Amena e Core was tucked away on one of the side streets off the Piazetta. It was a fantastic place to have a few drinks and enjoy some music. It was low key compared to the nightlife in Rome, and better for Dominick’s approval. He would have never survived him and me at a nightclub. Low key was a much better option when it came to Dominick and his control issues.
I stayed in bed a bit longer to enjoy the quiet of the morning, until my silent tranquility came to a screeching or I should have said, screaming halt.
“Rain, there is some sort of a problem at the vineyard house!” Raven yelled, as she barged into my room.
I sat up immediately. “What’s the matter? Can’t Dominick handle it?”
“Rain,that’s the problem. He is handling it?”
“Dad phoned and said that Dominick was in a shouting match with the foreman over the phone. He knew you were disappointed, so he tried to push him to get the work completed and approved for today, but when the foreman told him that was impossible, Dominick left to go take care of things. Dad followed him over there and just called to see if you could come down and talk some sense into your husband. He’ll only listen to you, Rain.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. After a brief pause, I jumped out of bed and pulled on some jeans and sneakers, brushed my teeth and headed to the vineyard house.
On the way, I tried to phone and text Dominick, but he wouldn’t answer. This only fueled my agitation. Why couldn’t he leave well enough alone? The house would be completed soon, just not when Dominick wanted it to be.
When I finally reached the open field that overlooked the vineyard house something was off. Dominick and the foreman were nowhere to be found. In fact, there wasn’t a soul anywhere near the house. I stood there in the middle of the field dumfounded. Why did Raven cause such a to-do about nothing? There weren’t any workers, no foreman and no Dominick for that matter. She pulled me out of bed for no reason. Now I was even more pissed off.
I decided that I would head back to my dad’s place. Just as I turned around to leave, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Dominick.
“Good morning, Mrs. Kane, where do you think you're going?”
I did a complete 360 to see how he knew where I was and what I was doing. I didn’t see him anywhere, so assumed he placed the tracking device on my phone, but why would he? Everything was okay now.
Then another text came.
“You seem confused. Let me clear things up for you. Look back towards the vineyard house. My Christmas gift to you will be in view… in 3-2-1.”
I looked and from around the corner of the left side of the house, Tommy appeared.
My mouth opened wide with elated shock. Then Tommy yelled to me.
“Merry Christmas, Baby!” He opened his arms wide, as he walked towards me.
I smiled and ran towards him.
“Tommy!” I said, as I reached him and jumped into his waiting embrace.
“Kane told me you were having a hard time without me. I’m not surprised, so I grabbed a flight back here for Christmas.” He said with his signature smile.
“I’m so happy to see you, but you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but when Kane explained everything, I knew I had to be here.”
“Explained everything? What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure what he was referring to.
Then he released me and turned with one arm opened to direct me towards the two men holding a Christmas tree by the house. They were my dad and Dominick.
“C’mon, Angel, let’s get this place ready for Christmas.” Dominick yelled to me, as he and my dad carried the tree to the front door.
I looked at Tommy and smiled. He winked back at me and off we went.
Once we got inside, there was Dominick and my dad setting the tree in the stand in front of the double doors at the other end of the living room. Joseph and Antonio came out from the kitchen with boxes filled with ornaments. Anna and Mema followed with coffee and breakfast treats. Then Mike and Raven came in. Each one of them held one of my babies in their arms.
Dominick stepped forward and Tommy moved to take his place by my dad and Daniel.
“Rain, I wanted this to be a Christmas for you to remember. The only way I knew I could do that for you was to have everyone you love be here when the house was done.” He announced, as he placed an envelope in my hand and kissed my cheek.
I looked down at the envelope in my hands and then back to Dominick.
“Go ahead, Angel, open it.” He appeared impatiently excited.
I carefully did as he asked and pulled out the folded letters to read them. They were the approvals. The house was ready for occupancy.
I smiled and jumped into Dominick’s arms. Everyone started to laugh and clap.
“Merry Christmas, Rain, I love you.”
“Merry Christmas, Dominick, I love you more.”
It was an incredible morning filled with surprises of everything I wished for, like the house and things I never thought would happen, like seeing Tommy here so soon.
After a very long day of decorating, the new house was ready and the food for our Christmas Eve feast was prepared. We sat down, all of us, for dinner, as a family.
Dominick stood and made a small speech welcoming everyone and thanking them for being here. Then he dropped one more surprise into my lap. One that I was not prepared for, but whole-heartedly would say yes to.
