Page 86 of Tristano

We all laugh as Lo shrugs with a smile. Poor Mia had both Elena and Draco back-to-back.

“It blows my mind sometimes,” Killian says.

“What does?” I ask.

He nods to the floor before looking down at his son. “This is the next generation right here. Everything we do is for them.”

“Sometimes it keeps me up at night, wondering what kind of shit they will have to deal with,” Bash confesses.

“I don’t look at it that way,” Enzo says. “The way I see it is, we are paving the way. Will they have their own troubles? Of course, but they will have us all to look toward when they need help. We’ll guide them.”

We all fall silent as we let what he said sink in. He’s not wrong. I know all of us would do whatever we needed to for these kids. Alessa will be the first female head of La Cosa Nostra, and Kieran will be head of the Westies, with the other kids falling in somewhere underneath them.

It hits me that I’m the only guy in the room without a child. Honestly, it’s something I’d never really thought about until now. What I wouldn’t do to see a little human that’s half mine and Serena on the floor with the others.

“You okay over there, buddy?” Gio teases, making me look up.

“What?” I ask, shaking my head.

“You totally zoned out. What were you thinking about?” Enzo smirks.

“I was trying to remember if I changed the laundry before I left,” I joke.

“Sure…” Lo teases.

“How are things at home?” Bash asks.

“Good.”

He raises a brow. “Serena settling in okay?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Good.” He nods with a thoughtful look on his face. “You know, when you first told us about her, I wanted to strangle you.”

“Get in line,” Killian mumbles.

Bash ignores him and continues. “But after meeting her, I get it. She’s your person.”

“She is.” I nod.

“Knowing she has that law enforcement background makes me wary that she might change her mind one day,” Lo admits.

“She won’t.” I shake my head. “That’s the thing about Serena. Once she makes up her mind, that’s it. Done deal, no takebacks.”

“And she chose you,” Matteo says when I trail off.

“Yeah, she’s always known about my connection to the family. Hell, I’m pretty sure she went out of her way to make sure she never asked anything that would put her in a bind.”

“That’s good.” Enzo nods. “She willingly walked into this life for you, just like Greer did with Killian. Danica had no idea until she had already started to develop feelings for me and had to make her decision on the fly.”

“I tried to push Mia away because I didn’t want this life for her, but she pushed back.” Lo chuckles, rubbing his hand on his chin.

“Izzy hated this life so much she left me, but eventually came around when she realized Bash’s family was different than the rest,” Gio adds.

We all look to Matteo.

He gives us a sheepish look. “I mean, I kidnapped Vanessa so I’m not sure she ever really made the choice. I kind of just barged into her life and stayed until she could no longer fathom it without me.”

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