“How did you get here?” I whispered, still in shock.
“Thought you could use the company.”
At the sound of Gio’s voice, I spun around, wide-eyed. “Youdid this?”
He was leaning against the now-closed glass door, ankles crossed and one hand shoved into his pocket, the hint of a smile tugging on the corner his lips. “Merry Christmas, Rory.”
All I could do was gape at him, so stunned, you could have knocked me over with a feather.
“Thank you.” The words came out thick, full of emotion. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Cosmo barked his agreement, and laughter burst from my lips. I was so deliriously happy that it felt like I might explode.
Gio merely dipped his chin. “Your smile is thanks enough.”
Could it be that I was living in a story that featured a redemption arc?
If so, my husband had taken a giant leap toward setting things right between us today.
Chapter 22
Gio
“Don’ttellmeyou’rewaiting up for Santa, because I have bad news.” Rory’s lips brushed against the side of my neck from behind.
With my eyes fixed on the roaring fire in the darkened room, I captured the hand she’d placed on my shoulder and tugged her around the chair to sit on my lap. Cosmo trailed behind her, coming to rest at my feet.
That dog hadn’t left her side since I’d sent one of my men to retrieve him from Colorado. It was a damn good thing the beast had retreated back to the junkyard where I’d originally found him or who knows if we’d have been able to track him down.
My wife curled against my chest, sighing. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Mmm.”
While the war we waged with my uncle was more than enough to keep me up most nights, that wasn’t the reason for my insomnia this evening. Like it was drawn by a magnet, my handfell to her belly, my fingers spreading wide over where our son grew.
Blowing out a breath, I spoke aloud the question plaguing my mind. “What if I fuck all this up?”
Rory lifted her head, brow furrowed. “Fuck what up?”
“Fatherhood. Children thrive on love, and that’s a weakness I can’t afford. Not now, not when we’re locked in a battle that determines our survival.”
Silence stretched between us as she stared at me unblinkingly after my confession.
Finally, Rory said, “Love isn’t something you can turn on and off when it suits you. If it were, I wouldn’t get butterflies in my belly every time I look at you.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Youloveme?”
Her lips pulled inward, and she shook her head. “I love John. You happen to have his face.”
A disappointment I didn’t understand settled deep within my bones. “Right. How could I forget?”
“Is this the part where you remind me that he’s not real?”
My eyes slid shut, my head falling back against the chair. “What do you want me to say, Rory?”
“Answer me this: what would have happened if this baby had been a girl?”
“You don’t want to know.”
