Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Sable
Dumping the pregnancy test out of the bag and onto the bed was the easy part. Waiting another six hours to tell Milo I wanted to take the test was hard.
I could take the test now, and then if it was negative, I’d be able to tell Milo I thought I was pregnant but it was a false alarm. But what if it isn’t a false alarm? I’d have to wait all day to tell him I was pregnant.
Milo had to be by my side when I read those results. I needed to see his reaction. Did he even want a baby? Did I? There was so much chaos surrounding our lives. Was it too risky to even consider bringing a child into this house?
All the talk of enemies and protecting people. God, killing people! The danger that was Milo’s life never seemed more real than right now. If I was pregnant, how could we keep this baby safe?
“You are not going to end up in pieces all over the driveway.”
My stomach flipped and I swore my breakfast would end up in the toilet, but I understood Milo’s fear. It wasn’t tangible when we were talking about me because I thought I was invincible as long as I had Milo. But if there was a baby, I would be terrified that we couldn’t protect them.
That was what it meant to be a good parent. I would put my baby above everything else. Milo would do the same.
Stop this! The chances of there actually being a baby were slim. Well, not that slim considering all the sex we had. But still, I took my pill. Most of the time…
“Hey.” Lissia came into the bedroom and sat on the bed with me. “You’re so pale. Are you okay?”
“What if I'm pregnant and Milo wants to send me away?” I blurted out before I even realized what I was asking or that I was even confiding in Lissia.
“Why would he send you away?”
“He’s already tried to and that was before a possible pregnancy.” I held up the test. “It was difficult enough to convince him to let me stay, but if there’s a baby…”
What if there is a baby? All bets would be off.
“Given what happened to his mother when she was pregnant,” I said. “He’s going to do whatever it takes to protect us. This pregnancy could plunge him off the deep end.”
“It could also be a huge motivator when dealing with Medina.” She took the test and put it on the nightstand. “But you’re right, Milo might want to get you away from here.”
“I don’t want to leave him.”
“Something tells me he would go with you.”
“And leave his family to fight alone?” I shook my head. “I don’t see that happening.”
“Nico left,” Lissia reminded me. “Marchello and I went away. If Milo had to take you away, Chello and Nico would pick up the slack. Besides, they have me. I can help.”
“I don’t think Milo would leave. Not now, not with Diego causing so many problems.” I leaned against the throw pillows on the bed. “I don’t know. There’s so much uncertainty surrounding us.”
“Well, maybe you should take that test?” She glanced at the box. “Then you’ll know for sure. I thought maybe that day in Milo’s office you could be pregnant, but I didn’t want to pry.”
“I didn’t think I was.”
“What changed your mind?”
“My stomach has been off. I haven’t thrown up again, but I decided before I start another pill pack, I should be sure. My period never came after I stopped the last pack.”
“Is that unusual for you?”
“I’m not really sure what’s usual these days. When Milo and I were apart, I missed a couple of pills, and then we had sex, but I got back on track and I didn’t think I could be pregnant.”
“Do you want me to wait with you while you take the test?”
I appreciated her offer. It was nice to have another woman to talk to about this kind of stuff.
“I’m going to take it tonight with Milo. I tried to tell him this morning, but he’s got a lot on his mind. We’re going to have dinner tonight. I’ll tell him my suspicions then.”
“That sounds like a plan. When I take a test, I do it with Marchello.”
“Have you taken many?”
“Two or three.” She shrugged as if getting pregnant didn’t matter, but I sensed something else.
“A few months ago, I thought I was pregnant, but as usual with this family, things were crazy and so much was happening. My hormones were out of whack. I jumped to the conclusion that I could be pregnant.”
“You really want to be.”
“Who wouldn’t want to have Marchello’s baby, right?” Her fake laugh shielded her sadness. “At the time, I wasn’t sure, but when the test was negative, I realized having his baby was what I wanted more than anything.” She smirked. “Trust me, I want lots of things, but this is at the top of my list.”
“I guess you're actively trying.” I held up my hands to stop myself from asking too many questions. “I’m getting too personal. You don’t have to tell me.”
“I’ll tell you.” She inched closer and rested on the pillows next to me. “We live in the same house. We’re in love with brothers. We’re practically sisters.”
“I always wanted a sister.”
