Page 91 of Borrowed Bride

“Alright rascals, play time is over. Back on the boat.”

“ButMom,” rises a chorus of complaints. No one wants to give up their time in the water, but I quickly scoop up Emil before he can swim too far away, and Sanzio follows. I learned pretty quickly that Emil is the more headstrong of the two and right now I’m using that to my advantage.

“I’m sure the dolphins will be back tomorrow,” I say, reaching the ladder.

Marco is there with his phone balanced between his ear and his shoulder and he scoops Emil out of the water with one hand. “You heard your mother. The rule was until the alarm and I know you all hear the alarm.”

“Fine,” Freya groans and she drags herself out of the water with a dramatic flair. “They better be there tomorrow, I’mgetting the feeling that I was supposed to be a merperson in another life.”

“Oh really?” I chuckle, helping Sanzio back up on deck and closing up the railing. “Well how about tomorrow you use your merfolk powers to bring us a whale. I’d love to see one of those.”

“It doesn’t work like thatMom,” Freya sighs. “Land people are so dumb.”

“Are they?” calls another voice. Out from the lounge walks Emilia, leaning heavily on her cane. Her health journey has been a tough one, but being free of Dante, free of quiet captivity in a greenhouse, and away from the stresses of Mafia life has done wonders for her.

I swear I saw a new life breathe into her the first time she held the twins.

“Auntie!” they all yell and they charge toward her.

I’d follow but I take one step and Marco sweeps his solid, warm arm around my waist and pulls me close to his broad chest.

“Mm-hmm,” he says, still on the phone to Leo even as he dips his face into the crook of my neck and kisses me. “Yep. You got it. Keep me informed, okay?”

“What’s happening?” I ask, swiveling in his hold to cup his face as he ends the call. “Do they need us back?”

“Not on your life,” he grins, kissing me lazily. “The recent influx of weapons across the East Coast? The Russians. Looks like they’re finally brave enough to start infecting our territory again. Leo wanted advice on how to crack down on them.”

“You’re like a Mafia guru,” I chuckle. “Giving advice from beaches and yachts to people a thousand miles away.”

“It’s a good life,” he grins down at me. “Fawn took care of some Triad trouble a few weeks ago and the disturbing family was so alarmed that they gave up the Russians immediately and are seeking peace.”

“Wow. A visit from Fawn is enough to scare the balls off even the strongest of them. Do I want to know what she did?”

“Probably not,” Marco laughs. “All we need to know is that it worked.”

“One at a time,” comes Emilia’s light laugh. “One at a time!”

The children pile onto her for cuddles, then help her toward one of the sun loungers near the yacht’s pool. I watch them for a few moments, never tiring of seeing my family together and happy.

“Oh, and Cherry and Tara have finally secured the top spot on the drug side of things. The Irish bowed out of the race, to an extent. Tara’s letting them still do their business, just for a cut. They’ve dominated the recreational market more than I ever could.”

“You know if they break up, we’ll have one hell of a lovers tiff on our hands,” I point out, lightly running one of my hands over Marco’s chest. “We’ve created two powerful drug lords that happen to be dating, and if they end up falling out then what does that mean for us?”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t happen before Leo’s wedding. He’ll be heartbroken not having Tara there to make her famous dip.”

I clutch at Marco. “He set a date?!”

“Yup. Carmilla wants a Christmas wedding.”

“Oh, that’s so romantic,” I say with a soft sigh. “I bet she’s going to look so beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” Marco lightly grasps my chin and tilts my head up, kissing me gently.

“Do you miss it?” I ask in a whisper when he pulls back.

“Miss what?”

“The life. The drugs and the guns and the killing?”

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