Nico (Heartbreaker #2) (17 page)

“Baby, I meant what I said in that letter. I’m going to do everything in my power to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”

I push up, look down at him, and smile. “I have no doubt you will.”

With that, he pulls my lips down to his and kisses me fast and hard. Then, he hugs me to his chest. He whispers, “I love you.”

That’s the last thing I hear before I fall asleep, a smile on my face.

Epilogue

Fifteen years later

Nico

I hear my baby girl’s footsteps as she comes running down the stairs. Today, Nicola is getting her driver’s license. I’m not ready for this shit, but, like Jill says, we can’t hold her back forever.

When Nicola reaches the bottom of the steps, I want to send her right back up. She’s in a skirt that is too short and a top that shows too much cleavage. I swear my punishment for my stupid mistakes with Jill was to be blessed with four daughters. Of course, I’m kidding when I say punishment.

I love all of my girls. I love that they’re close in age and close with each other. Martine is fourteen, Gabriella is thirteen, and Isabella is twelve. They certainly keep us on our toes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jill comes in the front door with the other three girls, who are all chattering at once. She shakes her head and moves between them until she reaches me.

“Hi,
bella
. How was your day?”

She still works as a social worker, but now she works in the hospital. She helps coordinate care for the elderly population and loves it. She only works three days a week so she can be home for the kids and is able to help take them all to their many activities.

We married each other shortly after I returned to America. Gabe let us have the wedding in his backyard. It was a sweet, small, simple affair, which is what we both wanted.

Jill got pregnant pretty quickly with Martine, and hell, with the other girls too. I’ve opened a couple successful restaurants over the years and gotten completely out of the nightclub scene. It just wasn’t the type of environment that worked for me anymore.

My mom and Gaia moved to St. Louis shortly after Gabriella’s birth. My mom felt like she was missing out on her grandbabies, and Gaia had a rough couple of years after our father’s death, so she needed to regroup and start fresh. It also didn’t hurt that Mila moved here as well, and that was shortly after I moved back too. It was one of the best decisions she’s ever made. They’re happy here.

My sisters and I did finally reach out to our dad’s other family. It was awkward at first, but we did it, mainly for his kids. They were young and just lost their dad, so we tried to do the right thing. The girls both told Alessa to call them anytime, and she did quite often. We have a relationship with her and even Enzo, but we’re not close. There is just too much of an age gap between us.

I turn my attention back to my beautiful wife.

“My day was good,” she replies. “Our baby’s getting her license today. She makes me feel old.”

I chuckle against her neck before kissing her sweet-tasting skin.

“That’s because you are old, Mom.” I turn and raise an eyebrow at my feisty daughter.

“I guess
someone
doesn’t want to get their license today,” I tell her. I have to hold back a laugh when her eyes get huge.

“I was just kidding, Dad. Mom, you’re a babe. I’ve heard the guys at school—they all think you’re a hottie, which is gross because you’re my mom.”

Jill looks at me and smiles. “I’m a babe and a hottie!”

I kiss my wife before we all head outside to the minivan.

***

Jill

Nico drops Nicola and me off at the door of the DMV, and we make our way inside. While we wait for her number to be called, I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles.

“My baby girl is going to be a legal driver soon. I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

She’s a straight-A student, she’s on the volleyball team, and she’s a member of the honor’s society. She’s our overachiever, but she knows how to have fun too.

“Thanks, Mom. I’m scared. What if I fail?”

“Baby, I doubt you will, but if that should happen, you can just take it again. I think you’re going to do just fine.”

She plays on her phone while I text Jasmine and see if she and Gabe want to meet us for dinner. I text Mila too, but her youngest is sick, so she said they were going to pass.

When one of the DMV workers calls Nicola’s number, I give her a kiss and watch as she walks up to the counter. My eyes and nose burn for a second when I watch her take the eye test and then walk over to where she’s taking the computerized test. My baby girl is growing up, and too fast for my liking. I text my husband and let him know she’s taking her test as we speak.

I open my book to read while I wait. I’m not sure how long this will take. I get so engrossed in my book, it scares me when my girl comes running and squealing toward me. I jump up just as she launches herself at me. I hug her tight while she hops up and down. She shoves her ID in my face. Of course, her picture is adorable.

We head out to the van, where the love of my life is standing outside and waiting for us. “Well?” he asks.

Nicola immediately thrusts her ID in the air and starts doing some goofy dance. Her sisters immediately join in and do it too, but that’s our girls for you. They’re always being goofy like that. Nico comes to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders.

“So, how am I doing?”

“How are you what, babe?”

“How am I doing at making you happy?”

Ah, the letter. I remember the day he gave it to me. It was the day he moved in with us and the day that he confirmed that he was my soulmate. We may have had a rocky start, but that just built a stronger foundation for us.

I hug him as we watch our girls be total goofballs in the middle of the parking lot at the DMV.
I totally love my life
, I think to myself with a smile.

THE END

Coming Soon!

Mila

The Heartbreaker Series

Book Three

*SNEAK PEEK*

Chapter One

Brian

I stare at the address in my hand then up at the restaurant. “Okay, this is the place,” I mutter to myself as I fold the paper with the address on it and stuff it into the pocket of my jacket.

