“Enjoying the silence before the storm,” I joked, but fuck, it sounded off.
Luca narrowed his eyes. “How’s Gianna?”
“The baby’s moving a lot so she can’t sleep well,” I said.
“It’s only four weeks now, then you’ll have your nights to yourself again.”
I glowered at Luca. “I get it. You’ll have the sleepless nights then because you have to raise our baby, no need to rub it in.”
Luca leaned back in the chair. “I see the pregnancy hormones are rubbing off on you.”
I didn’t say anything because I was a fucking mess right now and would only talk more bullshit if I opened my mouth.
“Matteo,” Luca said slowly. “It’s not like you and Gianna have to give the baby to us. If you’d rather keep it, then…”
“Then what? Then you’re happy? Is this your way of telling me that you don’t want to raise my fucking kid?”
Luca pushed to his feet and gripped me by the shirt, jerking me to my feet. I grabbed his wrist tightly. “Now listen up, you asshole,” he growled. “Stop twisting my words in my fucking mouth. I’ll raise your kid like my own if that’s what you and Gianna want.”
“And what does my Capo want?” I provoked him further. I was on a roll.
His hold tightened. “Right now, I want you to pull your head out of your fucking ass and act like a man, not a fucking pussy. If you want to be a father for that kid, then tell Gianna that’s what you want and maybe the both of you finally grow up and act like fucking adults and not like horny teenagers.”
I jerked out of his hold and swung my fist at him, punching him square in the jaw. Luca stumbled a step back, looking fucking stunned for a second and then he lunged at me. We shoved and hit each other. The chairs tumbled to the ground and something broke.
“What the fuck?” Romero shouted as he stormed out, gun drawn, He tried to get between us but Luca shoved him back, sending him flying into the table. Then Luca was on me again.
Cold water hit us square in the faces. We jerked away from each other but the stream didn’t stop. “Fuck!” Luca snarled. I blinked, trying to see through the fog the liquid had cast over my eyes.
The water was turned off and my eyes landed on Aria in a nightgown, looking furious while holding a water hose in our direction. I turned to Luca once more, who was breathing harshly and glaring at me. He seemed as reluctant to stop this fight as I was.
“One move and I’ll turn the water on again,” Aria warned.
“Holy shit,” Amo exclaimed from inside the house as he stumbled toward us in pj’s. Marcella stood behind him with wide but curious eyes. Lily gave us a reproachful look before she tugged her little girl away from the scene. Sara was definitely too young for this shitshow.
Romero straightened with a glare, shoving his gun into the pocket of his sweatpants. “What the fuck was that? You woke the kids.” With a shake of his head he went inside to help Lily.
Aria put down the hose, then turned to her children. “Go upstairs.”
Marcella did without protest but Amo came outside. “Wow, that was cool. I thought you’d pull knives on each other.”
“Amo,” Aria said firmly. “Upstairs now.”
One look at her expression and he turned on his heel, grumbling. She stepped between Luca and me. “What’s gotten into you?”
Luca rubbed his chin where a bruise was forming. My cheek was throbbing fiercely where he’d punched me. “Nothing,” we said at the same time.
“Nothing?” Aria repeated. “Oh, okay, so you just beat each other for fun?”
“We had a difference of opinion.”
Aria shook her head, then her eyes moved back to the living room where Gianna had appeared. She joined us on the terrace, taking in the mess we’d made. We’d broken two flowerpots and thrown over all of the chairs, not to mention that we were dripping wet thanks to Aria.
Gianna’s red brows puckered. “What the hell went on here?”
“They had a discussion with their fists,” Aria muttered.
“Aren’t you too old to brawl like boys?”
“If you ask Luca, I’m like a fucking teenager.”
Luca took a step in my direction but Aria stepped in his way and hit his chest in warning. “Stop it, good Lord.”
He lowered his gaze to her. “Someone needs to beat the shit out of his head.”
“And someone needs to kick the arrogance out of your arrogant Capo ass,” I said.
Luca smiled coldly. “At least, I own up to my responsibilities and don’t run from them.”
“Luca!” Aria shouted.
Gianna’s eyes widened, her face flashing with guilt.
Fuck him. I staggered toward him. “Shut the fuck up.” I shoved him over Aria’s shoulder.
