Page 95 of Bittersweet Endings
“Rory!” Enzo screamed, and I glanced behind me.
Carmine was walking down the beach with our five-year-old daughter in his arms. Enzo loved to be wild, but he loved his sister more. And Aurora? She loved her father more than anyone.
It hurt. To be honest.
I guess I was predisposed to want to dress her up like my own little doll. And God didn’t want me to put my trauma on my daughter. So, nothing appeased her like her father. The little brat looked just like me at her age, but she only had eyes for Carmine. And getting into mischief with her brother.
Carmine sat on the blanket next to me, setting Aurora on her feet before she ran to her brother. I rolled my eyes as she glanced back to make sure her father wasn’t leaving her.
“How are they?” Carmine asked, leaning over me to look at the twins.
“Fat, fed, and happy.” Our sons had almost killed me, at almost six pounds each.
They were good babies unlike their siblings. They wanted to eat, burp, and go back to sleep. Hardly a fuss came from them once they latched on to a tit and passed out. Thankfully, we were long past the nursing stage. But they were going to be huge. Like Lorenzo huge. Just shy of two, they were already taller and wider than Enzo.
Nio. Gio. We got real original. They were shortened Italian names, but we decided we didn’t care.
“And how ismy baby?” Carmine asked, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m good, thanks.”
He smirked.
“She’s fine.” I leaned back, so that he could see Gabriella cradled in my arms.
She was what you’d call an Irish twin—less than a year younger than her brothers. It was hard to tell Carmine no. And, well, the man had killer sperm.
“And my little doll, what do you need?”
“You know what I need.”
My husband kissed me and I moaned around it.
“Where’s the nanny?”
Carmine chuckled. “If only we had one. But someone didn’t want a stranger raising her babies.”
“Listen, if my mother could do it alone, then I can…” I passed Gabriella over to her father and got to my feet. “Enzo! What! Did I! Say?” I stormed towards the water, charging into the waves to grab my son.
“Ma!” he wailed, trying to get loose.
“Don’tMame. I told you: If Uncle L isn’t down here, you don’t go in!”
Turning quickly, I grabbed Aurora before she could follow her brother. I had no idea how my mother did this alone. These kids were going to be the death of me. Although she’d raised Agostinos and not a bunch of uncivilized Ragettis.
Still, they were mine and no one touched what belonged to me.
Epilogue
CARMINE RAGETTI
The sand was warm beneath my feet as I walked towards the water, the weight of my daughter resting against my chest. Aurora had finally knocked out, her tiny hand curled in my shirt and her soft breaths warming my neck.
She’d been a little terror last night, refusing to sleep because I hadn’t told her goodnight. I’d been out handling an issue—one bad enough that Apollo had flown in from New York to help. Peace and partnership with the east were still weird. Even all these years later.
I’d barely gotten two hours of rest before Aurora charged into my office, dragging that damn stuffed bear with her. I hated the creepy thing but could never bring myself to throw it out. Even though it was missing pieces, she loved it.
She was a daddy’s girl, through and through. It drove Octavia crazy. Especially when Aurora refused to be soothed by anyone else. I knew it stung.
