Page 140 of Fortress of the Brave

We stare up at our home that’s taken a year to build.

It’s almost done.

Dante first had the vision when he bought the land in Norfolk County, and after he shared the plans with me, I got just as invested.

It’s peaceful out here, even with security. After everything that happened in the underworld, we managed to find our peace. Eventually.

All good things come to those who wait, and I can say with absolute certainty that the statement is true.

This is going to be the place we make a home.

To say it’s magnificent would not do it justice. No stone has been unturned during its creation. To say Dante is a little over the top is an understatement. He’s too much.

The nursery is bigger than my first apartment. I had to put my foot down when he wanted a marble floor in here, as well as the rest of the house. Sometimes he’s a Medici through and through.

Dante has always wanted to return to his roots. Typically Italian. He wants a large family, along with our home, and for me to want for nothing. And I don’t.

I wouldn’t care if we didn’t have all this opulence as long as I have him. What we have is so very special, and I like being out here with him, even if our home isn’t quite finished, because it means I don’t have to share him. Having him to myself for just a few hours, or on weekends when he refuses to work, is the icing on the cake.

Taking Alia from my arms, he cradles her as he swings an arm around me.

“You like what you see, Mrs. Medici?” He gives me a sly grin as I laugh.

“I’m not Mrs. Medici yet.”

“But you will be soon.”

We plan on a wedding this summer. “I like it very much, Mr. Medici.”

“Baby’s asleep,” he notes.

“Uh-huh.”

I know where this is headed.

“So?” He raises his eyebrows suggestively.

“You’re forgetting we don’t have any furniture.”

He shakes his head. “Yee have little faith. We can improvise. Just need a hard surface.”

I glance down at his body. “Are you purposely trying to make me combust?”

“Gotta make up for all that no-sex postpartum,little bird.”

I roll my eyes. “We’ve done that already.”

He pulls me closer. “Just say the words. I’d love nothing more than to put more babies inside you.”

I slap him on the arm playfully. “Give it a minute, I've got enough on my hands with this little one.”

Alia grabs onto my finger and starts to suck on it.

“She’s hungry,” Dante says as I fail to hide my smile.

“You’re getting very good at this.”

He kisses me on the forehead, then bends to my ear. “Daddy’s hungry too.”

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