Friends & Forever (8 page)

"Halloween is the best holiday
there is," Dom said, picking up a small peanut butter cup and tearing off
the wrapper, balling up the foil in his hand as he popped the candy in his
mouth. "None others come close."

"How do you figure?" Tess
asked.

"Because, for one, it's pretty
much the only holiday where you're not obligated to visit family," Dom
said. "I mean, we do, mostly because I like you guys some days, but you
don't
have
to. Secondly, you don't have to buy anyone presents. There's
no gift giving, and let's be real… gift-giving is only cool when you're the
receiver. C, because it's completely acceptable to go into public dressed like
a fool." He motioned toward Carmine. "Proof."

Carmine made sure Vinnie wasn't
looking before flashing his middle finger at his brother, mouthing 'fuck you'.
Dom laughed, flicking the foil wrapper at him, hitting him in the chest.

"And fourthly," Dom continued,
"
people
give you candy for no reason.
And D, because there are swords.
Everywhere you look,
swords. What's not to love about Halloween?"

The women laughed, as did Vinnie,
while Carmine just stared at his brother. "You know that should've been E,
right? Not D."

Dom waved him off, picking up another
piece of candy.

"Technically," Haven said,
pushing on Dom to get him off her lap. He rose up, letting her slip out from
beneath him, before he commandeered her chair. "He started with firstly so
it should've been fifthly."

"You heard the woman,"
Carmine said, just as there was a loud crash in the living room, followed by an
exaggerated
'uh-oh'
. Haven sighed, heading out of the kitchen to
investigate, while Carmine pointed at his brother. "Whatever that was, you're
paying for it."

Dom picked up the twenty from the
table, holding it up. "Pretty sure that'll cover it, bro. If not, put it
on my account."

"What account?"

"On the account that I ain't got
no money to give you right now."

An end table, it turned out. She
knocked the lamp right off the motherfucker, taking some picture frames with
it. Haven carried Maura into the kitchen, the girl still wielding the sword.

"Say goodnight," Haven
said.

"Night!" Maura yelled.

Dom jumped up. "I'll trade you
some sugar for the sword."

Maura debated it for a moment before
holding the sword out to him. Dom took it, tossing it to Vinnie, before
grasping both of Maura's cheeks with his palms, holding her face there so he
could smother her in kisses. She giggled, loudly, the sound warming Carmine's
heart.

Haven took Maura upstairs for a bath
while the others got their stuff together to leave. Carmine walked them out,
pausing on the porch with his brother, while Tess got Vinnie buckled into the
car.

"Good to see you, bro," Dom
said seriously, reaching over and smacking him on the back. "Probably
won't see you before, but I'll see you Thanksgiving at Celia's, right?"

"Of course," Carmine said.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Better not," Dom said.
"Corrado would probably come down here and drag you to his house if you
tried."

Dom walked away, getting into his
car, as Carmine turned around and headed back inside. He locked up the house, going
straight upstairs, making his way down the hall toward his daughter's bedroom.
Maura was already out of the bath and had her pajamas on, climbing into her
bed. She looked over toward the doorway, spotting Carmine, and grinned.

"Story, Daddy!"

Carmine sighed, pushing away from the
doorframe and strolling over. "What story?"

"The princess story!"

"Again?"

"Again!"

Carmine had told her this story so
many times he was shocked she wasn't sick of fucking hearing it. Haven kissed
Maura's forehead before walking out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Carmine kicked off his shoes, climbing into the bed beside her, laying on his
side to give her most of the space, as she snuggled into his arms. She smelled
like soap with a hint of something else, something fresh and calming and
beautiful.
Sunshine
.

The girl was sunshine.

'
She
got that from you
,' Haven always said.

"Once upon a time, a long time
ago, there was a princess…"

"A pretty princess, Daddy?"

"A
beautiful
princess," he said. "The most beautiful princess I've ever
seen."

"
Beautifuler
than Mommy?"

Carmine ran his hand through her
wayward hair, pushing it back off her forehead. "Just as beautiful as
Mommy."

Maura nodded, satisfied.

"So there was a beautiful
princess, a special princess, but nobody knew she existed, because some
monsters kept her locked away. They didn't want the rest of the world to know
about her… they wanted to keep her all to themselves. And they did, for a lot
of years. The beautiful princess grew up alone, and sad, wishing she could be a
part of the world outside of her dungeon, but they never let her even get close
to escape."

"Until the angel, right, Daddy?"

"Until the angel," he
agreed. "The angel was beautiful, too, the most beautiful angel to ever
exist. She saw the princess, and she knew she had to save her from the
monsters. And so she did. The angel risked it all to free the princess from
captivity, and in the process she became a
real
angel."

"Like grandma?"

"Just like grandma."

Maura smiled. She asked the same
questions every time, and Carmine couldn't help but wonder if she'd figured out
this story was true, but she never pressed the matter, and he hadn't admitted
it. She was young, but she was a smart child, much too smart for her age.

"So the princess was saved from
the monsters, but she wasn't free yet, because there were more monsters out
there, more monsters who didn't want the princess to be free. They were afraid
she would claim her crown, that she would bring an end to their reign, so they
tried to take her, tried to imprison her again."

"But it didn't work?"

"No, it didn't, because they'd
underestimated the brave knight who had sworn himself to be her savior. He
slayed the monsters, saving the princess once and for all, freeing her and
letting her take her rightful place as princess, where she lived happily ever
after."

Maura stared at him for a moment.
"Daddy, are you the knight?"

