My vision grew blurry as tears filled my eyes again. “I can’t.”
“How can I help?”
I blinked furiously, my voice coming out thick. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”
“Never,” she vowed.
“Even after everything, I miss having him here with me. The bed’s too empty. I can’t sleep alone.”
“Okay.” She rubbed up and down my arm in soothing strokes. “How about this? I lay down with you and promise to stay until you wake up?”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” I protested.
“You didn’t.” Summer began leading me toward the king-sized mattress. “I offered.”
Muscles sore from the extra weight I was carrying, I crawled beneath the covers with a groan. Summer climbed onto the spot behind me, stroking my hair.
“If I close my eyes, I might not wake up for days.”
Light laughter sounded. “I could use a mini vacay from the chaos of three little girls. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
She was nice. Really nice. I probably didn’t deserve her kindness, but I greedily accepted it, nonetheless.
For the first time in my life, it felt like I had a friend.
“Hope you like eggs and bacon!” Summer chirped as she used her hip to close the door behind her because her hands were otherwise occupied carrying a silver tray containing what promised to be my breakfast.
“Sounds great.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her everything I ate these days tasted like sawdust, not when she’d gone out of her way to ensure I was consuming an adequate amount of calories in my third trimester.
“The salty and savory combo was one of my faves when I was pregnant with Aurora. Figured her little cousin might be giving you the same cravings.”
I rubbed a palm over my belly, feeling a kick from the outside, which was a new development. “He seems to like the idea.”
Positioning the tray over my lap, Summer settled onto the mattress beside me. “Does it ever freak you out that you’re growing a penis inside you?”
I choked on the sip of orange juice I’d just taken, several droplets spewing from my mouth to land on my clothes as I coughed violently.
Clearing my throat, I replied, “Um, considering I’ve never really thought about it, I’ll have to say, no?”
She hummed, pursing her lips. “Not gonna lie, it was half the reason we decided not to find out the sex early.”
“What was the other half?”
Assuming it was something simple, like wanting to be surprised at the birth as a reward for the hard work of labor, I sobered up quickly when she said, “In case it was a boy, I wanted the gift of a few extra months where I didn’t have to worry about my innocent baby growing up to be the head of the family.”
“I wasn’t so lucky to dodge that bullet,” I muttered dryly.
“Shit. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry things went down this way.”
“It’s not your fault.” I waved her off. “Running away only delayed the inevitable. Gio wasn’t going to stop until he got his heir.”
“Eat before it gets cold.” She picked up my fork and handed it to me. “And if you’re feeling up to it, I got permission to break you out of this joint to go Christmas shopping this afternoon.”
I swallowed the bite of bacon in my mouth before confessing, “I’m not really in the mood to celebrate this year.”
“Okay. How about we set up your baby registry instead? Apparently, mafia wives love to spend an obscene amount of money to welcome a new arrival. I almost stroked out when I saw the price tag on the stroller they bought me. And then there were designer baby clothes, where a single piece cost more than my monthly rent before I met Matteo.”
“Can’t imagine anyone will be too charitable after I’ve been outed as a traitor,” I grumbled, my personal pity party in full swing.
