Page 121 of A Love Most Fatal

For once, I do not interrupt because I can tell he has more to say, and I want to hear every one of his reasons.

“I know that Maxim is better for you, I get that on paper he is the perfect fit, but he isn’t. It’s me, Vanessa. It’s you and me, I can’t explain how I know it, but I do. It’s us. We’re meant to be, and I will not let some Russian mob boss come between that. If he tries, I guess I’ll just have to kill him,” he says.

There’s no holding back my tearful laugh.

“I never wanted you to have to kill someone,” I croak. It’s a heavy price to pay to be with me, one I never would have asked of him.

“I didn’t either,” he admits. “I never wanted to be a part of this world. But here I am and it’s my choice to make, and you can try to kick me out, but I’m not going anywhere.”

His words break something in me—a piece of me that I thought was unlovable dissolves, and all that’s left is love and relief. I’ve deluded myself into believing that the only people who could want me were the ones who had me by blood or the ones who were worse than me. I didn’t let myself hope that he could want me, or that I could let myself have him back. Not permanently, at least.

I weep openly for the third time today, and Nate lets me while he takes his turn kissing all over my face, slow kisses in a line across my forehead, on each of my eyelids, and finally against my lips.

“I love you,” I whisper. “I love you so bad, Nate. You challenge me and push me to be better, you make me laugh, you’re the brightest man I’ve ever met.”

He smiles against my mouth and kisses me deeper, it’s a tender and gentle kiss, but long. I’ve got snot running beneath my nose and Nate’s cheeks are wet with my tears and some of his own. We are a sappy, snotty mess. A perfect mess.

“I’m pitiful,” I say.

“You’re perfect,” he says. “And you’re stuck with me. When your arm isn’t swollen from being yanked out of its socket, I’mgoing to put a ring on your finger and marry you in front of every criminal in this city, and if anyone has a problem with that, they’ll have you to deal with, and clearly, you are no one to mess with.”

“Nate,” I whisper, and we kiss for a long time, until Angel and Artie barge into the room, Sean and Leo on their heels for another round of family fussing. Nate grins, and I do too, because I know that here with this family of loud, loving criminals, is exactly where we’re supposed to be.

EPILOGUE

NATE

Six Months Later

The Morellis area family of a great many traditions, and they have begun to include my dear parents in all of the wholesome ones.

Claire and Vanessa both thought it would be a good idea to have my parents here for the holidays, and to that end, they’ve been staying in my old room since the week before Christmas. Keeping the criminal parts of everyone’s daily life hidden has been easier than I thought; at dinner, nobody talks about debt-collection, threats, or illegal shipments, and instead, they discuss hobbies, interests, work, and other completely personable things. It’s all been very friendly and normal, even if it may have seemed to them strange and out of character for Willa to get her siblings and husband new handguns as Christmas presents.

The feat of convincing my parents that nothing is amiss with my new in-laws has proved to be more difficult at the Morelli Family New Year’s Eve Party. No less than two hundred criminals (Irish, Italian,andRussian) gather in a hotelballroom, dancing, drinking, and sharing hors d’oeuvres over conversations about business.

I’ve spent most of the evening following my parents around, directing any conversation steadfastlyawayfrom crime when they decide to chat up someone new—which is often because they really are exceptionally chatty. Now, they’re sitting at a table with Jenna and her girlfriend, and I can only hope they stay there for the rest of the evening. I’ve barely seen Vanessa, who has been making the expected rounds at the party, charming every guest she speaks to.

She can’t help it.

Business has been good since Cillian died. This cordial, even friendly, mix of criminals is a sign of the times—fewer enemies, and more shared power thanks to Vanessa, Maxim, and now Sean. The three youngest bosses in the city. Shipments stopped disappearing; those who were at Cillian’s beck and call were found and dealt with. And with Vanessa wearing her mom’s engagement ring, even The Mothers fell into an appeased peace.

I catch Vanessa’s eye across the ballroom, and she excuses herself to make her way to me. She’s beautiful, radiant in a deep purple satin dress with sparkling silver clips pinning her hair out of her face. Her mother’s red necklace sits around her neck.

I want to escape to an alcove of some sort and take the clothes off her immediately, but I am a man of class and decorum, so I settle for wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Husband,” she muses.

“Wife,” I say. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve been right here,” she says, but smirks. “I’ve missed you too, so do not even think about leaving my side for the rest of the night.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Artie and Angel breeze past with some other kids their age and younger, the boys with their button-up shirts untucked and short ties long forgotten. Angel wears the blue dress she wore at our wedding, and a warmth sits in my chest remembering the softness of that day.

Late summer, on the day Vanessa planned on marrying Maxim, I married her instead. My parents cried happy tears, as did we all. The Morellis, it turns out, are a sappy bunch. Ranger jumped and barked around our feet as we kissed, and our guests cheered. The whole day was like something out of a movie.

The single best choice I’ve ever made.

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