Part 7
Three weeks later, the transition from the cramped walk-up above the bakery to the Falcone estate felt less like moving into a new house and more like stepping into another dimension.
The estate sat behind wrought-iron gates on a private cliff overlooking the roaring expanse of the northern coastline. It was a fortress, yes — surrounded by perimeter sensors, discreet security patrols, and bulletproof glass — but inside, it was a home.
Nico had spent the first two weeks completely reconfiguring the west wing, converting a sprawling suite of guest rooms into a magnificent, sunlit nursery and playroom for Milo, complete with a custom-built indoor climbing gym and a reading nook filled with every children's book ever written.
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling bay windows of the master sitting room, watching the sun dip below the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant shades of violet and gold. Down on the manicured lawn below, Milo was currently chasing a golden retriever puppy — a welcome-home gift from Marcus Vance — with infectious, high-pitched shrieks of laughter.
Right behind him, matching his stride step for step, was Nico.
The feared syndicate boss, dressed in a simple black cashmere sweater and dark trousers, was currently down on his hands and knees in the grass, pretending to be a roaring monster while Milo attacked him with a foam sword. The sight was so surreal, so utterly divorced from the cold, ruthless man I had known in the glass tower, that a soft laugh escaped my lips.
Heavy, familiar footsteps sounded behind me, followed by the soft click of the double doors closing.
Nico walked into the room, bringing with him the faint scent of salt air, clean laundry, and the subtle, intoxicating cedarwood cologne he always wore. He crossed the room in a few long strides, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his chin comfortably on my shoulder.
"What are you smiling at?" he murmured, his voice a low, rumbling hum against my neck.
"Just watching the fierce, terrifying Falcone crime lord getting beaten up by a three-year-old with a foam sword," I teased softly, leaning back into the solid warmth of his chest.
Nico chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to the curve of my neck. "He fights dirty. Uses psychological warfare. Demands extra pancakes at unreasonable hours. I'm considering trading him for a less demanding roommate."
"You wouldn't dare," I turned in his arms, wrapping my hands loosely around his neck, looking up into his dark, smiling eyes.
"Never," Nico whispered, his expression softening instantly as his hands slid down to firmly grip my hips. "He's the best thing that ever happened to us. Second only to his mother."
I felt a familiar warmth bloom in my chest. "You know, I still sometimes feel like I'm going to wake up and find out this was all a dream. That I'm still in that walk-up above the bakery, listening to the oven timers."
Nico's expression grew serious, his dark eyes searching mine with intense devotion. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, velvet jeweler's box. My breath hitched in my throat.
"It's not a dream, Claire," Nico said quietly, his voice steady and resolute. He didn't drop to one knee — that wasn't Nico's style — but he held my gaze with absolute, unyielding sincerity as he clicked the box open, revealing a ring that caught the dying light of the sunset in a blaze of brilliant diamonds. "When I sent you away two years ago, I gave you an ending. But that was a lie. This is the real beginning."
He lifted the ring from its velvet bed.
"Marry me, Claire," he said, his voice dropping into a register that sent shivers straight down my spine. "Help me build a real home. Not a fortress. A home. For the three of us."
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but this time, there was no pain in them. Only a profound, overwhelming joy.
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"Yes," I whispered, smiling as a single tear slipped down my cheek. "Yes, Nico. A thousand times yes."
He slid the ring onto my finger, the cold metal warming instantly against my skin, and pulled me into an embrace so fierce, so complete, that for the first time in my life, I felt like I was exactly where I was always meant to be.
