Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Leighton
The walk to the hospital takes a whopping ten minutes. That whole time I can feel my lips tingling from his kiss. Would Kayla really be okay with me being with Valentino?
“Thank you,” I say as he opens the door to the clinic.
“Hi! You two got here fast! I’ll let the tech know you’re here for your results.” She brushes his hand as she smiles at him. He turns and takes my hand as he leads Davis and me to the sitting area.
“Does that happen a lot?” I raise my eyebrow at him.
“Does what happen a lot?”
“Women flirting with you.”
I don’t even know why I’m so annoyed. It’s not like he’s mine, all we did was kiss. I’m fucked. One kiss and all I want is more.
“Marconi?” We hear the tech call.
We stand up and follow him. As we pass the receptionist, she smiles at Valentino again. I want to rip her eyes out.
“Have a seat in here and I’ll get your results,” the tech says as he smiles at us.
It sounds like Valentino growls at him. I whip my head around to look at him as the tech leaves the room.
“Did you just growl at the tech?”
“Fuck yes. He needs to smile somewhere else.”
I giggle. “I’m pretty sure he was smiling at both of us.”
“No. He was smiling at you and I don’t like that.”
He pulls my chair closer to his as I pull Davis’ stroller closer too. Davis reaches up to Valentino to be picked up. I watch him take Davis out and hug him. I’m not sure how I went from hating him to wanting him in such a short time. But it’s happened and I don’t know what to do about it.
“Okay, you came in for a paternity test, right?” the tech asks as he comes back in. “The child, Davis Moss, and Mr. Valentino Marconi?”
“Yes,” Valentino answers.
“I’m happy to say that you’re Davis’ father.” The tech smiles and hands him the paper. “I’ll give you a few minutes. Then I’ll be back.”
I look at Valentino and he has the biggest smile on his face. He really is a gorgeous man.
“Looks like I’m your daddy, little man,” he says to Davis as he kisses his cheek.
Davis smiles and claps.
“Congratulations,” I say to him.
“I want you and Davis to meet my family,” Valentino says to me.
“Okay. When do you want to do that?”
“Tonight. We can stop by the hotel to get your things. You can come and stay on the property with us.”
“Whoa, slow down. I can’t just come and stay with you.”
“Why not? When do you have to go back to St. Cloud?”
“I have three weeks off. Just give me time to think. Please. I know you want to spend time with Davis. I just need a moment to process everything.”
Valentino doesn’t look happy but he nods.
“I still want you and Davis to come over tonight and meet everyone. I can come back and pick you up. I have to head home and check in. But I will be back around five to get you. Will that work?”
I nod. “We’ll be ready.”
We stand up and we walk out together. Davis is babbling to Valentino and it’s the cutest thing to watch. The receptionist tries to get Valentino’s attention, but he doesn’t give it to her as he holds the door open for me. And for some reason that makes me smile. A lot.
Valentino walks us to our room and follows me in. I put Davis on his play mat and turn to face Valentino. As I start to get my words out, he pulls me to him and kisses me again. He runs his hand through my hair as he cups the back of my head. Which makes me moan even more. Before it gets out of control, I put my hand on his chest and push him back gently.
“I want to be clear, Leighton. I want you. Not just in my bed, but in my life. Is it fast? Hell yes it is and I’ve never felt this before. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned growing up with the Bastianinis, it’s that love is precious and isn’t something you can always plan for. And when you meet that one person, you run with it and never let go. This is the feeling I have when I’m with you. You’re that person for me.” He looks me in the eye as he tells me this.
I get on my tiptoes and kiss him.
“I do feel it. But I need to think of Davis and Kayla.”
I can see some sadness in his eyes as he nods at me.
“You’ll see that Kayla would want you to be happy too. I’ll be back in a few hours to pick you and Davis up.”
I watch him walk out the door, then collapse onto the couch. Davis crawls over to me and pulls himself up so I can pick him up. I hold him tight.
“I wish I knew what the right thing to do was,” I say to him. “I miss your mommy so much.”
Davis hugs me and lays his head on my shoulder. I rub his back and after a few minutes he falls asleep. I walk to the bedroom and put him in the crib. I love him so much. Then I remember that letter that Kayla left me. I pull it out of my suitcase and head back out to the living room. I make myself a cup of tea and sit down.
“Okay bestie. What could you possibly need to tell me now? Wasn’t this journey enough?” I chuckle to myself.
I sigh and open the letter.
Bestie,
So now you’ve met Valentino. Isn’t he gorgeous? I told you he was and that you’d like him. That night he and I spent together was fun. But I knew then that I wasn’t attracted to him enough to want to be with him. For some reason I kept thinking that he would be perfect for you. Was I right? Come on. Be honest with yourself. If I was there with you, I would be telling you this to your face. Go for it. I want you to and if he’s Davis’ daddy? (Which I know he is) Even better. You can raise him together, I promise that will make me happy. My bestie and Davis’ daddy together.
I love you. And fuck that girl code. If I had been in love with him…then maybe. But I wasn’t. And if he’s still single? Then that’s a sign. Do. It. Bestie. I want you to be happy and I don’t know why, but I know he’s that person for you. Remember. No regrets.
