"So? What does it say?" He'd been staring at the test for an eternity and still hadn't told me the result. With a sigh, he looked my way and let go of his hair.

"It's just one line baby. I think that means it's negative."

"Oh."

Alex extended his hand and helped me stand up. I glanced at the test and indeed, it was only just one line. Negative. I wasn't pregnant.

"It's okay," he said, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. "It's for the best right now, Eileen. You know that."

"I guess so. It's probably just the stress of what's going on that delayed my period," I said.

I tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment that I felt at the result. Perhaps it was stupid of me to want another child at the moment, but I had felt excited at the possibility.

"We can go to the doctor if you'd like, Eileen. They can do a blood test." Alex pressed his forehead against mine, cradling my face in his hands. "Besides, they recommended you start the pill when you get your period and that still hasn't happened."

I smiled. It was endearing how much attention he'd paid to the doctor when we went to my appointment a week ago. He had asked so many questions that I could tell that the doctor was amused. She had said that not even the pregnant women she saw asked that many questions.

"You're so sweet," I said, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "I did kind of want it to be a positive."

"I know babe, it's okay. We'll have our chance soon." Alex gave me a small smile before lifting me up over his shoulder.

"Alex!" I squealed when he threw me on the bed playfully. "What are you doing?"

"Well, we need to have sex," he said, as he removed his clothes. "I don't know why get dressed if we're just going to take everything off," he muttered.

"Care to explain why?" I asked, enjoying his cheerful behavior.

"Well, first of all," he said as he crawled over on top of me, "I need to celebrate that even though you're not pregnant, you've given me a beautiful daughter. Second, you have that issue with your boobs which I plan to resolve immediately. And last but not least, just because you're not pregnant it doesn't mean we can't begin to practice."

I giggled like a school girl and kissed him. He smiled against my lips, biting the bottom one gently.

"Now my lady, will you please remove your clothes?"

"Will you be busy today?" I asked Lucas. I was nervous, so fucking nervous.

Lucas shrugged, leaning back on his chair. He always had a way of seeming so calm, unless he was pissed off.

"Depends. What do you need?"

"I need you to go with me somewhere," I said, letting out a deep breath. "I'm going to do something and I don't know how to do it, so I need you to help me," I was aware I probably sounding crazy. I was talking much faster than the usual. Lucas narrowed his eyes at me, but noticing my unease agreed to go with me.

I went upstairs only to find Angie watching coloring on the bed while Eileen slept.

"Hey princess," I said to Angie.

"Daddy Alex!"

She'd started calling me that since she told me she wanted me to be her dad. It didn't take much for me to get used to it, she had all of us wrapped around her finger. To Angie, her family was perfect. She had grandfather or papa back, she had a crazy Uncle Luke, and she now had me as a father.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, sitting next to Eileen's sleeping form. I placed a kiss on her forehead, making her stir but soon she settled, sighing sleepily.

"I'm coloring while mommy sleeps. She fell asleep while I watched Frozen again," she said scrunching up her nose.

"She's just tired, princess. Do you want to go with Luke and I somewhere?"

She immediately shook her head, making me chuckle.

"Okay, princess. Are you going to be good for your mommy?"

"Yes, I'm just going to keep coloring so I can give it to her when she wakes up," she said with a wide grin.

I returned her smile, placing a kiss on her forehead. As much as I wanted Eileen to rest, I knew I needed to wake her up before leaving her alone with Angie.

"I'll be back in an hour or so, babe," I said, placing a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. Her sleepy eyes fluttered open, a small smile gracing her face.

"Mmm.. Where are you going?" she asked, her voice coming out heavy with sleep.

"I need to run an errand, babe. I won't take long, I'll lock all the doors. Be sure to check who it is before you open the door to anyone, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, always annoyed that I reminded her. "Yes, sir."

I stood up. It was the same routine every time I left. The fear of something happening to them was always there. We would never be in complete peace until Gerald was dead. Not behind bars, where he could pay someone off to let him free. Not even dead would he pay for what he did to Eileen.

He was good though, keeping under the radar. Worse of all was that he had some crooked cops covering his tracks. It eased my concern that Eileen was more comfortable shooting now. She was a natural, perhaps given to the fact that her father was a cop. Lucas knew way too much about weapons already, so whenever he was with her I wasn't worried at all.

We'd decided to take Angie out of Sherman's Academy by the end of the month and home school, at least until the end of the school year. Eileen would be worried the whole time Angie was gone, and I wasn't any better. I'd call three times during the day just to make sure that she was okay and nothing suspicious was happening. There was no suggestion that Gerald knew of Angie's existence, but that was a risk I was not willing to take.

"Where are we going?" Luke asked, after ten minutes in silence.

"Just wait." I wasn't willing to tell him yet. He'd start giving me shit because he doesn't quite understand the significance of what Eileen and I have.

