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“Ah, no,” Jordan answers. “Dante gave us a few ground rules. One of which is to never speak of anything we do with you again and no sleepovers in his house until him and Vanessa move out. He didn’t mention the daytime, though. Bet he regrets that now…”
“We’ll get us the best suite in the hotel,” Eli suggests.
“One with a hot tub?” I ask excitedly, but Jordan just looks solemnly to Eli. Oh, right.
But Eli just says, “Yeah, let’s get one with a hot tub. With the two of you naked in it, I may be able to finally face that fear.”
Running my fingers through his long hair as he carries me into my bedroom and Jordan shuts and locks the door behind us, I tell Eli, “It’s time for your past to stop haunting you. Jordan and I love you. We’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
Eli
Jordan and I love you. We’ll never let anyone hurt you again.
Those are my favorite words ever. Ones I never expected to hear.
And I never thought I would actually get to sit at Dante Salvato’s dining table with him and his family or be accepted as a member of that family.
The mafia king is still fuming, but at least he’s making an effort to try to welcome me and Jordan because he loves Madison.
Cass and Cole haven’t stopped smirking, still amused by our situation, and Sophie’s tatted up mobster husband Lochlan just seems uncomfortable, as if the thought of sharing Sophiewith another man is one he can’t fathom and he hates us for promoting such a notion.
In the end, everything worked out the way it was supposed to for us all. Sophie with Lochlan, Cass with Cole, and Maddie with me and Jordan.
I dig into the plate of braciole in front of me, knowing I won’t have to worry about anyone trying to steal my food in this house.
As if sensing my thoughts in that considerate way of his, Jordan’s palm reaches over to squeeze my thigh under the table. Maddie’s on the other side of him, but I don’t mind. Jordan fits perfectly in the middle. He’s the glue that holds the three of us together.
But they’re both mine, even though I know that Jordan is the better choice of husband and father for Maddie and her future children. Just being on the fringe of their love is more than I ever dreamed of having in my fucked-up life.
Maddie and Jordan will both always be mine, no matter what happens.
And I’ll kill anyone who tries to touch them.
EPILOGUE
Jordan
Six months later…
After months of bouncing back and forth from Las Vegas to Rockland while waiting for Dante to build a house with a security team who meet his approval, we finally all ended up back in the nearby casino chapel where it all started—in the Tuscana wedding chapel at Caesar’s Palace’s.
Or at least that’s where I thought it all started.
Standing before the small gathering of Maddie’s family and my own, including most of the Savage Kings, in a black tux, waiting for her to walk down the aisle in her beautiful dress, I whisper to a practically pouting Eli, “How are you feeling?”
“Perfectly fine. It’s not my fucking wedding.” The bitterness is seeping off of him in violent waves I can practically see and feel.
I bite my lip to keep from smiling, and even reach for his hand, lacing our fingers together. He sighs a little as if having me touch him is some small consolation.
Eli still hasn’t quite learned how to communicate honestly in the relationship with me and Maddie. It’s like pulling teeth to get him to admit how he feels, but we’ll always be patient with him.
Unlike me and Maddie, Eli didn’t grow up with a loving parent to trust or lean on. It will take time for him to fully accept the fact that Maddie and I are his family now, that we love him unconditionally, and there’s nothing he can do to push us away, especially by being honest with us.
The upbeat love song being played on the piano ends and the traditional wedding march begins to play. That’s when I wink at the officiant who smiles at me nervously, as if he’s worried Dante will kill him if he fumbles even a single word.
At the back of the chapel, the double wooden doors are pulled open to reveal our girl. Maddie is stunning in her long, pale blue satin dress that looks like it was poured on her. Next to her, Dante seems resigned to the fact that his daughter is gorgeous and will draw every eye in every room.
The woman practically glows.
