Page 65 of Bulletproof Baby
He leans down, kissing me ever so gently on the lips. "Nope. That was Dimitri doing me a favor. He's not a fan of trafficking, and kidnapping falls under that umbrella."
"But the auction? He hosted it!"
"Lia, you were the only person there coerced into that and that's why Saul had you show up so late, so Dimitri couldn't vet you and ask you too many questions. Dimitri would have never let that shit fly, but then again, if Saul hadn't been his typical slimy self, I wouldn't have you. Or Ava. I'm grateful he's dead, and this part of our lives is finally over."
"Me too."
Valentino smiles as he kneels in front of me.
"If you ask me for my phone number, I'm going to slug you," I tell him.
"You promise? Lia Bonetti, do you promise to hit me where it hurts? Let me fuck you till it—no wait, that's a bit too dirty for what I have in mind."
Valentino clears his throat and pulls out a velvet ring box. "Lia Bonetti, mother of my child, joy of my life. I had no idea that today's chaos would make me see things so clearly. The threat of living one more minute without you as my fiancée, my wife, is a minute too long. I love you, and as we grow into our family, will you do me the honor of making it official? Will you marry me?"
"Yes, Valentino. I will."
EPILOGUE - 1 YEAR LATER - VALENTINO
"In other news, Richmond County Medical Examiner, Venible Underwood, is arrested on charges of molesting and mistreatment of dead bodies. I have no idea what this world is coming to, Jim. It's believed that he's been stitching them together like Dr. Frankenstein. For what purpose? We have yet to get an answer from the suspect and he is not taking interviews or making statements."
"Yuck, turn that off," Lia says as she stands in front of Ava, blocking her from watching the news.
Baby girl babbles words of rebellion while slapping her placemat full of food that's flying across the gray marble tiles of my condo overlooking Central Park which has been thoroughly remodeled to accommodate our family.
Pictures of our engagement party hang alongside pictures of our families. All the true grandparents are coming out to celebrate Ava Grace's first birthday and I couldn't be happier.
The guest list is long. Lia is happy. Armande is healthy, and I'm in therapy. Frankie owns Zollo's and Cecilia's still threatening to quit Barten, but now she's considering opening up her own practice. Lia encourages all of it, while Cecilia actively threatens to make my housewife her office manager.
"Why is Eddie insisting on flowers?" Lia mumbles to herself as she aggressively swipes through her phone. I walk over to feed Ava, while Lia tends to her mother's demands over the baby's birthday party.
"Aren't we going to that park? Snug Harbor? Don't they have flowers, an entire botanical garden if I'm not mistaken," I tell her while offering a heaping spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes and avocado to Ava. She grabs the spoon to help me help her eat, before flinging it back at me.
"Hey, that's not nice," Lia says in a somewhat stern voice. Then she bends down to whisper in my ear. "Only I get to hit Daddy in the face."
"Not in front of the baby," I warn her with a side-eye.
Lia kisses me between giggles. It makes Ava happy as she claps for us showing affection and love in front of her and to each other. I never imagined in a million years that the violence and voids of our pasts could be filled with love and joy for the present and future.
"We have fifty people down for the birthday party," Lia says.
"Why?" I ask and look at Ava, her bright blue eyes and shards of two teeth poking through her gums. "You don't even know fifty people, do you?"
"Well, we have the Bonetti Brothers boys coming. Just about ten, then we have Barten folks. Kane's insisting on a security detail of his choosing for the party and the wedding. The rest of the guests are family and family."
"Let Kane do his thing."
"Fine, but as long as he doesn't scare the kids."
I shrug. "He's not that bad. Kids love him. It's the adults that act sketchy around him, and if you're afraid of Kane, then you probably deserve whatever he has in store for you."
"Where did you even find someone like him?" she asks.
I laugh to myself, thinking back to the days of our bare-knuckle brawls, and shake my head. "That's his story to tell."