Next to her on the chaise where she had decided to take her dinner instead of at the large table with the rest of the family—their week-long visit was coming to an end soon—Beni shot her a knowing grin. “You don’t look that huge.”
“Just a little huge, right?”
Her husband didn’t hesitate to lean across the chaise, his hand coming to rest at the top of her swell, while his mouth sought hers in a slow kiss that had August turning warm all over with every hungry sweep of his lips.
“You are perfect,” he murmured into their kiss.
Well ...
How could she argue with that?
Then, that warm sensation that had spread through her body focused between her legs. Except it was a rush. Or maybe gush would have been a better description.
August made a high-pitch squeak as she pulled away from Beni’s next kiss. “Beni?”
“Hmm?”
“My water just broke.”
Chaos ensued in the Guzzi mansion.
Because of course, it did.
• • •
Lea and Lila Guzzi came into the world on a mid-October evening, in a Canadian hospital, with their entire family waiting just down the hall to greet them. August’s mother and father made it just in time.
They were five pounds each. Healthy as could be despite being a little early. The perfect mix of her and Beni with hazy dark eyes and black curls.
She was exhausted.
Pregnancy had nothing on birth.
But her world was wonderful.
Right.
Everything she wanted.
MARCUS & CELLA: PART 5
36.
Marcus
“HOW did we manage to get your parents, my parents, one of your brothers, and mine all in the same place today?” Cella asked at Marcus’s right. “Sucks that Ren and Lucia are out of town ... I’ll call Liliana later to tell her, too, I guess. But hey, we didn’t do too bad, did we?”
“No, we didn’t.”
“But how did we do it?”
His chuckle overtook the noise coming from the speaker in the car, and the man broadcasting the terrible traffic they would soon face coming into New York City. Not that it was anything new or he expected anything less. One could always count on traffic being absolute shit in Manhattan. No matter what.
“Luck,” he replied.
Cella quirked a brow at that. “Luck?”
“I did have to threaten Corrado ... but that was mostly for him to behave and less about making sure he showed up. We don’t need his attitude today, do we?”
In the passenger seat of his BMW, Cella smiled in that sweet, knowing way of hers. “He can’t help that he goes into his moods.”
“He can help it today.”
“Marcus.”
He only shrugged in reply; his unspoken I said what I said clear in the action. He meant it, too.
She could be understanding and sympathetic if she wanted when it came to his brother and Corrado’s ... moods, as Cella put it. Marcus, on the other hand, planned for this day to go off without a single hitch in the plans. Including any attitude from Corrado that might do nothing more than make Cella frown.
She wouldn’t be doing anything but smiling while she delivered the news of their pregnancy to their families. The only thing on her mind would be the happiness of it all. Nothing less. He was quite aware that Cella was already nervous about this day, the dinner, and the announcement in general.
They were unmarried ... practically unheard of for men and women like them that came from the backgrounds and families they did. Not to mention, he was sure there would be a lot of questions bounced back from their families about when they planned to get married or living arrangements because they were still in two different countries. Questions were to be expected. It was still nerve-racking to answer them when, for the moment, they didn’t have every single answer.
But they still wanted to share their news.
And they were adults.
Fuck the rest.
They would figure it out.
At the same time, he was sure it was going to be fine. Everyone would be happy. There wasn’t any reason to think that wouldn’t be the case so whenever Cella dared to let one of her worries slip, that was exactly what he told her.
Everything would be fine.
“I think some of them—my mom, mostly,” Marcus grumbled lower when Cella shot a glance his way, “probably has an idea about what we’re going to tell them today, anyway.”
“Why?”
“Not because I said! I didn’t tell any secrets. I promised.”
The new voice from the backseat had Marcus grinning wide when he peered into the reflection of the rearview mirror. In her safety seat, Tiffany beamed back as proud as could be.
“Right, Marcus?” she asked.
“Right, you promised,” he agreed. “And you’ve been great about keeping the secret.” Even Cella turned a bit in her seat, putting her hand over her eyes to shield the glare of the late August sun coming in through the window. “You were perfect about it, baby.”
As always, when Tiffany was praised, she soaked that up like a sponge in water. Every last drop of it until she beamed in her seat, the pink in her cheeks matching the color of her summer dress and the bow in her blonde ponytail. There was nothing that kid liked more than being told she had done a good job.
Next to him, Cella cleared her throat to gain his attention as she shifted her hand to the side of her face so that her daughter couldn’t see what she mouthed to Marcus. “To be fair, we’ve also kept her very busy for the last month.”
He had to hold back the laughter.
She wasn’t wrong.
They had spent a lot of time searching for a doctor in New York that was also willing to work with a doctor in Toronto, as Cella would need physicians in both countries for a portion of the pregnancy if not all of it. At least until they figured out where they wanted the twins born and whether it would be possible.
Cella also had work to handle and clients. Marcus had famiglia business that never ended. Add in to all of that trying to make time for each other and getting Tiffany ready for the upcoming school year ... well, it was a lot. They didn’t stop moving or doing something, for that matter.
Not that he complained. Ever. Because he didn’t. Whatever it took for them to be together and happy, Marcus was willing to do it. In fact, he would be the first to step up and do it.
Cella only needed to ask.
He made that clear.
In no way did Marcus think everything would be easy for him and Cella. Especially not as they navigated the territory ahead of them with the pregnancy, getting married, moving ... more. But he was willing to do it. He would make it all happen for her.
Anything to be with her.
That’s what love was.
Right?
As though Cella could read his mind, and he believed that she could sometimes, she leaned across the space between their seats to press a quick kiss to the side of his cheek. It was really all she could afford on the busy freeway as he couldn’t take his gaze away from the road for too long to spare very much more.
Not that it stopped him from trying.
He turned to catch her lips with his own. Fast and fleeting. Her silken mouth barely grazed his, and he didn’t even get a proper taste of her with how fast it had been. And yet, it was still perfect, the imprint of her smile lingered on his own, and her heavenly perfume coating every breath he took was more than enough to sedate him.