Chapter 24
Emma
I waited, sitting on the edge of the tub, for Luke to walk away. He heard me rush in here and moan, but I don’t think he caught the sounds of me puking.
If this isn’t because of something I ate, I have to be pregnant. I told him that all the stress could be getting to me, and it seemed like he bought that line. Which was bogus. Stress, making me sick? As if.
I was well aware that stress had many effects on the human body. Some people could be so distressed to the point they became ill or vomited. But not me.
I’d grown up with an unhealthy amount of stress and trauma. I had been hardened by a hard life too early to be so susceptible to an upset stomach now. I’d seen things that would traumatize an adult. I heard screams and cries of men being tortured. For fuck’s sake, I had been chained up in my room for weeks when I ran away.
No, it wasn’t stress. I was surprised Luke believed that, actually. It was the first thing I could think of other than something I ate. I almost— almost —told the truth. That maybe I was sick to my stomach because I was pregnant, but I didn’t want to share that news or that theory when I was hunched over in the bathroom and still wiping spit from my mouth.
More than anything, I wanted to know. I would feel better if I took a test and then spilled the news to him, and that was my plan. Luke was a man of strategy. He liked to take charge, and I admired that about him. However, knowing he preferred hearing facts rather than speculation or guesswork, I wanted to be able to say, yes, I’m pregnant instead of, oh, I might be pregnant . Those statements sounded different, and I wanted to have all my info straight before I told him.
Because if it was a false alarm, if I was coming down with something and not pregnant, I didn’t want to suffer the lost hope and disappointment. I woke up several times through the night, almost giddy with the thought I could be carrying his baby.
I’d never let myself think about starting a family mainly because I dreaded being married to Antonio and having to give birth to his children. With Luke, with my future husband, it would be a blessing to cherish.
I sighed, waiting for more sounds of him out there. After a while, he knocked gently on the door again.
“Emma? I’m going to make some coffee and start us some breakfast. It’s early yet, so maybe it might be better to just sleep in some more? I’ll make something else for you if you want.”
I smiled, touched by his concern. If I was carrying his child, he would dote on me like this, only more. He’d be the sweetest protector, and I wasn’t sure what I’d done in life to deserve him.
“Shit.” He groaned lightly. “I think we’re out of creamer.”
I perked up. “I’ll place an order for one of the guards to pick up.” I could add the test to that order and no one would be the wiser.
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“I think I might take a shower. Maybe that’ll help.”
“I’ll be out here if you need me.”
I swore, he was too damn good to me.
A shower did help. The steam soothed me, and I felt much better when I got out.
He wasn’t in the room, likely out in the kitchen or elsewhere. I hadn’t taken so long that the guard would be back with the grocery order, so I had time to dress and meet him with the others.
I found them seated at the long dining room table. Jimmy and Luke were discussing the big fight against Ferris, which would be coming up soon. Sean was seeing the doctor out, the only person who ever checked in on Marlo upstairs. He was nothing but a vegetable, it seemed, but they would let him die naturally.
Nina wasn’t about, but that didn’t surprise me. She was terrified being kidnapped yesterday, and I bet she’d want a lot of rest to recover from the scare.
As the guard entered with the bags of necessities, I smiled at him and thanked him. “Over easy or scrambled?” I called out. He’d picked up the test, creamer and other food stuff that had been sitting in my online cart.
I got replies for half of each, and Frank, another guard I was recognizing easier the more I saw him, breezed through and chuckled. “She’s not a short order cook, people.”
I didn’t mind. It seemed like it was the least I could do and pull my weight here. Not too many guards were here even though Sean had assured us the perimeter of the property was secure. The few men who came through the house were beginning to treat me with more respect and familiarity.
Once made the eggs, some toast, and then coffee, I excused myself to take the test. The whole while I made food, Luke, Jimmy, and Sean talked. It sounded like they were describing more about what Marlo had let go of with his declining health. I didn’t want to interfere. And Luke had a lot to learn if he intended to take over the Rossini family.