I was surprised when my co-worker and friend, Jill, invited me to the welcoming party for her sister-in-law, or her boyfriend’s sister, who just moved here from Italy. I wasn’t sure what to wear to this function, so I opted for my tailored black pants, a jacket, and a white dress shirt with a skinny black tie.

I step inside and stop at the hostess station to ask where the Bianchi party is. She points to a set of double doors. I make my way down the hallway. When I reach the room with the double doors, I take a deep breath, open them, and step through. There are people everywhere. I don’t see anyone I know at first, so I head to the bar and order a whiskey on the rocks.

“Hi,” someone says.

I turn to the source of the voice that said it. For the first time in my life, I’m struck speechless. She’s stunning. Her dark hair is in a knot at the back of her head. She has the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Her light, olive skin is highlighted by the deep red wrap dress she’s wearing. She has curves that are displayed beautifully. I realize I’m staring and internally shake myself out of my stupor.

“Hi,” I reply.
Way to be original
. No wonder I’m always such a hit with the ladies. I take a sip of my drink. Then I hold my hand out. “I’m Brian.”

She places her hand in mine, and I swear it sends electric pulses straight through my body. It takes all of my inner strength to get my body not to react to her.

“Hi, Brian. I’m Mila.” This must be Jill’s sister-in-law. Her accent is heavy but beautiful.

“Brian, you’re here.” I turn and see Jill coming toward me with a huge smile on her face.

She and I both started working at our job around the same time. We became fast friends. I’ve always loved her dedication and passion for the job.

I know how important social workers are because they saved me. I was orphaned at the age of six when my parents died because the train they were on derailed. The worst part—well, it was all bad—was that my three-year-old sister had been with them.

I was bounced around to several different foster homes before I met the family that took me in and raised me as their own for good. I remember feeling so lost those first few years. Some homes weren’t bad, just not very loving, and in some it was clear why they did the foster parent thing. They liked the check they got every month.

Luckily, I was never in a really bad home. Over the years, I’ve heard stories of bad things that happened to other foster kids and counted my blessings that I was never beaten or sexually abused. I got picked on, but I’ve always gotten picked up. Being the skinny kid always kind of sucked. I guess I appeared weak to other kids.

Maggie and Jack Burns adopted me when I was twelve and never made me feel like I was just an easy way to get a check or a burden. They opened up their home and their hearts to me, and I never looked back. I may not be biologically theirs, but that doesn’t matter. They’re my parents, and I love them very much.

Jill hugs me. “I see you’ve met the guest of honor already. Mila, Brian and I work together. He’s a fantastic social worker and helped cover my caseload when Nicola and I were in Italy. Mila’s a fantastic artist. She paints, draws, and sculpts.” I smile because Mila’s cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink. “Oh, I have to go check on the appetizers. I’ll catch up with you guys later.” Jill scrambles away.

“She’s great,” Mila says. I turn to her. “She is so wonderful for my brother. He was not lucky in love until they met. It was rocky at first, but now they are stronger than ever.”

“That’s wonderful that you’re all close.”

I’ve often wondered what it would be like if my baby sister were still alive. What type of relationship would we have? I usually shut those thoughts down. They only seem to make me sad and depressed.

“Yes, I am very lucky.” She looks me up and down, and I feel oddly on display. “I really like your suit. You are very handsome.”

Now it’s my turn to blush. No one has ever been blunt with me before, especially a beautiful woman like her. I’m aware of my lot in life. I’ll always be in the friendzone or a distraction until the girl finds someone better.

I’ve had three serious girlfriends in my life. The first was in high school, and she dumped me when some college douche came sniffing around. The second cheated on me with a guy from her gym and the third wanted a friends-with-benefits situation and was trolling online dating sites for other guys.

“Thank you. I don’t think I need to tell you how beautiful you are.”

She steps toward me and places her hand on my chest. Maybe she’s drunk and she doesn’t know what she’s doing, but she looks like she wants to devour me.

“You are very sweet. Don’t go too far tonight. I think you and I could have a lot of fun.”

With that, she kisses my cheek and then walks away. My eyes zero in on her ass as she struts across the room to Jill and Jasmine. I turn back to the bar, slam back my whiskey, and will my erection to go away before I embarrass myself.

I lean forward on the bar with my arms braced against the shiny, sleek wood. I turn my head, looking behind me. I find the most beautiful pair of blue eyes staring at me, Mila’s eyes. With a smile on my lips, I shake my head and turn back to the bar.

Acknowledgments

To my hubby Jim, thank you for taking on the role of Mom so I could work non-stop on finishing this book. Words will never be enough to show how much I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me. You and the boys have been some of my biggest cheerleaders. I love you guys so much!

To my beta-readers/friends, Rebecca, Christi and Karrie thank you for always taking time out of your days to read Nico when I had new pages added and needed advice on my story. You guys keep me motivated and your support means so much to me. I hope you know how much I appreciate it.

Christi, thank you for acting as my PA, even though neither one of us knew what the hell we were doing and thank you for logging me off of all social media while I was under a deadline. Your help was invaluable.

To my editor, Tiffany, thank you for helping make my stories the best they can be. Your words are always encouraging and push me to do better.

To everyone at Limitless Publishing, from the marketing department, to cover designer, to Dixie (formatting goddess) and Jennifer and Jessica. You all make things run so smoothly and are a great team to be a part of.

To all of my favorite authors (who will never see this) but thank you for creating beautiful books that push me to do the same.