Chapter 38
Clara
Zeno wiped sweat from my brow, and all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball somewhere quiet and go to sleep.
The calming music meant to make this a soothing environment did little for my frazzled nerves, and my back had been throbbing for longer than I cared to admit.
“Come on, Clara, one more time. You can do this. Are you ready?”
I wasn’t. Not even close. We’d been at this for over three hours, and I wasn’t sure I could take much more. But I had to. I didn’t have a choice. So I mustered up some courage and tried to make what came out of my mouth not actually be a lie. “I’m ready.”
“Alright then. Push!”
Queenie bore down, and I swore she was going to break poor Mateo’s hand. The man didn’t complain once, though. Instead, he stood by her side, telling her how beautiful she was, how perfect she was, how she was doing an amazing job.
Her responses had been somewhere between what the fuck have you done to me? and if you ever touch me again, I’ll murder you.
This time, instead of her curses and her screams, Mateo’s cheering was accompanied by a tiny little cry as their baby slid from between her legs and into my waiting hands.
“It’s a girl!” My words were so filled with awe that I couldn’t make them louder than a whisper. I’d never seen anything more precious in the world.
Zeno helped me clean the child and bundle her in a warm blanket, then let me hold her while he finished up with Queenie, cleaning and stitching and ensuring she was okay.
I tried to pay attention; I really did. But this girl, this tiny little girl, stole my breath and made everything else seem to fade away.
Before I knew it, before I was ready for it, Zee was taking the child from the safety of my arms and passing her off to her proud parents.
“She’s beautiful,” Mateo murmured, settling the little bundle on Queenie’s chest. “Absolutely perfect, just like her mama.”
“Oh, Sugar.” She grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him toward her, pressing a kiss to his lips before pushing him away. “It’s too early for that shit. I’m not forgiving you that easily.”
“Not even for her?” He touched his child’s cheek, an awed look in his eyes.
“Maybe for her.” Tears streamed down Queenie’s cheeks as she pulled Mateo back to her side.
I watched the beautiful family as Queenie and Mateo cooed over their little girl, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to be here, to bear witness to this. To be given a chance to be a part of the miracle of birth.
Zeno tugged on one of the damp tendrils of hair around my face that had been nicely curled not long ago. I dragged my gaze away from the baby and turned my attention his way. Sweeping the hair behind my ear, he cupped my cheek and leaned in to press a kiss to my lips.
“You look how I felt when I first saw you.”
A smile broke through my exhaustion, splitting my face in two. “She’s amazing.”
“So are you.” Zee wrapped his arms around me, staring down at me like I was the most precious thing. “You did great today.”
Warmth flooded through me at his much-needed praise. Today had been… unexpected. Though we hadn’t come to Paulo’s estate for her birth, Queenie’s child decided she didn’t want to wait.
From trying to rush Queenie outside to the car so we could take her to the hospital, to rushing her back inside and upstairs to their room after her water broke on the cold, snow-covered pavement, to preparing for a birth that no one had thought to prepare for quite so soon, this day had been a lot.
A. Lot.
“Shall we let the new parents have some time with their little girl?”
Did we have to?
Oh, how I longed to hold her again. To see her chubby little cheeks and listen to her tiny squeaks as she nursed at Queenie’s breast.
“Come,” Zee whispered. “Let’s go get some rest. It’s going to be a long night.”
After my nod, Zeno took my hand and led me from the room.
Our own room was next door, and I had a feeling we’d be using it even more often now that the baby was here.
Zee led me inside and shut the door, then brought me to the bathroom.
He stripped me of my clothes, turning on the shower before taking off his own.
We washed the stress of the past few hours off our bodies, and I moaned when his hand slipped between my legs.
I gasped when he lifted me and notched the thick head of his dick at my entrance.
And I cried as he whispered his praise in my ear, telling me that one day, when we were ready, he’d put a baby in my belly, and it’d be me holding a brand-new babe.
I wanted that with him. Someday. I wanted to be a mother, whether it was with a child of our own or one that we took in. I wanted the chance to love a child the way I already loved Queenie’s daughter, the way a child deserved to be loved.
When Zeno had teased my pleasure from my body, when he’d filled me with everything he had to give, he settled me back on my feet, finished washing me, then grabbed a towel and dried me off.
