My sister has gardens, Dante thought. My dead, and then not dead, sister has gardens.
He wanted to get out of this perfect little home and away from all this so he could think, but he found himself nodding in agreement. Cassidy smiled at him as he strode over to pull her close and kiss her temple.
“Are you okay?” she whispered in his mind.
“Yes.” He clasped her against him before releasing her. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Take your time,” she said. “I’ll let the others know we’ll be here for a little longer.”
“The others?” Maya asked.
“Some of my family came with us,” Cassidy explained.
“Oh,” Maya said and glanced nervously toward the window.
“They’re harmless,” Cassidy assured her. Or at least they’re mostly harmless. But she kept that to herself. “Go on; enjoy your walk. I’ll see you soon.”
“The kids will probably sneak back down soon.”
“I have nine siblings and an assortment of nieces and nephews; I know how to keep kids entertained.”
Maya’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. “I bet you do.”
“Go on; we’ll be fine.”
Maya hesitated before replying. “Thank you.”
Cassidy watched as they walked out of the room. She listened as a door opened and closed before sitting on the edge of the couch again. Dropping her head into her hand, she rubbed her forehead as she tried to understand this turn of events.
She lifted her head to gaze around the cozy room. She could still feel Dante’s sense of betrayal reverberating within her. It would be a long time before he accepted this, but she hoped he would one day.
Chapter Fifty-Two
“I gave her the locket,” Dante said as he stared at the ceiling while running Cassidy’s hair through his fingers.
She’d already noticed he wasn’t wearing it when they returned home, but she didn’t get the chance to comment as he’d taken her with a desperation she’d never experienced from him before. He’d been trying to forget, if only for a little bit, everything that happened. And now, reality was returning.
The only time Dante spoke after leaving Maya’s house was to thank Brian for his help when Brian dropped them off at home. Brian told him that he would help anytime Dante needed it. Then, he and Abby left for home.
Cassidy wanted to cry for him and everything he lost, but he wouldn’t want that. So, she did the best she could by simply being there for him. But now, he was finally talking again.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“No,” he admitted. “But I will be.”
Resting her hand on his chest, she ran her fingers over the thick muscle and wiry hair there. “I know.”
“And I have a sister again.”
“You have many sisters now.”
“And brothers,” he agreed with a chuckle.
Before meeting her, he was alone in the world, but now he had a massive family who would go out of their way to help him. Never once, after his parents’ deaths, did he allow himself to dream of finding love and starting another family, but he had both now.
One day, his anger and resentment toward Maya would fade. Things would never be the same between them as they were twenty years ago, but different wasn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes different was better, and maybe their new different would become better over the years. Time would tell, and they were blessed to have plenty of it.
Pulling his arm out from under her, he rolled over to lift his jacket off the floor. He dug inside the pocket until he found the small box tucked within. He’d been trying to figure out the perfect time to propose; should it be in a garden, on a swan boat, at Fenway, in the common?
Now, all those ideas seemed wrong. Rolling over, he sat up in bed and propped his back against the headboard. She sat up beside him as he turned toward her.
“I love you,” he said.
She didn’t understand the intensity of his chocolate eyes as they bored into hers. “I know. I love you too.”
He lifted his hands to reveal the small, red box in them. With a deft movement, he opened the box to reveal the ruby ring tucked inside. It was simple in its design, but so beautiful it stole her breath.
“I know that, to you, the mate bond is enough,” he said. “And it is everything to me too, but I want to marry you, Cassidy Byrne. I want to watch you walk down the aisle, see you in a wedding dress, and dance with you under the stars. Will you marry me?”
She could barely breathe through the lump in her throat. Rapidly blinking back tears, she managed a choked, “Yes.”
Dante grinned at her as he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her elegant finger. It was a little loose, but he would get it sized.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she lifted her hand in the air.
“It was my mother’s.”
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she threw her arms around him. The fact he’d given her his mother’s ring meant more to her than the proposal. “I love you!”
He crushed her against him as she rained kisses across his cheeks. “I love you too,” he said between his laughter. “I am so lucky I found you.”
Cassidy lifted her head to look at him; she smiled as she straddled his waist and settled herself over him. When he hardened against her thigh, some of his amusement faded. Her grin turned mischievous as she played with the hair at his nape.
“And don’t you forget it,” she told him.
Dante laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and, lifting her off him, rolled to pin her beneath him. Her eyes sparkled as she draped her arms around his neck and drew him down for a kiss.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Cassidy opened the door to her old apartment and poked her head inside. Sitting at the kitchen table, Julian and Aida had a newspaper spread out before them. They stopped talking and lifted their heads to look at her.
“Is Kyle still
