms tightly.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispers gruffly into my hair. Alex has always had the world on his shoulders. Expected to take over for my dad, so he never truly lived a childhood. He was learning the business from an early age. Emotions be damned. They had no place inLa Famiglia. For him to tell me he missed me ishuge.

“I missed you too, bear.” He laughs against my head. I called him bear when I was a toddler because he always growled. He sets me on my feet, and I turn to my dad.

“Piccola, I’d like nothing more than to move forward and get to know the woman you’ve become. I know I’ve made mistakes, and if you don’t want to have a relationship with me, I understand.” Wow. First Paulie telling me he missed me, and now this? What the fuck is happening to my family? I find myself launching into my dad’s embrace before I can think about what I’m doing.

“Move forward, Dad. Let’s move forward,” I whisper as my voice trembles. He squeezes me tightly, so tightly. I’ve missed his hugs. As we end our hug, I see tears on his cheeks as he squares his shoulders and shutters his expression. I smile as I take a mental picture of this moment. He might be the big bad mafia don, but for just that moment, he was just my dad. And he missed me. I’ll never forget this moment.

“Let’s get going,querida.” Gabriel waves at my brothers as his hand finds my lower back, and we head toward the door. “You ready to start the rest of your life,anjinho? With me?”

“Never been more ready,tesoro,” I tell him.

The life I want, the life I’ve chosen, begins today.

EPILOGUE

Monica

Three years later

“What my wife wants, my wife gets,” Gabriel whispers in my ear as he pushes inside me from behind. We both groan as he fills me perfectly. “Open your eyes,anjinho. Watch the lights.”

Gabriel has me against the window in our hotel room overlooking the Eiffel Tower. When I told him years ago that I wanted to travel and experience the world, he promised to bring that dream to fruition. I’ve seen so many new places and experienced things I’d only read about in books. He’s my perfect travel partner and willing companion. The yin to my yang. Never could have imagined being this happy.

The light show on the Eiffel Tower is beautiful as Gabriel brings me closer to orgasm. He has one arm wrapped around my waist, holding me against the window as he thrusts into me from behind. I come on a silent scream as my eyes unfocus, and my body bows back toward Gabriel. I feel him swell in me as he grunts his release. We stand still for a moment, catching our breath.

“Closest I could get to fucking you at the Eiffel Tower, I’d say,” he whispers gruffly against my neck as he slowly places me on my feet.

Like I’ve always told Gabriel, I don’t need much. We still live in Gabriel’s condo, and we still drive the same cars. My penny-pinching ways haven’t gone anywhere. Where we splurge is in travel. Being able to see all these places I’ve only dreamed of, with the love of my life by my side, is sheer perfection.

On our first wedding anniversary, Gabriel and I made a bucket list of sorts. Knowing how much I wanted to travel, he encouraged me to create a sexcapade list. Not only the list of where I wanted to visit but how I wanted him to fuck me while we were there. Seeing it as a challenge, I got creative. Sex in the London Eye. On a rooftop in Santorini, Greece. Against the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. I began to get incredibly creative with my sex suggestions just to see how outlandish I could get and whether or not Gabriel would tell me to reel it in. He did not.

Cologne Cathedral in Germany. Great Wall of China. Sydney Opera House. You got a famous landmark? I put that sucker on my list. I figured Gabriel would just print off pictures of the places, and we’d fuck next to the photograph, but no. Gabriel found this challenge of mine to be exceptional foreplay, planning intricate strategies to give me the most unique and erotic experiences of my life.

I’m not a voyeur by any means, and I have no idea why my list became almost solely about having sex in public. We joked years ago about both of us having an affinity for sex outdoors. It’s not about getting caught. It’s about living my life and being with the one person who accepts me unconditionally as I am. Gabriel’s support and steadfast belief in me have given me so much. He’s watched me blossom into the woman I am today. Loving him, and having him love me, is what dreams are made of.

I expected at least some teasing when I told him I wanted to write a novel. I should have known better. Gabriel’s support was unwavering. Not only did he ask to read my chapters as I wrote them, but he also helped design the covers. I’ve now self-published six books. I’ve stepped away from real estate and write full-time. I finally found my purpose, and Gabriel has been the most supportive husband.

“So what’s next, husband?” I ask as we slide into bed after a quick shower. Gabriel’s lips quirk up in a small smile. He loves when I call him my husband. We’ve been married for almost three years, and it still feels like the newlywed phase. Gabriel proposed at his cabin only a few weeks after I reconciled with my father and brothers. We were married there a month later. Only Emily and Nathan attended, as per our wishes. Neither of us wanted a fancy affair. I just wanted Gabriel.

Our honeymoon was a week at the cabin with no phones, no internet, nothing. Just the two of us. It was idyllic and the best week of my life. We make an effort to head to the cabin once a month to unplug and unwind. Mountain sex just hits different.

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