Page 142 of A Bond Beyond Blood

She began to pull him inside and his hand shot out backwards toward me.I slid my hand into it and he squeezed tightly as we made our way into his childhood home.

By the time dessertrolled around, and Antonella settled into her seat across the dining room table after setting a plate of lemon curd pie in front of each of us, we’d returned to normal—or, as normal as could be expected when one of us was now a vampire.

The house was warm and smelled of home, that subtle scent of laundry detergent mixed with Italian cooking—the same as always.

The food was as delicious as ever; even Gannon tore through his meal like a man starved, even though he certainly didn’t need or even crave the sustenance of a good, homecooked Italian feast.

And, most importantly, Antonella’s love was a palpable presence in the room with us, a cloak draped around our shoulders.

It all felt...well...right.It felt right being here with Gannon and his mom.It felt right being the woman at his side again.

It felt right letting Gannon back into my life, my heart, letting him love me again like he was always meant to do.

As I took that first bite of pie, I realized for the first time that I’d forgiven him.

Truly and wholly.I swiveled my head toward him, instantly catching his gaze, and hoped he could see and feel that truth in my eyes.

Gannon smiled, then slid his hand over my thigh and gave it a squeeze so high up that I nearly choked on my dessert.

“So, has my boy earned his way back into your heart, Jackie?”Antonella asked, pulling my attention to her.She shot Gannon a glare and shook her head, still obviously disappointed in the way he’d left things with me.

He lowered his head and I squeezed his hand beneath the table.When he looked at me, I whispered, “No more of that.”Then I beamed at his mom.“Yes, Anti,” I said, giving Gannon another firm squeeze of reassurance.“He’s...”I paused, considering.“Well, I guess he’s my boyfriend again.”

Antonella clapped her hands together at her chest, her grin wide as she looked back and forth between the two of us.

“Actually,” Gannon said with a teasing lilt to his voice, making my stomach drop out.“Jackie has two boyfriends, Ma.”

I shot him a glare but it was too late.

“Twoboyfriends?Madone,” Antonella gasped as she brought both hands to her cheeks, then murmured something in Italian.

Heat rushed into my cheeks as I braced myself for the inevitable lecture, but then she laughed, likereallylaughed, startling us both.

Gannon and I shared a look, then focused on his mom across the table, wide eyed as we tried to understand what was happening.

“Two!”She roared with laughter, tipping back into her chair.She brought her napkin up to her eyes, dabbing as tears damped the corners.“I could barely handle the needs of one man”—more murmuring in Italian that I didn’t understand—“and my Jackie has two of them!”

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