Chapter 10
The twins’ seventh birthday party was chaos.
Perfect, beautiful chaos.
Twenty first graders running around our backyard.
A bouncy castle. A piñata. A clown who was actually pretty funny.
Bear was in heaven — so many dropped hot dogs and ice cream cones within his reach.
Luca was in charge of the grill, wearing an apron that said “Kiss the Cook” that Lena had made him at school.
I was in charge of keeping twenty sugar-high children from killing each other.
Constance was there, of course. She’d moved to Gray Hollow permanently, buying the little house two doors down. She called it “being close enough to spoil the grandbabies but far enough to give the newlyweds privacy.”
Mrs. Pike was there too, bringing three different kinds of cake “just in case.”
The sheriff was there. The librarian. Half the town.
Everyone we loved.
Everyone who’d helped us build this life.
At three o’clock, we gathered everyone around for the cake.
Lena had requested a unicorn cake. Naturally.
Ash had requested a dinosaur cake. Also naturally.
We’d compromised — a unicorn riding a dinosaur.
It was ridiculous. Lopsided. The unicorn’s horn was crooked. The dinosaur’s tail fell off halfway to the table.
It was the most beautiful cake I’d ever seen.
We lit the candles.
Seven each.
Everyone sang.
The twins blew them out in one breath.
“What did you wish for?” I asked later, when most of the guests had left and we were cleaning up.
Lena, covered in frosting, grinned. “Can’t tell. Then it won’t come true.”
Ash, also covered in frosting, nodded solemnly. “Secret.”
“Fair enough.”
Luca came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Another successful Moretti event,” he said.
“Barely. I think the clown quit halfway through.”
“Nah. He just went to get more beer. Smart man.”
I laughed, leaning back against him.
“Remember when we had nothing? Just that tiny apartment and each other?”
“I remember. Every day. I never want to go back.”
“Me neither.”
We stood in silence for a moment, watching the twins play with the last remaining guests — Jax and his little sister.
Bear was chasing them around the yard, barking happily.
“Sarah?” Luca said quietly.
“Hmm?”
“I have something for you.”
I turned. “Another present? Luca, the wedding anniversary was three months ago.”
“Not an anniversary present. A… life present.”
He pulled an envelope from his pocket.
It was thick. Heavy.
I opened it.
Inside were papers.
Legal papers.
I read them.
And then I read them again.
Tears filled my eyes.
“Luca…”
“Full custody,” he said, his voice thick. “Full, legal, unchallenged custody of both children. In both our names. No loopholes. No way anyone can ever take them from us. Not Vanessa. Not the state. Not anyone. They’re ours. Forever.”
I threw my arms around his neck, crying into his shoulder.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Nothing to thank me for. They’re my kids too. And I just… after everything… I wanted to make sure. I wanted you to know that no matter what happens to me, you and the kids are protected. Everything I have is in your name. The house. The business. All of it. If anything ever happens to me—”
“Don’t.” I pulled back, putting my fingers on his lips. “Don’t even say it. You’re not going anywhere. Not for a very long time.”
“Fifty more years,” he promised. “Minimum. Then we’ll negotiate.”
“Deal.”
We kissed.
And this time, the twins didn’t say “ewww.”
They just watched, smiling, like they knew.
Like they understood that this was what love looked like.
That night, after the twins were asleep, after the last of the dishes were done, after Bear had finally collapsed in his bed, snoring loudly, Luca and I went outside.
We sat on the porch swing, wrapped in a blanket, looking up at the stars.
Gray Hollow had the best stars.
No city lights to drown them out.
“Remember when you first saw me on the porch?” Luca asked.
“I remember thinking my worst nightmare had come true. That you’d found me and were going to take the kids away.”
“And instead…”
“And instead, you gave me everything back. You gave me more than I ever had.”
He squeezed my hand.
“We gave each other. That’s how it works, right? Partnership.”
“Partnership,” I agreed.
We sat in silence for a long time.
Just watching the stars.
Listening to the crickets.
Feeling the cool night air on our faces.
“Sarah?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you ever regret it? Not running sooner? Not… I don’t know. Making different choices?”
I thought about it.
I thought about the night I’d caught Vanessa and Luca.
The three years alone.
The fear. The hunger. The loneliness.
I thought about the shooting. The blood. The hospital.
And then I thought about this.
The house. The kids. The dog. The stars.
Luca’s hand in mine.
The ring on my finger.
The life we’d built together from the ashes of the old one.
“No,” I said finally. “I don’t regret any of it. Because every bad thing that happened led me here. To this. To us. And I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.”
Luca kissed the top of my head.
“Me neither. Even the bullet wound. Especially the bullet wound. Because it proved to you that I meant what I said. That I’d die before I let anything hurt you or the kids.”
“You’re very dramatic, you know that?”
“Only for you, baby. Only for you.”
I rested my head on his shoulder.
And for the first time in my life, I felt completely, one hundred percent at peace.
No fear.
No doubt.
No what-ifs.
Just love.
Just family.
Just us.
Somewhere inside, a clock chimed midnight.
A new day.
A new year.
A whole future stretching out in front of us.
Bright. Beautiful. Endless.
I closed my eyes, smiling.
Whatever came next, we’d face it together.
Hand in hand.
Heart to heart.
The Moretti family.
Whole at last.
May you like
Safe at last.
Home at last.
