Page 89 of Born into Darkness

Dario raises a brow at her. “I’m not sure that’s how that works.”

Mia takes the large slice our uncle cuts for her and stabs her fork in it before saying, “It just depends on how you look at it, Dario. I look at it as you’re my teacher, and if you’re not able to keep track of your knives, then you deserve to have meborrowthem.”

Dario mutters something in Italian and looks to his brother for help, but Alessandro just laughs and holds up his hands. “Don’t pull me into this. You’re the one who agreed to train her.”

“I thought she’d mellow out over time, but she’s just grown more feral,” Dario says.

Lev smiles and winks at his daughter, clearly proud of her ability to drive her teacher crazy. His two daughters are about as different as they can get, but my uncle has never shown any sort of favoritism and loves them both like crazy.

Before we find a seat, my Uncle Vitaly hands Talia and me a plate. I’m not really hungry, but trying to explain that to my uncle is pointless, so I just smile, say thanks, and then give what I can’t eat to Sveta. Like her dad, she never says no to sugar.

“Sorry, Vitya,” I say, knowing he tries his best to keep her sugar consumption down.

“I’m used to it,” he says. “She doesn’t know it, but she’s getting an extra large salad at supper tonight, and I’m roasting asparagus.”

Sveta makes a disgusted face behind his back before taking another bite of cake.

“I felt that,” Vitya says, making her laugh.

“How?” she asks.

He looks back at her. “Because I love you, and I know every single thing about you,pcholka.”

“And yet you still insist I eat vegetables,” she says.

He grins. “Like I said, I love you.”

“You’re impossible to stay mad at,” she says, making him laugh. “It’s infuriating.”

He turns to kiss her while Talia and I go to sit by Val and Yelena. Luka and Lara are already there. Roma’s passed out in his dad’s arms, oblivious to the excitement around him. He’ll love having another cousin to play with when he’s older, but for now, he obviously doesn’t see what the fuss is about.

Talia leans in and smiles at how cute he is. “I think he’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen,” Talia tells them.

Luka grins and winks at his wife. “He looks just like his mommy.”

Lara lets out a soft laugh. “Please, he’s like your little twin.” She looks at Talia and says, “When you look at old baby pictures of Luka and compare them to Roma, you can’t tell who is who. It’s crazy. Roma’s eyes are more bluish green, but besides that, there’s no difference. Even my mother-in-law is stunned by it.”

“Well, if this one is a girl, I hope she looks just like you,” Luka says. “And then we can work on giving Roma some brothers.”

Lara laughs and tells us, “I think he’d be happy with ten kids, but there’s no way in hell that’s happening.”

Luka doesn’t deny it. Instead, he grins and eyes her like he’s already thinking about baby number three.

Talia and I laugh and then spend the next few minutes talking with my cousins, and it feels so natural to have her next to me. She fits into my family so perfectly, and I feel a sense of pride at having her next to me, at being the lucky bastard who gets to spend my life with her. I watch as she laughs at something Val says and when she turns to look at me and I give her a wink, she gives me the cutest smile and tucks a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as her cheeks turn an adorable pink.

It’s so easy for me to lose myself in this woman, and already I can hear the notes in my mind of the song I’m composing for her. I’m not happy with the ending, but until I can mess around with it on the piano, I’m stuck, and it’s annoying the hell out of me. I try not to let it show, but not being able to play is taking its toll. If Talia weren’t here, I’d be going crazy. My fingers physically ache with the need to touch the keys that are as familiar to me as breathing. My need to bring her to life through music goes way beyond a mere want. It’s a definite need, and until I can do it, it’ll slowly eat away at me, threatening to drive me mad.

When she looks back at me again, I smile and lean down to kiss her, because as much as it’s driving me crazy, there’s no reason for her to know and be upset by it. She’d just worry and feel bad, and that’s the last thing I want for her. My job is to protect her from all that, not make it worse.

She tilts her head up, whispering that she loves me right before she kisses me, and despite everything, I’ve never been so happy. Before her, my family and music were my life. It’s all I cared about, and even though there’s an ache inside me at not being able to play the piano, she softens that pain and replaces it with so much more than I ever thought possible. Even if my fingers never heal, I know that I’ll be happy with Talia. I’ll find true joy in the life and family we create, despite the ache of losing my music. That’s more than I ever could’ve dared to hope for.

“I love you,” I whisper back. Watching the smile she gives at hearing me say it is the sweetest fucking gift.

The sound of Dominic’s proud voice pulls our attention to the open doorway. “He’s here, and Natalya’s doing great.”

His cousins hug him, all three of them speaking rapid Italian. Isabella runs over to him, and Dominic scoops her up, giving her a big kiss and telling her she’s officially a big sister now. Lev laughs and grabs Jolene, swinging her around as she laughs and cries and squeezes him back. We all crowd around when Dominic holds out his phone, showing us the tiny baby boy in Nat’s arms.

“We’d like you to meet the newest edition to our family—Vincenzo Antonio Alessi, or Enzo for short,” Dominic says, handing the phone to Lev, who quickly pulls him in for a hug.

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