Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I continued to rub my palms together as I moved forward, anxious to take my wife off her brother’s hands and keep her forever.
The look she gave me was different from the one during our ceremony. She was emotional and full of unspent tears. I felt the same, happy but also full of so much love it leaked like a broken pipe. But now, she was bright with happiness and excitement.
Leo came to a stop before me and gently guided her arm out of his before he extended her hand for me to take.
I took it and gave him a nod, feeling like both he and his father had just given their blessings as he handed her off.
Leo nodded back and stepped aside.
She moved into me right away, five inches taller than usual in the sky-high heels she wore. “May I have this dance?” One hand moved to my chest while she hooked her other arm around my neck.
I took her hand in mine and started to sway with her, forgetting about the hundreds of people watching us.
She looked at me like there was no one else.
I’d never slow-danced in my life, but it just came naturally with her. Everything came naturally with her. Love and happiness and trust…and healing. I’d never let the past bother me. I’d just moved on and didn’t look back. But in truth, all that misery and pain had been with me the whole time. It was only when I found Francesca that I finally let the past go. I let myself be something more than I ever thought I could be. “I love you, Francesca Mancini.”
Her eyes softened as she looked at me, her hand moving to my cheek. “I love you too…and it’s Francesca Mancini-Barsetti.”
EPILOGUE
WOLFE
With the kids in the car, I drove to school and got into the drop-off line.
Paolo was in the seat beside me with his backpack already on. Every day, he and his sister Frankie would race to the car and fight over who got to sit in the front. Paolo usually got there first and would rub it in his sister’s face. I didn’t intervene because I wanted to teach my daughter to be tough. I wanted her to be like her mom, and letting her figure things out on her own was the best way to do that.
I got in line behind the cars and slowly approached the drop-off area.
“I hate school,” Paolo said with a sigh.
“You’re only seven, so you’ve got a long way to go.”
“Did you like school?” he asked.
“Nope. Not even a little bit.”
“Then why do I have to go?”
“Because I want you to be smarter than me.” We pulled up to the curb, and I put the car in park. “I’ll see you guys in a couple hours. Love you.” I rubbed Paolo’s head then reached into the back seat to pat Frankie’s knee.
“Bye, Dad. Love you.” Frankie hopped out, shut the door, and ran around the back.
Paolo took his time moving around the front of the car, his head down like he’d rather be anywhere but at school.
I waved to them both and headed home.
When I pulled up to the vineyard, Francesca was on the terrace with Elio, Salvatore, and Leo. They were having coffee and biscotti and talking business. Francesca was relaxed in the chair, one elbow propped on the table while she sipped her coffee. Her silver pistol shone in the sunlight from her holster.
After having my babies, she was a little thicker than she used to be and wider in the hips. Her tits had gotten bigger and never went back to their previous size, and that somehow made her sexier. Watching her grow my children and birth them was the biggest turn-on in the world. I wasn’t sure why more men didn’t talk about that.
“Hey, babe,” she said when I walked up. “How’d it go?”
I leaned down and gave her a kiss. “Paolo hates school, and Frankie is a sweetheart.”
“Why does he hate school?” she asked.
I sat in the unoccupied chair across from Leo. “I don’t know. I’ll talk to him about it when I pick them up.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Leo said. “Everyone hates school.”
“I never did,” Francesca said.
“Yeah, but you’re a little smarty-pants,” Leo teased before he took a drink of his coffee.
“It’s probably just a phase,” I said. “But I can tell he’s not destined for university.”
“He’s seven,” she said. “A lot can change between now and adulthood.”
I shrugged because I didn’t want to argue, but I could tell that Paolo was a hands-on kind of kid. He’d be more interested in working at the vineyard or at least something that didn’t happen in an office. I could already picture him as an adult running this place while his mother and I ran off on a second honeymoon. Now, Frankie, I had higher hopes for her. She was so smart and sweet. I wanted her to be an artist in Palermo and find a nice young man who would take care of her. I hadn’t wanted to be a father before Francesca, and even when she was pregnant, I was unsure if I wanted to be a father, but once I held Paolo in my arms for the first time, my life changed. It reminded me of the first time I looked at Francesca. Just an instant, powerful connection. “So, what’s on the books for today?”