He shakes his head, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I was planning on giving you your gift at home, but I guess now is as good a time as any.” He takes his black sweater off, leaving him in a white tank top undershirt.
My eyes widen, and I chuckle nervously. “You know, I brought champagne to christen this place. I should have known that you had other plans in mind.” I bite my lower lip at the thought of Tony taking me right here on top of the bar.
Tony says nothing as he reaches behind his neck with his right hand and pulls off his undershirt in one swift motion.
My eyes greedily eat up every inch of him until I gasp.
My eyes land on tape covering what I think is a bandage on the left side of his ribcage. Tony’s arm is down, so I can’t get a good look. Before I can take a step closer, Tony raises a hand for me to stay put. “Corazón… do you know what that word means in Spanish?”
“Heart,” I whisper.
He nods once. “I’ve been calling you that since we were at The Barlowe. Do you know why?”
I scrunch my nose. “Because it’s a pet name. Like calling memi amor?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. But I hope you know that the moment I met you, you stole mine. I’ve walked around this earth for over seven years with my heart in the palm of your hands.”
“Tony,” I whisper as my eyes water.
“Yet the main reason I’ve been calling you corazón is because you said something that struck me while we were on the island. You said that you’ve always felt like you weren’t a complete version of something. And up until that moment, I realized that I felt the same way too.” He lifts his left arm, revealing a clear wrap around a fresh tattoo.
My tattoo.
My jaw drops as he continues.
“It’s one-half of a heart.” With a jagged zigzag running down the middle, just like mine.
“I know you initially got this because of my sister.” He pauses, his eyes boring into mine. “But you’re my best friend too, Nikki.” His eyes mist. “And it didn’t seem fair that you’re still walking around with my whole heart… so I inked a piece of yours on myself.”
I’m rooted in place, shocked to my very core.
He steps close enough for me to get a better view of his tattoo, though it’s barely visible through my tears.
I fear hurting his fresh ink, so I lower his arm and bury my face in his chest. He cradles the back of my head like he always does and kisses the top of my head.
After taking a few moments to regulate my breathing, I place a chaste kiss over his heart, then look up to meet his gaze. “I love you so much, Tony.”
His eyes blink for a moment longer than normal as he takes a deep breath. “I love you too, corazón.” He pulls me into a tender kiss, and I can feel my heart swell with his lips on mine.
Before we get too carried away, I pull back. “Wait, there’s one more thing I forgot to tell you!”
He pins me with a look. “If it doesn’t involve me setting you on this bar and making you mine, it can wait.”
He makes a move for me, but I put a hand on his bare chest. “I’m serious!” I laugh but hop onto the bar anyway. Not like I don’t know exactly how this conversation will end. “There’s a reason Evan bought the whole block.” I smile widely at the idea. “There is a whole row of brownstones at the end. He said it’s up to us what we want to do with them, but I was thinking we could move into one? Make it our home? That way, you could walk to work. And we could figure out if we wanted to sell or rent the others, but really, I was hoping we could move your dad into the smaller one that only has two levels. He’s getting older, and it might be nice to have him close. Plus, Amelia and I already secretly schemed for her to take one as well, so we can live out our dream of being neighbors. I know she already has one on the Upper West Side, but rich people have multiple homes and all that.” I laugh while trying to catch my breath. I’m rambling. “But there’s this large one on the corner that has views of the city from the rooftop. And there’s a cute little backyard and lots of rooms…” I cup his face with my hand. “And maybe one day we can put all that extra space to good use and fill it up with what I’m sure will be massive babies.”
The rest of my speech dies on my lips as Tony slams his mouth over mine while stepping forward to stand between my open legs. “God dammit, woman. I already said you won Valentine’s Day,” he growls into my mouth.
I giggle and wink. “Just making sure I maintain the top spot.” I pepper his jaw and cheeks with kisses. “So what do you say, caveman? Wanna make a new home with me?”
“I wanna do forever with you.” And he seals our fate with a kiss.
Epilogue
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Antonio
I must have the patience of a monk.
