Chapter 10 - Always in Bloom
Late that evening, after the guests had left and the street had grown quiet, the warm yellow lights inside the conservatory hummed softly.
Dominic walked through the quiet glass corridors, holding two glasses of wine.
He found Nora in the central courtyard greenhouse. She was kneeling beside a large raised stone bed, planting fresh cuttings of sweet peas into the rich, dark soil.
The pale purple flowers were already in full bloom, filling the warm air with their sweet, delicate fragrance.
Dominic set the wine glasses on a nearby bench and knelt beside her in the soil, completely unconcerned about his expensive trousers. He reached out, his large hands helping her pack the dirt around the fragile green stems.
Nora looked at him, her eyes soft and filled with boundless affection. "The King of the North Side, getting dirt under his fingernails."
"I resigned from the shipping board this morning, Nora," Dominic said softly, wiping a trace of soil from her cheek with his thumb. "Adrian is taking over the legal logistics operations. I’m stepping down completely."
Nora paused, looking at him in surprise. "Are you sure?"
"I've spent my whole life guarding a graveyard," Dominic whispered, looking into her eyes. "I want to spend the rest of it growing something with you."
Nora smiled, tears of pure joy brimming in her eyes. She leaned forward, resting her hands on his chest, and kissed him—a deep, slow kiss that tasted like sweet wine and fresh spring rain.
Dominic pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her soft waist, anchoring himself to the only home he had ever truly known.
Hand in hand, they stood up in the quiet, warm greenhouse, surrounded by hundreds of blooming purple flowers, watching the stars shine down through the clear glass roof.
May you like
The shadows of the past were gone. The fear was dead.
And in the heart of Chicago, where a mob boss had once followed a florist to his mother's grave, love had finally taken root—and it would stay in bloom forever.
