Chapter 29 Gianna
Gianna
Feeling the breeze on my face, I tilt my head back to soak in the sunshine. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen or heard from my brother. The first couple of days, he called and texted me constantly. Then nothing. While my heart isn’t ready to move on, the silence terrifies me.
The back door slides open, and I keep my eyes closed as Sebastian moves to sit next to me.
“How you feeling?” he asks, tucking pieces of my hair behind my ear.
I shrug, glancing at him. “I haven’t taken it yet.” My fingers clench around the box in my hand, the keeper of a small stick that has the power to change my life.
Sebastian sighs. “Are you afraid? Nervous? Talk to me.”
Licking my lips, I turn my attention to the lake, watching the sun glisten off the waves. “I feel like… life is moving forward, and I’m not ready to move with it yet.”
“Is this about your brother?”
I almost smile because he can read my mind so well. Nodding, I fiddle with the pregnancy test sitting in my lap. I’m over a week late, which could easily be from stress. But with the amount of sex Sebastian and I have been having, I’m leaning toward it not being from the stress.
“Have you heard from him?” I ask.
Sebastian’s fingers trace down my spine. “Not recently.”
Something in his tone has me facing him again. “But?”
His icy eyes bore into mine, and the uncertainty in them that has my stomach twisting. “You know how Nico has been working as the head of Chicago before we leave for London?”
I nod.
He lets go of me, running his hand through his golden hair. “We found out some information. I offered the Italians and Irish an opportunity to right some wrongs.”
My heart starts to beat wildly. “What does this have to do with my brother?”
Sebastian’s jaw clenches, his eyes shifting away.
“He was one of those offerings?” I whisper, my voice cracking.
His shoulders slump. “Kind of? I gave him to the Italians, but I did ask them to find out if he actually worked with the FBI before hurting him.”
Bile rises in my throat. “Before hurting him? Sebastian!”
He grabs my wrist before I stand. “Gianna, it’s out of my hands. They didn’t even have to consider my request, but they did. That's all I could do. Your brother took the risk of working with the FBI. That’s on him.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s on me for telling you. You would have never known!”
Blowing out a breath, his eyes pinch shut for a second.
“We would have, Gianna. We always do, and it could have been too late by then. If he’s only been approached, and hasn't given any information, his life can be saved. It’s not up to me, but Luca needs people he can trust more than setting an example. ”
Tears well in my eyes. “I don’t want my brother dead. We haven’t even—the last thing I told him was I practically hated him.”
He pulls me into his arms, and I cry into his neck. “He knows you love him, Gianna. You had a right to be angry. He knows you didn’t mean it.”
Wiping the water streaming down my face, I lean back. “Can you find out?”
He grinds his teeth. “How about a compromise? Take the test because I know you’ll keep putting it off, and I’ll call while we’re waiting for the answer.”
A laugh bubbles past my lips. “My brother might be dead, but you still want to know if I’m pregnant?”
Sebastian raises his eyebrows. “I’m a selfish bastard at heart.”
He is, and I still love him for it. Sniffling, I grab the box and stand. “A promise is a promise, James.”
I let out a small giggle when a growl rumbles out of his chest and he catches me around my waist, kissing my temple. “Give it a few months and you’ll be a James too.”
Butterflies flutter in my chest. “I know, and you know who I might want there?”
He groans, letting go to smack my ass and push me closer to the balcony door. “I understand what you’re hinting at.”
We move inside, and I grab a random cup out of the kitchen before he follows me into the bedroom. I stop him at the door. “I got it.”
Sebastian raises an eyebrow. “I can’t go in with you?”
“I need to pee in the cup. Nothing exciting.”
He frowns. “Nothing exciting? The pee is gonna tell me if I’m a daddy.”
“Oh my god,” I mutter. Pushing him away a step, he gets the message and doesn’t follow me to the toilet.
Opening the box and taking out the test, I wrestle with my nerves as I grab the cup and sit down, trying to force myself to pee into it. When a decent trickle comes out, I put the pee cup on the counter, wash my hands, and grab the stick.
“Can I do it?”
My body stiffens. I hadn’t even heard Sebastian come into the bathroom, but I know there’s no stopping him this time. “You want to dip the test in my pee?”
Our eyes catch in the mirror as he grins. “Why not? Remember that time I ate you out when you were on your per—”
“Shh!” I shake my head, smothering my grin. “Yes, yes I do remember it and how disturbing your face was after. We said we’d never bring it up.”
He shrugs. “It’s a fond memory. You had a more metallic taste that day, and—”
“I swear if you don’t shut up,” I say through clenched teeth. He reaches around me, plucking the test from my fingers. I’ve already pulled the lid off, so he dips it in the cup and then holds it out for me to re-cap it. He sets it on the counter and pulls me out of the bathroom to sit on the bed.
Sebastian grabs his phone, putting it on speaker for me.
“James. I’m going to block your number if you do not give me peace,” a deep voice hisses out.
I smile up at him, surprised by the familiarity that sounds almost like friendship between him and whoever the man is.
Sebastian rolls his eyes. “You’d never. Who else would you gossip with? No one else listens.”
The silence on the other end sends shivers down my spine, and I watch his face to see if that’s normal.
“What do you want?”
“Matt. Is he still alive?”
“For now.”
I suck in a breath, and Sebastian rubs a hand down his face.
“Ah. That’s—uh. Any idea how long for now is?” he asks.
“Just spit it out.”
My man scowls. “Look, it’s my lady’s brother. Family is important.”
A tongue clicks over the phone. “Ahh, I see. Hmm. I’ll spare him regardless of status if you withdraw your favor.”
Sebastian sucks his lip between his teeth.
“From the Irish,” he continues before Sebastian can reply.
Whatever that means, I can tell it’s a lot to Sebastian because his expression wavers, and our eyes lock.
I swallow down my nerves, contemplating if I can ask him to do this for me.
These men play games that mean life or death, and I love my brother, but not how I love Sebastian.
And if I am pregnant, which I strongly believe I am, I don’t want to do this without him.
My lips part to tell him to decline when he shakes his head.
“Deal.”
My heart squeezes, and tears spill over before I even realize I’m crying. Sebastian tosses the phone, grabbing my face to kiss them away. “Why are you crying? This is what you wanted.”
A sinking feeling fills my stomach. “I just feel like I made a big mistake. I love my brother, but I love you. You’re my life.”
He pushes my hair back, kissing me all over. “Nothing I do for you is a mistake. Calm down. We’re about to find out we’re parents.”
A hiccupped sob catches in my throat. “You don’t know that.”
He hums. “I’m pretty confident in the amount of cum I’ve pumped into your body.”
I roll my eyes, pushing him away from me. “That’s not romantic.”
“Is it supposed to be? Nothing romantic about the way I want to breed you—”
“Ew, don’t say the word breed. You’re gross,” I say, not fully meaning it as I climb out of bed and head into the bathroom. Sebastian follows behind me, his hand lingering on my back as we near the test.
I lift it, hands shaking as I hold it up. His arm wraps around me, fingers spreading over my belly. A warmth spreads in my chest at the plus sign, and he kisses the top of my head.
“I love you,” he whispers and I’m back in tears. My fingers entwine with his, resting on the spot that’s going to swell in a few short months. And just like that the last piece falls into place, and everything I’ve ever wanted is within reach.