Giulia gave me an indignant look. “You did that on purpose.”
I kissed her and she softened against me. Giulia handed me Gabriel, who peered up at me with my dark-blue eyes. It filled me with pride seeing our physical similarities, but it wasn’t stronger than the pride I felt when Daniele and Simona did something that I’d taught them—like play pool. Both of them were quite good at it. I loved all three of them equally.
“I have more hats like that,” she said pointedly.
“I know. I’ve made peace with your love of sunflowers.” Giulia had planted several of those ginormous flowers in our garden. What had once been a neatly manicured lawn was now filled with toys (for children and Loulou), wildflowers, and those yellow atrocities. “You brought chaos into my life.”
“You like my kind of chaos.”
Daniele and Simona continued their chase on the beach. Loulou jumped up from her spot on a lounge chair and joined them with cheerful barking. The floor of our beach house would be littered with sand tonight. In the past, this would have made me furious.
“I do. More than anything else, I love our life. It’s perfect in my eyes.”
Giulia kissed my chest over my heart then Gabriel’s forehead. “We made it that way. We work every day so it stays that way. Happiness is a choice.”
I wasn’t sure it was true for everyone, but for me, especially since Giulia had come into my life, it was. Giulia still painted almost every day and even took courses to improve her craft. In one of them, the teacher had asked them to create a painting that expressed their vision of happiness.
Giulia had painted our children, Loulou, and me taking a stroll on the beach.
It was as easy as that. Whenever I looked at the photo of Giulia and our little family that I carried in my wallet, one overwhelming feeling filled me: happiness.
THE END
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Cora’s Flamingo Squad
The Camorra Chronicles:
Twisted Loyalties (#1)
Fabiano
Twisted Emotions (#2)
Nino
Twisted Pride (#3)
Remo
Twisted Bonds (#4)
Nino
Twisted Hearts (#5)
Savio
Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles:
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Bound by Honor
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Bound by Duty
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Bound by Hatred
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Bound By Temptation
(Liliana & Romero)
Bound By Vengeance
(Growl & Cara)
Bound By Love
(Luca & Aria)
Contemporary Romance:
Only Work, No Play
Not Meant To Be Broken
I usually avoid these at all costs because I worry that I’ll inevitably forget to mention someone. Yet, I feel like it’s time to say my thanks.
My husband always says I’m even worse at expressing emotions than him, which if you knew him (I often refer to him as the iceman), would give you a pretty good idea of just how bad I am at this. Maybe it’s because as authors we spend more time in our heads than outside of it because sometimes, I say my thanks so often in my head that I’m convinced I actually voiced them aloud. Expressing deeper emotions is even harder for me, so I usually just don’t.
But there are many people who helped me tremendously, not just with this book (that’s just a very small part of it), but with my career. Becoming a professional writer can be a lonely endeavor. I love writing and communicating with fans. Everything else, all the organizational effort that goes into being a writer, not so much.
That I have any semblance of organization is thanks to my amazing assistant Emily. She organizes everything for me. Without her I’d be completely lost. Her job isn’t easy but she makes it seem that way, even if I forget things or confuse things or disappear into my own head again. Thank you so much.
In 2019 I was lucky enough to meet another pillar of my writing temple, Kiki from NextStep PR. You have the biggest heart and I’m so grateful for your kindness. Meeting you in person and spending time with you and your husband was very special. You help me focus and not lose sight of my goals. Thank you for helping me with my career. You and your team (Thanks, Colleen & Kristina) are amazing!
Marica, thank you for all your support. I can’t express how grateful I am for your enthusiasm. Meeting you in Las Vegas was a highlight of my year. You are such a wonderful woman and I can’t wait to see you again!
Kate, thank you for asking me to be part of Mystic Box, and thank you for making my trip to California and Las Vegas such a special event.
A big thanks also goes to my lovely beta readers for Sweet Temptation: Sejla, Selma and Ratula. You get my books when they’re still ugly little ducklings but you always show me how to turn them into beautiful swans. Thank you so much!
Last but definitely not least, I want to thank my fans, especially my Flamingos. When I returned to writing in late 2018, I wasn’t sure what to expect, if there were still people out there who’d read my books, and then I was met with so much enthusiasm that it completely blew me away. Since then, my Flamingo Squad has grown and it makes me so impossibly happy. I can’t put into words just how much this means to me. Your encouragement. Your speculations. Your excitement. Your desire to find out more about my characters. It’s EVERYTHING for me.
And you aren’t silent about your love for my world. You create beautiful edits
