Page 88 of Tangled with the Tight End

“Open it.” He leads me to the sofa and waits as I settle in. The man is forever giving me presents. When all I need is him.

I slide open the envelope and retrieve the pages. My mouth drops as I read them, flipping faster and faster until the end. Tears blur my vision. Sloane signed over parental rights and Gabriel’s attorney has prepared adoption papers for me to be Gino’s legal mother.

I stare at him as tears slip down my cheeks and drop on my chest. “How?”

He clasps my hands and slips to the floor, kneeling in front of me. “It’s been in the works since my first visit to see her in Florida, but I didn’t know if she’d ever do it. Until this week.” Gabriel has had legal custody of Gino since the divorce, but Sloane remained his legal mother until now.

“I can’t believe it.” My heart squeezes in my chest. He rests his hand on my stomach again. “You’re his mother and have been since the day we met you at the lodge. He loves you. We both love you and want this no differently than I wanted my name on Stephano’s birth certificate and on our new baby’s birth certificate. We’re a family already, but this makes it permanent. For the world to see.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what else to say but thank you. I love Gino the same way I love Stephano and would be honored to be his legal mother. Not that it makes a difference. I’d lay down my life for him.”

“I know.” His eyes glitter with happiness.

Life can’t get any…. Well, you know.