The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 1

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The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 1 Page 82

by Bethany-Kris


  What else was there?

  “I mean, we’ve already won,” Corrado added. “There’s no way you will get those two runs, and this is your last bat.”

  “Stop gloating,” Alessio returned. “That’s your one warning.”

  “That’s what makes it fun.”

  “Throw the goddamn ball.”

  “Language,” Cara called out.

  “Sorry.”

  Corrado threw the pitch when he thought he distracted Alessio with his apology, but he should have known better. He got his two runs when the metal bat connected with the ball and sent it flying past the tree line on the back property—their designated space for a home run. Because no one wanted to go searching for balls in the small patch of forest.

  Alessio only stepped off the home plate as Chris came jogging across it, tossing his bat so it flipped around in the air before landing back in his waiting palm. He pointed the bat at Corrado, smirking wickedly.

  “I think I’m gonna walk it,” he said. “Remind you who you’re trying to better, yeah?”

  Corrado shook his head, grinning. “Who’s gloating now?”

  “And who likes it, huh?”

  Chris would have enjoyed the banter between his twin, and Alessio, but he was already heading toward Valeria who was smiling his way.

  “Where did Maria go?” he asked his wife.

  Valeria peered up at him. “In the house. And congrats on winning.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you won the game.”

  “No, why did she go in the house?”

  “For a surprise.”

  “For me?”

  “Since when are you nosy?”

  “Just because it’s your birthday, son,” his father called as he crossed the backyard with Maria skipping at his side, “doesn’t mean you get everything you want ... or does it?”

  He might have questioned his father on that statement, but he was more interested in his girl, and the gift in her hands. A white box, maybe twelve inches long, and wrapped with a big, golden bow. She held onto it like it was a lifeline.

  “What’s this?”

  Maria smiled. “It’s for you. And me.”

  Chris shot Valeria a look.

  She only shrugged.

  “Open it?” Maria asked.

  Chris took the chair his father pulled out so he could sit beside his wife, with his mother on the other side of him. Gian came to stand behind his chair while Maria placed the box in his lap. Sweet as could be, she bounced on the spot while she waited for him to reach for the gift.

  “Any hints?” he asked Valeria.

  She shook her head. “It’s better if you ... understand all at once, I think.”

  “Definitely,” Gian added.

  His brow dipped. “They know what it is?”

  “We needed help with—”

  “Details,” Cara was quick to interject. “Don’t give him too much to go on.”

  Valeria laughed. “Yeah, that. Open your gift.”

  Well, okay.

  Maria’s excitement only grew like her huge smile when Chris pulled the satin ribbon from the top of the box. He gave her a laugh before opening the top, and then he looked down.

  His whole world stopped.

  Application for Adoption.

  The papers were ready. All filled out, and it appeared a lawyer could file them anytime. It only needed one thing. A little arrow pointed to a space where his signature needed to go.

  Chris grabbed a little tighter to the box, unable to speak.

  Maria did it for him. “Because you’re already my daddy, right?”

  His father’s hands found his shoulders and squeezed. Valeria reached over to stroke his cheek with her warm palm.

  Yeah.

  This was most definitely the best birthday of his life.

  “Right?” Maria asked again, quieter the second time.

  He looked up to meet her gaze.

  Her smile never faltered.

  “That’s right,” he said, keeping his tone level, although he didn’t know how. “I promise.”

  Maria darted forward when he opened his arms to bring her in for a hug. Someone pulled the box from his lap just in time, so the papers inside didn’t get crushed.

  He didn’t know who.

  It didn’t matter.

  Everything he wanted was right in his arms and sitting beside him.

  All around him.

  His father had been right.

  This was the good life.

  • • •

  Love the Guzzi brothers? Don’t forget to pick up The Firsts to catch up with every brother and their wife! Or, grab The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 2 and fall in love with three more Guzzi brothers!

  XO.

  BK

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four sons, three cats, and four dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, a snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a spouse calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something ... when she can find the time.

  Find Bethany-Kris at her:

  WEBSITE

  OTHER BOOKS

  The After Another Trilogy

  One Step After Another

  One Breath After Another

  One Second After Another

  Boykov Bratva

  Fractured Ties

  Essence of Fear

  The Guzzi Legacy

  Corrado

  Alessio

  Chris

  Beni

  Bene

  Marcus

  The Firsts

  The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 1

  The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 2

  Renzo + Lucia

  Privilege

  Harbor

  Contempt

  Forever

  Cusp

  Renzo + Lucia: The Complete Trilogy

  Andino + Haven

  Duty

  Vow

  One Last Time

  Andino + Haven: The Complete Duet

  John + Siena

  Loyalty

  Disgrace

  John + Siena: The Complete Duet

  John + Siena: Extended

  Cross + Catherine

  Always

  Revere

  Unruly

  The Companion

  Naz & Roz

  Guzzi Duet

  Unraveled, Book One

  Entangled, Book Two

  Cara & Gian: The Complete Duet

  DeLuca Duet

  Waste of Worth: Part One

  Worth of Waste: Part Two

  Standalone Titles

  Pink

  Pretty Lies

  Dirty Pool

  Effortless

  Inflict

  Cozen

  Captivated

  Dishonored

  Donati Bloodlines

  Thin Lies

  Thin Lines

  Thin Lives

  Behind the Bloodlines

  The Complete Trilogy

  Filthy Marcellos

  Antony

  Lucian

  Giovanni

  Dante

  Legacy

  A Very Marcello Christmas

  The Complete Collection

  Seasons of Betrayal

  Where the Sun Hides

  Where the Snow Falls

  Where the Wind Whispers

  Seasons: The Complete Seasons of Betrayal Series

  Gun Moll Trilogy

  Gun Moll

  Gangster Moll

  Madame Moll

  The Chicago War

  Deathless & Divided

  Reckless & Ruined

  Scarless & Sacred

  Breathless & Bloodstained

  The Complete Series

  Maldives & Mistletoe

  The Russian Guns

  The Arrangement

  The Life

  The Score

  Demya
n & Ana

  Shattered

  The Jersey Vignettes

  FANTASY ROMANCE

  The Hunted: A 9INE REALMS Novel

  Find more on Bethany-Kris’s website at www.bethanykris.com.

  Copyright © 2020 by Bethany-Kris. All Rights Reserved.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted material is illegal and punishable by law. No parts of this work may be reproduced, copied, used, or printed without expressed written consent from the publisher/author. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in reviews.

  eISBN 13: 978-1-989658-35-2

  Editor: Eli Peters

  Cover Design © Lee Ching, Under Cover Designs

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, corporations, locales and so forth are a product of the author’s imagination, or if real, used fictitiously. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

 

 

 


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