Page 112 of Shiver

“I love you, Luca,” she whispers into my ear.

“I love you more,principessa.”

And I mean it. There’s not a chance in hell that this woman could love me more than what I feel for her. Some days, it feels like I’m overflowing with affection for her, and it threatens to choke the life out of me when I imagine a world without her in it.

That’s a world I never want to be a part of.

Because, for me,thisis my world. Samara, Gia, and now Chiara and Ajani too. Just like Chiara’s name suggests, they’re the light of my life.

And what an incredible life it is.

Epilogue Part Two: Samara

My heart has never been so full as it is at this moment. I never thought this day would come. I’d completely given up hope that I’d get this chance, and frankly, once Gia had embedded herself into my very being, that didn’t bother me quite as much.

I love her as if she were my own flesh and blood because, as far as I’m concerned, she may as well be.

That kid has brightened even the worst days for me, just like her daddy. I guess it runs in the family.

And right now, as my back aches from this blow-up mattress that Luca demanded we bring to the hospital, saying, “My wife isn’t sleeping on one of those glorified plastic tables the hospitals call a pull-out bed,” I couldn’t care less. My cheeks ache from smiling so much, and even though I know last night will have been the last full night of sleep I’ll be getting for a while,thisis more than I could’ve ever hoped for.

Arielle is fast asleep, snoring loudly in the postpartum hospital bed they swapped her to after cleaning her up. Dante’s squished in beside her with an arm slung over her deflating belly.

Luca is sprawled out on the tiny pull-out seat, his long limbs spilling over the edge and his cheek pressed into the dark-blue plastic, his mouth hanging open and drool pooling out.

Ajani and Chiara are swaddled in their bassinets just feet from me.

And tomorrow morning, Cici and Paul will bring Gia to meet her siblings, and Gloria, Angelo, and my parents will get to meet their newest grandchildren.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that there’s no better feeling than this.

This is where I’m meant to be.

I couldn’t have dreamed of a better life, and I just know, deep in my soul, that Cora’s here somehow, acting tostabilizeme. I can feel her presence like a familiar squeeze of my hand or a hug when I’ve had a rough day. She’s ever-present, and more than anything,she’s proud.

And so am I.

The end.

Bonus Epilogue: Luca

Saturday, October 23, 2032

“What are the chances your mom doesn’t do something that’ll scar our kid for life?” Cici asks Samara and me.

“I’m not a gambler, but I’d bet that our chances of that are extremely low,” Samara says with a chuckle.

“Alright, Paul, you’re the math whiz. What are our odds?” I direct the question at Paul, Cici’s husband, the accountant.

He looks up into the corner of the room, wiggling his pointer finger in the air, pretending to do the math. Hell, maybe he reallyisdoing the math. Very little would surprise me at this point.

“I’m going with a solid 0.03 percent,” he finally answers with a snort.

“Better than I thought,” I remark. Samara grins at me, wrapping her arms around my bicep and leaning her head on my shoulder.

I’m about to kiss the top of her head when our kids come zooming toward us like three little tornados.

“Moms! Dads!” Gia shouts at the four of us. “Did you see Nonna’s cake? It’s huge!” she says excitedly, waving her little arms in the air to indicate just howhuge.

---