Carmine was surprised by that
question. She hadn't asked that one before. The story always ended here, and
she was always content with that. "Uh, no."

"What happened to the
knight?"

"He was awarded for his bravery
by getting to spend eternity with the angel."

"Did the princess get a
prince?"

"Yeah, she did, and he was the
luckiest prince to ever exist."

Carmine kissed her forehead before
climbing to his feet, grabbing his shoes as he headed for the door. He paused,
his hand on the light switch, when she spoke again.

"Daddy, are you the
prince?"

He laughed, looking back at her.
"Do I look like a prince to you?"

She stared at him, hard, like she was
genuinely considering his question, eyes studying every inch of him looking for
signs of royalty. "I
dunno
."

He laughed, turning off the light,
the automatic heart-shaped nightlight kicking on in the darkness.
"Goodnight,
piccola
. I love you."

"Night, Daddy. Love you."

The day she was born, Carmine fell in
love for the second time. He never thought he'd ever love someone as much as he
loved Haven, that all-consuming, soul-gripping, fuck-you-up kind of love that
leaves you breathless and weak in the knees, that squeezes your fucking heart
and takes over your chest. The kind of love that alters you, changes the person
you are, making someone who once thought they were hopeless feel like they're
worth a million fucking bucks. Carmine thought that feeling was
once-in-a-lifetime, never expecting it to hit him twice.
She
colpo
di
fulmine
'ed
his ass.

He'd been terrified to hold Maura for
the first time, afraid he'd drop her or hurt her, but the second she was
in
his arms he knew he'd never be able to let go.

Carmine walked out, strolling down
the hall, hesitating near the doorway when he stepped inside his bedroom. Haven
was changing out of her clothes, the glow from the moonlight illuminating her
creamy, bare skin. She was beautiful, he hadn't lied about that—the most
beautiful woman he'd ever seen. And he was a lucky motherfucker to have her. He
hadn't lied about that, either.

She'd changed some over time, ageing
and maturing, but she wore it well. Her hips were wider, body softer, stretch
marks joining the scars that still marred her pale skin. Every inch of her told
a story, a story Carmine knew intimately, a story he never wanted to forget. It
was her story—their story—a story of love and loss, regret and
redemption.

Carmine liked to think of it as the
greatest story ever told. Sure, he might be biased, but fuck… he thought it was
perfect. Even when it got ugly, Haven made it beautiful.

Stepping further into the room, he
reached for her before she could put on a shirt, swinging her toward him,
wearing only a pair of simple black cotton underwear. She smiled, blush on her
cheeks, as his hands settled on her hips. She reached behind her, grabbing
something from the bedside stand and plopping it on his head.

The
fucking missing tiara.

Haven laughed, leaning toward him,
pressing a light kiss to his lips. "
Principe
. Have you come to
rescue your
Principessa
?"

He rolled his eyes, reaching up and
grabbing the tiara, instead putting it on top of her head. "I've come to
worship her… and come. I've come to come."

"Is that right?"

"It is."

He kissed her, dragging her toward
the bed, sitting down on it and pulling her on top of him. He lay back, fully
clothed, as she straddled his lap, his hands running up her bare stomach,
fingertips tracing the marks before he palmed her breasts. He massaged them,
thumbs grazing her nipples as they pebbled from his touch.

"So beautiful,
tesoro
,"
he whispered, his chest aching at the words.

She leaned down, kissing him, as his
arms encircled her, hands gently running up and down her back, tracing the
curvature of her spine. His left hand settled on her ass as his right gripped
the back of her head. He held her there, deepening the kiss, as he shifted his
hips, pushing against her. Even through his clothes, he could feel her warmth,
his body yearning for more of it. His cock throbbed, desperate to bury itself
deep inside of her.

"We shouldn't," Haven
whispered. "Maura isn't asleep yet. She might hear."

"We can be quiet."

"You, maybe," she said, her
blush deepening. "You make it hard for me."

"Yeah, well, you make it
hard
for me, literally."

Haven laughed, kissing him again, as
she started fumbling with his clothes. Carmine loosened his hold on her,
letting her slip off of him so he could strip, as she pulled her underwear off.
Carmine grabbed the comforter, pulling it the whole way up on them, covering
their bodies, as he climbed on top of her, settling between her thighs.

"Should we…?" Haven asked,
hesitating as she glanced around the room.

"I already said we should,"
Carmine mumbled, kissing her throat. "I'll take it easy on you so she
doesn't hear us."

"No, I mean… should we use, you
know…?"

Carmine pulled back to look at her
just as she bit down on her bottom lips nervously, cheeks bright pink, the
flush extending down her neck. Countless times together and even a baby later,
this shit still made her blush. "Use what?"

"A condom," she said.
"You know I'm not on anything right now and you've been, well… you've just
been using them so I haven't bothered…"

"Ah, nah," he said.
"What's the worse that can happen?"

"A baby."

Carmine kissed her neck again. The
last baby they had worked out wonderfully. He wouldn't mind another.

"Maybe even twins."

He hesitated a moment before slowly
sliding inside of her, letting out a deep sigh at the sensation.
Fucking
heavenly
.

"Or triplets, even."

Just as fast as he'd pushed inside of
her, he pulled right back out. He sat up, reaching over toward the bedside
stand, yanking the drawer open to dig around inside of it, fishing out a
condom. He ripped the wrapper with his teeth, tossing it aside as he rolled the
condom on. Haven laughed, watching him, as he pulled the blanket back over
them, once more pushing inside of her.