Chapter 10 - The Sovereign Heart
Seven months later.
The early summer sun washed over the lush green gardens of the Prospect Park townhouse. The air was warm, sweet with the scent of blooming jasmine and roses.
I stood on the stone patio, wearing a loose white linen dress that draped comfortably over my heavy, seven-month pregnancy bump. I held a glass of cold lemonade in my hand, watching the sunlight play across the leaves of the old oak tree in the yard.
The glass back door opened, and Dante walked out onto the patio.
He was dressed casually in a white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He walked over to me, stepping behind me, and wrapped his long arms gently around my waist, pulling me back against his broad, solid chest.
He rested his chin lightly on my shoulder, his large hands resting over the high curve of my stomach.
As if on cue, the baby gave a firm, powerful kick right against Dante’s palm.
Dante let out a soft, low chuckle, his eyes lighting up with an unmistakable, fierce affection. “He’s getting stronger every day.”
“She,” I corrected with a smile, leaning my head back against his shoulder. “Dr. Vance said yesterday she’s going to be just as stubborn as her father.”
Dante smiled, pressing a soft kiss against the side of my neck. “Good. She will need to be stubborn to run the Castellano empire one day.”
I turned slightly in his arms, looking up into the pale blue eyes that had once terrified me on a dark helicopter ride six months ago, but now offered me absolute safety, peace, and love.
May you like
On my left hand, the heavy sapphire ring caught the golden sunlight, sparkling with brilliant clarity.
The wrong-number text message that had threatened to destroy my life eight months ago had led me through a storm of terror and betrayal. But as I stood in the arms of the man who had risked everything to shield us, I knew that my daughter and I were finally home.
