Page 48 of Redemption
“There was a lot of yelling and cursing. I was only able to quiet him when I told him I was home for good. That my wandering years were over.”
I can’t help but smile. “He didn’t care after that, did he?”
Marco shakes his head with a matching grin. “No. He might have wanted to strangle me, but he wanted me home with him in Italy more. So, he forgave what he called my ‘youthful indiscretion’ and hugged me harder than he’d ever hugged me before.”
I picture their reunion, even though I don’t know what our father looks like. From Marco’s comments earlier, I presume he looks like an older version of us, so that makes it easier.
“And our mother?”
“She appreciates art of all kinds. Even on her son.”
My smile widens. “Really?”
“She told me to put on a Speedo so she could see more of it,” he says with a broad grin and a quiet chuckle. “Of course, I started off with telling her I was home for good. That made it much easier than with Father.”
“I like her more and more,” I reply as my heart warms with his story.
“She is a wonderful mother. Although I’d never tell our father, it was harder to leave her than him. When I came home to visit, my heart broke to leave her again. That was when I finally realized that I was happiest in Italy, with my family. The world might hold many treasures and exotic places, but there is truly nowhere like our home.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” I say, my voice thick with emotion that I didn’t expect to feel. Everything about this last week has been unexpected, and the surprises just keep coming.
Marco eats a few more bites before pausing. “Are you sure you wish to eat with Aurora in your arms? I can finish quickly and hold her for you. I have never held a child before, but it would be my honor for the first one to be one of my blood.”
As I stare at my own face, the words feel like they could have come from my own mouth, only a few years earlier. Instantly, I know that I can trust him with my most precious treasure. “I’d never held a baby before her either. If you don’t mind, I don’t think she would.”
Marco’s face lights up. “It would be my honor. Let me finish quickly, before your food grows cold. The tomato sauce is exceptionally good. But I’m biased about Giordano tomatoes. Wait until you pick them ripe off the vine in Tuscany and smell them as they cook down with our basil and secret blend of spices. It is heaven on earth, like you’ve never before experienced.”
“I’m beginning to realize that there’s a lot I’ve never experienced before.”
Marco’s grin comes easily, and it occurs to me that I love seeing him smile. It’s not something I’ve seen often in my own reflection.
“Just wait, brother. There is a whole new life ahead of you now.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Keira
As the plane descends, I realize I have no idea where we are actually going. It should make me uneasy, but with Lachlan beside me and the nightmare we lived in New Orleans thousands of miles behind us, I feel more relaxed than I have felt in weeks.
The smile on Lachlan’s face made that possible. If nothing else, I love his brother already for this new ease I’ve never seen in my husband before. Just like when we left New Orleans behind for Dublin and I was introduced to a brand-new Lachlan Mount, I feel like I’m once again being gifted with a new version of the man I love.
And this time, it’s a version I never expected.
Lachlan has always been intense. Focused. Driven. Determined. Ironclad control exercised at every moment. But this man … this man who has a brother is different still.
I’ve heard him laugh more times on this flight than I did for the entire first year I knew him. I’ve had to stop myself from reaching out and hugging Marco at least a dozen times.
The changes he has wrought, in such a short time, feel miraculous.
It’s not often you hear a woman fleeing the country and leaving her whole life behind—possibly forever—as feeling peaceful, but that’s exactly where I am.
With my daughter snuggled in my arms while my husband grins as Marco points to something out the window, for the first time since I entered the dark world of Lachlan Mount, I feel like I can let my guard down completely. Maybe that’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, given the reason we’re running, but I don’t care. This moment is beyond beautiful, and I’m soaking up every second of the joy I possibly can. With my mind, I take mental snapshots of the two of them together. Identical, but not the same.
I keep catching peeks of ink on Marco’s wrists as he gestures, and I’ve had to bite my tongue to keep from asking about the tattoos because I don’t want to interrupt the brotherly bonding. It’s like witnessing a miracle. One my husband has been waiting his whole life for without even knowing it.
A wave of gratitude crashes over me, and all I can do is hug Aurora tighter. Her chubby fingers tangle in my hair and tug, but I don’t care. In this moment, my world is perfect.
“You see, there is the airport. There, we shall change planes and fly to the islands. It is a very short flight. Technically, we will be in Switzerland, but only for a moment.”