She gave me an indignant look. “Stop it.”
I stared into my brother’s eyes. “Don’t act all high and mighty, Luca. You’ve had your fair share of fuck-ups. I, at least, never cheated on my wife.”
Fury flashed in Luca’s eyes. Oh, I had him. He pushed Aria to the side, out of the way, and grabbed me by the throat, but I had expected the move and rammed my elbow into his throat. He coughed but didn’t release me. I rammed my elbow upward once more hitting him under the chin and jerked out of his grip, spluttering.
And then we were at each other’s throats again. Hands clasped at me, and then a high-pitched cry sounded. Luca and I both froze. Luca jerked back, his eyes scanning the floor, and he fell to his knees beside Aria who sat on her backside, cradling her wrist, grimacing.
“Love, I’m fucking sorry. Are you hurt?”
My own eyes sought Gianna who held her hand protectively over her belly, standing a few steps back. “You almost hit my belly,” she said angrily.
“Fuck. I’m sorry,” I rasped as I moved toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, and her eyes moved to her sister. Luca was moving Aria’s hand up and down gently, looking guilty as hell, and I felt like the biggest asshole in the world for letting it get that far, for wanting to let it get that far. I’d wanted to fight someone, had wanted to punch and hurt, and Luca could pack a punch like no one else. Fuck. He only wanted to help me and Gianna.
“I’m fine,” Aria said firmly. “It’s not broken, just bruised.”
Luca kissed her wrist, then her palm before he leaned forward and kissed her lips. Fuck, my brother was one of the craziest, cruelest, most brutal assholes I had the fortune of knowing, and yet he made his marriage work, and was a fucking great father.
And what about me? I couldn’t even take care of one kid.
Gianna nudged me lightly. “Hey, what’s wrong? Is it because you felt the baby kick?”
“The baby kicked?” Aria asked excitedly from the ground. She let Luca pull her to her feet and came over.
“It is still,” Gianna said. “It’s going crazy today. You can feel it.”
I took a step back as Aria rested her palm against Gianna’s belly, then smiled brightly. “My God, it seems to be step dancing in there.” She peered over her shoulder at Luca. “You have to feel that.”
I took another step back. Luca watched me closely.
“Go ahead, you should really feel it,” I said quietly. “I need to cool my fucking cheek. Don’t want a bruise to ruin my good looks.”
I turned and headed inside but not in the direction of the bathroom, instead I headed for the study where I grabbed a glass of Brandy. I felt like shit and not because of the pain in my face and ribs. I’d had worse injuries. No, my insides were burning up with emotions I didn’t understand. I downed my Brandy, hissing as the alcohol burned a trail down my throat, then filled my glass again.
“One for me as well,” Luca said as he stepped inside and closed the door. I filled another glass without a word and handed it to him, before downing my second. I hadn’t been shitfaced since I’d found out about Gianna’s pregnancy, wanting to be ready in case she needed me, but today felt like the perfect day to drink myself into oblivion.
“Did you feel the kid move?” I asked neutrally.
“No,” Luca said.
“Why not? You should have. The kid is a wild one. It kicked my palm really strong.” I fell silent, remembering this moment, and knowing it was better to forget it quickly.
Luca stepped up to me and downed his own drink. “I’ll say this once and it better get through your thick vain skull. You’ll be a great father to that kid. You’ll love it and protect it, and you’ll cherish every fucking second you spend with it.”
I glanced up. “I’m not going to be its father.”
“Yes, you are,” Luca said. “Because I won’t be, and Aria won’t be its mother. You and Gianna are going to raise this kid, understood?”
I frowned. “Listen, you might be Capo, but that’s not something you can demand. We got a deal.”
Luca smiled darkly. “You want to raise this kid, and you will, and now you take that pretty face out of my view and talk to your bitchy redhead, and straighten things out while I figure out a way to break the news to Aria, and then I will knock her up so we get our own kid.”
I stared at my brother. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.” But his words had lifted the heavy weight that had rested on my shoulders since we’d agreed to have Aria and Luca take the baby. Yet, Gianna didn’t want to be a mother, and I wouldn’t force her. I wanted Gianna to be happy more than anything else. I wouldn’t limit her freedoms even more than they already were, and being a mom would restrain her more than me.
