Chapter 37 #2
“You’re one of the best men I know,” I tell him.
“Since we were kids, you’ve been like a brother to me—no, fuck that.
” I shake my head. “You are my brother. And if there’s anyone who deserves to be happy, it’s you.
You remind me so much of your sister with your big fucking heart and how much you care.
Every fight I’ve gotten into, every time I lose my shit, you’ve been right there by my side.
The same way you’ve always stuck by me, I’m always going to stick by you, and I’ll always be honest with you.
“And the truth is, Hillary is a gold digger. You’re one of the easiest people to love because of how much you care. But that bitch isn’t capable of loving anyone but herself. And that doesn’t say shit about anyone but her—and most of all, not you.”
I throw my drink back and set it on the bar top a little too hard, then take a deep breath because I can feel myself getting worked up.
The same way I care about Dani and my brother, I care about Lorenzo, and it pisses me off that he’s hurting over a bitch who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as him, let alone be loved by him.
“Thank you,” Lorenzo says with a soft smile. “That means a lot to me.”
“Yeah, well, I hope you took notes or recorded it because I’m done with this heart-to-heart shit.”
Dominick chuckles and pats his hand on my shoulder. “I like this new you, bro.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I grumble. “Now, enough of this girl talk. We need to discuss finding whoever is coming after us. I’ve got a goddamn baby on the way, and some psycho bitch has all our heads on a target.”
Dominick sighs. “We’ve gone down every avenue, until he,” I quirk a brow, and he adds, “or she makes another move, we’re at a standstill.
I put additional protection on Peyton and Damien, and she knows not to go out unless it’s necessary, but aside from that, I don’t know what else to do.
If they wanted us dead, they would’ve done it. Whoever it is wants to fuck with us.”
“Speaking of which,” Lorenzo says, “I was down at the building department the other day, dealing with some permits, and you know the parcels in front of the expansion? The twenty acres that we haven’t been able to acquire?”
“Yeah,” Dominick says, his brows furrowed.
“They were recently sold to Morgan Enterprises.”
“Okay, have you reached out to negotiate?” Dominick asks.
“Yeah, and they won’t even return my calls, yet according to my girl at the building department, they reached out and asked to get put on the panel to request approval to build.”
“Fuck!” Dominick hisses. “What the hell do they want to build?”
I don’t know much about the waterfront expansion, except Dominick and Lorenzo have mentioned on several occasions that someone was able to outbid them on twenty or so acres that butts up against the parcels we own.
They’ve been trying to locate the owner to buy them so they aren’t sold to the wrong person.
Apparently, the wrong business or structure going up there could destroy the property values.
“It’s not good,” Lorenzo says. “They’re requesting an approval to build Section 8 housing rentals.”
“No fucking way.” Dominick chuckles darkly. “I refuse to believe anyone is dumb enough to buy waterfront land in one of America’s most-sought-after cities just to eat a trillion-dollar loss by getting in bed with the federal government.”
“We don’t know who’s behind Morgan Enterprises. Might be a tech billionaire, looking to atone for their sins,” Lorenzo tells him.
Dominick’s smirk melts as he realizes Lorenzo isn’t pulling his leg.
“That will lower the property values significantly. It’s going to fuck everything up.
People aren’t going to want to rent commercial property or purchase a multimillion-dollar condo when it’s walking distance to a common neighborhood. ”
“Hey,” I say to Dominick, “your privilege is showing.”
Dominick glares. “I have nothing against Section 8 housing. But if that gets approved, it’s going to fuck up this entire project.”
Lorenzo nods in agreement. “I’ve had my attorney reach out several times, but nobody from the building department is responding, and it has me wondering if that’s on purpose. Do you remember Enrique’s mom’s last name?”
Dominick’s brow furrows. “Fuck. It was Morgan.”
“Yep,” Lorenzo says. “But since she’s dead and dead people can’t buy property or own businesses …”
“Could it be linked,” I ask, “to whoever is targeting us? She said she wants Harbor Point.”
“It would make sense,” Lorenzo says. “I asked Eddy to do a search to find out who owns Morgan Enterprises and if they’re related to Silvia Morgan or if it’s a coincidence.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Dominick hisses. “I need another fucking drink.”
A couple of hours later, when Ian lets me know that Dani has left dinner and is on her way home, I head home as well. When I arrive at the condo, it’s quiet, and when I check, she’s five minutes out.
