Chapter 7 - Building on Safe Ground
Over the next year, Carmine integrated himself into their lives with the same relentless discipline he once used to run an empire, but this time, it was devoted entirely to domesticity.
He bought a sprawling, sun-drenched house on the coast of Maine—far away from the concrete canyons of Manhattan. It had a massive wraparound porch, a sprawling garden where Leo and Clara could run wild, and a library filled with rare, restored books for Mara's workshop.
At first, Mara kept her guard up, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the old enemies or old habits to resurface. But Carmine proved himself day after day. He learned how to cook simple meals, how to braid Clara's hair into lopsided knots, and how to sit on the porch at sunset without scanning the tree line for snipers.
The federal authorities kept their word; the surveillance dropped away as they realized the legendary Solano syndicate was truly dead and buried.
One crisp autumn afternoon, while the twins were playing hide-and-seek in the orchard behind the house, Carmine found Mara standing by the edge of the cliffs overlooking the churning Atlantic.
He slipped his heavy wool coat around her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest.
"Penny for your thoughts," he murmured into her hair.
May you like
"I was just thinking about that penthouse," she smiled, leaning back against him. "And how far we've come from that cold white marble."
"That marble was freezing because I had a heart made of ice," Carmine said softly, turning her in his arms to look down into her eyes. "You melted it, Mara. Every single piece of it."
