Page 103 of Pregnant By the Italian Mafia Enemy

Dante opened his hands and smoothly took the baby into his chest as I stood.

I wouldn’t let this animosity overshadow this day—not when I was here to stay.

“When you come back, I have one surprise left for you before the cake-cutting,” Dante said.

I took a long look at his grinning face before releasing a laugh and walking toward Gabriel. He sat alone at a table, watching as Bria ran around with her cousins. When I approached, he gave me a small, insincere smile. It wasn’t rude, but I could tell he wasn’t genuine.

“Listen,” I said bluntly. “I know you don’t like me, okay?”

“It’s not that I dislike you—”

“Please, just listen.” He closed his mouth and leaned on the table, giving me one nod. “What I did is unforgivable for most people. I still can’t fully forgive myself now that I know the truth and the lies that Valentino spread. I won’t ever forgive myself for trying to hurt him now that I know him. You know the situation,and you know about all the excuses I could tell you. None of them matter, and I get it. But a lot has changed.”

“The past is still there. You were willing to hurt him—”

“Before I ever knew him,” I corrected. “Before I knew the truth.”

“That’s not something easy to forgive.”

“I’m aware of that,” I told him. “I don’t want your forgiveness. I don’t need it. I just need to tell you that it’s not something that will ever happen again. I need you to know that I love him, and if I wanted to hurt him, I would have done it a long time ago. I’mreallygood at my job, and you know that. You’ve seen it.”

He hesitated, considering my words. I’d taken a handful of jobs for Dante in the months since the baby was born, and they were all successful—immenselysuccessful.

“You’re the best assassin he’s had on his payroll,” he admitted.

I’d taken my duties for Dante seriously, and I’d done a handful of overseas missions for Gabriel in the past few months, too.

“You don’t have to like me. You don’t have to trust me. But I need you to please believe me when I tell you that I won’t hurt him. I’dneverhurt him.”

Gabriel stared at me for a long moment. It looked like he was trying to see through to my soul, and I let him see it all. I let him take a glimpse into the remorse and sorrow I felt, and I didn’t hide.

“Thank you for talking to me.”

I nodded and stood, not expecting more than that. As I turned my back, he spoke again.

“You make him happier than I’ve ever seen him. I’m glad you’re a part of the family, and I’ll try to forgive you.”

I’ll try.

The honesty of the statement had the weight on my shoulders loosening as I looked at Dante and took a deep breath. Something about this conversation made everything feel more manageable. It wasn’t realistic for him to forgive me for everything right now.

“Thank you.”

I strode back toward our table and found Dante’s heavy gaze on me. His knowing smile grew as he stood, a paper in his hand as he made his way in my direction. “Did the conversation go well?” he asked.

“It did.”

He grabbed my hand and guided me out of the large event hall, then around a corner and into a small alcove out of sight. “He’s going to forgive you. I think you’ve already grown on him.”

“Like a scab,” I teased.

“Something like that.” He stood over me as I pressed my back into the small wall of the alcove. “I found something that I wanted to give to you today when we got some time alone.”

“Is this an innuendo for something inappropriate?” I asked with a wide smile. “Because I think this alcove is private…enough.”

His smile didn’t turn amused, though. Not as he pressed a small letter into my hand and stared at me as I looked down at it. The weight of his gaze had me hyper-focusing on the handwriting on the outside of the paper. I teleported back to a time when this handwriting had been a large part of my life.

My mother’s handwriting.

---