Knowing today was a lot on her, I grab her favorite bubbles and run her a hot bath—and then I google to make sure it’s okay for her to take a bath while she’s pregnant.
While the tub is filling, I light a few candles since I’ve seen her do this several times and then grab her tablet and paperback, unsure which one she’s reading at the moment.
“Matteo,” Dani calls out.
“In our bathroom,” I yell back.
A moment later, she appears in the doorway, taking in the sight in front of her.
“You drew me a bath?” she asks softly.
“You said it’s your favorite way to relax.”
She nods. “Will you take one with me?”
“Of course.”
I pull my shirt over my head and then push my pants and boxers down my legs, aware that Dani is watching and not making any move to undress.
“You going to join me or just watch me relax in the bath I ran for you?”
She laughs. “I’m going to join you.”
She undresses, and I can’t help but look at her middle section.
When she notices, she sighs. “The doctor thinks I’m having an invisible pregnancy.
I looked it up, and apparently, it’s when you don’t show until you’re very far along.
One woman said she didn’t know she was pregnant until she was a few weeks from giving birth.
The doctor said I should start feeling the baby soon, but some women who had invisible pregnancies never felt their baby kick.
Like, how does that happen?” She huffs. “Peyton said Damien would kick so hard that it felt like he had taken out a rib.”
I chuckle, thinking about my nephew kicking the hell out of Peyton’s ribs. “That sounds like something he’d do.”
“I just hope the baby is okay,” she says, placing her hand over her belly. “Peyton said she knew they were okay in there because they would kick, but what if I don’t feel that? The only way I’ll know they’re okay is at the doctor’s appointments, which are only every four weeks.”
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I say, stepping toward her. “I can’t imagine stress is good for you or the baby.”
“No, it’s not.” She sighs.
“C’mon. Let’s get in so you can relax.”
I help her in, and then I slide in behind her, holding her hand so she can lower into the water. With her back perfectly pressed against my front, I wrap my arms around her as she lays her head back and sighs against my chest.
“This feels so good,” she says.
“How did the fitting go?”
“Good. Dress didn’t need any alterations since I’m the same size I was a month ago.” The stress of her not growing is evident in her tone, but there isn’t much I can do to fix that.
“You saw the baby, right?”
I know she did from the pictures I saw.
“Yeah, you should’ve seen him. He was swimming around all over my belly. I just can’t believe I’m not showing at all. I’m almost four months along, and I didn’t even know I was pregnant. What does that say about my maternal instincts?”
“I wouldn’t base the kind of mother you’ll be on how big you get during pregnancy.”
Dani snorts out a laugh and playfully splashes me with the water.
We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes before she speaks again. “Do you want to know the gender?”
“Do you?”
She tilts her head to glare at me. “It’s not just about me. This is our baby, right?” she asks, her voice soft and her features vulnerable, like she needs me to reassure her that this is what I want.
Gripping the curves of her hips, I lift and turn her around so she’s straddling my lap.
“This is our baby. But I don’t really care about things like knowing the gender ahead of time or needing to be the one to pick the name.
If you want to know the gender, I’m game.
If you want to wait, it’ll be a wonderful surprise.
If you want to pick the name, I know whatever you pick will be perfect.
But just because I don’t make a decision or I leave it up to you, it doesn’t make me want him any less. All I want is for you to be happy.”
Tears fill her eyes. “How did I get so lucky to end up with a man like you?”
Her fingers delve into my hair, and she pulls my face to hers, our lips curving around each other. We kiss for several minutes, and with her tits rubbing against my chest and her warm cunt grinding against my shaft, it doesn’t take long for me to get hard.
Letting our bodies do the talking, I lift and guide her over my cock. Her pussy sucks me in inch by inch until she’s completely seated around me.
“God, this feels so good,” she murmurs against my mouth as I shift her hips to help her find her release.
The water splashes around us, probably soaking the floor, but my only concern is showing Dani how much I want her and love her.
When her orgasm hits, she moans my name, breaking our kiss as she throws her head back, her eyes rolling up to the heavens and exposing her sexy neck.
My lips press against her heated flesh, and I suck gently on the sensitive part beneath her ear. Her walls grip my dick like a vise, and within seconds, I find my own release, draining every drop into her.
“This is all I need,” I tell her as we come down from our high. “You and me—and soon, this little one.” I palm her lower belly. “Everything else is just details.”