“Rain, after speaking with your dad, I decided, if you agree, to take a leave of absence from the New York office, so I could set up our new international branch here in Italy.”
“Dominick, you want us to move here permanently?” I loved the idea, but what about Anna and Joseph and Daniel.
“Not permanently, but just for now, until the new transition is completed.”
“I don’t know what to say?” I whispered.
“Don’t say anything yet. Just think about it. We don’t have to make a decision right away.”
I nodded, but hugged him hard, just the same.
During our meal, Tommy told us about Bali and how much he loved it there and the other places he had been to since he left. He seemed so much better, healthier, more at peace.
Then there was one more person who had an announcement to make.
Raven.
“I’m so glad all of us were able to get together. I wasn’t sure how I would tell you this, but now seems like a good time, since it’s been a day of surprises. I spoke with my dad and Dominick and I decided to leave Kane and Medici.”
There was a hush in the room, then Raven continued.
“Kane and Medici in New York that is and head up our new office in Paris.”
The hush turned to cheers and congratulations from everyone in the room.
Everyone, except our dad, Mike and Dominick. They already knew and after Raven’s announcement they explained that Mike had decided that he would stay on in New York, should Dominick stay here to set up the offices in Rome.
Mike said that’s what my dad and Dominick were discussing with him the night we had arrived in Capri. If he stayed with my dad, he said he would of course turn down the firm in Philly, but could still work with clients that were interested in Mike, but hadn’t made a commitment with the other firm. He said Philly was close enough to commute to if the need arose.
It all hinged on what my decision to Dominick’s announcement would be. Did we stay here in Capri or not?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Yes or No?
Rain
The celebration went late into the evening. Before everyone grew tired, they returned to my dad’s home, everyone, but Dominick, the twins and me, that is.
Dominick poured himself a drink, while I headed upstairs to check on our children. We used one of the bedrooms as a nursery for them. This room was quite large, so as they grew they could share it for a while. Eventually, they would each have a room of their own when we stayed here, but that was a long way off.
After I was sure they we
re asleep, I went to our master bedroom and changed into something more comfortable and one of my favorites…Dominick’s dress shirt. He never understood why I always chose his shirts because of all the sexy lingerie he surprised me with, but I loved being wrapped up in him; this was as intimate, as it got, for me.
I was just about to head back downstairs to be with him, when I heard the music softly reach the top of the landing. The Christmas Carols were replaced with a familiar tune. I smiled as I recognized the song.
The Way You Look Tonight played, as I went back downstairs to be with my husband.
I eagerly descended from the second floor, but soundlessly entered the living room as not to disturb him. I came to find Dominick deep in thought, as he stared into the fire. For the first time in a long time I was nervous to be with him. I wasn’t nervous in a concerned way, but more like a schoolgirl on a first date with her high school crush.
Dominick was far more than a crush. He was everything to me. Everything that I had always dreamed of, but never thought would happen.
I pulled on my sleeves, as I walked towards him in bare feet and just his shirt. It was an unconscious act that I hadn’t performed in a long time.
He turned and placed his amber filled crystal tumbler on the mantle and paused. A slight grin of satisfaction formed on his face, Hmmm…no complaints about my bedroom attire tonight; seeing me dressed this way made him happy.
Good.
He was incredibly sexy. His commanding presence glowed in the firelight, as the muscles in his chiseled jaw tightened. My entire body reacted, but it was my heart that felt him most of all. It was truly full.
Once I reached him, he drew me close to his body as his eyes searched my face.
He smiled and said, “Let’s dance, Mrs. Kane.”
I nodded and kissed his cheek gently to show I approved.
As Tony Bennett softly crooned in the background, Dominick and I danced cheek to cheek around the decorated tree. The warm lights that lit up its branches appeared to glisten, as the scent of freshly cut pine and cinnamon filled the room.
It was more than I could have wished for…it was incredibly perfect.
We danced thru the downstairs rooms and eventually Dominick and I drifted upstairs to our new master suite. The old vineyard house turned out beautifully. Although everything about it was freshly painted and new, it still had all of the elements and charm that made me fall in love with it as a young girl.
The best part was, I didn’t have to escape to go in search of it any longer. Thanks to Dominick, the house was ours, and ours it would remain.
Dominick lifted me off my feet and kissed me as he laid me down on our new bed. He quickly undressed and climbed in next to me. His body pulled me close and we laid there in silence to cherish this moment.