BESTIES FOREVER.
Kayla
I sniffle as I finish reading her letter. How the fuck could she have known that we would like each other? I’m a little creeped out by her letter. And at the same time, it’s like she saw everything that happened. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me, we were always freakishly connected. Kind of like my twin and I are—we always said Kayla was our triplet. I decide to lay down and take a nap. Maybe when I get up, things will be clearer for me.
When I open my eyes, I see that it’s four-thirty and I jump up. Shit. Valentino said he’d be here around five. I quietly move around and grab a quick shower, then get Davis up and give him a quick bath. As I’m getting him out of the bath, there’s a knock at the door.
“Of course,” I say to Davis as I make faces at him.
I wrap him up in a towel and go to answer the door. Davis’ face lights up when he sees Valentino and he reaches out for him.
“Let me get him dried off and dressed,” I say to him as he comes in.
Davis starts to cry as I walk away with him.
“It’s okay, I can help,” he says following me.
Davis is reaching out for him again and I sigh, handing him to Valentino.
“Hey little man.” He smiles and kisses his face, following me to the bedroom.
I grab a diaper and an outfit for Davis.
“Do you mind if I get him dressed?” he asks me.
I hand him the stuff I grabbed and stand back to watch. He’s surprisingly good at this. When he’s done, he picks Davis up and comes over to me and gives me a kiss. Davis giggle between us.
“Hi.” He smiles at me. “Are you ready to meet everyone?”
“Did you tell them that Davis is your son?”
“I told them about you and Davis. Everyone’s really excited to meet both of you.”
“What do you mean you told them about me?”
“I told them that I want to be with you,” he says matter of factly.
Well then.
“What if I decide not to?” I say as I squint at him.
“Baby, even if you left, you’d come back. I know you feel what I do. And before you ask how I know, those kisses weren’t just ‘nice.’ They were ‘holy crap yes.’”
Davis is staring at the two of us and giggling, like he knows what we’re saying.
“We should get going.”
Valentino laughs and kisses me again. I could get used to this. In fact I think I already am and I want more.
Valentino
After I dropped Leighton off and went home, I talked to my mam. I told her about the results and how I felt about Leighton. She asked me if I was sure it wasn’t just because I wanted to keep Davis close. I told her that I kissed her before we knew the results. That when I first saw her, I just knew and then when I held her hand? I felt that connection to her. Mam hugged me and said she was happy for me. And that she couldn’t wait to get to know both of them.
Isabella and Luciana are excited to meet Leighton too. Luciana is also excited for Grayson to have another cousin to grow up with. He and Davis are just a few months apart. I told my sisters about how I felt with Leighton and they both said they would help me convince her to move to Lake Renegade. This should be interesting.
I don’t think I’ve smiled this much in my whole life. Every time I hug her or kiss her my heart speeds up. It’s like Davis can sense the love in the room too.
“What do you think of our town?” I ask her as we drive through it.
“I love it here. St. Cloud is bigger and it’s always so busy. And so far everyone here is super friendly. I’ve always wanted to live in a place like this.”
“So are you thinking of moving here?”
“I don’t know. I mean I can’t just pick up and move. I don’t have the finances for that. I’d have to save up some money first. So maybe in a year?”
Fuck that. I can’t wait a year for her and Davis to be here with me. I want to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about money. I can take care of all of us. Fuck it, I’m gonna try. I just hope she doesn’t get angry for me offering.
“I can help you with that. I can pay for movers to get you here. That way you can decide what you want to do. And there’s no pressure for you to make a decision now.”
“What do you mean? It’s not just moving costs, Valentino. I don’t have money for a place or even enough savings to tide us over until I find a job. And I might want to go back to school.”
“There are schools here, and people that are willing to help you with Davis. And well…you can live with me. Right now I live in the main house, but we can get our own place. In fact, we can live on the property, but in our own home.”
I feel like I need to blurt all of it out at once so she doesn’t have time to argue with me. I can see that she’s thinking about what I’m saying.
“Okay, first of all, I don’t know you that well. And to move in with you after a day is insane. Second? I can’t let you pay for me and Davis, we aren’t even a couple. Not that it would be okay if we were.”
Dammit. I knew she wouldn’t see it my way. Is it fast? Fuck yes, it’s super fast. But do I feel like it’s right? Yes. Shouting it from the rooftops. Yes .
“I understand it’s fast. If it would be more comfortable for you, you can live in one of the houses and I’ll stay in the main house. As for the money part? It’s just money, and I’ve been saving mine forever. I’ve never had a reason to spend it. But I do now. On you and Davis. At least say you’ll think about it. Please.”
I’m not opposed to begging her if I have to.
“I’ll think about it. My original plan was to stay for a few weeks if the test came back the way it did. Look, we can talk about it more later.”
“I’ll take that. I should probably tell you that my family can be a little pushy…and they know how I feel about you. So they’ll be nudging you to stay.”
Leighton chuckles. “I’m really happy that Davis will have a bigger family now.”
“You’re included too.”
She nods and gives me a smile.
So now I know that I have a few weeks to convince the woman who’s captured my heart to stay. Piece of cake.