I kissed his cheek as I walked by, telling him that I was going back to the room to change because I’d gotten butter on my shirt. I had, but I really only needed a reason to go to the room without him.
He snagged my hand, holding me back gently. “Are you feeling better?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I am.”
I was not. As I returned to the room, the pregnancy test jammed into the back of my waistband and covered with my shirt, I felt like I was carrying a gun back there. It was a loaded instrument, all right, able to reveal news that would change my life forever.
Excited and giddy, I did my best not to hurry or run. That would raise everyone’s suspicions, and I wondered when and how I wouldn’t have to deal with the Rossinis automatically assuming I was a spy or up to no good. Would they accept me after I married Luke? Would they ever believe that I was with them, siding with Luke, instead of the family I was born into?
It was a matter to think about another time.
I got into the bathroom and hurriedly skimmed the instructions. This was a foreign experience, something I’d never needed to do before, and for a sad, wishful moment, I wished I could call Krista and have some sisterly support. It was a girl thing, and I wondered when she would reach out to me. I didn’t want to assume I could call her phone. If Justin was as smart as he seemed to be, and a decent spy, he wouldn’t risk taking her phone with them. The more he avoided ways to be tracked, the better.
The instructions seemed daunting. How the order of steps to pee on a stick could cover a large folded paper was beyond my imagination.
In too much of a rush for an answer, I stuck with looking at the images and the simplified phrases and followed that sequence. Pee on a stick, close the cap, and let it sit for—
“Two minutes? Or five?” I looked again, so nervous I’d mess it up.
I did the test, and as I sat on the closed toilet lid and waited for the stick to be measured, I bounced my foot and steadied my breaths. The nausea hadn’t returned, but I didn’t feel comfortable. Good anxiety meshed with downright worries about how this would change everything. I was a bundle of nerves, frayed ones. When the timer on my phone went off, I squeezed my eyes shut and stood to read the results.
“Oh, shit.” I grinned as I swore.
Two lines showed clearly in the rectangular screen.
Positive.
I was pregnant.
Luke had knocked me up.
Elation immediately filled me. I was swept away with excitement, so much so that when I grabbed the test and turned to rush out of the bathroom, I moved so quickly that I collided into Luke.
“Whoa. Hey. Are you okay? I was just coming to check on you and—”
I bit my lip and held up the test.
He went silent, staring at the slim stick of plastic.
It wasn’t the cutest or sweetest way that I could reveal this big news to him, but I couldn’t keep it in. I was too happy. Too giddy. And too hopeful that he’d share in those sentiments.
“Oh, shit,” he whispered.
“That’s what I said.”
He opened his eyes wider and raised his brows. Shock showed on his face, but also a slowly spreading smile on his lips.
“Is this real?”
I nodded, relieved that my worries about his reaction were all for nothing. He laughed once, so surprised, and lifted me in a tight hug. Spinning me around, he laughed and then kissed me hard. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“Really?!” He set me down and looked at the test again, like it was a marvel to behold. As he raked his hand through his hair, unable to shake off this lopsided grin, I hugged him close.
“We’re having a baby, Luke.”
“It looks that way.” He set the test down and cupped my face. After a delicate kiss that made me sigh, he gazed into my eyes with such intense love that I could’ve melted.
“I can’t wait to see you as the mother of my children.”
“Children!” I laughed incredulously. “How about we just start with one?”
I loved that he’d want more. I was na?ve, so completely clueless about being a mother, but I wasn’t opposed to having as many as we could.
One thing at a time. I smiled wider. One baby at a time!
He stared at me, then nodded, like he’d reached a conclusion.
“What? What are you thinking?” I wanted to hear all of his ideas and opinions. This was good news, but it would change so much, too.
“Let’s get married now. Instead of waiting for after my fight with Ferris and going public with who I am.”
My jaw dropped. “Really?”
