Chapter 8 - The House by the Sea
Six months later, the spring flowers were in full bloom along the cliffs of coastal Maine, far away from the dark, oppressive stone mansions of Providence and the chaotic docks of Boston.
The house was a sprawling, sunlit Victorian with white wood siding, wide porches, and large bay windows that looked out over the endless blue expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. There were no armed guards standing at the gates, no coded radios buzzing in the hallways, and no fear lingering in the corners of the rooms.
Inside the bright, spacious kitchen, Elena stood by the marble counter, mixing batter for a batch of blueberry muffins while the morning sunlight warmed the hardwood floor.
From the living room, the sound of bright, joyful laughter echoed down the hall.
“No, sweetheart, that’s not where the puppy goes,” a deep, patient voice said, followed by a squeal of delighted toddler giggles.
Elena smiled to herself, wiping her hands on a linen dishtowel as she walked out of the kitchen.
In the center of the living room rug, twenty-month-old Mia was toddling unsteadily across the floor, clutching a stuffed golden retriever in her arms. A few feet away, Dante Caruso—dressed in a soft gray cashmere sweater and dark jeans, looking more like an ordinary father than a powerful mafia boss—was sitting cross-legged on the floor, pretending to chase her.
Mia shrieked with laughter, stumbling right into Dante’s outstretched arms. He scooped her up effortlessly, swinging her into the air as she squealed with delight, before pressing a loud, exaggerated kiss against her cheek.
“Got you!” Dante laughed, nuzzling her tummy until she dissolved into helpless giggles.
Elena leaned against the doorframe, watching them. Her heart swelled with a fierce, quiet joy that still sometimes felt too good to be true.
Dante looked up, catching her gaze across the room. His gray eyes softened instantly. He gently set Mia down with a few wooden blocks, telling her to build a tower, and stood up, walking across the room toward Elena.
He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as they both watched Mia busy herself with the wooden blocks.
“She’s walking more every day,” Dante murmured, his lips brushing against her neck. “Before we know it, she’ll be running us out of house and home.”
“She gets her stubbornness from her father,” Elena teased, leaning back against his chest.
“Oh, really? I thought she inherited her stubbornness from the woman who hid from me in Boston for fourteen months with a forged birth certificate,” Dante whispered with a low chuckle.
Elena turned around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I had to make sure you were worth trusting, Mr. Caruso.”
“And am I?”
May you like
“We’ll see,” she smiled, rising slightly on her tiptoes to kiss him.
The kiss was slow, warm, and entirely free of the shadows that had haunted their beginnings. Outside, the ocean breeze whispered through the pines, carrying the promise of a quiet, beautiful future.
