EPILOGUE

Gianna surveyed the twelve foot tall Christmas tree with happy satisfaction. It was gorgeous, every abundantly decorated inch of it. Piles of presents surrounded its base and she couldn’t wait until after dinner to see what the children thought of their gifts.

Who was she kidding? She couldn’t wait to see Rico’s reaction when he opened the box with the leopard print thong and tickets for the cruise to Greece. He was going to die. He might be a billionaire tycoon, but he still got all starchy when anything of a sexual nature was mentioned in front of his 
mother.

Like Renata believed Gianna was the Madonna he had once accused her of pretending to be.

“That’s a sly grin if I ever saw one.”

Gianna spun around and laughed when she saw the equally mischievous smile playing on her sister-in-law’s lips. 

“What do you bet he’s so busy hiding the thong, that he doesn’t even notice the cruise tickets?” Gianna asked.

Bethany rolled her pretty gray eyes. “Those two. In private, they’ll do and say anything, but when it comes to having Renata or Tito walk in on one of us kissing...” She laughed. “Andre’s going to choke on his tongue when he sees his new zebra print boxers.”

“At least you didn’t get him a thong,” Gianna gurgled.

“I’m not sure he’ll think the see-through fabric of the boxers is much of an improvement.”

And the look on her brother-in-law’s face when he pulled the boxers out to show them to the family proved his wife knew him well. He’d thought he was safe showing them and with his teasing nature, hadn’t been able to resist tweaking his older brother’s more conservative nature. But the second he 
realized he could see his wife through the shorts, they’d been tossed back in the box and Andre was actually blushing.

“There’s still something inside,” Bethany teased, her hand reaching for the box, but Andre held it out of reach.

Little Pia toddled toward her daddy. Small for her four years, she was dwarfed by Gianna’s two sons, who were actually younger than she was. “I wanna see, Papa.”

Gianna couldn’t help it, she whooped with laughter at the look of horror on Andre’s face.

He put his hand out like he was warding off a monster. “No, mi bambina. You cannot see.”

Pia’s lower lip protruded. “But I want to.”

Bethany scooped her daughter into her arms and handed her a small gift of her own to unwrap. “Why don’t you see what is in this one, sweet?”

Then she gave Andre a challenging look that said more about how much of her shyness she’d overcome since their marriage than anything else. This woman was incredibly confident in her husband’s love for her.

Just as Gianna was in Rico’s. They were two very blessed women.

Strong fingers closed around Gianna’s waist and she was pulled into her husband’s side. “You two minxes planned this together, didn’t you?” Rico asked, his voice liquefying her insides, even after almost five years of marriage.

She nodded. “Mmmm...hhhmmm. I noticed you didn’t bother to see what else was in your present either.”

Rico had closed the lid on his gift box with the speed of light and shoved it behind him before she could even get a picture of him holding the wrapped present.

“And is it worth embarrassing myself in front of my mother and sons to do go back and do so?”

She reached up and pulled his face down to kiss lips she’d never grow tired of. “Oh, I think so. Besides, I do not think your mother is nearly as uptight about the fact you aren’t celibate as you are when you’re around her.”

“I’m glad you made that caveat, bella.”

She would have said something smart, but the passionate hunger in his silver eyes made her mouth go dry.

“Mama, I want another pressie.”

“Here, mi bambino...and here is one for your brother as well.” It was Renata to the rescue.

Gianna smiled her thanks at her dear mother-in-law and then looked back at her husband. “Well, are you going to look?”

“Did you have to buy me a thong?” he asked, obviously pained. “In leopard print, no less?”

“I thought it matched your predatory nature,” she replied with demure flirtatiousness and melted against him when he smiled at the retort.

Andre smiled at Rico and Gianna’s bi-play as he brushed his fingertips down the column of Bethany’s slender neck. She shivered and his heart squeezed in his chest. He adored her and since the one separation during their tumultuous courtship, had never allowed her to sleep in any bed but his.

Despite the presence of his parents and the three small children, he could not resist leaning down to claim her lips in a swift, but ardent kiss. “Well, I’m no coward like my big brother, I’ll look.”

Bethany’s eyes had gone unfocused, just that fast and she had to make a visible effort to process what he’d said. 

Then she smiled. “I always knew you were all macho male.”

“Hey, just because my little brother has no sense of decorum, that doesn’t mean he’s any more masculine than I am.” Rico was pulling his gift out from under the others he’d stacked on top of it even as he spoke.

Gianna hugged him, her expression full of love. “You’re the best sort of man, my darling.”

He and Rico opened their gifts together, both of them rummaging under the embarrassing bits of cloth in the top of the box with more speed than finesse. Andre’s fingers closed around an envelope and he yanked it from the box, waving it triumphantly. “Got it.”

Rico had his as well and they pulled the tickets from the envelopes at the same time.


Bethany watched her husband’s eyes darken with delight as he recognized what he held in his hands. She leaned toward him. “Renata is taking charge of the children and Tito is taking charge of the bank. It will just be the four of us and we had our cabins assigned at opposite ends of the corridor.”

Later that night, she was snuggled into bed with Andre after tucking Pia in when he asked, “Why opposite ends of the corridor?”

She grinned at him and leaned up to kiss his hair covered bronze chest. She would never get over how wonderful it felt to be able to touch this man whenever she wanted to. “Gianna and I didn’t want you two hooligans teasing us about the noise we make at night.”

“Why not? It only seems fair we get a chance to tease you after the way you got us in front of Mama and Papa tonight.”

She shook her head. “You wouldn’t want to diminish our enthusiasm with worry about what one, or both of you might say to embarrass us the next day, would you?”

Andre looked properly appalled at that prospect and then set about showing her just how much enthusiasm he was expecting from her on the cruise.


Rico held Gianna close to him as they waved off his parents and the children. Little Tito and Gianfranco flanked Pia, each of them holding one of her small hands while their grandparents held theirs.

“I’m going to miss them so much.”

“It’s only a week, bella.”

“I know, but maybe we should have brought them with us.”

He laughed and swooped down to claim her mouth with the kind of kiss that left them both reeling.   When he lifted his head, she was smiling...a smile that had the power to knock his feet out from under him.

“Maybe a week isn’t so bad.”

He laughed, though the sound came out husky. “You bring everything good into my life, bella mia.” 

Her eyes grew misty. “I love you, Rico.”

“I love you, my precious wife, and I always will.”

Next to them on the deck, he could hear his brother and Bethany making similar declarations and his heart overflowed with joy.

He hardly ever thought of Chiara anymore, but at times like this, he thanked God for saving him from the mistake of marrying her. Life with Gianna was better than anything he could ever have imagined and he knew his brother felt the same way about Bethany.

God willing his sons would grow up to know this kind of happiness. They had a good start...having a mother like Gianna to show them what to look for in a mate.


Renata watched the cruise ship sail out of port, her heart full. “Our sons each have a good head on their shoulders, don’t you think, Tito?”

Her husband grinned at her. “Because they were smart enough to marry such wonderful women?”

“Yes.”

“They get that trait from their papa.”

She blushed at the compliment. After all these years, her husband could still make her breathless with that smile so like his sons’. “Oh, you...”

They walked the children back to the car and she thanked the Good God above for having such a family as this. No woman could be more blessed.