I didn’t care when and how I’d marry him. I didn’t have a dream wedding in mind. I’d feared the ceremony that I used to assume I’d endure to be stuck with Antonio.
As long as I became Luke’s wife, I didn’t want to concern myself with the details. The dress, the guests, or even if we had a dinner to celebrate afterward. I wanted the everyday companionship with him. That was what mattered, not the one-time wedding event.
He nodded.
“I’m...” I laughed once, too happy to argue. He’d shocked me with that comment, but I wasn’t going to say no. “I’m speechless. I’ll be happy with whatever you want to do. You know that. I just want to be your wife.”
He kissed me soundly, then took my hand afterward. “Let’s go tell them.”
“That we’re getting married ASAP?”
He smirked, glancing back at me. “About the baby!”
We found them out in the lounge up near the front of the house. Nina was seated with them, and it looked like they we’d interrupted a conversation.
Whatever they were discussing, it could wait. Sean lowered his phone, peering up at us. Jimmy furrowed his brow.
“What are you smiling about, honey?” Nina asked Luke.
“I’m pregnant,” I announced. They didn’t need an elaborate revelation either. Sometimes, being direct was best.
They reacted differently, of course. Nina seemed happiest. Jimmy scowled. And Sean dropped his phone to the table and sat back with an exasperated sigh.
“Oh, honey.” Nina smiled at both of us. “I’m so excited to have a grandbaby.” She winked at Luke. “I told you I was wishing you’d find a decent, nice good girl to settle with.” Then she frowned, turning sober. “I didn’t realize the daughter of a rival mafia family was who you’d find, but it’s all working out well.”
I narrowed my eyes as her mood worsened. “Then why are you grimacing.”
She sniffled, immediately concerned. “I’m just scared this baby would be targeted somehow too. By your father,” she said to me. “Or the Marcheses. Or...” She covered her face and drew in a steadying breath, leaning over to get through her moment.
Her concerns were all valid, but I was confident Luke and I would keep our child safe.
Jimmy patted her back.
“We’ll marry now,” Luke announced. “That will protect the baby as well.”
“Hold up.” Jimmy stood, shaking his head. “You can’t marry now. You’re not in power. You’re just...you, the heir Marlo never wanted. He’s still in power and no one can know that you are his son.”
Luke shook his head. “The Marcheses know.”
“My father has to as well,” I added.
The word was already getting out.
“Sure, they can claim to know, but if anyone were to challenge them with that claim, they don’t have proof.” He shook his head, looking off to the side as though he needed to calm himself. “Marlo has always been a rich, greedy bastard, Lucas. He wants the power to die with him.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “So you’ve said. But it won’t. It will go to me.”
“Sure, the documentation will show that you are to inherit it all, but he’s sneaky. He had a hit to take affect after his death to have me killed.”
“And you took care of that.”
Sean stood. “Yes, I killed the man who’d carry out the hit and we canceled the order. But what if there are more contingencies set up? He could have ordered a post-mortem instruction to be carried out if anyone claimed to be his child. We won’t know until he’s dead, dammit.”
I nodded, starting to realize their concerns. “If word gets out too fast, too soon, any of those hits could be done even before Marlo’s death.”
Luke faced me, watching me somberly.
Jimmy stepped forward to claim Luke’s attention. “We have to figure this all out. To ensure everyone can be safe with this transfer of power. He’s got so much locked up while he’s living. Until he’s gone... We have to be careful. You can’t rush into complications—”
Luke held up his hand, silencing him. “Complication? My child is not a complication.”
I couldn’t have fallen any further in love with this man. Already he was fiercely protective of our baby.
“I meant a complication like rushing to get married,” Jimmy clarified.
“No. My marriage won’t be a complication either,” Luke argued, so strong and firm he sounded like a natural born leader already. “I need to make sure Emma is mine and will be protected. Our baby too. If you want me to assume the role as the boss of the Rossini name, and you’ll keep me safe and alive, then you damn well will for my wife and child, too.”