"She's calling me again," he said after a long pause. I sighed, running my hand through my hair. Luke just couldn't seem to get away from his past.

"What does she want now?"

"Same as always," he muttered with a shrug. "Simmons called me too."

"Fuck," I hissed. As much as we'd tried to keep Luke distant from the shady relations that his parents had before, it always seemed to follow him.

"I think I need to move out of the house," he said finally. "You have Eileen and Angie now, and I don't want this shit following them too. When it was just us two, I could deal with that you know? But they're innocent and have been through enough to have this load to carry."

I shook my head. Despite how annoying he was, Luke was my brother. We'd grown up together; I would never turn my back on him.

"No. We'll find a way. Maybe now that Raymond is around he-"

"Fuck Raymond," Luke said, not allowing me to finish. "I don't need his fucking help. He couldn't help Eileen when she needed him-"

"He's not a bad man," I told him. "He fucked up, and he knows it. He'll pay for it for the rest of his life, but if Eileen isn't holding it against him then neither should we."

"Eileen is too good."

She was. Her soul was pure, innocent, even with the hell she'd lived through. That was perhaps what was most admirable of her - she held no hate against her father. Luke saw that, but the pain from his past didn't allow him to tolerate any type of injustice towards a child, much less someone in Eileen's circumstances.

"I'll give you money to keep them away," I said after thinking for a moment. "That'll buy us some time to see what we can do about them."

"Money's not the issue, you know that, Alex. They don't want money. Maybe she does, but Simmons? He just cares that his boss doesn't kill him off. I'm the one keeping him alive."

I nodded. He was right, but we had to find a way to get him out of this.

We arrived at our destination. Marty was already waiting here for us, and when Luke saw where we were, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Holy shit. A jewelry store? You're buying her a ring?"

I nodded. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be with Eileen, and it was time to buy her that ring. I also wanted to adopt Angie- she deserved to know that she was my daughter not only by heart, but also by the law. I didn't want anyone to tell her otherwise. With Raymond's approval, all I needed was Luke's and Marty's help choosing a ring.

Marty's because he was like a father to me, and Luke, well, he was blatantly honest about everything.

"My boys," Marty greeted us both with a hug.

"How are you, Marty?" Luke asked, placing his arm over Marty's shoulder. "How's that cafe of you doing without Eileen?"

Marty huffed. "It's hell. She'd eat all the pastries, but she was a lot of help."

Marty turned to me, patting my shoulder. "I'm so happy you're doing this, Alexander. I am very proud of you. You couldn't have chosen a better woman."

There was rings everywhere, of all prices. There was some where the stones were big, others where the stone was so small you couldn't even notice one was there. Eileen deserved all the diamonds in the world, and yet, I knew that she wouldn't want that.

She deserved something with significance. I knew she still had the bracelet I'd given to her when we first met. I didn't have any significant jewelry from my parents, everything had been buried with them. But I knew that the bracelet that I had given her when I first spoke to her was the start of everything. She still had it, though she didn't wear it often.

Eileen didn't need a huge diamond to know how much I loved her.

"That one," I said to the jeweler.

I pointed to a ring with a diamond stone in the middle. On each side of it was a butterfly, much like the ones on the bracelet that I had given her. It was simple but I knew she'd love it. Eileen had transformed before my eyes, from a scarred person, to a beautiful woman who was learning to spread her wings and that was exactly what the butterflies symbolized.

"What do you think?" I asked both Marty and Luke.

Marty nodded in agreement, with tears in his eyes. He was more excited that my father would have ever been. Luke was grinning from ear to ear.

"Jesus Christ. Never thought I'd see the day you'd whip out a diamond," he muttered. "Congratulations, Alex."

"She hasn't said yes yet," I said, placing the ring on the counter.

"She will," Marty and Luke said in unison.

I looked around the jewelry store in search of something more. Marrying Eileen would also unite me permanently to Angie, and I wanted her to know that I was making a compromise with her as well. There were many ways I could do that, but I wanted her to always have a reminder of the love I had for her.

"Could you please engrave this on that necklace?" I asked the jeweler.

The woman glanced down at the piece of paper in which I had written the special words I had reserved for Angela. When she read it, she smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

It wasn't hard to make this decision. From the start, I knew that Eileen would change my life. She always said that I'd helped her, but she would never realize how much she'd helped me grow. Eileen had taught me much more than I would have ever been able to teach her and she didn't even know it.

I'd wanted to kiss her from the first time I saw her, but everything turned into so much more.

I never stood a chance.

Proposal aleerttt!!! ❤❤❤

Our Moretti is deeply in LOVE.

And what exactly is Lucas dealing with? Who is "she" and who is Simmons?

I am debating whether or not to publish the first chapter of Luke's story "The Lesson" Let me know your thoughts!

Enjoy this chapter and the next. Things don't always stay this nice.