Chapter 10 - Dawn Over the Hudson
The wedding was small, quiet, and entirely ours.
There were no mob bosses, no armed guards standing in the aisles, and no threat of violence hanging in the air. Just a sunlit garden overlooking the Hudson River, a handful of trusted friends, and the soft rustle of autumn leaves in the breeze.
Leo stood proudly as the ring bearer, wearing a tiny, perfectly tailored black suit that matched his father's. When Ricardo slipped the gold band onto my finger, the golden light of the afternoon sun washed over us, washing away the shadows of our pasts.
Later that evening, as the stars came out over the river, I stood on the balcony of the master suite, wrapped in Ricardo’s arms. Leo was fast asleep in his room down the hall, breathing softly, entirely at peace.
"Penny for your thoughts, Mrs. Moretti," Ricardo murmured, kissing the top of my head.
I leaned back against his chest, looking out at the glittering lights of the city across the water where our story had begun in a chaotic restaurant.
"I was just thinking about that night at Il Verano," I smiled. "If you hadn't sent that Escalade after me, I'd probably still be counting two-hundred-dollar wages in the rain."
Ricardo chuckled, his arms tightening around my waist, pulling me closer into the warmth of his embrace.
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"And if you hadn't walked past my guards and told me my son needed a mom," Ricardo whispered, pressing his lips to my temple, "I never would have learned how to live."
The past was behind us, the threats were gone, and for the first time in our lives, the future belonged entirely to us.
