Chapter 12 - THE FAMILY IN THE LIGHT
The Moretti estate looked entirely different in the morning sun.
For the first time since I had started working there, every single curtain in the house was wide open. The heavy, oppressive shadows that Vanessa and Victor had cultivated were gone, replaced by brilliant, golden light pouring through the massive windows.
I stood in the kitchen, wiping flour off my forehead with the back of my wrist.
“Okay, Sophie,” I laughed, pointing at the messy counter. “I think that’s enough chocolate chips. The cookies actually need some dough to hold them together.”
Sophie, standing on a stool beside me and wearing a tiny apron covered in flour, giggled wildly.
“But Daddy likes chocolate!” she argued, dumping another handful into the mixing bowl.
“Daddy likes whatever you make him,” Luca said, walking through the swinging doors.
He was wearing a casual gray sweater, his dark hair slightly ruffled. The heavy, exhausted mafia boss I had seen in my apartment hallway two months ago was completely gone. In his place was a father who looked genuinely at peace.
He walked over, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and kissing my flour-dusted cheek.
“They smell good,” he murmured against my skin.
“They’re mostly sugar,” I smiled, leaning back against his chest.
Isabella walked in a moment later, holding a stack of mail. She looked radiant, dressed in a sharp business suit. She had taken over the legitimate holding companies, proving to be a brilliant and ruthless businesswoman who was slowly cleaning up the mess Victor had left behind.
“Mail call,” Isabella announced, dropping the stack on the island. “And Emma, your mother called. She said the contractors finished the renovations on her new house.”
I smiled brightly. I had finally cashed the check Luca gave me. I bought my mother a beautiful, single-story house in the suburbs—no stairs for her bad knees, and absolutely no more office cleaning. My brother’s tuition was paid in full.
“I’ll call her back after the cookies are done,” I said.
Luca released me and picked up a thick, cream-colored envelope from the mail stack.
He opened it, reading the heavy cardstock inside.
“What is it?” I asked, wiping my hands on a towel.
Luca smiled, sliding the invitation across the counter to me.
“It’s an invitation to the Mayor’s charity gala next month,” Luca said.
I looked at the elegant cursive writing. It was addressed to Mr. Luca Moretti and Guest.
“Are we going?” I asked playfully.
“We are,” Luca said, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “But I’m going to have to call his office and have them reprint the invitations.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why? They spelled your name right.”
“They did,” Luca agreed, stepping closer to me. “But they got your name wrong.”
I looked back down at the invitation. Guest.
When I looked up, Luca was reaching into his pocket.
He didn’t drop to one knee. He didn’t make a grand, theatrical gesture. He simply stood in front of me, in the heart of the kitchen, surrounded by flour and chocolate chips, with his daughter watching eagerly from her stool.
He opened a small velvet box.
Inside was a simple, stunningly elegant diamond ring.
“I don’t want a guest, Emma,” Luca said softly, his voice filled with a quiet, fierce devotion. “I want a wife. I want a partner. I want you.”
Tears instantly pricked my eyes.
Sophie gasped, clapping her flour-covered hands together. “Say yes, Emma! Say yes!”
I looked at the little girl who had stolen my heart, then at the man who had fought through hell to give us this life.
There were no more secrets. No more ghosts in the closet or traitors at the gate. The past was buried, and the future was entirely ours.
“Yes,” I whispered, throwing my arms around his neck. “Yes, Luca.”
He laughed, a rich, joyous sound, and spun me around before slipping the ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly.
Isabella cheered, popping a piece of raw cookie dough into her mouth in celebration.
Luca pulled me close, resting his forehead against mine.
“Welcome to the family, Mrs. Moretti,” he whispered.
I smiled, looking around the bright, sunlit kitchen.
May you like
The journey had started with a terrified housekeeper hiding in the shadows, desperate for a paycheck.
It was ending with a queen, standing in the light, exactly where she belonged.
