Page 160 of Milo

"Humility has never been a Di Vaio strong suit." Milo expels a small laugh as we enter into the dark room, natural light beaming through the cracks in the foundation. "Over here."

"Evidently not.” My gaze darts around the gold embellished crypts lining the walls, pulse quickening with sudden nervousness as we stop in front of several crypts.

"This is my father, Santino," Milo says. He nods at the subsequent crypt. "And one is for my brother." He takes a step to the side. "And this is your grandmother, Annabelle Payne."

I suck in a sharp breath, pressing my palm against the cold stone. "Hi Nana, it's been a while." I swallow, glancing at Milo. "Nana this is Emilio—" I squeeze his hand. "We're getting married in two days. Isn't that crazy?" I chuckle to myself. "But I guess you were always a fan of crazy." I peer up at Milo. "On my fourteenth birthday, she lined our basement with plastic wrap and filled the room with foam. She thought it would cheer me up."

Milo laughs. "That is quite odd."

"Yeah," I snort, shaking my head. "She was a very odd woman."

"Did it?" he asks.

I frown. "What?"

"Cheer you up? I am making a mental list of ways to keep you happy. Julia told me I should expect many mood swings in the foreseeable future."

"Worried you won't be able to handle me? I think I've been pretty stable so far."

Milo presses his lips into a thin line. "The past few days would suggest otherwise."

"That wasn't hormones, that was stress."

"Whatever you say, Kiara."

I blink. "Do not patronize me, it's very unbecoming."

"I am joking, tesoro." He arches down and kisses my forehead. "You are perfect in every way."

"You're just saying that so I won't shoot you.”

"No," he whispers, lifting my hand up to his lips. "I am saying it because it is true." He nods at the crypts, a warm smile on his face. "Did you want to show them the photo?"

"Oh, good idea.” I reach inside my jacket pocket and pull out a sonogram. I clear my throat, holding out the black and white print for the whole family to see. "We're having a baby." I flip the photo around and narrow my eyes. "It's this tiny little dot right here, can you see?" I keep my index finger on the tiny little angel as I flip the photo back around. "It's about the size of an orange seed so no worries if you can't. To be honest, I couldn't see it at first either."

"I saw right away," Milo says with a sly grin. "But us Di Vaios, we have excellent vision."

"Anyway—" I roll my eyes, suppressing a smile. "We're um... we're really excited. And uh—we just wanted to share this news with all of you." I pause, reading my nana's name. "If it's a girl, I want to name her Annabelle, after you, Nana."

"And Sergio if it is a boy," Milo says, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah," I hum, resting my head on his shoulder. "Sergio if it's a boy." Comfort washes over my body as I trace the outline of my nana's name. "I hope you're happy here, Nana, I know how much you and grandpa wanted to visit Italy. I'm sorry it had to be like this but at least you're here, right?"

"Speaking of your grandfather, he is over here with your parents," Milo whispers, pointing to an enclosed glass section with three ornate urns resting on the shelf. "I had my men take the liberty of retrieving them from your home in Hawthorne, I hope you don't mind."

"Oh my God, thank you." I cover my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes as I walk toward the urns. "Hi Mom, hi Dad, hi Grandpa." I shake my head, chuckling under my breath. "They're all here. Everyone."

Milo comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. "What is so funny, tesoro?"

"Nothing," I laugh. "This is just the most morbid meet the parents ever. Seriously, this is so not normal."

"Perhaps not for the average person," Milo muses, resting his chin on the top of my head. "But we are not average, tesoro. You and I, we were not born to be normal. We were born to be extraordinary."

"Ah, there's the humility I know and love," I tease, craning my neck up. "Pride is a sin, baby. Didn't they teach you that at church?"

"So is gluttony," Milo smirks. "And yet I said nothing when you ate three hamburgers on the drive here."

My jaw drops. "I am eating for two now!"

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