Raw Bloody Power

Chapter 55

55

SANTA, BABY

Rio

“Where the hell are we going?” Ivory giggles as I drag her down the snow-slicked sidewalk.

She can’t see a thing, thanks to the blindfold I slid over her eyes when we snuck out of my parent’s house after Christmas dinner. I could’ve waited until tomorrow morning, let her see it in the daylight, but I’m too excited to wait another minute.

“One more second, hold on.” Once we’re in the right place, I situate her exactly where I want her and press my chest to her back. “Okay, so to be clear, this is one of three presents. The other two are inside, but you have to find them.”

“Do I get to phone a friend or use another lifeline if I can’t, Regis?” she quips.

“Your only lifeline is me, baby girl, and I may or may not be willing to help. Depends on how nicely you ask. Are you ready?”

Ivory nods, and from one moment to the next, I remove the silk blindfold. She gasps as expected, hands shooting over her mouth as she takes in the building before her.

The new Sweet Cheeks.

Same location I burnt to a crisp six months ago. I tried to recreate as much as possible from the pink neon sign to the traditional brickwork and striped awning over the door. But I also wanted it to feel new, to be better than what I so carelessly damaged.

“Rio…” she breathes in disbelief, reaching back for me. “When…how?”

Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I nuzzle into her neck and burn a kiss into its slope. “Don’t worry about the logistics. Just tell me you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!” Pivoting in my embrace, she squeezes me so tightly, I almost can’t breathe. “It’s perfect, Crow. Thank you.”

“You haven’t even seen the inside yet,” I chuckle.

“I don’t need to. I know it’s perfection.”

The way she smiles at me makes all the stress of getting this done on time so fucking worth it.

“Well, you do need to because the other two presents are inside, remember?”

“What could be better than this?” She motions at the building with an impatient hand. “I’ve been putting off deciding on a new location for what feels like a century. They were all great, but none stood up to the OG. And now here it is, better than before I should add. ”

“I’m glad you think so.” My lips curl as she inches up on the tips of her toes to kiss me. “Let’s go inside then, shall we?”

Like the exterior, the inside holds some similarity to the original design. I made sure the walls were painted in that godawful pink she loves so much and had her mom put together a framed collage filled with images of her grandmother through the years. There’s even that little bell above the door she was so fond of.

Ivory holds back tears as she takes in every detail, spinning around slowly and undoubtedly committing it all to memory. When she spots the photos of her grandmother, that bottom lip I love biting at quivers, but she holds it together and makes her way around the counter for a better look.

“Let me guess, my mom got these for you?” she asks, gently rubbing her glove-clad fingers against the glass.

“She did. I told her to pick all of her favorites.”

“I love it, Crow. So much, seriously. That floral vine wall behind the tables is genius.”

“Lucia’s suggestion actually,” I admit, shoving my hands into my pockets. “She said it’s very Instagrammable.”

My girl offers a hushed laugh and bobs her head in agreement. “She would be correct. I can’t believe she knew about this and didn’t tell me. My mom, too.”

“They were under strict orders not to.”

“Of course they were.” Pursing her lips, she trails to the end of the counter and removes her gloves, summoning me closer. “So about these other gifts…where should I look? ”

“Can’t tell you.” I flash her a devilish grin. “Get to looking.”

Ivory tilts her head aside, lips still curled. “At least tell me if I’m hot or cold.”

“In here? Arctic.”

“To the back we go,” she beams. Grabbing my hand enthusiastically, she yanks me through the kitchen doors and begins the search, tearing through cabinets.

Drawers.

The refrigerators and freezers.

“Cold… Warmer… Warmer… Getting pretty hot there, Petal,” I instruct from my perch against the steel work tables. “Hotter… Hotterrr… Scorching.”

The word fits, considering the gift sits inside one of the ovens. She rips through each one until she finds the long, rectangular box.

“You know you didn’t have to get me anything else right? This,” she waves a hand in the air, “was more than enough.”

“Just open it, Princess,” I insist, because if I could give her the whole world, I would.

She obliges without another word, her gaze falling upon what lays inside. With a gentle finger, she traces the details and, after a moment, cocks a brow at me. “Two-two-four? What does that mean?”

It’s a twenty-four karat gold necklace with the numbers 224 in a gothic typeface directly in the center.

Pushing off the table, I wind my way around her and gather her hair over one shoulder. “Think one-four-three. ”

“That means I love you,” she says pensively, passing me the necklace.

“Exactly. Along those lines.”

Ivory contemplates this for a long moment, several actually, holding the pendant to the top of her sternum where the rose from her old necklace already lays. “I’m drawing a blank here, babe.”

“One-four-three. I love you,” I murmur in her ear, locking the clasp and smoothing it out against the back of her neck. “Two-two-four. Today, tomorrow, forever.”

Twirling around, she throws her arms around me in nothing short of adoration and gifts me that bright megawatt smile. “When did you turn into such a romantic?”

I shrug noncommittally and arch her back in a quick dip. “Have to make sure I’m your favorite book boyfriend.”

Squealing at the unexpected move, she clings to me and sets her lips to the tip of my nose. “You’re better than my book boyfriends. Real, and mine, and just as nasty as they are—if not more.”

“Definitely more.” Pulling her upright, I grab two handfuls of her ass with purpose. “All right, last one. You ready?”

“Crow, seriously, this is all too?—”

“Don’t fight me, please . Just let me have this. It’s our first Christmas together in a long ass time.”

Just a year ago, I never would’ve thought we’d have another one. Shit, even five years ago. Much less a holiday with our families blended.

United.

Dino included after being exonerated with Nadia’s help.

“Fineee,” she concedes. “But when I go overboard next year, I don’t wanna hear a single word about it.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Are you going to make me search again or are you gonna be nice and tell me where it is? If we don’t get back to the house soon, they’re all gonna flip their shit.”

“I was gonna have you look for it, yes, but fair point. I’m surprised my mom hasn’t called me already.” Leading her back to the front of the bakery, I tip my head toward the till. ”In there.”

Curiosity is etched on Ivory’s face as she opens the drawer and the little black box tucked in one of the empty bill slots stares back at her. She wastes no time and pulls off the lid, amplifying her curiosity further. “A key? For what? The bakery?”

Nope.

Reaching into my coat pocket, I pull out my phone and open up the photo gallery. “Come here.”

She struts over and peers at my screen as I angle it in her direction. “What’s this?”

“You remember the house I was flipping?”

“The one in Garden City?”

“Mhmm. This is it,” I explain, hoping she’ll pick up what I’m putting down.

And she does. I swear I can see the little lightbulb in her head go off and all. “What are you saying?”

“That it’s ours, Petal. I’m not selling it.”

I think I always knew I wouldn’t. I remember the night Dino got arrested, I was seconds away from telling Alvaro it would make a good family home when Dino’s call came through. Not sure why I was contemplating such things then, but I guess deep down I just knew Ivory and I would be endgame. There’s a reason she’s the only woman I’ve ever loved. She’s not just mine.

She’s my forever.

Ivory tips her head back to look me in the eye, her expression as lit up, if not more, as when I unveiled the bakery. “You’re joking….”

“Not remotely,” I counter, effortlessly catching her when she climbs me like a tree and setting her onto the counter.

“Are you asking me to move in with you, Mr. Guerra?” Her grin is infectious, legs locking around my waist.

“Oh, I plan to ask you much more than that, baby… But for right now—yes.”