17.

B ELLA

“He really wasn’t joking about having his own plane,” Dylan muttered as we got out of the car Matteo had sent to take us to the airport.

When I mentioned to Matteo that I didn’t want to have any of my friends or family take me and my brother to the airport because I didn’t think I could handle another long and tearful goodbye, he said he’d take care of it and then changed the subject. I was surprised when a man appeared at the guard shack before dawn and insisted he was there to pick me up. After the guards ran his driver’s license information and found that he was a local guy who owned a car service, they let him pass and he waited at the curb in front of our house for almost an hour until we were ready to go.

“I knew he wasn’t joking, but I had no idea it would be quite this big.”

“In any other situation that didn’t include my sister, I’d make a joke about that.”

I laughed because I knew exactly what he would say, but he couldn’t because he was still wrestling with the thought of me moving to New York to be near a man he wasn’t quite sure of yet.

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” I said as I reached for Dylan’s hand. “It’s a direct flight, and Matteo will be waiting for me at the airport.”

“I want to make sure you’re safe, Belly, and not just on the flight,” Dylan said before he squeezed my hand. He let it go and then motioned me ahead of him toward the stairs that led up to the door. “Let’s do this.”

I walked up the steps, and a woman appeared in the opening and smiled down at me while she watched my progress. Once I was near the top, she moved aside and said, “Miss Conner, my name is Joan Ruben, I’ll be your pilot on today’s flight. Mr. Russo asked me to reassure you that everything has been loaded and you’ll be on your way as soon as we’re cleared for takeoff.”

“Thank you.”

“Mindy will be at your service throughout the flight, and breakfast will be served as soon as we’re at cruising altitude.”

“Breakfast?” I asked as I looked over at the seats and was so shocked that I mumbled, “Holy shit.”

“Would you like coffee or another beverage with your meal?” Mindy - the server? Flight attendant? Part of the elaborate hallucination I was having after bumping my head and falling into a coma? - asked with a smile.

“I’d love a coffee, please,” I said as I returned her smile.

“And you, sir?”

“Coffee, please.”

“If you’ll choose your seats, we’ll get underway in just a few moments. Today’s flight should take approximately six hours.” Dylan and I watched the captain walk toward the front of the jet before we chose our seats across from each other at a small table.

“When he said he had a plane, I thought we’d be squeezed into the tiny seats on one of those four-seat puddle jumpers with your bags in our lap,” Dylan said as he looked around the cabin.

“All of my stuff is on here too,” I said as I leaned out into the aisle and looked at the neatly stacked boxes and tubs on either side of the plane. My stomach was fluttering with nervous excitement when I sat up and grinned at my brother and said, “I’m really doing this, Dill!”

“You can come home any time you want.”

“And you can come visit me any time you want.”

“I’ve got a business to run.”

“And I will too.”

Dylan frowned at me and said, “I’m not going to argue with you about it anymore, Belly. You know how I feel about this.”

“I do. Thank you for not ruining my excitement with your worries.”

Dylan blew out a long breath before he said, “Do you think those goons of his will show me around New York? I’ve got a list of restaurants I’ve seen on different television shows I’d like to visit.”

“If you start calling them by their names, you might actually find out that they’re pretty decent guys.”

“I never noticed how easily you can rationalize things even when you know deep down that it’s bullshit.”

“You’re not talking about Salvatore and Rocco anymore, are you?” When Dylan just stared at me with a blank expression, I shrugged and said, “I love him, Dill. I’d love him if he worked the fry station at McD’s just as much as I’d love him if he sat in the Oval Office.”

“You barely know him.”

I scoffed before I said, “I know him better than any man I’ve dated before.”

“You’ve only seen him in person a few times, Belly!”

“Oddly enough, I think that’s a good thing,” I said as the plane started moving. I glanced out the window and felt my heart lurch at the thought that it might be months before I saw the familiar skyline of Rojo again, but then the familiar butterflies started in my stomach and the excitement of this new adventure in my life took over. As we taxied toward the runway, I smiled to myself when I saw that the sun was just peeking up over the horizon and said, “The next sunset I see will be from an entirely different vantage point.”

“In New York,” Dylan scoffed.

“Do you know how much I love you, Dill Pickle?”

“Love you, too, Belly.”

“I think it’s perfect that when I wake up in a new place tomorrow, you’ll be close by.”

“No matter where you go, I’ll never be more than a phone call away.”

“I know,” I said as I reached across the table and took his hand. “For two months now, it’s been Matteo who was just a phone call away, and in that time, I’ve gotten to know him better than I ever would have if we had been living near each other.”

“Maybe,” Dylan grumbled.

“I love him,” I whispered as tears filled my eyes. “It would make me very happy if you could at least try to like him, Dill.”

“It’s kind of hard not to, even though he’s taking you away from us.”

“Technically, the job is taking me away.”

“Yeah, but he’s going to be what keeps you there.”

The plane picked up speed, and I smiled as I answered, “Yeah. He will.”

◆◆◆

MATTEO

“Will you please sit down? You’re making me nuts!” Brett said from her stool at the counter where Paulie and Dean were sitting in their bouncy seats. It was so much fun watching Zach and Brett work together to parent the babies who would be raised as their children but were in essence their half-brothers. Even after four months, it still made me laugh when I thought about how odd that sounded. The situation was definitely unique, but it worked for all of them. The twin boys were adorable, and it was obvious they were loved and well-cared-for. Right now, they were smiling and drooling as they happily waved their arms, and it was impossible not to smile every time I glanced at them.