A knock sounded and Gianna poked her head in. “I need to talk to you.”
Luca gave me a look before he set the glass down on the desk and moved toward the door. He stopped briefly beside Gianna and muttered something but I didn’t catch what it was. He closed the door, leaving us alone. Gianna frowned at the door then slowly turned to me. For a moment we only looked at each other and didn’t move. Fuck, how was I supposed to tell her that I wanted this kid, that I wanted to raise it with her at my side?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gianna
Iwatched Matteo stalk away.
“Luca?” Aria asked hesitantly. “Don’t you want to feel the baby?”
Luca tore his eyes away from the spot where Matteo had been not too long ago and walked up to her, touching her cheek. “Not now, Love. Let me have a word with Matteo to straighten things out.”
“No fighting,” she warned.
He kissed her mouth and left.
Lily joined us on the terrace, wrapped in a thick bathrobe which couldn’t cover up her huge belly anymore. Hers was even bigger than mine and I already felt like a wrecking ball. “What a way to wake up.”
“Yeah, it’s a miracle that they don’t fight more often considering all the alpha male dominance they have going on,” I muttered.
Aria laughed but it was strained.
Lily touched my shoulder but I took her hand and rested it against my stomach. She smiled brightly. “Oh! That’s wonderful. You’re baking a little hothead.” She caught herself and glanced between Aria and me.
I gave her a small smile.
“You know that Matteo wants to raise this baby as his own, right?” Aria said suddenly.
Lily gave her a look but I could tell that they had talked about it before. The thought that they had discussed Matteo and me before didn’t sit well with me.
I stared down at my belly that I was still cradling. Ignoring a painful truth was something I was surprisingly good at.
“I know,” I admitted. “I can see it when he looks at my belly.” When he’d felt Peanut kick for the very first time, the wistful look in his eyes had almost killed me.
“Oh,” Aria said. She searched my face. “But you never talked about it?”
I shook my head. I’d always considered myself brave but this time I was a despicable coward. Too scared of what Matteo would say.
She frowned. I could see a hint of disapproval on Aria’s face but she didn’t say anything. Sometimes I wished she’d rage and scream at me. Maybe I needed it.
“Why?” Lily asked gently.
“I don’t know…” It wasn’t the truth but I was a coward. I was terrified that Matteo’s longing would mirror a feeling deep inside of me I didn’t want to allow.
“Is it because you don’t want the baby?” Lily prodded.
Aria was oddly quiet and she wasn’t looking at me. She and Luca had always wanted a third kid and they had stopped trying because they were supposed to adopt my kid. Hell, she’d been happier about my pregnancy than me in these last few months. If I wanted to keep the child now, how would she feel? They’d prepared a nursery for my child. She’d hidden from the public for months to keep up our charade. All for me and Matteo and Peanut. Could I take that from her?
This was a mess, one I wasn’t sure I could get out of.
Aria met my gaze. “You want the child as well, Gianna.”
I stared at her. “No… I mean… I don’t know.”
She touched my chest over my heart. “You have four weeks, maybe less, decide if you really still want to be nothing but an aunt for this child. Listen to your heart, Gianna, and then make your decision, be sure of it. Please, if you know deep down that you want this child, then say it before it’s born. Don’t let me and Luca act like its parents, only to take that from us. Because, of course, we would always give you your baby back but it would rip our hearts out.” She stepped back, turned and left.
As I watched her, I started crying. Lily wrapped her arms around me sideways because our bellies didn’t allow anything else, kissing my cheek. “You already made up your mind, didn’t you?”
I closed my eyes and nodded, my hand touching my belly. “I’m always making such a mess of things. That’s the only thing I’m good at.”
“Shhh. Aria and Luca will understand. They will be happy for you and Matteo.”
“But they want another kid. They stopped trying because of me. And now they don’t get my baby. They wasted almost a year because of me.”
“They will understand, Gianna. Aria is a mother. She knows what it does to a woman to feel your baby move inside you. This is your baby. It always was.” I buried my face in Lily’s neck and she stroked my hair. “And Aria will be pregnant in no time, I’m sure. The last two she got pregnant without really trying and when you got pregnant, she’d only stopped taking the pill two months before. Next year she’ll have her own baby.”
She pulled back with a soft smile. “Now go talk to Matteo.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Lily.”