Chapter 31 Ayanna #2
Her hand was at my stomach, laying there gently, while Tasha bounced on her heels like a child in a candy store. It took all of two seconds for it to click.
“Oh shit,” he breathed, his eyes bouncing from me to Teo. “Yooo... for real?” Bash’s face broke into a wide grin, when I nodded.
In two long strides he crossed the terrace and pulled me into a bear hug.
“Congratulations, sis.”
I was so overwhelmed with joy. “Thank you,” I croaked, my voice thick with emotion. “And you better not tell Mama before I can.” I dabbed at the corner of my eyes, filled with a happiness I couldn’t put into words.
This life — married to Teo, carrying his baby, surrounded by family and friends who loved us — it felt like a dream.
Growing up, I’d always imagined myself with someone safe, someone predictable.
Even when I craved Teo. Wanted him the ways a woman wants a man, but knew I could never be fully his.
He was the future Don. And I never saw myself as the wife of a Don.
But standing here now, feeling Teo’s protective presence next to me, I realized I’d been wrong. Teo’s world might be dangerous, but he was my safety. He was home. He was everything I’d been too afraid of wanting because I thought this was impossible.
I wiped away the last of my happy tears and focused back on my brother, who was grinning and congratulating Teo. “No seriously,” I warned him playfully as he turned to pat Teo on the shoulder, “keep your mouth shut. Mama will kill me if she found out from you instead of me.”
He chuckled. “I got you.”
Teo moved closer to where I’d been sitting, and dropped down next to me. His arm slid around my waist pulling me closer to him.
“We’ll tell both our parents tonight,” he murmured, tenderly nuzzling my neck making me lean into him.
“So that’s why y’all came up here?” Sophia asked with a raised eyebrow, changing the subject. “I thought you boys’ was in the mancave.” Her tone was mocking at that mention of her brother’s game room.
Keem sucked his teeth. “Man this where all the good shit is at.”
He said it as if they didn’t have their own goodies down there.
While Keem and Sophia went back and forth about the snacks, and Bash and Tasha talked quietly between themselves I felt Teo’s large hand drop to rest gently on my still-flat belly. Something he’d been doing almost instinctively since he found out he was going to be a father.
“You feeling alright, Amore?” he murmured close to my ear, his fingers still tracing gentle circles against my navel.
“Mmm,” I hummed, feeling the effects of the soothing sensation of his touch. “Perfect.”
“Good. And you’re going to stay sitting right here and let Rosa handle the rest of the evening?
” His tone was tender but firm because he knew how I’d been running around all morning.
And how if he wasn’t out here I’d likely been up and down, and in and out the kitchen all day just to make sure we were straight out here.
I loved Rosa, and even had relinquished some of the things I‘d normally do for myself to her. But this was my get-together and my friends. I wanted to be a good hostess.
“Teo, I can—”
“You already made the cookies this morning, and cut up all the fruit. And any other little thing you don’t want me to know about,” he squinted, then chuckled when I looked away.
Because he was right… a little bit. I‘d done a few other things, even after he had been on me to take it easy. But, if I left it up to him I’d be on bed rest.
“Rosa can handle the evening. Just relax with your girls.”
I started to protest but he pressed a gentle kiss to my temple. “I know you want to help, but that’s what we pay Rosa for. You don’t need to do everything yourself.”
The tenderness in that simple touch and subtle command shut whatever protest I had down. Besides, fighting it was a losing battle, and honestly, I no longer had any interest in fighting him on it. He wanted me to rest so I would take it easy.
I sighed, then nodded, finally conceding to one of his ways of protecting me.
“Alright, I won’t lift another finger.” I raised my finger into the air and did my version of the Scout’s Honor gesture.
He caught my fingers midair and brought them to his lips. “Thank you.”
With that, we all settled into the evening.
What was supposed to be a girls’ night, quickly turned into something even better — family and friends laughing and joking together on our terrace.
It was one of those rare, quiet, drama-free nights.
No faction talks or discussions about people stealing territory.
No business calls interrupting dinner. No security concerns or threats lurking in the shadows.
Just us. Being normal.
Teo’s hand never left my stomach, his thumb traced gentle circles as conversations continued to flow around us. Bash and Keem argued about the best player in the NFL, with Teo chiming in every so often. They couldn’t agree for shit. And I loved seeing them this way.
Free.
I could tell that Tasha and Sophia would grow close, and our sisterhood would soon become three. The way they clicked over shared ambitions and dreams was inspiring.
Rosa quietly refilled glasses and replenished the appetizer trays without being asked.
We were happy.
And as the sun began to set, lighting up the garden I’d created, I looked around at the people I loved most in this world. My husband, my brother, my best friend, my sister-in-law, and the tiny life growing inside me that would complete our family.
This was everything I never knew I wanted, and everything I’d been too afraid to dream of having. But somehow, against all odds, it was mine.
All of it was finally, perfectly mine.