8 MONTHS LATER
Blinking my eyes as I wake up, I find Frankie standing at the end of my hospital bed, cradling our son. His mop of black hair rests on Frankie’s tattooed arm. He is whispering something in Italian to him, and in this moment, my heart is full.
Even if giving birth was excruciating. The second I did my final push and his cries filled the room, with Frankie holding my hand the entire time, I was complete.
Frankie looks up and his gray eyes meet mine, full of admiration.
“Did you have a good nap, mama?” he whispers.
“I did, although I could do with some more painkillers.”
I can’t even pinpoint where the pain is coming from. I might as well have jumped in front of a truck. I don’t care. I’ll take this agony any day to have my boys standing in front of me.
“I’ll take care of it, angel.” Frankie pads over to the side of the bed. “You want a cuddle?”
I look up at him and his eyes glisten.
“Gimme.”
I hold my arms out, and he carefully leans over, placing our baby into the crook of my elbow. Closing my eyes, I take a deep inhale of that perfect newborn scent and press a kiss to the top of his head. Tears start to well in my eyes.
Frankie gently strokes my hair away from my face, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.
“I love you, Zara,” he whispers.
“I love you, too, both of you. My boys.”
“We did it, Frankie. We really did it.” I sniffle, and he continues to stroke my hair. A sob catches in my throat as Frankie leans down and kisses the baby’s head.
“This is just the start, dolcezza.”
“He looks like a Leo, don’t you think?”
He raises a brow. “Leonardo.”
“Yes, Leonardo.” I roll my eyes and he pins me with a stare.
“After what I just witnessed, you can name him whatever you like, baby.”
“Was it that bad?”
“I’ve seen some things in my time, but that may be one of the most brutal.”
Freeing my arm, I lace my fingers through his.
“Don’t you wimp out on me. We want to do this two more times, remember?”
He chuckles, squeezing my hand back, his lips hovering over mine.
“I can handle it. I was worried about you, that was all.”
I look down as Leo starts to stir, his tiny mouth opening.
“Hey little man,” Frankie coos beside me, stroking Leo’s face with the back of his index finger.
I lean back and rest my head against his pec.
We have everything. An empire, a family and all the love I could possibly need to last me ten lifetimes. I got lucky. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
“What are you thinking about, dolcezza?”
“Just how much fun we’re going to have.”
His fingers grip my chin and push my head back to meet his gaze.
“That we will, baby,” he says, before pressing his lips over mine.