I’d never seen such happiness in his eyes, and I’d never tire of seeing the small smile that tilted his lips as he looked at me.
Love.
I’d never tire of seeing his love.
“Let’s get dressed,” he said, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. “They should be here soon.”
Even with those sobering words, I wouldn’t let my mood be ruined. I followed Zee into our bedroom and pulled on a clean dress—one that was different from what I’d planned on wearing for the day, but it was worth it.
After we were finished, I took Zee’s hand and we walked downstairs together.
Outside, snow covered every inch of the ground, painting Paulo’s estate like some picturesque winter wonderland.
But inside, the rooms were toasty warm, the muted voices of the Syndicate men and women gathered there filling the home.
There wasn’t a single person there who hadn’t been affected by Paulo’s life and his actions after his father’s death.
The man may have headed a massive criminal organization, but he did a lot of good in this world.
He believed in protecting women and children.
In helping those in need. In giving back to the people and communities who were adversely affected by the Syndicate’s deeds.
Lorenzo and Carmen Giordano stood across the room, talking to their son, Rolly, and his fiancée, Jael David.
It was Paulo and Lorenzo who had saved Zeno and his mother the night so many others had died.
And Lorenzo and Paulo’s sister, Carmen, had brought one of the sweetest men I’d ever known to life.
Rolly was better than your average man, and he’d never fail to drop everything to help you out.
On the other side of the room, Jet Pasternelo stood talking with Angelo Santini and their fiancées. Paulo had taken both Jet and Angelo into his home, saving them from the trauma that had been dropped upon their shoulders and helping them rebuild the lives they were meant to live.
Nearby were Zoe Shaw and Quinn Radnor, and both came rushing our way the minute they saw us. “Is the baby here?”
There was no way I could keep the smile off my lips. “She’s here!”
Zoe squealed, jumping in her place before snagging me around the waist and forcing me to jump too. “Gah! I’m so happy! Is Queenie okay? Is Mateo okay?”
“Queenie’s fine,” Zee said, laughing quietly. “Mateo might have his work cut out for him.”
Zoe laughed as Zee shook hands with Quinn. “I’d say Mateo deserves whatever she gives him.”
“I might have to agree with you there.”
As they talked, my gaze wandered around the room. There wasn’t a single person here who hadn’t been deeply affected by Paulo D’Angelo. From the Pasternelos to the Davids. From the Medinas to the Vincis.
The Vincis, who’d just walked in the door.
For once, my father’s voice didn’t crowd the space. For once, my mother’s beauty didn’t catch every eye in the place. They came in quietly, offering their coats to Maso, then taking glasses of champagne from the small table set up near the door before walking into the room.
They came to me, their movements full of caution and their faces filled with concern. They were trying. Trying to be the parents I’d never had. Trying to be there, to show their love for me the way they always had to Stephano.
My brother was there, too, just behind them. Though he held none of their concern. He was all swagger.
“Clara?” My mother said my name like she was afraid it wasn’t real, that I wasn’t standing right there, an arms-length away.
“Hi Mom.” The hug she gave me was awkward, as if she weren’t quite sure how it should go. The hug from my father was much the same.
“How are you?”
“I’m alright. Tired.” I gave a small shrug.
Zeno turned from Quinn and Zoe, draping an arm around my shoulder. “She just helped me deliver Queenie’s daughter a little bit ago.”
“You did?” My mother’s hands shot to her mouth, and I swore tears glistened in her eyes. “Oh, Clara!”
“I’m proud of you, kid.” The minute my father said that, Zee’s arm stiffened across my back. I turned a smirk his way, and the man I loved closed his eyes, shook his head, and refused to look at me.
Kid.
I’d forever be that kid to Zee. That kid who changed his life. That made him question what he’d thought he wanted. That had made him realize a lifetime of trauma was too much for one to bear alone.
The kid that made him fall in love.
I curled around him, resting my head upon his shoulder as my brother shook his head, rolled his eyes, and brushed past me as if he couldn’t be bothered. It was only the punch to my arm and his quiet words that told me he was proud of me too.
“Good job, brat.”
We got sucked into the conversations around the room, and even though the day had drained me, I felt full for the first time in so long. I felt right, being here with Zeno by my side. I felt good, being a part of this family.
I felt proud to be here, but never more so than when a tiny cry rang out from down the hall.
