Page 94 of Forgotten Vows

It's not a mansion. It's not a penthouse with bulletproof glass and armed guards on every floor. It's a home.

A real home, in a quiet suburb twenty minutes outside the city, with neighbors who wave when they see you and kids riding bikes down the tree-lined street. The kind of place I used to dream about when I was locked in that room at the Santoro estate, staring out the window and imagining a different life.

The kind of place Lachlan and I used to daydream about having together.

"What do you think?" Lachlan's voice is hopeful, and when I turn to look at him, I can see the uncertainty in his eyes. He's afraid I won't like it, that he's gotten it wrong somehow.

God, I love him.

"It's perfect," I tell him, and I mean it. "Lachlan, it's perfect."

The tension in his shoulders eases, and he smiles. It still takes mybreath away, and makes him look like the boy I fell in love with all those years ago. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." I reach over and take his hand, squeezing it. "Can we go inside?"

"Mama, can I see my room?" Matteo's voice comes from the backseat, excited and impatient. I turn to see him practically bouncing in his seat. "You said I get my own room, right? With a big window?"

"You get your own room," Lachlan confirms, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. He cuts the engine and opens his door. "Come on. Let's go check it out."

Matteo is out of the car before I can even unbuckle my seatbelt, racing up the front walk toward the door. He's so much happier now than he was six months ago—more like the child he should have been all along. The nightmares still come, and there are moments when he flinches at loud noises or gets quiet and withdrawn, but he's healing.

We're all healing.

Lachlan comes around to my side of the car and opens the door for me, offering his hand. I take it, letting him help me out, and when I stand, he pulls me close, his arms wrapping around my waist.

"I love you," he murmurs against my hair. "I know I say it all the time, but I need you to know. I love you, Adriana. More than anything."

"I know." I tilt my head back to look at him, and the sunlight catches in his copper hair, turning it to fire. "I love you too."

He kisses me, slow and deep, and I lose myself in it for a moment, the warmth of his body against mine, the way his hands tighten on my waist like he can't bear to let me go.

"Dad!" Matteo's voice breaks through the haze. "Are you coming or what?"

Lachlan laughs against my mouth, pulling back just enough to call over his shoulder, "We're coming, buddy. Hold on."

"You're stalling!" Matteo accuses, and I can hear the grin in his voice.

"Maybe I am." Lachlan takes my hand and leads me up the walk,and when we reach the front door, he pulls out a key and hands it to me. "You should be the one to open it."

My throat tightens. "Lachlan?—"

"It's our house, Adriana. I want you to open the door."

I take the key, my hands trembling slightly, and slide it into the lock. It turns smoothly, and the door swings open to reveal a bright, open entryway with hardwood floors and a staircase leading up to the second floor.

It's beautiful.

Matteo pushes past us, his sneakers squeaking on the polished wood as he runs toward the stairs. "I'm going to find my room!"

"Second door on the left!" Lachlan calls after him, and then he's gone, his footsteps thundering up the stairs.

I step inside, and Lachlan follows, closing the door behind us. The house smells like fresh paint and new wood, and the afternoon sunlight streams through the windows, casting golden rectangles across the floor. "The kitchen's through here," Lachlan says, gesturing to the left. "And the living room's that way. There's a den in the back that I thought we could turn into an office, and?—"

His phone rings, cutting him off mid-sentence. He pulls it out of his pocket, glances at the screen, and his expression shifts—just slightly, but I notice. "I need to take this. It's Declan."

"Go ahead." I wave him off, already moving toward the kitchen. "I want to look around anyway."

He nods, lifting the phone to his ear as he walks toward the den. "Declan. What's going on?"