I love you more

I love you more

"You didn't have to..." my voice was barely above a whisper.

"I wanted to... I wanted everyone to know that you're Don Costello's wife and you are entitled to their respect and honor," he kissed the tip of my nose and then faced the room once more.

A huge cake was brought out, and Alessandro handed me a knife as I cut into it. His hand was glued to my back the whole night; he didn't let me out of his sight, not even for a moment.

I met with Nikolai after ages. I had met him once before in Sicily when Alessandro took me to the woods to shoot Hellen. I stand corrected in my statement that Nikolai is still my favorite Costello of all — second to Sabrina, of course.

"Happy Birthday, Mrs. Costello."

I turned and saw Lorenzo with a gift in his hands. I pulled myself out of Alessandro's grip and jumped into his arms. "Thank you, Lorenzo!"

"Here's your gift," he pushed it into me; he didn't hug me back as usual.

"Thank you..." I took it, and as I was about to hand it to a maid to put it with the mountain of gifts I had received tonight, Lorenzo stopped me.

"Open it."
I smiled, shaking my head, and pulled at the ribbon. I took off the lid of the box and saw red lipstick. "A lipstick?"

"It's not just lipstick, it's called A Kiss Of Death. It's a gun," he told me with pride.

My eyes widened. "A gun?"

"There is a single 4.5 mm pistol hidden inside the lipstick holder. I had it made especially for you."

"Thank you, Lorenzo, it's amazing! It's perfect," I squealed as I saw my initials engraved at the bottom, NC.

"Happy Birthday, sweet cheeks."

"Scott..." I breathed out. It was the first time I saw him since the whole war ordeal after he saved me from being shot to death.

"I got you a present too, but it was too big to fit inside a box, so here's the key."

It was a car key — Scott got me a car, the new Tesla.

"Thank you!" I beamed at him. "And thank you for everything else..." I was actually referring to saving my life.

He smiled, nodding. He put his hands in his pockets.

"We should hang out sometime..."

"I'd love that..."

"Cool..."

I felt Alessandro's presence behind me; he had come back from wherever he went. "Come with me," he whispered in my hair.

I looked at him from over my shoulder, and he offered me his elbow. I intertwined our arms, and Alessandro pulled me out of the back door of the hall, leaving the party.

A cool breeze clung to my skin. I smiled to myself. "Are we ditching the party again?"

"For a while..."

He took me to the back of the castle-like mansion. It was even more beautiful than anything I would have imagined. I looked up through the tree branches; it was easy to believe the dark sky was endless and went on forever. He held my hand as we walked down the cobblestone pathway.

The night was captivating; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard but not seen, a half-moon softly illuminating the sky. The stars looked especially close tonight. The cold breeze flew my dress back with every step we took.

"I love it..." I said, gazing over the beautiful scenery before me — it included him too.

"I'm glad..." he just said, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

From a distance, I saw a gazebo twinkling with fairy lights. The red, black, and white roses were all placed in perfect symmetry. The colors were not distracting; they were enough to give a welcoming entrance into the gazebo.

"What...?" my breath got caught in my throat as we got closer and closer to the gazebo.

I swallowed as Alessandro stepped up the three-step stairs that led into the gazebo. I stilled at the first steps, a certain apprehension building up in my stomach. He turned slightly and looked down at me. "Come on," he lightly tugged at my hand, urging me to come inside.

I swallowed and took the remaining steps. He led me inside the gazebo, the enticing smell of roses all around us. A weight settled in my stomach — I didn’t know if I was nervous or scared or what. I had no idea what the hell I was feeling.

A ball of mixed feelings hit me with full force. My chest heaved up and down; it felt like I'd explode.

"Natalya..."

"Huh?" I turned to face him and took an immediate step back when I saw him kneeling in front of me.

He pulled out a little black box and opened it. "Here I am, on my knees, asking you to marry me again, Natalya. I don't ever want to lose you. I love you. I love you more than my ego, I love you more than anyone in this world, I love you more than my entire Cosa Nostra. I love you, I love you, I love you..."

My eyes burned, and in the next second, the tears burst out of my eyes, sliding down my cheeks faster than my heartbeat.

God! I love this man. I don't think I have ever loved anyone like I love him.

"Marry me."

I dropped to my knees too and got closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, nuzzling my face into his neck, crying my eyes out. The box of rings was squished between our bodies along with his hands, but I didn't care. I pulled him into me even more. "I love you... I love you, I love you so, so much."

"Is that a yes?" he asked.

I pulled back and cupped his face. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Yes, in every single life. Yes to everything you ever want from me."

"Ah, careful..." he smiled wickedly.

I laughed. "Shut up!"

I pressed our lips together — I kissed him with passion, I kissed him with everything in me. I bit his lips, I pushed my tongue into his mouth, I was holding him as if my life depended on it while his hands were still clutching the box — but still, he kissed me back with full fervor.

We pulled back, breathing heavily, taking in each other's air. He looked down between our bodies at the box of the ring.

Nervously, I offered him my left hand. He pulled out the ring and flicked the box on the ground. He put it over my finger and grinned as it slid into it easily.

"I love you," I whispered once more as tears started to rain down my face once again.
"I love you more than you can imagine," he replied, kissing me once more.