A MERRY MAFIA CHRISTMAS (GxG)

LVIII

January 20th

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MIRACLE'S POV

Being alive was something I felt the need to be grateful for every single day that I woke up and drew a breath.

It was something that I learned was a privilege, not a right.

And while something died in me when Diana shot a bullet through my body—something else sprung to life in its place.

Oddly enough, that day pivoted my entire life for the better.

And even better, Armani and I were closer than we'd ever been.

Of course, security was severely heightened and Armani wouldn't go thirty minutes without checking in on me—but it all became our new normal.

We were insanely lucky to even be alert to the threat, and have an opportunity to fix it without losing each other.

It allowed me to make it to another birthday, showered in gifts by Armani and her family—and it also allowed me another chance at life... to do it right this time.

"What do you think Mira?" Stella drifted me from my thoughts as she drizzled syrup over her fluffy french toast.

I looked around the long table, Idalia was seated between both Dominico and Emilia, Stella was seated next to Alessandro, and I was seated beside Armani who had her arm draped over the back of my chair as she sipped her coffee.

The snowy mountains were seen distantly through the large windows of the estate in Aspen we were currently staying in for the Varese's normally scheduled ski trip.

"What do I think...?" I asked, taking a bite of my french toast that was topped with blueberries and syrup.

Stella chuckled, "About the slopes? I assume you zoned out?" she said, her tone light and joking.

Dominico sat his fork down, "We've already done most of the slopes, so I say we do something different today."

"No, we haven't done the sugarbush yet!" Idalia called out.

Emilia hummed, shaking her head, "That's too advanced for you," she said, which earned a frown from Idalia.

I reciprocated her frown, hating even the mere sight of her upset, "I'll tell you what—I can go down it today, and I'll make sure to capture it on the Go Pro so you can watch it and experience it too."

Idalia nodded quickly, wiping the sticky syrup from her lips, "Yes—can we do that? Please!"

Armani laughed, shaking her head, "Count on Miracle to always give in," she said, pressing a brief kiss to my temple. "You're worse than me."

I chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Stella clasped her hands together, "So I say we head into town first, do some shopping, and then get geared up for the slopes," she said, which earned an amused smile from Alessandro.

"How did I know you were going to mention shopping?" Alessandro joked, which earned a playful eye roll from Stella.

Dominico chuckled, "Because she's mentioned it every day we've been here," he said, pointing his fork at Stella, who only narrowed her eyes.