Page 141 of Till Death Do Us Part

“She’s hard to forget. I bet her name is Candy or something sweet like that.”

He gave me a look. I tried to sit up some, but he refused to let me.

“It is!”

He nodded. I laughed, my own laugh this time. I sighed a few seconds later, staring at her picture.

“I didn’t believe it, you know. That you were with her that day.”

He looked at me, the intensity in his eyes raising to DEFCON 3 level.

“I trust you, Felice. But if you ever decide to start…looking elsewhere, I want you to tell me.”

“Fucking tell you,” he whispered.

I nodded. “Yeah, so I can start doing the same. We can be like Rocco and what’s her name?” I thought for a second. “Rosaria.”

“We could never be like them. You’re much too gorgeous, and I have better hair than him.” His tone was dead serious.

Or I thought he was being dead serious. A shit-eating grin spread on his face when I hit his shoulder, and he pulled me closer. So close, it almost hurt.

“A man even looks at you with the wrong intent, he won’t live long enough to give another look.”

“You’re mine,” I said, knowing that covered all bases. He’d said it to me enough times. I’d never really thought about it before because he never gave me a reason to. But our lives were changing. I wanted to be clear on that.

He didn’t share. Neither did I.

Our eyes met, and we stared at each other. He nodded and I kissed his lips. He refused to let me move back.

“Solo tu,” he said, kissing me even harder. “Eternamente.”

Only you. Eternally.

We pulled apart, and it hurt more than it did in the beginning. The longer we were together, the harder it was to separate.

Since that time was on my mind, though, I had something to ask him. “How did you find me? When I left?”

He went through all the steps, including breaking into Hayden’s house. “Why ask me now?”

I shook my head. “Corinna brought it up tonight. After she found out about the baby, she said something like,‘I’m glad you got in touch with Felice after you left, and that everything worked out.’You didn’t talk to her after you were released?”

“No. I had other things to take care of. I hadn’t seen or talked to her since before they pinched me—the last time.”

I fell into him and started laughing. He lifted me up, making me look at him.

“Felice.” I sighed. “I told her where I was. She was the only one who knew. I knew Tommaso would never suspect it. My father would have never thought of it. My sisters either. Alfonso and Jack weren’t goinganywherenear Nonna Silvia. Someone had to know where I was.” My voice dipped. “You found me anyway.”

“Can’t separate us. Not even in death.” He stood, hauling me up and throwing me over his shoulder. “Fuck. You’re getting an onion from Befana since we couldn’t fix Santa. I can’t believe this shit.” He spanked my ass and then stopped halfway up the stairs when I said the next words to him.

“Ti amo, my dangerous carnivore.”

“Ti amo, my little herbivore. The only creature who has ever brought me to my knees. My better half. She who holds my heart.”

“One,” I said.

“One.”

As it was. As it would always be.Not even in death shall we part.

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