Page 92 of Kiss Away Your Pain (Wounded Hearts 2)

Epilogue 1

Candi

Arms filled with containers of s’mores-making ingredients, Destiny and I stand on her back porch watching our husbands play with our kids. Their little legs propelling them in circles around their daddies’ legs, Lucia loses her balance and tumbles into the sand. Before Enzo can reach her, Angelo throws himself into the sand to help her up. Once she’s to her feet, she brushes her sandy, dark curls from her face with the back of her hand, leans in, and plants a kiss on his cheek, swelling my heart.

After a day of making sand castles, kicking around a soccer ball, and collecting seashells, it’s time to relax with a yummy snack. Gazing at each other, we smile then walk down into the warm sand.

We put the containers and extra-long forks on trays near the fire pit.

“Come on, kids,” I call out. “It’s time.”

Their little squeals fill the air with joy as their tiny legs run through the sand, kicking it up behind them. Nicco and Enzo follow, looking more exhausted than the kids.

Destiny hands them each a long fork, already speared with a marshmallow. Nicco and Enzo sit in their chairs.

“Come here, Angelo,” Nicco says, patting his hand on his inner thigh and opening his arms toward his son.

“Daddy, will you help make mine hot?” he says, bobbing his way into Nicco’s arms.

“Yes, of course I will. I’m very good at it now. I wasn’t always though.”

Angelo looks up at him, wide-eyed, as though alarmed his daddy could ever not be good at something. “Really?” His intonation goes from low to high.

“No,” Nicco says, shaking his head. “Your mommy had to teach me how. I burnt my first one and sent it flying into the sand.” He motions the fling with his empty fork.

The adults bust into a chuckle as Angelo’s little face fills with an incredulous expression of wonder, the firelight sparkling in his brown eyes.

Lucia’s already taken to sitting on Enzo’s lap, tucked into her daddy’s strong arms, filling me with warmth. “Make it spin, daddy,” she requests, her curls dancing around her cherub-face.

Enzo obliges, spinning the fork for the perfect toasting. Lucia claps her hands together with glee.

With s’mores eaten and bellies full, the kids are falling asleep on their daddies’ chests. Nicco and Enzo bring them inside and up to the spare bedroom, where I used to sleep when I stayed over.

We toast our marshmallows and assemble our s’mores. Gobbling them down, we lean back in our Adirondack chairs and gaze at the stars above.

“We love these nights with you guys,” I say, reaching out to hold her hand.

“We love having you come,” she says, holding onto mine.

After a few minutes, Nicco and Enzo rejoin us, sitting back down in their chairs.

“They’re out,” Enzo says, taking a sip of his wine.

“Imight be out soon,” Nicco chuckles, picking up his wine and raising it toward the fire, indicating he’s about to toast.

Destiny and I pick up our glasses from their spots tucked into the sand.

“To those who are gone. To those who are here. And to those who are on the way,” he says, rubbing Destiny’s belly and raising his glass in the air.

We raise our glasses and take a sip, Destiny drinking water.

In the peace of the moment, I breathe.

If I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d go through the pain and the heartache all over. I’d suffer the agony of losing Dom, my loneliness, my empty soul, my broken heart, to get exactly here, to this moment, right here and now.

My career filling me up and continuing to be successful, the best friend a girl could hope for, a renewed relationship with my dad who’s a huge part of his granddaughter’s life, my loving husband by my side, and our daughter asleep in my best friend’s house; I am unimaginably blessed.

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