Page 92 of The Bonventi Rise
"You," I say simply. "Your smile. Your laugh. The way you scrunch your nose when you're concentrating, or how your hands flow across the strings of your harp. I thought about all the time I've wasted, all the moments we could have had."
I pause, gathering my thoughts. "We've both made mistakes, Alina. We've both let our ambitions, our fears, our insecurities get in the way of what really matters."
"And what's that?" she asks.
"Us," I reply, squeezing her hand. "This. What we have together. Maybe it's not perfect, it's not easy, but it's real. And I'm not ready to give up on it. Are you?"
Alina shakes her head and kisses my hand. "No," she says firmly. "No, I'm not ready to give up. I love you, Marco. I love you so much it scares me sometimes."
I smile, ignoring the pain that shoots through my body as I try to shift closer to her. "Then we start over. Clean slate. No moresecrets. Just us, figuring this out together. What do you say, Firefly?"
She nods, a watery smile breaking across her face. "Yes, I'd like that."
I pull her hand to my lips, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles. "Good," I murmur. "Because I love you too, Alina. And I'm not letting you go that easily. It'll be the two of us forever."
"Well, about that," Alina says, her voice uneasy.
I feel my heart skip a beat. "What is it?"
She sits up straight and brushes the hair out of her face. "Well, I didn't envision it like this. First, I was going to congratulate you, Mr. Senator, on your win. And then I was…"
"What?" I ask, anxiety rising.
"Marco, I…" She stops and clears her throat. "I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby."
The words hit me like a freight train. For a moment, I can't breathe. Can't think. The world narrows down to Alina's face, to the tears glistening in her eyes.
"You're… we're…" I stammer, unable to form a coherent sentence. My mind is reeling.
Alina nods, smiling. "I was going to tell you on election night, but then all that happened. Anyway, it doesn't matter. You're going to be a father."
"Shit," I say, the word just coming out. Me, Marco Bonventi, the man who's spent his life navigating the dangerous waters of politics and family business, is going to be responsible for a tiny, innocent life.
"You're not… you're not angry, are you?" Alina asks.
"Angry?" I shake my head. "No. I'm terrified. I'm excited. But angry? Never."
I want to pull her in, but I can't. "I just…I'm going to be a dad."
She nods, tears streaming down her face. "I was so scared," she says. "When you were shot, all I could think was that you might never know. That our child might never know you."
The thought sends a chill through me. I think about my own father, about the complicated legacy he left behind. I think about the life I've led, the choices I've made. I vow to be better, to do better for my unborn child.
"I'm here," I tell her. "I'm not going anywhere, Alina. You hear me? We're in this together."
Then the door opens, and Livia sticks her head in. "All?—"
I cut her off. "I'm going to be a dad," I yell.
"What the—" Livia says and pushes open the door, Enzo and Gio behind her. "Are you serious?"
"As serious as being shot," I say, laughing. "Oh damn, it hurts to laugh."
"Oh my God, congratulations," Livia says.
"Our baby brother having a baby of his own," Gio says. "Unbelievable."
Livia looks at Gio. "Well, first Enzo, then Marco. That leaves you, Gio."
