Chapter 7 - Carry Me Home
One year later, Vesper was packed.
Music filled the dining room.
Champagne moved between tables.
Tessa stood behind the bar wearing a dress she had spent three weeks pretending she hadn’t bought specifically for the occasion.
Marco stood beside her.
“You’re crying.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re absolutely crying.”
“Shut up.”
Across the restaurant, Sienna Brooks was arguing with Nico Valente.
Some things never changed.
“You lied to me,” Sienna said.
“I withheld information.”
“That’s lying in an expensive suit.”
Nico adjusted his cuff.
“I told you we were having dinner.”
“There are eighty people here.”
“They’re also having dinner.”
“Nico.”
He almost smiled.
Sienna looked around.
Everyone she loved was there.
Tessa.
Marco.
Thomas Reed.
Her mother.
Former coworkers.
Even several people who had known her father.
Then she noticed table fourteen.
Empty except for one black card.
Sienna stopped.
Her expression softened.
She approached.
Nico followed.
The same black card rested on the table.
Beside it was a framed photograph of Daniel Brooks and Antonio Valente standing beside the Cadillac.
Sienna touched the frame.
“You did this?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because neither of them got to see what happened afterward.”
She turned toward him.
“What happened afterward?”
Nico reached into his jacket.
Sienna immediately pointed.
“No.”
Nico froze.
“You don’t even know what I’m doing.”
“You’re reaching suspiciously.”
“Sienna.”
Her eyes widened.
“Nico.”
He lowered himself onto one knee.
The restaurant erupted.
Sienna covered her mouth.
Tessa screamed louder than everyone.
Nico looked up.
For once, Chicago’s most intimidating man looked genuinely uncertain.
“Sienna Brooks.”
She immediately began crying.
“Oh, no.”
Nico frowned.
“What?”
“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry if this ever happened.”
“You knew?”
“No!”
“Then when did you make this promise?”
“Women think about these things!”
People laughed.
Nico shook his head.
“Can I continue?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
He opened the box.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
“Sienna, before you, my life was built around control.”
She wiped her eyes.
“That sounds unhealthy.”
“Sienna.”
“Sorry.”
More laughter.
Nico smiled.
“Then you walked into me.”
“You were blocking the schedule.”
“You poked me.”
“Redirected.”
“Twice.”
“Advanced hospitality.”
“Sienna.”
“Continue.”
He took her hand.
“You made my house feel like a home. You made my people laugh. You made me remember there’s a difference between being respected and being loved.”
Her smile disappeared beneath tears.
Nico continued.
“You also steal my cheesecake.”
“It tastes better when stolen.”
“And you interrupt constantly.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No.”
He laughed.
Then became serious.
“Daniel told you to live loudly.”
Sienna looked toward her father’s photograph.
Nico squeezed her hand.
“I want to live loudly with you.”
That broke whatever composure she had left.
She nodded rapidly.
“Yes.”
Nico blinked.
“I haven’t asked yet.”
“I’m helping.”
“Sienna Brooks, will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Applause exploded.
Nico slipped the ring onto her finger.
Then Sienna grabbed his face and kissed him.
Tessa shouted.
Marco whistled.
Someone opened champagne.
When Nico stood, Sienna wiped her eyes.
“I have one condition.”
His eyebrow rose.
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“No carrying me over your shoulder at the wedding.”
“Agreed.”
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“That was too easy.”
Nico wrapped one arm around her waist.
“Because I prefer this.”
Before Sienna understood, he lifted her into his arms.
She shrieked.
“NICO!”
The restaurant erupted in laughter.
He started carrying her toward the private dining room.
“Put me down!”
“No.”
“I’m wearing an expensive dress!”
“I noticed.”
“I can walk!”
“I know.”
Sienna wrapped her arms around his neck anyway.
“You are unbelievably irritating.”
“You proposed to me?”
“You accepted.”
“Under emotional distress.”
“You said yes before I finished asking.”
“That is irrelevant.”
Nico looked down at her.
“You want me to put you down?”
Sienna opened her mouth.
Paused.
Then rested her head against his chest.
“No.”
Nico smiled.
“Thought so.”
She lifted one finger.
He immediately caught it.
“Don’t.”
Sienna grinned.
“I was going to redirect you.”
“Where?”
She pointed toward the doors.
“Home.”
Nico looked at her for a long second.
Then kissed her forehead.
“As you wish.”
He carried her through Vesper while their friends applauded behind them.
One year earlier, Sienna Brooks had poked the most dangerous man she had ever met because he was blocking the employee schedule.
That same night, he had carried her out of the restaurant because someone wanted her dead.
Now the danger was gone.
Her father’s name had been cleared.
The men responsible for his death had finally answered for what they had done.
And the mysterious black card that had dragged eight years of secrets into the light rested safely at table fourteen beside a photograph of two fathers whose children had somehow found each other.
At the front doors, Sienna looked at Nico.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
She poked him directly in the chest.
Nico stared at her finger.
Sienna smiled sweetly.
“Advanced hospitality technique.”
His quiet laugh followed them into the night.
May you like
And this time, when Nico Valente carried Sienna Brooks home, she didn’t ask him to put her down.
THE END