Neither of us spoke for quite some time. Then Dominick rolled towards me slightly and placed his hand on the skin over my heart, as the gentle touch of his thumb lightly moved back and forth.
Dominick rested his head against my breast, as his gaze focused on the movement of his hand, while he closely listened to the beat of my heart; he appeared to be hypnotized by our intimate connection and the effects that it was having on his senses.
Yet, something told me that his actions were more about something that weighed on his mind and less about us, here and now.
I was right.
“Rain, have you given any thought to us moving out here while I get the Rome office up and running for the firm?” His tone was excited, yet apprehensive.
“Yes, I have.”
“And?”
“And I have one question.”
“Okay, what it is?” His voice sounded more practical as he prepared for the worst.
“Will it only be you and I and the twins that are going to make this move, or will Anna and Joseph be joining us?”
“Do you want them to join us?”
“That’s a silly question. Of course, I would want them to be with us, Dominick. They're your parents and you haven’t really had the opportunity to work out the past with them yet, not fully anyway.” I stated, as I nudged his shoulder at such a ridiculous question.
He smiled, as he continued to trace the skin of my décolletage. “I’m glad you said that.”
“I don’t understand?”
Dominick propped himself up on one bent elbow to fully explain. “Rain, with everything that went on with my adoption and the other illegal adoptions that were perpetuated by Elise and Van Buren, I decided I want to make things right.”
“What do you mean by make things right? You were a baby, Dominick. You weren’t the cause of what happened. You and Daniel were victims and so were Anna and Joseph.”
“I know, Baby, but the truth is that I had a hard time coming to terms with it when I found out.”
“And rightfully so, your childhood was taken from you, Dominick…and Daniel. I would have been surprised if your reaction was anything less than what it was when Marcello brought you the news.”
“That’s why I’m anxious for your answer, Rain.”
“About moving here? What does moving here have to do with your adoption?”
“The Rome office of Kane and Medici is going to be focused strictly on family and adoption. It will be for couples that cannot have children and who would like to adopt or foster a child legally. We will also be an advocate for families and children that have been exploited by the Mr. Van Burens of the world and for families that are having a hard time and need legal assistance, but are unable to pay for it.”
The more Dominick spoke about the Rome office, the brighter his face became. I was so proud of him, and of what he wanted to do. If I knew my husband, he would work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of the families that hired him.
I began to quietly cry, but with the biggest smile on my face.
“Can I assume by your reaction that it’s a yes, Mrs. Kane?”
“Yes, Mr. Kane, definitely and unequivocally, it’s a yes.”
Dominick looked down, as he was overcome emotionally. He was humbled by my answer. “Thank you, Rain. I love you so much for accepting this.” He was deeply touched by my response.
“I love you, too and I’m so proud of you.”
How could I have not said yes to him?
This man, the father of my children, the love of my life had come a long way from where he started when we first met. The words had always been tough for me to say…when he first kidnapped me.
Dominick started out with the largest chip on his shoulder of anyone that I had ever met. His goal was revenge, to take what he thought rightfully belonged to him. Yet, once his plan was set into motion, neither he nor I were prepared for what would take place in the months to follow or dream of the outcome that became our life as a couple.
His calculated plan to take me and my refusal to relinquish control once taken, took us far beyond point A to point B. It pulled us into a world of self-discovery that we never had to face before. At times it was harder than we could have ever imagined. Other times it was more than we could have hoped for, but when it was all said and done, we finally ended up together.
In some extraordinary way, we were forever changed for the better, both of us.
The Epilogue
Dominick
It had been a year and a half since I took Rain Medici. Once I had her, I found out she was sick; I didn’t care. I kept her, regardless of what I discovered. I focused on her every vulnerability, her every weakness. I used what she loved most in the world to force her to play by my rules.
The one thing that I hadn’t anticipated was Rain, herself. She had an incredible passion for life, even though her own childhood for the most part, was suppressed by the people around her.
Their reasons were to keep her safe from the world she lived in. To protect her because she was ill. Their reasons were not unlike mine once I began to know Rain better and fall in love with her.
It may have seemed insane to most people
, but I wasn’t most people. I took her and made her mine.
Our life in that brief year had, for lack of a better term, a great deal of ups and downs. But we pulled through each one. From the beginning, when we denied our feelings to perhaps protect ourselves from being hurt by each other, to where we ended up today, there was so much we learned about who we were.
The Ties That Bind (Miss Taken Identity #3) Page 36
