His last words come out hoarse, and a single tear glides down his cheek. I feel him starting to lift me, but I tighten my legs around him.
“I’m sorry. I was freaking out, and all I could think about was that you didn’t want kids, and then when you said you did, you kept saying half you and half me, and when she told me I was pregnant and I realized it was impossible for the baby to be half you, I was so devastated because I knew you’d make a wonderful father, or I wouldn’t have wanted to have kids with you.”
“DNA doesn’t mean jack shit,” Matteo spits. “Andrey and I shared DNA, yet I was closer to Lucian and your dad. I might have half of Andrey’s DNA, but I’m nothing like him.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again. “I’m so emotional and scared and shocked.” A fresh round of sobs escapes me, and I shake my head. “If you don’t want to be with me anymore …”
“Stop doing that,” he demands firmly yet gently. “Stop trying to give me a damn out. I love you, and I want to be with you, and unless you tell me otherwise, in three days, I’m going to marry you.” His hand goes back to my stomach, and butterflies erupt inside me. “And as far as I’m concerned, this baby is half you and half me. Fuck what the DNA says. He’s going to be so damn loved by both of us, and he’ll never know any different.”
His admission causes me to start crying all over again as I wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle my face against his chest.
“Thank you,” I murmur. “Thank you for loving me and this baby.”
“You never have to thank me,” he says. “Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. And loving this baby is just as easy because he or she is a part of you, Dani, and I love every fucking part of you.”
37
Matteo
The drive homeis filled with silence, both of us lost in our thoughts. But I don’t plan for it to stay that way. I have so many questions, and only Dani has the answers … because I wasn’t there. We thought it was a quick checkup, so I didn’t go, and I wish I had because she had to find out that she was pregnant alone.
I’m not a woman, so I can’t begin to understand how she must’ve felt, but based on her bloodshot eyes, puffy cheeks, and red nose, she spent a good amount of time crying.
When she didn’t show up to her dress fitting, my first thought was that something horrible had happened. And all I wanted to do was make sure she was safe.
Seeing her sitting on the bench, full of so many emotions, damn near broke my heart. All I want is for Dani to be happy. And I’d imagine that finding out you’re pregnant should be one of the happiest moments of a woman’s life—if that’s what she wanted.
And she did want that. She still does.
But neither of us expected that plot twist.
“Matteo,” Dani says softly, “can you say something, please? It’s so quiet, and … I don’t know … I guess I’m just worried about what’s going through your head.”
I think about what I want to say, trying to be careful because Ihave so many mixed emotions right now and the last thing I want to do is upset her further … but at the same time, I need to be honest.
“I hate that you thought I wouldn’t want our baby because we don’t share the same DNA,” I admit, turning into the parking garage. I park in my assigned spot and then face her. “I’m not an expert on relationships. Hell, you’re the first real relationship I’ve even had, but I don’t like that you thought so little of me.”
“When we talked about letting nature take its course, I never imagined I would already be pregnant. Then, I learned it was by Enrique, and it was such a shock to my system.” She leans over the center console and palms the side of my face. “I know how much you love me. I see it in the way you look at me and kiss me and the way you support me. But like you said, this is new, and I’ve never been in this situation before. And you went from not wanting kids to wanting them with me, and when I found out the baby couldn’t be yours, my mind kept replaying what you’d said—half you and half me.” She sniffles back her emotion. “And I took it literally and freaked out.”
I nod in understanding because I did say those words, and had I known how today would go, I never would’ve said them. But in my head, there was only me and her.
“I meant what I said. That baby in your belly is mine and yours.
“I grew up with a man who looked at me like I was a failure for disabilities that were out of my control, so I know firsthand what it feels like to be unwanted and unloved. Not that who one’s father is, is equivalent to a disability.
“But that baby growing in your belly shouldn’t be punished for who they share their DNA with, the same way Andrey shouldn’t have punished me for my dyslexia or emotional dysregulation. And I will never treat our son or daughter any differently or love them any less simply because they don’t have my DNA. As far as I’m concerned, this baby is mine. End of story.”
Dani chokes out a sob. “I would love nothing more than to raise this baby together. I love you, and I already love him.”
“Do you know the gender?”
“Huh?”
“Earlier, you said them—I’m assuming to keep it gender-neutral—but just now, you said him. Do you know if it’s a boy?”
“I don’t know,” she says with a small smile. “I think a part of me pictures the baby as a boy because Peyton and Dominick have boys, so that’s all I’ve been around. To be honest, I’m not sure how it would go if the baby ends up being a girl.”
“What? Why?” I ask. “She would be spoiled.”