Silence fell upon the room as all eyes turned that way. And when two wheelchairs rolled through the doorway, a round of cheers and gasps erupted from every corner of the room.
Queenie, looking way too beautiful for what she’d just gone through, sat in one of them with her baby bundled in her arms.
Her father, Paulo D’Angelo, sat at her side, his black hair more gray and his wrinkles more profound than they had been before. And Nadia, the love of his life, was standing at his side.
“Everybody! Everybody! Attention, please!” Mateo’s voice rang out, quieting the crowd.
As if everyone weren’t already staring, he gestured toward the two wheelchairs.
“Today was meant to be a celebration of life. A welcome home party for the one and only Paulo D’Angelo.
The father of this organization. The man who has given his all so that we could all have better lives.
A man who has been there for each of us, through thick and thin, through dark and light. Through sickness and in health—”
Queenie slapped Mateo across the stomach with the back of her hand while her father let out a groan.
“That’s enough, Mateo,” Paulo said, shaking his head.
“Yes, sir. Of course, sir.” Mateo gave a lopsided grin.
“What I meant to say is, we love you, Paulo. It has been an honor knowing you and getting to grow up with you by my side. You were my father’s best friend, and when he passed, you did what you’ve done for so many of us gathered here: You took me and my family under your wing and gave us the love and the support we so dearly needed. ”
He looked down at Queenie. “You gave me the most wonderful woman—and I know we did this a little out of order, but I promise you I’ll marry her soon—”
“Make it a spring wedding!” Zee called to them from my side. “I’ve got dibs on summer.” At that, he dropped to one knee. He took my hand, holding a familiar antique wedding ring against my finger.
His mother’s ring.
“Clara Vinci, I have loved you the whole of your life, and I will love you until the end of time. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”
Tears welled in my eyes until all I could see was his smiling face. I wanted a lifetime with this man, because I’d loved him since the day I was born. “Yes!”
The word was just a whisper, but it was loud enough for Zee to hear. He slipped his mother’s ring onto my finger, then rose, capturing my face with his palms, capturing my lips with his own.
“Well, then.” Mateo’s voice rose above the cheers. “This day has not gone as planned.”
“It’s a day to celebrate,” Nadia said, taking Paulo’s hand. “To be with the ones we love.”
More cheers arose, with Mateo’s brothers raising their glasses in a toast.
“First my daughter, then Zee and Clara. Is there anyone else?” Mateo asked, glancing around the room, his attention falling on his brothers’ pregnant girlfriends.
“Any other babies feel they need to make their debut? Any other marriage proposals?” he asked, shifting his gaze to Quinn and Zoe. “No? Okay. Good.”
The man bent, pressing a kiss to Queenie’s lips before lifting the tiny little babe from her arms. He raised the child in his hands, turning her pretty, sleeping face so everyone in the room could see.
“Then it is my pleasure to present to you Paulo D’Angelo’s very first grandchild, Ada Marie D’Angelo-Medina. ”
While the room burst into applause, Zeno’s grip tightened on my hand. My father and Lorenzo turned our way, dipping their heads in acknowledgment of what he’d just said.
Ada Marie.
That was Zeno’s mother’s name.
The woman whose ring was on my finger.
Carmen came to our side, taking Zeno’s hand and dragging the two of us—because Zeno wouldn’t let go of me—to the front of the room.
Queenie lifted her arms, and I was yanked down to her as Zeno wrapped his own arms around her.
“If it weren’t for your mother, Zeno, none of us would be here today.”
“If it weren’t for you, Clara”—Carmen squeezed my arm—“my brother wouldn’t be here either.”
“And if it weren’t for both of you, Ady and Queenie and I wouldn’t be here with Paulo tonight,” Mateo said.
“Thank you,” Paulo said, reaching both hands out to take ours. “Thank you for your love and your loyalty. And congratulations on the rest of your lives together. I can’t imagine a better pair.”
With tears in my eyes, I bent to give Paulo a hug, grateful for all he’d given to me and Zee. Then I was swept up by the crowd, joining in the celebration that had become so much more than I expected for the night.
This was the life I was meant to have.
This was the family I’d always wanted.
And when Zee pulled me into his arms, pressing his body to mine as his lips crushed my lips, I knew, this was the man I would always, always love.
Thank you for reading The Doctor!