“She had some family emergency, and I wasn’t about to make Peyton cancel her plans because I’m not capable of taking care of our kids. The nanny is here to help at night so we can get a bit of sleep.”
He lifts the baby, and a bunch of brown shit is spread across his back, seeping through his clothes.
“Damn it, he blew one out,” Dominick groans. “I gotta rinse him off and change him.”
He disappears up the stairs and isn’t even gone for two minutes when Adam starts to cry. Lorenzo and I both freeze, hoping he’ll go back to sleep, but that whimper quickly turns into a full-blown cry.
“Grab him,” I say.
“Fuck that.” Lorenzo scoffs. “You grab him. He’s your nephew.”
I get up and hover over the bassinet, mentally preparing myself to pick Adam up since I’ve never held a baby before.
When his cries increase, I reach in and gently pick him up, noticing his pacifier is next to him. Cradling him in one arm, I put the pacifier back in his mouth with my other hand, rocking him carefully.
“Hey there, little man,” I say. “I’m Matteo or, as your big brother likes to call me, your uncle Matty.”
As I rock him gently, I can’t help but think about how great of a mom Dani would be. She’s so damn sweet and patient. Our babies would be so fucking loved.
I glance over at a picture of Peyton pregnant with the twins, Damien on one side of her and Dominick on the other side, his hand resting on her protruding belly, and I imagine Dani pregnant with my baby.
Fuck,this woman has me thinking about shit I’d never have considered before.
But rather than my thoughts stopping there, more pop up of Dani and me lying in bed with a baby nestled between us. Birthday parties, family vacations. Christmas mornings filled with presents. Walks to the park.
“Oh, my goodness! Are you holding your nephew?” Peyton says, bringing me back to the present. “Don’t move. I need to get a picture.”
She pulls out her phone, and I glare at her as she snaps several pictures of me and her son—apparently, girls’ night is over.
“He looks so cozy in your arms,” she says, walking over to us. “Good to know we now have a backup sitter.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I mutter. “Your husband left him to fend for himself when your other son shit everywhere.”
Peyton laughs. “I’d better go help him with that.”
She takes off upstairs before I can give her back her baby, and Dani walks over with a soft smile on her face.
“Don’t worry,” she says. “I know the score. No babies. But he does look comfy in your arms.”
She kisses my cheek and looks down at Adam. And as she talks to him in a sweet, soothing voice, it doesn’t escape me that I didn’t respond to her comment. And I think it’s because I might not be as opposed to the idea of a baby as I thought I was.
At least not with her.
Dominick and Peyton come down a few minutes later, and she takes Adam from me.
Bri stayed at the club with her friends.
After asking the women how their night was, I make plans for tomorrow night’s fight—ensuring that Dani will be safe with them so I can focus on my fight since she’s insisting on going—and then Lorenzo, Dani, and I head out.
“Where’s my stuff?”Dani asks once we’re home and I’m lying in bed, waiting for her to join me.
“It’s where it belongs.” I nod toward our closet.
While we were gone, I had my housecleaner come in and clean and move all of Dani’s stuff to our room, so it’s organized.
She opens the closet door, and her lips tip into a soft smile.
“I meant it,” I tell her, rolling to the side so I’m facing her. “I want you here.”