“Me too.” She stretched out her legs. “It hasn’t been that long, but Marchello and I are trying to get pregnant. So far, we haven’t been successful, but it isn’t from lack of trying. My husband loves sex.”
“He has that in common with his brother.” I gazed up at the ceiling as a blush heated my cheeks because I had never talked about this kind of stuff before. I didn’t even have sex until I met Milo. “Not that I’m complaining about, you know, his frequent appetite.”
“Girl, I hear you.” She rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her elbow. “Marchello and I had an explosive start. I’ll tell you all about it when we have more time. We met, he kidnapped me.” She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t believe this, but I was a willing hostage.”
“Those Accetti men have a unique way about them.”
“My father was killed, we got married, a car blew up in front of me, we went to Miami and a whole shit-show happened there.”
“You do seem to be on a chaotic rollercoaster.”
“Oh, I got kidnapped when I escaped the safe house, and I also got shot the first time we were in Miami.” She collapsed back into the pillows. “But now that things are calming down, I’ll probably get pregnant.”
“I hope you do.” My circumstances with Milo didn’t seem as crazy as Lissia and Marchello’s situation.
“And I hope whatever you want, whether it’s being pregnant or not, happens for you too.” She turned her head and smiled at me. “Whatever happens, I’m in your corner. This family protects one another at all costs.”
“Thank you.” My stomach didn’t feel as queasy as it did before Lissia came into the room. “I’ll feel much better once I tell Milo.”
“In a few hours you can do that.” She sat up. “He’s amazing and he’ll know what to do. You have to trust him.”
“I do.”
“Good.” When she hopped off the bed, her gorgeous, sleek ponytail swung from side to side. “I have to stop by my mother’s house before we go to the boutique. Do you want to come with me?”
“I can meet you at the boutique,” I said. “I want to shower and look as awesome as you do.” I wouldn’t give Camila a reason to insult me. “Ax will bring me.”
“I’ll meet you there around one.” She headed for the door. “My mother is renovating her house and she wants me to look at some paint swatches.”
“Do me a favor,” I called after her.
“Anything.”
“Don’t be late. I don’t like Camila.”
“Who does? She’s a skank.” Lissia giggled. “I don’t know why Milo keeps her around. I could run that boutique with my eyes closed.”
The relentless sleet battered the windshield as we made our way into the city. The temperature was rising a bit and the New York streets had been treated for ice but Ax still took it slow.
He said I was precious cargo. If my suspicions were correct about my current status, he had no idea how precious the cargo I could be carrying was.
Milo’s baby.
“It feels like all we get is freezing rain these days.” I gazed out at the New Yorkers being careful not to slip on the untreated sidewalks. “Where’s the snow?”
“I think the one snowstorm we had when Milo crashed his car into the tree was plenty.” Ax pulled into an empty space in front of the boutique. “No one needs that again.”
“The ice isn’t any better.” I put one hand over top of the other in an attempt to stop from twitching. Why did I agree to come here? I had enough going on, and seeing Camila wasn’t on the top of my list of things to do today.
Ax got out of the car and opened my door for me. He shielded me from the sleet with a large, black umbrella, but before we could get to the entrance, two police officers met us on the sidewalk.
I would have been concerned, but Milo wasn’t with us, so it couldn’t be that serious. What would they want with me?
“Is this car registered to Nico Accetti?” one asked.
“It is.” Ax placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me further under the umbrella. “Is there a problem?"
“We have a warrant to search the car,” the other officer said.
“For what?” I asked.
“It’s okay,” Ax said. “They hassle us all the time.”
“Do you want me to call Milo?” When the wind kicked up, I pushed the hair from my eyes.
“No.” Ax nudged me toward the boutique. “I’ll handle this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Go into the boutique and text me as soon as you’re upstairs.” He opened the door for me. “I’ll be in the lobby when I’m done here.”
“Okay.” I glanced at the two officers who were now opening the car doors. What did they want? What were they looking for? “Let me know when they’re done.”
“It’ll be fine.” He smiled. “I’m going to call Lucas.”
I waved to Ax once I was in the foyer, but he was already on his way back to the car. As I got into the elevator, an uneasy sensation settled in my gut. Almost as if what was happening outside was a precursor of things to come. I tried to shake the feeling off.
I trusted Ax when he said he could handle things. Being harassed by the police came with the territory. It was better that I came inside and didn’t interfere in the investigation. I didn’t want to make anything worse for anyone.