The house is being sold, the Russians are no longer a threat, and Bruno and I can finally be together.

His smile widens a bit as he walks over to me. “They love you, too,” he says as if Monica didn’t just say it moments ago. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close until my front is pressed against his, and I’m tilting my head back to look up at him. “I love you.”

I will never get tired of him saying those words to me.

“I love you, too,” I say, leaning up until my lips press to his.

Bruno returns the kiss easily and I revel in the scratch of his beard against my skin, and the subtle taste of chocolate on his mouth since we all had licked the brownie batter left in the mixing bowl. My heart rate picks up as I kiss him, the butterflies going into a frenzy.

When we pull away—too soon for my liking—Bruno looks down at me. “I had an idea,” he begins, and I arch my eyebrows. “How about I rebuild the bakery? I know how much you loved it; you could continue your father’s legacy by running it yourself.”

My breath hitches at his offer. It’s only been a few months since the fire and dad’s death, even if it feels like a lifetime ago. I hadn’t yet decided on what to do with the bakery, whether I wanted to rebuild it, or just let it go altogether. Everything had been cleared up, of course, but it obviously didn’t look like what it once did prior to the fire. There still needs to be a lot of construction done, plus the ordering of supplies and machinery and whatnot. I haven’t done any of it because I didn’t know what I wanted, and Bruno, since he owns the building, hasn’t even touched the spot where the bakery is.

The idea of continuing dad’s legacy and running the bakery I spent so much of my childhood in sounds almost perfect, but. . .

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to do it right now,” I say carefully, my heart thumping wildly as I look up at Bruno. Confusion washes over his face, no doubt taking in my cautious tone. I swallow the nervous dryness in my throat and focus on the butterflies in my chest. With a nervous smile, I say, “Running a bakery and taking care of three kids at the same time sounds like a bit too much.”

Bruno blinks. “Three kids?” He inhales sharply as I stare up at him, chewing my lower lip as realization dawns on that handsome face of his. His gaze drops to my still-flat stomach before he asks, “Diana, you’re pregnant?”

I nod, the tears springing in my eyes as I let out a breathless laugh. “I found out this morning,” I tell him. “Before I left for the cemetery.”

Pregnant. I had taken multiple pregnancy tests this morning to confirm, but they all said the same thing. I’m carrying Bruno’s third kid. And it’s exciting, nerve-wracking, and overwhelming all at the same time.

God, the hormones are already doing a number on me.

I inhale sharply and ask, “Are you happy?”

A breath escapes Bruno as he stares at me incredulously. I love this—how easily he can show emotion, what’s going on in his head and heart. “Happy?” he repeats as his hands come up to cup my cheeks. His brown eyes shine and I’m half a second away from crying as he says, “Sweetheart, I’m fucking thrilled.” He lets out a deep, joyous laugh as his thumbs stroke my damp cheeks. “Our family is growing.”

Our family.

Those words hit me so deeply, I squeeze my eyes shut and Bruno pulls me in for a hug, holding me tightly. Just months ago, I had felt like I was all alone in the world after losing dad. He had been the only family I had left, and he was gone. Now here I am, with this man that I love more than anything, and two kids that feel like they’re mine just as much as the baby in my belly does. In a matter of months, I went from having no one to having an entire family.

An adventure of a lifetime. I can almost hear dad’s voice in my head. Because that’s what this has all been—an adventure.

With Bruno by my side and our kids, I know I’m about to face my biggest adventure yet.

*****

A year later, that’s exactly what it’s all been. Our baby boy, Benny Cataldi, had been born nine beautiful months later, and a few months after that, Bruno surprised me by rebuilding the bakery, telling me it’ll be here for me to run whenever I’m ready. He’d made it exactly as it had been, and as we adjusted from having two kids to three, I put Marley, one of the former bakery employers, in charge of running it.

I know I’ll be back working in my dad’s bakery soon enough. And I look forward to raising all three of my kids within the walls of that bakery the way my dad raised me.

THE END

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