I touched her chin. “No lying.”
She gave a nod then she slid off me and dashed away.
I chuckled.
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger,” Aria said with a laugh then kissed my collarbone and chest.
“Like her mother.”
Aria raised her eyebrows and I kissed her mouth before I touched her belly. “How is he?”
Her expression softened further. “Amo’s kicking up a storm. He’s more active than Marcella was. He’ll be a little daredevil.”
I nodded as I stroked Aria’s belly, wondering how difficult he’d be. If he were like Matteo, we’d have our hands full. I still worried about the way I’d handle him. With Marcella I felt such a strong sense of protectiveness, I’d never be able to punish her harshly, but a boy? A boy who pushed my buttons and needed to be strong for the Famiglia.
“Stop worrying,” Aria said gently.
I sighed. “You know me too well. I’m not sure I like it.”
Aria propped herself up on my chest. “You love it.”
She was fucking right. I loved that Aria knew me better than anyone else, but I still tried to keep certain things from her—like the extent of my concerns about having a boy.
“I like Amo better every day,” I said to distract her.
Aria beamed. When she’d first suggested the name, I had hesitated because it wasn’t a very common name in our circles but then I’d figured that it was for the best. I wanted Amo to be special, wanted him to be better than Matteo and I, than everyone else. A better Capo and man than any Vitiello before him.
Aria
The pressure in my lower belly had gotten increasingly worse through the night. My due date was in three days. Staring up to the dark ceiling, I wondered if I should wake Luca but I worried that this was only a false alarm. He’d had a hard day and needed sleep. A strong contraction made me flinch and I cradled my baby bump, pressing my lips together.
Luca stirred beside me. “What’s wrong, love?”
“It’s probably nothing. I didn’t want to wake you. But I’m having contractions.”
Luca turned on the lights at once then rolled around to me with worried eyes. He touched my belly lightly as if he thought it would explode if he put too much pressure on it. “Should we drive to the hospital?”
If this wasn’t the real deal, we would spend hours in the hospital for nothing and Luca would lose a whole night of sleep. “I don’t think—”
Another, a stronger contraction cut me off and I panted, my fingers digging into the bedsheets.
Luca shook his head. “We’re going now.”
I could only nod. Luca helped me get out of bed and called Matteo while I got dressed in a summer dress, merely because it was comfy and could be taken off without hassle.
“Mom?” Marcella called from her room. “Dad?”
“I’ll get Marcella,” Luca said and disappeared before returning with our little girl on his arm, who was half-hidden behind her favorite teddy bear.
“You’ll be cold in this,” Luca commented when he saw what I was wearing.
I shook my head. “Trust me, being cold will be the last thing on my mind soon.”
Luca grabbed the hospital bag with one hand as he held Marcella with the other. Her dark hair was all over the place and she was rubbing her blue eyes sleepily.
Slowly I made my way down the staircase, taking one step after the other while Luca kept throwing worried glances over his shoulder at me.
Another contraction made me grab the banister for balance. Luca quickly rushed down the remaining steps and set Marcella and the bag down. “Wait here. I need to help your mom.”
Marcella nodded with big eyes, looking lost as she stood in her pink pajamas where Luca had left her. She didn’t understand what was going on and I wasn’t sure how to explain it to her. She knew she’d get a brother soon but for her he’d magically appear like a present. I wished it could be like that.
Luca wrapped an arm around me and slowly helped me down the remaining stairs. The elevator started moving up and a moment later Matteo stepped into our apartment in sweatpants. His eyes darted from Luca and me to Marcella who was clutching her teddy bear against her chest.
He strolled over to her. “There’s my favorite girl,” he said, grinning, but Marcella didn’t smile, only peered at him with big watery eyes. My heart ached but I wasn’t sure how to make this easier for her. Maybe if I hadn’t been in this much pain already, we could have made something up, but now I drew a blank.
Matteo squatted in front of her with a smile. “How about you spend the night with your favorite aunt and uncle? Gianna’s making chocolate chip cookies as we speak.”
I supposed tonight was a good time to break the ‘no chocolate after brushing teeth rule’.
“Are they good?” Marcella asked, tilting her head in that cute way she had.
Matteo chuckled. “Well, the dough is store bought, some fancy organic stuff, so chances are they’re going to be edible if we head down now and make sure your aunt doesn’t burn them.”
“Okay,” Marcella said in a gravelly voice. Then peered back at Luca and me.
“Go ahead, princess. I’ll make sure your mom is all right.”
Matteo opened his arms and Marcella immediately moved toward him, snuggling close. Matteo’s face softened as he scooped her up and pressed her to his chest. “Make sure my brother doesn’t get into trouble without me.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Matteo grinned then turned serious as he looked at Luca. “I’ll keep her safe.”
We stepped into the elevator together and descended to Matteo’s and Gianna’s floor. My sister hurried over in what looked like Matteo’s boxers and a cut-off tank top when the doors slid open and kissed my cheek. “Keep me updated.”
I nodded because I could feel another contraction fast approaching. Gianna turned to Luca. “Keep her safe.”
Not waiting for his reply, she tousled Marcella’s hair and kissed her cheek. “How about we paint our toenails? Maybe you and I can even convince Matteo to let us paint his as well.”
She gave Matteo a cheeky grin.
“Yes, please, Matteo. Pleeaase,” Marcella said, batting those long dark lashes at her uncle.
Matteo sent Luca a tortured look. “Hurry up for my sake.”
“I’ll think of nothing else during labor,” I muttered as I clutched Luca’s arm in a death grip.
Luca jammed the button that would take us down and the doors closed to Gianna’s and Marcella’s smiling faces and Matteo’s resigned one. The moment we were hidden from view, I released a sharp gasp and bent forward, propping myself up on my thighs as I tried to breathe through the contraction.
Luca rubbed my back. When we arrived at the underground level, he gently steered me toward the car because I could hardly think straight from pain. “You’re doing great, Love.”
I couldn’t even put into words how grateful I was for the man at my side. Without his support, this would be twice as hard. With him at my side, I just knew everything was going to be all right.