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My eyes bulged. “A year?”

She must not know I already had the ring. I was planning on proposing next week. Why she have to go and say some shit like that?

“A year,” she confirmed.

I shook my head. “I can’t promise that.”

“Gino . . .”

I sighed. “Fine, man. Fine. Deal.”

She squealed in delight and flung her arms around me. “I love you.”

“Yeah, I love you too,” I grumbled as I patted her back.

“Don’t be grumpy, baby. We live together in this beautiful home. This is exciting. We should celebrate.” Lust danced in her eyes, and I perked up.

“You’re right. We should.” I stood up abruptly with her in my arms.

She laughed loudly and kicked her feet as I walked toward the stairs so I could introduce her to her new bedroom. I knew it was a place where a lot of magic would happen, and I was more than ready to start that journey.

EPILOGUE

Yara

Six years later

I cut my eyes at Gino, who was sprawled out on the sofa with his head in my lap like we were at home. I shook my head and looked at Dr. Slater. I mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

She grinned and shook her head slightly as if to say it was okay.

We’d been seeing this therapist for the past four years. By now, she knew Gino well enough to know he didn’t have any damn sense in his head. I loved him, though, and I was going to stick beside his crazy ass.

“I don’t know, Doc. I just feel like shit is good, you feel me? We workin’ on baby number two. She’s keepin’ busy wit’ her clothing business, workin’ wit’ Paris, and substitutin’. I’m the top broker in Desmore Bay . . . Shit is good.”

I eyed Dr. Slater, and she suppressed a giggle.

“That’s good, Gino. Yara, how are you feeling?”

“Like I hope that when we finally get pregnant again, it’s a girl. Between Gino and Junior, I’m losing my mind.”

Gino looked up at me, appalled. “You love us.”

“True.” I bopped his nose. “But y’all drive me nuts. He don’t know how to act, just like you don’t know how to act.”

Our three-year-old was off the chain. He acted like he had no home training, just like his damn daddy.

“How could you say that?” Gino said with raised brows, but he couldn’t fool me. I saw that smile fighting to break free. He knew he and Junior drove me up a damn wall.

“Stop acting like that in front of Dr. Slater. You know how you are.” I giggled. We both knew damn well that the reason we even started going to couples therapy was because he was touched in the head, and he passed that right on to our son. I needed some kind of outlet to help me keep up with them both.

Gino grinned. He reached up and pinched my cheek. “You knew what it was when you fell in love wit’ me, fave.”

I shook my head but couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out of my mouth. When I looked back at Dr. Slater, I said, “Really, though, everything is good. Gino isn’t changing, though he has gotten slightly better over time. For example, we went to dinner the other night, and he didn’t climb on top of a table or snap at the server once.”

“Did he bully the server?” Dr. Slater asked with a brow raised and a smile dancing on her lips.

I pinched my pointer finger and thumb together. “Only a little.”