“He’s nervous. I think it’s cute,” Tabby said from her seat between Ember and CoCo who were eating some of the snacks I kept available in my fridge for them. Tabby looked around and asked, “Is she moving in?”

“Yes.No.I’m not sure.Maybe.”

Zach and Luca were sprawled out on the couches across the room and laughed at my stammered response before Tabby mumbled, “Well, that answer was clear as mud.”

“Have y’all talked about it?” Brett asked.

“Of course he hasn’t,” Luca scoffed without opening his eyes. “He’s gotta make sure she gets along with everyone first.”

“And see if she’s a nutcase who expects to carry his balls around in her purse,” Zach added.

“Or maybe he’s afraid she might sprout wings and take off if he mentions it this early in the relationship,” Tabby said helpfully. She looked at me and asked, “Is that it?”

“She’s an independent woman, but she’s very connected to her family, and at this point, I’m not sure if she’s ready to consider moving here permanently. She was hesitant to sign the six-month contract, so my biggest worry is that she’s gonna hate it here so much that at the end of her contract she’s going to leave.”

“Then give her a reason to stay. What’s so hard about that?” Brett asked. “Women aren’t nearly as difficult to understand as men seem to think.”

“You do realize that you’re half-crazy, right?” Zach asked her. When she slowly turned her head to glare at him, he said, “That look just proves my point!”

“What does Brett’s mental state have to do with anything?” Tabby retorted. “Obviously, she’s not playing with a full deck - she did choose you after all.”

“Burn!” Brett said, not at all offended at the insult.

“You do realize she insulted you, too, right?” Zach asked.

“No. She was speaking truth where I’m concerned, and the insult was aimed at you,” Brett argued.

“He’s still pacing,” Tabby interjected as she helped Ember get down off the stool. “By the time they come to get him to go pick her up, he’ll have worn a path in the floor all the way down to the lobby.”

“I leave in half an hour.”

Tabby shrugged and said, “That’s plenty of time.”

“You know, watching him squirm and freak out wasn’t really on my agenda for the weekend, but I’m enjoying the hell out of it,” Luca said to Zach.

“Me too.”

“Why are all of you here?”

“To watch you lose your shit,” Luca said.

At the same time, Tabby said, “To show our support.”

“I should go and double-check that Bella’s suite is ready just in case she doesn’t want to stay here with me,” I mumbled as I walked toward the door. I was about to open it to go out into the hall when I spun around and looked at the group who was watching me with amusement. “I’d really appreciate it if all of you made yourselves scarce when Bella gets here. I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

“Of course!” Tabby agreed.

“We’ll be out of here in plenty of time,” Brett assured me.

“He just wants to get . . .” Luca glanced over at Ember and Coco who were playing on the floor near the sliding glass doors that led out onto my balcony and cleared his throat before he said, “ reacquainted with her since they haven’t seen each other in weeks.”

“Of course he does, and we’ll make sure he gets that opportunity,” Brett said with a smile. “Don’t worry, Matteo. Everything’s going to be just fine.”

◆◆◆

The private lounge where I sat gave the travelers with VIP access a view of the Hudson. However, while I waited impatiently for the plane to be cleared for landing, I didn’t see the river. Instead, I saw what could be, what might be, and what would probably be. It felt as if the room were closing in on me by the time my plane taxied by.

Bella could decide that she wanted to stay in New York with me and do all the things I was watching my friends and brother do - make a life, build a family, and spend forever with the woman of their dreams by their side. But she might also decide that life in the city wasn’t for her after all and become so unhappy that she’d have no other choice but to leave and go home.

But, knowing Bella - and I felt like I knew her better than any other woman I’d had serious relationships with before - she’d try her hardest to stick it out even if she was unhappy. If that was the case, I would have to let her go anyway.

I could hear Salvatore and Rocco behind me as I hurried toward the door that would take me out onto the tarmac. One of them, probably Rocco, growled when I walked outside without letting him go ahead of me and look around for any problems. The two men rushed to catch up with me and then took their usual positions - one just ahead of me to the side and another just behind me on the opposite side.

By the time we got there, the plane was parked with the engines off, and I waited impatiently for the stairs to be put in place by the ground crew that was always on hand here at the private airstrip. Just a few seconds after the stairs were locked into position, the door opened and I saw Bella waiting just inside the plane.

She smiled at me and walked out onto the small landing at the top of the steps and never took her eyes off me as she hurried down them.

“It’s like a wedding,” I heard Rocco mumble.

“What?” Salvatore asked.

“She’s walking down the aisle toward him. All she needs is a bouquet and some music.”

I hadn’t even thought of the comparison before, but Rocco was right. In a way, this was a lot like a wedding. Bella was making her way toward me to start a new life with me by her side, as if we were getting married.

Bella was laughing when she hit the bottom step and launched herself toward me with open arms. I caught her up and spun around as our lips met for the first time in weeks. It felt like coming home. The piece of me that had been missing since the last time I held her in my arms clicked into place, and I knew I’d never be able to let her go again.

This woman was my forever. Now I just had to do everything in my power to make sure she never wanted to let me go.